Omaha daily bee., 1918-10-06
OH. WHAT A FLOP!

Oh, what beautiful flop our amiable hy
phenated contemporary is now performing to
cover over another black spot in its record of
pro-Germanism, though being flop in the
right direction, it perhaps calls for approval in
spite of its doubtful sincerity.
We refer to latest pronouncement OF the
World Herald unequivoeally and uncondition-
ally in favor Of the pending constitutional
amendment decreeing mo votes for aliens"
when scarcely six months ago it was trying to
save the right OF subjects of the kaiser to con-
tinue to vote in Nebraska until after the next
presidential election.
To keep the record straight, we quote from
the documents in the case.
In his address to the Nebraska legislature
convened in special session March 70, last, Gov
ernor Neville, now heading the democratic
state ticket fer reelection, treated this subject
as follows
THE time has come when steps should be
taken to make citizenship the qualification of
an elector. / have no patience or disposition
to temporize with the man of foreign birth
who has enjoyed every advantage of citizen
ship, and who now, in the hour of our coun
try's peril, is in sympathy with our enemies
and eovertly lending aid and comfort to them.
With the aid of federal and state laws they
should be placed where they will no longer
be menace. On the other hand, no good
end can be accomplished by DISTINGUISHING
considerable number Of friendly aliens, many
OF them natives of Our allied nations, others
the subjects Of neutral countries and some of
them. whose loyalty to our country cannot be
questioned, the subjects of countries with
which we are at war. We gain nothing if in
DISTINGUISHING the alien enemy we disfranchise
greater number of alien friends who will,
at the earliest possible moment, become de-
sirable and patriotic citizens. With these con-
siderations in mindI | recommend that an
amendment be submitted for the considera-
ton of the voters of the next regular election,
making citizenship the qualification of an
elector, and allowing those declarants who
are voting at the time of its enactment
reasonable period in which to Complete their
citizenship"
The source Of the governors inspiration was
quickly disclosed by the hyphenated World
Herald promptly trumping his play. This is
torially the next morning:
THE governors Recommendations are, thi.
newspaper believes, uniformly good and
worthy Of adoption. He takes strong stand
for combining the right of franchise to full
fedged citizens. But he would not take away
that right from those who now and for long
have been exercising it without giving them a
reasonable time in which to complete their
citizenship. These recommendations of Gov
ernor Neville will, we believe, meet with the
hearty approval Of Nebraska, and no less
hearty approval of the Legislature"
This particular recommendation, however,
did not meet with the approval of Nebraska nor
with the approval of the Legislature, but, on the
contrary, evoked an immediate and indignant
protest, with the consequence that the law
makers submitted the amendment without the
saving clause for Hun voters demanded by the
governor of Nebraska and the World Herald.
And now the hyphenated sheet slyly backtracks
with this declaration:
Every man and woman who hereafter
helps by the ballot to decide what shall be our
dealings and relations with foreign nations
must be an American citizen first, last and all
the time-an American citizen exclusively and
only He cannot be permitted to claim ex-
emptlon from a citizens duties while enjoy
ing the citizens proudest privilege and most
sacred right.
This is elemental and fundamental We
are not arguing the queston-there is no
question to argue We are merely stating a
self-evident proposition-an axiom"
If this is fundamental and an axiom now,
how could it have been less fundamental and less
an axiom six months agol The democratic
governor and the hyphenated World-Herald
stand self-convicted of an attempt to maintain
intact the chief prop OF the kaiser's propaganda
IN this country. An overwhelming vote in
favor of the adoption of the full citizenship
amendment at the coming election will be our
best answer to the cunning emissaries of
"ku1turD