New-York tribune., 1918-01-14
Vigilantes Declare Stand of
Trustees Encourages Ger
man Schemes
Atrocities Justified"
Kaiser Praised, England De-
nounced i'm Volumes Sup
posedly Impartial"


of the Newark Free Public Library for
the retention of enemy propaganda
books for indiscriminatc circulation
among readers is another illustration
of how easy it is for organized cx
poncnts of kultur to take advantage
of American tolerance is the thesis
OF the Nigilantcs, who. from their Of
tices at 5O5 Fifth Avenue, arc attempt
ing ito arouse the country to /, real
lzatlon OF the problems confronting
tho American people"
Charles j. Rosebault, managing cdi-
tor of the Vigilantes' society, speaking
Tor the more than two hundred au-
thors and artists lighting for unified
Amerlcanlsm, said Yesterday:
There would be no time wasted in
argument over the exclusion Of enemy
propaganda from any library in Ger
many. Moreover. the authors. if caught,
would be promptly imprisoned. We
Americans sometimes arc too anxious
to preserve a reputation for generos-
'ty. The men and women who make
up the Nlgllantes arc heart and soul
for liberty Of expression, whether writ
ten or spoken.
AT this moment. however, two facts
appeal to them as being more impor-
tant than aught else: First. we are
at war; second. we must prove that
democracy can be as efficient as Kaiser
ism. War abridges all rights which
weaken us or help the enemy.
Discover Cunning Propaganda
"For these reasons the Vigilantc
mean to use their utmost intluenc,
against the public circulation of cnem!
propaganda such as Miss Marion Couth
Guy Smith discovered in the Newark
Free Public Library, and which is a;
dishonest in statement as in purpose
There is little danger of misleading
the public in the German official pub
lications or in such works as Bern
hardi's or Trcitschke's. But the unin
formed may easily be mislcd by writ
ings. which. pretending to be impair
tal. ere mere perversions of fact an(
cunning appeals to prejudice. Thcs'
should be barred by librarians. If the!
wont act. we must call upon the trus
tees Finally the public will take ;
hand"
In the Newark Public Library. as il
most of the libraries throughout tn
United States, the casual reader vii
find one or more shelves devoted t.
"war books" Locking them over h
finds one with the following dedication
"To my wife, wise counsellor and
diligent helper, Mary Ware Won
Mach, born in a New England par
sonage, Of Mayfowcr stock, lover of
truth and therefore convinced of the
justice Of the German cause, this
book is dedicated, in love and graft
tude"
"Impartial" Praise of Kaiser
Turning to page Al in Edmund vo
Mach's exposition Of" "Germanys Poin
Of View" he finds the follow ng:
IF God gives victory to the Ger
man-Austran arms, complete and
l-pervading victory, as we all pray
He may, even those of us who are
not German, provided we care more
for culture of civilized humanity
than for national vanity-then, and
only then, Europe will enjoy a hun
drod years of peace, and the wish OF
the great and good prince, who has
been SO shamcfully betrayed by his
fellow princes, will vet be fulfilled
more gloriously even and in manner
which will exonerate Germany in the
face of many slanderous falsehoods
And he will be called the Emperor
OF Peace even more appropriately
for, with the help of Cod he viii
have achieved this state of peace as
his very own handiw ork."
Or, If the reader prefers, he ms
find an antidotc to President Wilson
definition of the foe by turning
page 301 of "England and the w,
Against Germany" by Eduard Meye
as follows:
"Although the other nations art
little inclined to admit it, it is daily
being demonstrated that Germany
war against Eng and is at the sam,
time war for the liberation Of tn,
seas, and for the true independents,
of nations.'
"The European War" by Anthor
Arnoux, thus explains, on page G
the invasion of Belgium:
9TH" eXigencies of the militar,
situation on the first day of August
1914, constituted and still continue
to constitute, under the law of ma
tons. q sufficient justification fo
tha German invasion of Belgium"
Referring to atrocities, the auth
explains:
These things have happened i
every wal in the history Of th
world. They have happened in ou
Civil War, they happened in our wa
With Spain. they happened on tn
march to Peking, they happened il
, the Philippines. Even so recently a
the seizure OF Vera Cruz they hap
, pcncd also"