The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1919-06-19
AMERICA CANNOT
Be TERRORIZED BY
"RED' PROPAGANDA
Attorney General Palmer
Says Anarchists Must
Obey Law
TAUGHT OPPRESSION
TAUGHT OPPRESSION
Government Not to Be Frightened OF
Embarrassed by Attempts of
Lawless Elements


lea cannot be terrorized by organized
or unorganized lawless elements who
are trying to spread cred" propa-
ganda, according to a statement by
A. Mitchell Palmer, Attorney General
speaking to the graduating class Of
Georgetown University. 1t was Mr..
Palmer's first public discussion of
the question of anarchy and Bolshe-
vism since bomb was exploded at
the doorsteps of his residence in
Washington a little more than three
weeks ago, resulting in the blowing
to pieces of the terrorist who carried
| it.
"There are those among us who do
not, or will not, understand and ap-
preciate the blessings of a free gov
ernment such as ours" said Mr.. Pal
mer. Fortunately, there are not
many such among the people who
were born here or who have lived
here long enough to understand and
enjoy the freedom which is ours, but
we have admitted, if not welcomed,
to our shores in recent years many
who have lived in foreign lands under
conditions which have blunted their
capacity to understand popular gov
ernment.
"They have lived where autocracy
has held masterful sway and where
the people have been taught through
generations and centuries that gov
ernment and oppression Of the masses
are synonymous terms. Against such
conditions people in Europe have re-
volted. Autocrats have been swept
from their thrones and the reins of
government taken over by people un-
taught in free government, who have,
in accordance with every precedent in
history, carried excesses to the other
extreme. In the course of time these
new governments will find themselves,
the pendulum will be swung back to
the middle ground and popular gov
universal in Europe.
"Many of those who have come here
out of such conditions fail to realize
the difference between this govern
ment and those from which they have
come. They seem to think there is
justification for repetition here of the
forcible methods which have been
pursued in Europe to change the
forms of government. Many Of these
are honestly mistaken, many others
are self-seekers who play upon the
ignorance of their fellows.
"There is no room, as there is no
need, in this country for those who
resort to violence to impress their
ultra radical views upon the people
or the government. They will get
nowhere by such methods. The gov
ernment proposes to protect itself
against attacks from within as care
fully and as forcefully as it has shown
itself able to protect itself against
attacks from without.
"Neither the government nor any
of its officers will be embarrassed OF
affected, much less frightened, by any
attempts, organized or unorganized,
by lawless elements in the community
to terrorize and stampede the gov
ernment into doing something con-
trary to the spirit of our free institu-
tions, as designed by the fathers and
sustained by all the generations of
men through the life of this Repub-
lic"
every reform which the most radi-
cal may desire to incorporate in our
body polite will receive fair hear
ing and full consideration and become
effective only if and when a majority
of the people, through the regular
methods provided by the constitu-
ton, shall SO decide No change will
be hastened by the use of force and
those who seek to use this weapon
will be treated as enemies of the gov
ernment and punished accordingly.
"Those who cannot or will not live
the life Of Americans under our ms,
titutions and are unwilling to abide
by the methods which we have es-
tablished for the improvement of
those institutions from time to time
should go back to the countries from