Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-01-01
OF LABOR
IS MORE SERIOUS
MANY THOUSANDS OF AusTRo.
HuNGARlANS WORK IN OUR
MINES AND MILLS.
THEY'RE NOW ENEMY ALIENS
Probably Many Of Them Will Be En-
ahied to Keep Their Positions So
That Great Industries Shall Not Be
Crippled.
BY EDWARD 3. CLARK

BY EDWARD 3. CLARK.
Washington.-With active war on
Austria in sight preparations unQues-
tionably are being made to act at home
as well as abroad. There Is one thing
perhaps more than any other, so far as
war operations are concerned with do
nestle problems, that has entered into
| the thought of the officials of the gov
eminent. 1t Is fraught with some anxi-
eties. What Is to be done with the
enormous number of alien Austrians
and Hungarians who are at work in
the labor fields of the United States
1t is said that thus far the Austrian
| Hungarians who labor in the great coal
fields of the country have shown no
disposition to hamper the government
of the United States in any way, and
have been far from engaging in any
attempts to cripple industry or in any
| way to injure the war trades of the
American people. There have been
some few exceptions, but in most cases
where Austrians and Hungarians have
plotted against the well being of the
United States the work has been done
apart from what may be called the
fields Of the day laborer.
1t probably can be said, without fear
that word to the contrary will come
that the government already has laid
its plans to take care of an Austro-
Hungarian situation in this country,
There are thousands upon thousands OF
/ these men, now enemy aliens, engaged
in work in places where it would be
extremely difficult for them to do any
real injury in an anti-industrial way
to this country, provided, of course
they can be kept where they now are
Some Can Be Kept at Work.
1t is said that by a proper readjust
ment of Austro-Hungarian labor and
Its specific activities some of the alien
enemies can be kept at work, can re-
main self-supporting and yet be de-
prived of any opportunity to do ma
terial damage to the industries of the
country.
Virtually every foreign nationality is
represented in the coal fields and in
the steel industries of the United
States. 1t is said that the mining op
erations can more easily be safeguard
ed than the steel-making industries
work in the fields. By the shifting OF
gangs, enemy aliens at the mines, il
is said can be given work where they
are under constant observation anG
will have little opportunity to put the
mines out of commission or to inter
fere seriously with transportation ia
cilities. In the steel mills the prob
lem might be different, but it is under
stood that the government, through
it's confidential agents and through rep
resentatives of the steel industry, al
ready has made arrangements to meet
any possible menace.
1t is urged in some quarters thai
| Austro-HungarianS now in this country
shall be either interned or removed
from the fields of their present labOrs
This will involve an enormous labor
at an enormous cost, and moreover, il
places it perhaps would so cripple
industry that the war operations would
be set back for weeks. 1t might also
be extremely difficult to get men Il
take the places of those removed.
Declaration the Better Way.
There was belief in some quarters
in Washington that the United State.
could go ahead internationally legal
ly" with war against Austria without
the Formally of a declaration of hos
Titles by the congress of the United
States. President Wilson, however
seemingly did not take this view of it
or at any rate thought it better, per
haps because of the domestic situation
to ask that such a declaration BIZ
made.
A Judge of United States court was
asked by the writer if it would frac
ture the Constitution If the United
| States were to enter into hostilitie:
against the Austrians, the Bulgarian.
and the Turks without any declaration
by the congress. He said that common
sense was the basis of law and thai
when congress declared that war ex
listed between the United States anC
Germany it became the duty of the
forces of this government to make wal
on Germany in the way surest to de
| feat her, and that if this involved wal
on the forces which, In connection witt
| those of the kaiser, were trying to de
| feat the United States, hostilities
against those forces would be proper
would not injure the Constitution in
word or in letter and could be engaged
In without declaration by congress
Now, however, it is certain that wal
will be on with the Austro-Hungariar
| empire and that the United States /:
to be confronted with the task of look
ing after hundreds of thousands of ad
ditionai alien enemies within it's Dor
ders. The task will be big one, but
the authorities say that it will be met
Changes the War Plan.
As things are now viewed it seem:
to Washington military observers thai
the United States troops before Ions
may be found fighting In fields engage
ment in which it would have taken 6
long flight of the Imagination to con
s~.~N~D~~~~-~-~~~~~>~
War May Hit Mulberries.