Bisbee daily review., 1918-12-17
EVIDENCE PILES UP IN BERCER'S
 TREASON TRIAL
Written and Printed Matter Is Introduced by Government Against Publisher and His Co-Defendants
CBv Revlew Leeseo WIrel

CBy Review Leased wIre)
 CHICAGO. Dec. 16.-A mass of
 documentary evidence in support
 Of the governments charges that
 Victor l.. Berger of Milwaukee
 violated the espionage law in the.
 anti-war campaign he carried on
 as editor of the Milwaukee Leader
 (socialist) was presented to the
 jury in Judge Landis' court today
 in the trial of five socialist party
 chiefs.
 Extracts from numerous anti-war editorials which Berger caused to be published in the Leader, were read into the record by District Attorney Clyne.
 J. E. Harris, formerly managing editor of the Leader, testified that he resigned his position in May, 1917. because of a dispute with Berger over an order received to print for the second time the proclamation and war program of the St. Louis socialist con ventiOn.
 Berger ordered that the socialist anti-war platform be printed for the second time" said the witness. q talked 1t over with my assistants and we consulted the federal district at torney in Milwaukee. who expressed the opinion that it would be danger ous to print the platform. We then prepared a signed statement which we presented to Berger. declaring that in our opinion the platform was seditious and that those responsible for pub fishing it might be liable for prosecu- tion by the government.
 Berger said he was the responsible head of the paper and insisted upon it being published again over our J.-o- test. He said he would take all the blame. l then told him I would re- sign. He expressed regret because the only. two men in the office he would consider for the position were pro-ally.
 My predecessoT was A. M. SimOnds, who disagreed with Berger over the policy of printing certain articles"
 The witness said he previously had been criticized by Berger for the way in which war news had been handled at times
 My instructions from Berger were to use the Berlin dispatches as lead CTS in the war news" said arris. He always said that the Berlin stories were more reliable because ile news from London and France was cen sored. One day we printed a signed war story received from the United Press and Berger was angry because it got in the paper. He said it was untrue and rot. l do not remember just what the story was about. Der ger never wanted anything printed that might offend German readers. He objected to stories which referred to the Germans as Huns or boches."
 On cross-examination Harris admit casion printed editorials attacking the kaiser and the Junker class in Germany. Judge Landis refused to allow the witness to answer a ques- tion alleging that Berger's attacks on the kaiser had been responsible for Berger's defeat in his race for con- gress in 1914.
 The witness said Berger printed | London and Paris war news in the | paper and so far as he knew had | never suppressed any of these stories. |
 District Attorney Clyne then read | extracts from a number of anti-war | editorials published in the LeadeS.
 One of the articles said that every | was pictured a hero, while | every German was called a beast. | The statement was made that the | German social democracy was in- ! finitely more democratic than the | democracy of President Wilson. The | article inquired what the German | people had ever done to this country | that the United States should send | large armies abroad to kill them and | be killed.
 Another editorial read into the rec ord expressed the opinion that per sons who opposed the war were the | true, genuine Americans. It declared | that the war was forced on this coun- try by capitalists. muntion makers. l bankers and food profiteers.
 In another article it was declared | that the war was unpopular despite | the efforts of the capitalistic press to make it appear popular.
 The article stated that it was a dol lar war and that the people did not ike the taste or smell of It. The diff ,ulty of floating the first liberty loan
 Continued on Page Three)