The Co-operative news. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1917-1918, 1918-06-20

$4,000 or by Imprisonment for not
more than twenty years, or both:
Provided, That any employee or of
fetal of the United States govern
ment who commits any dsloyal act
or utters any unpatriotic or dis
loyal language, or who, in an abusive
and violent manner criticises the
army or navy or the flag Of the
United States shall be at once dis
missed from the service. ANY such
employee shall be dismissed by the
head of the department in which
the employee may be engaged, and
any such official shall be dismissed
by the authority having power to
appoint successor to the dismissed
official"
Sec. 2. That section one of title
XII. and all other provisions of the
act entitled "An Act to punish acts
of interference with the foreign re-
lations, the neutrality, and the for
eign commerce of the United States,
to punish espionage, and better to
enforce the criminal laws of the
United States, and for other pur-
poses," approved June 18th, 1917,
which apply to section 3 of Title |
thereof shall apply with equal force
and effect to said section as
amended.
That Title XII of the said act of
June 18th, 1917, be, and the same is
hereby, amended by adding thereto
the following section:
"Sec. 4. When the United States
is at war, the postmaster general
may, upon evidence satisfactory to
him that any person or concern is
using the mails in violation Of any
of the provisions of this act, instruct
the postmaster at any post office
at which mail is received addressed
to such person or concern to return
to the postmaster at the office at
which they were originally mailed
all letters or other matter so adj
dressed, with the words mail to
this address unbelievable under es-
pionage act plainly written or stamp
ed upon the outside thereof, and all
such letters or other matter so re-
turned to such postma sters shall be
by them returned to the senders
thereof under such regulations as the
postmaster general may prescribe"
NOTE-The following amendment
was inserted in Section 8 by the
Senate, after the penalty clause:
provided, however, that nothing
in this act shall be construed as
limiting the liberty or impairing the
right of any individual to publish or
speak what is true, with good mo-
tives, and for justifiable ends"
This amendment, offered by Sem
ator France of Maryland, was elm
mated by the Conference Committee
at the request of Assistant Attor-
ney General John Lord O'Brien, who
claimed that it's retention would him
der the Government in it's prosecu-
ton of German propagandists.
Mr.. OBrien points out that the
most dangerous type of propaganda
used in this country is religious pa
cifism, i. e., opposition to the war
on the ground that is opposed to the
word of God"
The assistant attorney general also
directed the attention of the Con
ference Committee to his conviction
that opposing the war on the ground
that it is war "between capital
lists and proletariat" is also a dan
gerous propaganda. He says:
"Another class of propaganda ex-
tensively used is that of slowing
down production or opposing the
war on the ground that this war is
one between capitalists and proletar-
lat. This is the type of propaganda
which produced the most serious re-
suits in Russia"
Mr.. O'Brien held that Senator
Frances amendment would hinder the
Government in securing convictions
in this field of propaganda.