The Washington herald., 1918-10-22
BRISBANE IN PAPER HELD
BY COURT TO BE SEDITIOUS
Charge He Supplied Money for Notoriously
Anti-War "Milwaukee Leader"-Editor
Under Indictment

Evidence closely connecting Arthur
Brisbane with a paper barred from
the mails. whose editor is now un-
der Federal indictment for alleged
violation OF the espionage act is now
in the hands of a member cf the Sen
ate committee investigating the pur-
chase by Hearst's chief editor OF The
Washington Times with money sup
piled by a pool of German-American
brewers. declares a Washington dis
patch to the New York Tribune.
The paper. in question is The Mil
waukee Leader, and the editor under
indictment and soon to face trial in
Chicago is Victor Berger. F
Brisbane's Part.
Arthur Brisbane has been part own
er of The Milwaukee Leader during
Americas belligerency.
He owned stock in the Leader dur
ing the period rrior to Americas dec
laration of war, when The Berger
paper was playing the same pro-Ger-
man game as the Hearst papers for
which Brisbane worked.
He owned stock in the Leader dur
ing a period when the Leader went
even further than the Hearst papers
in anti-war propaganda.
During the period from April 6,
1917, to October l, 1871. and therefore
while Brisbane was a stockhOlder IT
the Leader. Berger's editorials came
in for severe criticism both from press
and public and from official sources.
Finally, on or about the latter date,
the Postoffice Department took action
10 bar the Leader from the mails.
When official action threatened
Brisbane tried to save the editor, the
paper and his money, it is said.
In spite of the criticism which
had been launched against the
Leader and the knowledge which
Brisbane must have had of the edi'
toriaI opinions of the paper of which
he was part owner. Hearst's editor
went to the Postofice Department
and made a special personal appea
to Postmaster General Burleson tt
save the Leader. Brisbane is under
stood to have defended Berger anc
the paper.
The Postmaster General, in spite
OF the pressure brought to bear by
a man whose reputation had no'
then suffered from the disclosure
of the real ownership of the Wash
ington Times, refused to accede tc
Brisbane's plea and banned the
Leader.
Brisbane still Owns stock.
Since the Postofice Department
excluded the Leader from the sec
ond-class mailing privileges. the
paper has naturally neither printed
nor filed statements of ownership
But the Milwaukee weekly. Vor'
waerts, issued by the same organi'
zation as the Leader. the Socia
Democratic Publishing Company
carried Arthur Brisbane's name a,
an owner of stock in its statement
for October, 1915.
A. NJ. Simons, a prominent member
of the Social Democratic League Of
America, and until America entered
the war the managing editor of Th'
Leader, was the first source of in
formation regarding the Brisbane
holdings in Berger's paper Simon!
informed a New York newspaper mar
that on a number of occasions Ber'
ger had told him that the papeI
needed money and that it would bt
forthcoming from Brisbane. Simon:
recalled one instance where the sun
required was 5000.
He believes that altogether Bris'
bane put between $4,000 and $1,000
into The Leader.
The Leader has never shown any
indication of profits likely to induce
legitimate investment. It has sub
sisted on those who were glad tc
support 1t for purposes of propa'
ganda. ...
There are two records of officia
opinion regarding the Berger-Bris'
bane paper.
One is the brief of Postmaster Gen.
eral Burleson. filed in the Supreme
Court of the District of Columbis
November 16. 1917, in answer to The
Leaders suit to lift the mail bar
against it. BY number of excerpts
from its editorials Burleson showed
to the apparent satisfaction of the
court-which upheld the ban-thai
The Leader was one of a group OF
papers involved in IAN organized
propaganda to discredit and impede
in every way the government in the
prosecution of this war, with thu
purpose of defeating the objects fol
which the government is spendins
billions of dollars and probably viii
be called upon to sacrifice thousand:
of lives