The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1918-02-08
THINGS TO THINK ABOk1T.


the 2Oth Engineers or the for
eStry regiment. OF course there
We're many anxious hearts in our
city and the most tense interest
to learn whether The death list
included any Of the home town
boys, fine, mauly young patriots,
all c,f them who have gone forth
to the deadllcst war ever known,
for the lotllest of human motives,
that Of giving their lives, if need
be, to make our own lives and
property secure from the de-
structiyc hand Of the hated Hun.
There We're great signs of relief
and gratitude when it was known
that they We're safe. We wish that
we might say as much for other
American towns that are mourn
ing today. The crisis is at hand
and the suspense is very great,
and we would not be looking the
war squarely in the face if we did
not anticipate hours of mourning
in our own city later when the
lifeless bodies of our boys will
have been found on the plains OF
France, resisting to their last
breath the final effort of the mad
kaiser to conquer the world
But friends, please give heed
to another happening of vital
interest to you. While the sur
vivors of the Tuscania were
being gathered and the cables
were flashing the news of The
tragedy, over at Great Falls there
was meeting a so-caIled congress,
Of Co-operators of Montana. The
governor of Montana, present by
invitation, had issued a call for a
special session of the legislature
to provide laws to define sedl-
tious, reasonable and disloyal
utterances and acts, and to pro-
vide punishment therefor. He
had asked our lawmakers to fur
nlsh means for the quclIing of
sabotage as practiced by the
|. w. W., and further to pro-
vide for the organization and
maintenance of home guard COM
panles SO that, if necessary, we
&lontanans can protect our
homes and property and The lives
of our families from such disor-
DERBY and criminal elements as
might arise in our midst, if we
found the officers of the law
powcrless.
Yet, within a few hours Of the
loss Of the TusCanla, we find at
this convention II resistance 10
the governors call, SO effccti"c
that resolutions faNoring The
enactment of the recommended
tons Of these laws were defeated.
Is there no cause for reflection
on the part of the people Of Mon-
tana when we find an dlmos-
phcrc of chill to the governors
program such as we have out
lined? We wonder Just how
many of the farmers present Will
suffer if the !. W. W. sNndical-
lists start a program of burning
haystacks IA they did last year,
i'll Kansas and Nebraska,
We are not surprised that the
paid organizers Of the Non-Par-
tisan league are in technical con-
troll of affairs at this mis-uamcd
convention of co-upcrators.
These busy political shcIl-mrn,
who are paid So much IA head for
converts to TownIcy'S party
would have been cut off the pay
roll, if they had failed to pack the
conventions Politics is their
business Just now, and they are
required to deliver.
The gratifying feature Of the
gathering, thus far, is that in the
Equity there was developed
enough resistance to TOWnlcv's
tools to make Il standing vote
necessary to determine an en-
dorsemrnt OF il minority report
which held a friendly hand to the
Non-poruSan league. but refused
to endorse lis platform.
Th" Montana branch Of The
American Society of Equity has
not mad" Il business Of politics,
and II is therefore easy to under
stand how some of the members
III attendance at Great Falls have
yielded to the Influence Of TOWN.
iey's soClallStic licutcnants. Th2
difficulty which the league met,
however, conyiuccs us that the
great farming population Of Mon
tana Is a long way from succumb-
ing to the influence of Townlev.
The great rank and file of the
farmers are loyal patriots. They
will not be found wanting i'm the
crisis. Their sons will soon ho