Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1918-01-03

tnE WAI UlnEkN
LOOK AT Us
Tho Near Lynching In Audubon Las
Week Has Been Given Wide
Publicity Over the State
The intense excitement which pre-
vailed In Audubon last week wa
published In all the daily newspaper
and q great many Of the leading
weekly papers. It IL Of much inter
ct to note the comments that are
made In the various newspapers, and
how outsiders view the incident. The
Nonpareil a. Council Bluffs had for
it, leading editorial in Saturdays IS
sue an article headed. 1T Was Bound
70 Come" It 10 apparently the SEN
tinent- Of all the newspapers Of this
section Of Iowa. and reads az fol.
lows:
The thing that happened In Audi
bon county Wednesday was bound to
come. It has been brewing since
the war began. This war is bound
70 Americanise America. No man
can live through this wap in this
country and maintain his status as
. kaiser lover. II he IL for America
Re must manifest at least his good
will. II he is for the kaiser he will
have to move out.
In most os the communities Of this
state there are . .teW people who are
Gisloyal. The n4tsA6olf know ths
facts In these caaess Drive up and
0Own the neighborho6ds Of t4lb
country now and yov will find men
everywhere who caa.,poiHt out the
places whore. the fellows live who
!. have bought no Liberty bonds and
subscribed nothing to the war re-
lief agencies.
Some day there will come to these
neighborhoods lists of the neieAbor
boys who have been killed or wound
Cd in Europe. Then the fact that
this man or that has done nothing
TO support his country or the boys at
the front will be mentioned, and
something like the thing that nearly
occurred in Audubon will happen.
Conditions are not normal now.
People are not in q normal frame OF
mind. This preacher Starck at Au.
dubon is without doubt q traitor to
America. He 10 at heart q subject
Of the kaiser. The defence council
In Audubon have temporized with
-sthe fellow. They have imposed re-
strictions. All the time the fellow
has complied on the surface with
the requirements but at the same
time has come up to the line of dis
loyalty as nearly as he dared and not
get into the Slutches of the law. He
Has assumed al along that he could
stand ON his technical legal rights as
. citizen and get by with the pro-
gram. He simply played his hand a
little too strong. He ventured bit
too far. The wrath against his dis
loyal attitude finally broke over the
Rounds and his technical legal rights
were swept away like chaff in the
winter gale.
Here in Councii Bluffs the local
! defense cohrcfi has interviewed
scores of men In the last two months
and advised them fully concerning
their duties to their country. Prac-
tically without exception the men in
terviewed have taken the suggestions
kindly and have responded to the
calls OF their government for sup
port in accordance with their means.
II the records in these cases had not
been cleared up many of these men
would today be standing just where
these two Audubon men found them
elves when confronted with an as
sembly Of indignant and outraged
citizens Wednesday.
Every American citizen must see
his duty in this war and do 1t. We
are putting millions of our boys in
uniforms and requiring them to serve
their country even to the extent of
giving up their lives. II one of these
boys refuses to obey orders he will
be summariiy shot. A serious duty
ID imposed upon these boys in uni
form. And no citizen In civilian hfe
must think for moment that his
liberty Is q license to withhold sup
port which he IL able to give these
boys. Liberty in peace is one thing;
3befty when the country Is at war
q another.
: The German preacher at Audubon
and there are several others like
Nm in Iowa-should have beenD the
1sremost man IN his community In
supporting this government. He
should have sought out the members
Of the council Of defense and the
committeeman charged with the duty
Of selling liberty bonds and getting
funds for the Red Cross and Army
Y. N. G. A., and rendered his services
to the extent Of his ability. There is
NO prejudice In this country against
persons of German bio6ds-the pref.
udice IL against disloyalty. And, the
German who hangs back. ind uses
offs" In his disco gion6 RAds refuses
70 accept evidenSe6t o. UtFocitfess and
abrogation of rightU W6leh conviQel
others beyond the shadow Of a don't
= putting himself under suspicion.
America expects amor citisena In
civilian life to do their duty Just %
che expects the boys in the ranks OF
the army to do theirs. And Just a.
shirker or a Stacker in the army
will be dishonorably discharged. 80
. man in civil life who refuses to do
his duty will be required to move out
Of the country. When this war ID
finished the people who hold citizen
ship in this country should be citi-
sens In fact. II they are not loyal
they should have their citizenship
rights cancelled and be taken to the
borders Of the land and elected from
Nthe country with explicit instructions
: never to return. There Is no sense
in q clannish demand. 1t 10 merely
Q demand that men shall be men. Nc
man could live In Germany and be
aisloyal to the government. And