The menace. [volume] (Aurora, Mo.) 1911-1920, 1918-12-07


saving and run rampant throughout
many of the administration depart
ments. Taxing childrens' toys and
candies, as well as womens' hats and
stockings to maintain some Of these
documents is iniefensible."
So this is the situation which con-
fronts the average newspaper. From
the sources of news upon which it
has always depended, sources inde-
pendent of government control, it
must resort to the only source left,
the pitiless publicity Of the paid
piper. Although it may be that a
large part of this inspired pub
licity may be innocuous or even de-
sirable, the newspaper does not want
it. 1t would prefer to get its own
material. The opportunity, however,
does not exist. A new problem con-
fronts the newspaper. II must be
printed. On one hand there is the
high cost of labor. Of paper, of ma
chinery; and on the other hand the
"nitiless publicity" is offered freei
What is there left for patriotic edi-
tors to do but to publish it?
had a talk with Senator Miles
Poindexter Of Washington, the sena-
tor to whom Theodore Roosevelt adj
dressed his communication on "Put
the Blame Where It Belongs" who
has more than once addressed the
senate on the subject Of free press,
and who is at the same time known
to be one of the most ardent oppo-
nents Of "disloyalty."
Editors should know their rights"
said Senator Poindexter. "If mora
of them would insist on these rights
there would be less talk of the use
by various governmental agents Of
authority which they do not possess
under the laws. AS a matter Of
fact, any newspaper which will cour-
ageously take a stand and which sim
cerely has no desire to be disloval.
can publish exactly the same material
today that It published before the
war. believe that many Of these
unusual powers assumed bv depart
mental heads would be broken if SO
MANY editors did not invite their
use"
That Senato~ Poindaxter is right
= this contention appears to have
been proved by the Nation, which
threatened to carry to the supreme
court the case of its disbarment
from the mails, and succeeded in hav-
ing the post office remove the ban
against its circulation. In describ-
ing its contention with Mr.. Burleson
the Nation said:
apparently what stung was our
Characterization Of Mr.. Gompers as
representing a political bagmanism'
and our sharp criticism Of the ad-
ministration's pending labor policies.
As every one who read it knows,
there was in it neither information
of aid to Germany nor sedition. What
was disliked was the tone--that we
should dare to criticise Mr.. Gompers
as millions of Americans, besides
three-quarters of the French and
British labor worlds, are criticising
him. We we're assured that if this
article were torn out, the rest of the
issue could be mailed. To this we
replied that we were determined that
the department should go on record:
that the press of this country should
know whether mantle of sanctity
covers all activities Of Mr.. Gompers
and whether It is now lese mGjeste
in America to eriticise the head Of
the American Federation of Labor.
Had this article been barred, we
should have had to take the case to
the supreme court for the sake Of
the principle involved and the right
of the press to criticise an unofficial
personality.
OBVIOUSLY, what happens to the
Nation itself is, despite its fifty
three years Of honorable and patri-
otic service, of little importance COM
pared to the principles at stake.
Surely the president appreciates, II
} his subordinates do not, the tremen-
dous injury it would be to this colin-
u try's cause in this war If the liberal
: elements in this country and abroad
were to discover that there Is less
freedom of utterance and criticism
here than in Europe, With the toll
, Grafton in Germany Of the Voi1Uarts,
, the Leipziqer .Volkszeitung, Maxi
: milan Harden's Zukttnft, and many
others, America, battling for the
, safeguarding of democracy, cannot
afford to be one whit less liberal than
J Prussia, or one whit less liberal thar
. England which in war time permits
! the Lcbour Herald and Lab0ur Lead
! er to speak Of this as canitalistic
war, pure and simple, and allows
the publication of the Cambridgt
} Magazine, the London Nation, anc
} the Sinn Fem Press. Yet this freedom
] Of dissent is a true national safety
valve; moro than that. it is marx
Of true democracy without which In
war time any pretension to democ.
3 -racy lays itself open to the charge oi
: hypocrisy.
!, "Now, we would not deny the DIFF
) fculty Of controlling the press ir
. war time. With censorship Il
: avoid the leakage Of military secrets
and to prevent indictments to treas
7 on and other crimes, everybody, ex
/ cept few extremists. must be II
+ sympathy. But the difficulty about
. | mir cenaorshin IL that II has nol