New Britain herald., 1918-03-07
VIGILANTES AFTER
 HUNS IN ILLINOIS
Enforced Patriotism for Pro-
 Germans iD South

St Louis, March 7.-Enforced loy- atty has been placed on a business basis in Macoupin, Madison and 1 Montgomery counties in southern H. llnois where the activities of pro- German propa gandists recently be- came so pronounced that vigilance committees in numerous towns have forced hundreds of suspected per sons to make public manifestations of
 their allegiance to the government.
 In ono town two alleged leaders, of
 seditious movements were tarred and
 feathered Branches of thc American Defense
 society operating through vigilance committees in practically every town
 in the district have taken the lead in stamping out disloyalty The first
 move to oust the propagandists was
 made in Staunton where an alleged leader of the I. W. ". and a Chicago attorney were escorted to the city limits, coated with tar and feathers and started walking in different di- rections. The reason for this aggres- l sion was said to be the activity of 1 the men in causing dissension among several thousand coal miners near 1 otaunton.
 On the same night moro than one | hundred persons were made to sign l pledges of loyalty.
 News of the use of such stern 1 measures spread and within g. week ! Worden, Mount Olive, Gillispie, Will 1 liamson, HilIsboro and several other 1 smaller towns made demonstrations. 1 Tn some of these towns scores of per | al l,o
 and requested to make public profes- , sion of their loyalty. Several men l were taken from their beds and 1 knecling on the sidewalk, were forced 1 to kiss every star in the flag. Some 1 were made to sing the national an- l them while others were compelled to l play patriotic airs on musical in 1 strumentS. Protests against such ac- l tions were construed as evidences of 1 disloyalty. In several such instances l arrests were made and federal 1 charges preferred against the men. | The most serious result of the dem 1 onstrations was in Hillsboro wherc Clifford Donaldson, 21 years old, was
 shot when the vigilance committee l called at his fathers home in search 1 of I. w. w. members. shots were l exchanged. Donaldson was killed and 1 F. B. Emory city marshall, and Err Lest Flath were wounded. Later it was learned Donaldson had enlisted in the navy only a few days before his death and that his father was un- acquainted with any of the suspected persons.
 M bors of the vigilance commit l tees deny that they counsel violence. l They declare that their actions have 1 the approval of civic officers. They l 1 Macoupin Madison and Montgomery l counties for some time has been the objective of active campaign by 1 German sympathizcrs
 1 As evidence of their success they 1 point to a recent meeting of repre- 1 sentatives of more than 500 mem. 1 bers of a miners union in Staunton, 1 In less than one week after two al- | legged sedition leaders had been tarred l and feathered, the union voted a con. 1 tribution of $S10 per month for the | Red Cross, purchased S1,000 worth ! of thrift stamps. reinstated all mem" 1 bers who had lost standing because l of army or navy enlistment arranged l for payment of their dues during the period of the war, and ended a mass 1 meeting in such a. burst of patriotic l fcrvor that tho singing of the na l tional anthem was downed in cheers l for President Wilson and the govern l nent
 1 Reports from other cities where 1 demonstrations were staged indicate ! that the same leaven of patriotism is
 ! at work and that prospects are bright l for a fulfillmcnt of the wish of ''loy- atty" leaders that the district bn 1 made "one hundred per cent Amcri- 1 can"