The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1919-07-05
ROUNDING UP BOLSHEVISTS


So a state instead of the national gov
eminent had to take the lead in round
ing up the Bolshevists who have been TO-
menting deviltry in this country. 1t is
not surprising There is precedent for it.
Some time ago, following visit to Wash
ington of the Presidents favorite can
didate for the United States, the federal
government with noteworthy efficiency
and success kept hands off German who
was controlling under false pretenses and
contrary to law metropolitan newspap-
err; until the state government butted in
and arrested the Hun; whereupon, with
its hand thus forced, Washington simply
had to sit up and take notice, and do
something. And now again it is the state
that takes the initiative against a gang
of alien conspirators to whose pernicious
Vaccinations the attention of the Wash
ington government has been called again
and again.
We shall not say that it does not matter
who deas it so long as it is lone, because
in fact it does matter. The offense is
primarily against the nation, and the ma
tons Government ought to be foremost
in ahating it. Also, we must regard it as
of fiuhious propriety for state authorities
to intervene in international affairs, In
the two cases which we have mentioned,
such intervention was desirable. But it
is quite obvious that the process might be
carried too far, so as to involve us in un-
pleasant embarrassment 1t would be dam
gerous to establish too marked preced-
ent for state intervention in diplomatic
affairs.
The antecedents and the provocation Of
last weeks raid on Bolshevist headquar-
tiers in New York are sufficiently motor
ious to indicate ample warrant for that
action So far as the international aspects
are concerned, of which the Washington
government should have taken notice, it
is to be observed that these men professed
to be official representatives and active
agents of government with which this
country is in fact at war, whose soldiers
are from time to time killing ours and
also getting killed by ours in battle 1t
is government, moreover, which openly
announces its hostility to our form of
government and its purpose to destroy it
if it can.
The monstrous improperly of permit
ting the agents of such government to
conduct propaganda in the United
States should be convincingly obvious.
On the ground Of morals, too, the thing
has been offensive. These men were the
agents and representatives of a govern
ment which had VIGOROUSLY betrayed its
allies, broken its treaties and repudiated
its pecuniary debt; a government which
has ATTEMPTED to practice the enforced
NATURALIZATION" of women as public pro-
perty; a government which has admitted
ly practised murder and indiscriminate
massacre as a means of establishing and
maintaining its power To permit the
opponents Of such practices to preach
their doctrines here and to lay plans for
making revolutionary attempts to intro
duce those practices here, is not credit
able to moral and civilized nation
What completely these men had if any
in the recent bomb outrages, or in con-
spiracies for future violence, or other
touble, remains to be disclosed. 1t is sig
nificant that they are referred to as ex-
emplars by those who are convicted of
such crimes, and that New York alder
man who impudently pretended that the
bomb explosions were nothing but a
"plant" or frame up" was quick to de-