Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1919-03-22
ORGANIZATION
 OF PAC|F|STS
 WAS COMPLETE
Reached to Foundation of
 War Department.
SECRETARY BAKER
 AIDED ACTIVITIES
Major Foster Attacks War Secretary In Address Before the
 City Club.

Kansas City, Mo, March 21.--Per- lection of pacifist organization in such q clever manner that 1t has reached the foundations of the most active department of the government the war department" was charged in an address here today ihy Major Dick E. Foster, memEer of the court martial at camp Funston. Kansa that tried l35 alleged conscientious obi2ctors.
 He accused Secretary of War Bak CT with Intentionally or unntention ally aiding and assisting the I w. w. international socialists and Humani- tarlans in their program of block ing construction of the army by ex- tending and perverting the acts of congress for the protection, comfort and solace of these obstructionists "
 "ln giving you this story of +con- scientious objectors l want to as- sure you l have no personal reason for doing. so,' Major Foster declared in his address, which he read
 Citizens Should Know.
 am an American citizen. an ex- officer of the United States army and as such feel that every American is entitled to know the conditions which surrounded the induction into the army of the true conscientious objectors which included industrial objectors and the false conscientious Workers of the World, internaton- al socialists, anarchists and slackers.
 "The gravity of the situation is not realized hy the American people. propose to show these clements Of unrest have perfected an organiza- tion in such clever active manner that they have reached the founda- tions of the most active department of the government-the war depart ment."
 Here the speakers brought this charge that the secretary of war "had aid" to the objectors and then read paragraphs from what he de- clared were official orders providing that all those having personal scru- ples against war should be construed as conscientious objectors.'
 Meaning Of Orders.
 Let me impress upon you what these secret orders meant" Major Foster continued. "It meant that every soldier in the United States army could have at any time gone to his commanding officer and, upon stating that he was opposed to war, taken off their uniforms and refused to do military service"
 The officer related how objectors who were in the guard house await ing trial would refuse to line up for mess, throwing themselves upon the ground, kicking and screaming. The objectors set up hunger strike, he said, and rattled their mess kits for hours at a time and could not be stopped
 Had Circulars.
 "In. the midst of this condition Major Foster went on, "we took from conscientious objector circular sent out by Upton Sinclair, socialist leader, in which he reprinted let ter from Newton D. Baker, to the president of the United States, an swering the president in regard to g complaint Sinclair had made of mis. treatment of socialists That letter said:
 "I think, however, he should be informed that we are now doing ab- solutely all that public opinion vii stand in the interest of conscientious objectors and others whose views dc not happen to coincide with those o a vast majority of their fellow coun trymen.'
 "Mr Baker was right He was do ing all that public opinion would stand in the interest of conscientious objectors, and through his secret or ders was doing more than public opinion would have stood, had tho true conditions been known.
 Latitude Allowed.
 "It became evident finally tha some latitude must be allowed 1T dealing with the obstructionists, so al order was made permitting the tria of objectors whose attitude in camI was defiant or who were active il spreading propaganda. A jower, how ever, was added in that the finding of court-martial at all camps, involv ing conscientious objectors, should g to the war department for review.
 The weight of that joker was ap preciated by the objectors and by tn national civil liberties bureau, the or ganization directing obstructionist ae tivity. They flooded the camps wit circulars, calling attention to tn fact that Secretary Baker was givin the objector proposition his persona attention Every one of their bulle tins showed their direct communica tion with the war department throug MT. Keppel (an assistant secretar of war). The bulletin declared Mi