Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1919-12-11
CLUB DISCUSSES
LIBERTY IN U. S.
Paper on Safeguarding American
Freedom Given By Mrs. Robert
Foge--Musical Features

The Catholic Woman's club met al
the club rooms on Wednesday after
moon. Mrs. Robert Fogle read very
| interesting paper on Safe guarding
American Liberty during the War"
She said in part
There is certain sect in America
that for want of better epithet may
be termed Americanizers. This sect
was particularly active after April
| 1917. Many Of our native born Ameri-
cans looked with suspicion and dis
trust on any one who spoke in any
language but English. Every person
with foreign name was carefully
] watched. A scientific system OF
j registration revealed the fact that
there were about five hundred thous-
and German enemy aliens and be-
tween three and four million Austro-
Hungarian enemy aliens in the
United States. Under the provisions
of the espionage act there were
1882 criminal prosecutions 65 prosecu-
tions for threats against the president
and 900 I. w. w. cases. Every act
of violence on land or sea was credit
ed to the 'spy system" Among the
six thousand fnterned aliens were
many very dangerous characters.
There are also Germans, Austrians
and Hungarians in the United States
who hid disloyalty in their hearts
with that undying love for the father
land but against this minority must
be balanced an overwhelming ma
jority of Germans who offered their
lives to cleanse the honor stained by
the treachery and ingratitude Of
others. The postoffice department
was successful in securing authentic
information that an organized propo-
ganda existed to discredit and alb
stract in every way the prosecution
of the war. Meetings were held in
which the following principles were
adopted: Cd Continuous active, and
public opposition to the war through
mass meetings, petitions and all other
means in our power. (2) Unyielding
opposition to all proposed legislation
for military or industrial conscrption
object was to keep United States
from successfully fighting Germany
In the face of all this antagonism
no other nation came through the
struggle with so little disorder and
with so little Interference with the
civil liberty of the individual The
American government entered the
war with substantially no law on the
statue books effecting the conduct of
the individual, except the treason
statue and the internment statue. One
Of the chief embarrassments caused
by this general condition was the
spy mania The great army of spy
chasers stands in contrasts to the
enormous army of civilian volunteers
who patiently devoted their full en-
ergies to helping Red Cross and all
war charities. No other policy so
clearly differentiates America from
the other nations, at war, as this
policy of interning enemy aliens.
Only those were interned who were
found to be dangerous or menace to
the safety of the country. During the
war the United States had more
efficient and better organized secret
service than any other nation in the
world. A committee on public in
formation was formed with Mr.. Geo
Creel as chairman with representa-
tiyes from the state, war, and navy
departments. The United States was
obliged to adopt conscription, ex-
pend vast sums on war necessities,
impose unprecedented taxation, as
sumo control of railroads, to restrict
freedom of printing, uniting and
speech. All classes have cheerfully
submitted to this suppression of
rights, but they have rightly insisted
that this suppression of their prin-
cip1es, shall not be carried further
us hope that it soon will be seen that
the rallying of America was not
sectional nor racial, but was the re-
sponse of a unified whole with men
and women from other lands, stand
ing shoulder to shoulder with the
native born, serving and sacrificing
with the same devotion and in equal
measure pouring their blood on the
altar of freedom"
The musical program for the after
noon which was very nicely given,
consisted of piano solos by William
Powers, Roger Murphy, Philip Hor-
mig, Ruth Frazier, and Marie Foley.
HIGH ScHn0I CIRT 0E