Baxter Springs news., 1919-06-27

4
Attorney General Palmer. in a
statement made recently before the
Appropriations Committee Of the
House Of Representatives In connec-
tiOn with his recent request that the
Department Of Justice appropriation
for Prosecution Of Grimes for the next
fiscal year be increased from 81 ,5O0,-
loco to $4,000 900, said that, in the
Inear future, there Il likely to be a
widespread revolutionary attempt to
destroy the Government in this ccun-
try. It has also been announced by
lother officers Of the Department Of
Justice that, from information at
hand, Il Il probable that there viii
soOn-quite possibly on July 4-be an
other lot Of bomb outrages, and the
police Of ell cities are warned to be
on their guard and to arrest promptly
all suspicious characters.
This warning beems to be timely
and Il Is most desirable that Il shall
be carefully needed by all peace Of
|iicers. Such measures alone, howev-
er, even though every available de-
tective and peace officer in the country
be utilized to the best possible advan-
|tage, will neither remedy the exist
ling dangerous anarchistic and Bolshe-
vistie conditions In this country nor
accomplish more than q very slight
measure Of merely temporary protect
ing for our law-abiding people. The
disease is far too deep-seated and
wide spread for such utterly super
fetal measures. This has been clear
lly illustrated by the fact that country
wide Secret Service and police efforts
to apprehend and punish the parties
responsible for the bomb outrages of
May and June 3 have thus far ut
terly failed.
| Il will not do to leave the task Of
dealing with this grave situation en-
ltirely or even primarily to the ancient
land ineffective method Of pursuit and
punishment. Il is important, Of
course, to capture and. punish the
criminals Of the past but It is thou
sand times more important to ascer-
tain who are likely to be the law
breakers Of the future and why. This
Is the one really great need Of the sit
uation and this Is precisely what our
Federal and local authorities are NOT
doing.
4 The Attorney General should, Of
course, be provided with whatever
money he needs to take proper mea-
lsures for the arrest and conviction Of
llaw-breakers-that goes without say
ling; but Congress should not stop at
that. Congress should Immediately
lprOvide, by joint resolution, for the
linstitution Of q countrywide inquiry
las to the nature, extent, and causes Of
1.-THE widespread spirit Of unrest, dis
|satisfaction with our Governmental
institutions, and disposition to change
the existing order by "direct action"
methods and revolutionary prOpa-
ganda.
Such inquiry should be conducted
not as an inquisitiOn to extort evil
, dence for use in criminal prosecutions,
but should be used as q means Of get
ting full information as to the griev-
ances, or alleged grievances, which
are responsible for this dangerous sit
uation. The fact should be widely an
nOunced that the inquiry Is for re-
medal and not punative purposes, and
every possible effort should be made
to cover the entire field exhaustively
and fairly.
The mere fact that such plan was
being undertaken would have an i'm
mediate tendency to check, temporar-
lily at least, unlawful demonstrations.
Moreover, from the mass Of facts col
lected, It would be possible to get a
clear view Of the exact nature and
scope Of the problem involved and to
formulate corrective or remedial
measures, whether they call for i'm
migration restrictions, naturalization
notifications, depOrtatiOns, American
izatiOn work, industrial legislation, or
what not.
Whether the cause Of this situation |
and whatever may be its extent the |
facts should be ascertained at once;
and when they are known, It will be
possible to formulate and carry out |
measures which will provide the rem
edy. Let Us have the facts.