The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1917-08-23
FREE SPEECH AND PRESS HAVE
LIMITATIONS.

|
streets of Spokane, reasonable orders
were issued to farm hands to ''let the
harvest waste and the fruit rot on the
ground, and to- all other forms of labor
to stop work in order to paralyze in
dustries, unless members of the /. w.
W. held waiting trial for violation of
the laws of northwestern states are
liberated. So serious was the situa-
ton brought about by this lawless agi-
tator who makes his headquarters in
Spokane that the national government
found 1t necessary to take steps to
protect the industries upon which it
depends in preparing for war. At the
same time, and apparently Indifferent
to the gravity of the situation, the
mayor of Spokane made no move to
avert the impending danger, and in
response to merited criticism directed
at him in a. public meeting, replied that
4 want it understood that l do not
try to interpret something in the law
which Is not there. in order to sup
press something" That is to say,
these /. w. w. agitators who were
daily advocating lawlessness and Civ
ing aid andf comfort to the enemy in
time of war were violating no law and
are therefore entitled to the protection
of the city. The mayors idea of free
speech is opposed to that entertained
by intelligent and patriotic people gen.
orally, and he is the only official in the
northwest who is not endeavoring to
some extent at least to make the law
fit the /. w. w. crime. Here is the
definition of the right of free speech
by the editor of the Saturday Evening
Post which is commended to the
mayor OF SpOkance.
you can't have democracy with
out free speech, oral and printed. That
is self evident and fundamental No
rational person thinks of denying 1t.
And you can't have democracy
without submission by the minority
to the formally expressed will of the
majority. That also is self evident
and fundamental. No rational person
thinks of denying 1t.
IF you take free speech in an alb
soute sense, no such thing was ever
known under any government-or ever
viii be. You can't get up in the middle
of the church service and recite the |
Declaration of Independence. You can |
1ot urge man to commit murder. |
You can not speak ISLANDERS. You
AN not crate on busy street corner.
You can not speak sedition.
THE practicable. and only possible,
'ule Is simple enough:
you can use your freedom of speech
o any reasonable extent for the pur-
rose of trying to shape the decisive
viii of the majority: you can not use
for the purpose Of trying to defeat ,
hat will after it has been formally ex-
ressed. !,
Say you don't like an income tax. t
'ou have every right to urge that that /
ax be repealed. You have no right ID
lille the law stands. to urge individ- Ii
ais who are subject to 1t to evade or Ia
ssist 1t by refusing to make returns s
by making false returns or by hold h
lg up the tax collector with a gun. q
GU have every right to urge that no G,
descriptive army law be passed. You 81
ave no right to incite resistance to Fl
after 1t has been passed. When the fr
untry decides for war you have no st
sht to resist war by any means. 81
The rule is self evident to common Ire
nse IN easy, genial, normal times W,
body cares to draw the line very Ika
'ictiy. In war 1t will be vigorously tn
FORCED, for when the majority has ey
ken a decision the execution of n
lich VIII require many to die It Ia
70 mood for genial leniency toward ,
roai efforts to Illustrate its plans, sa,
lerance of seditious free speech
uld 'be an insult to every man under
ns.'