The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1919-06-18
NEWSPAPER FREEDOM

!" HE FOLLOWING commonsense editorial is
taken from the Minnesota Mascot and was
= written by Gunnar Bjornson. Gunnar, like
other free thinking editors, has been called Will
sonized Republican and worse. But does he care?
Read and see.
'It was either the late Grover Cleveland or the
later Theodore Roosevelt who said that there were
situations in politics where there was but one
word in the English language that just hit the
nail on the head and that word was damn"
In all love, meekness and humility we must
say that in the matter of making political comment
in the editorial columns of this paper, going
to continue in the future have in the past, to
do just as we darn please.
This is not said in any spirit of Defiance nor
can it, by the widest stretch of the woody i'm
agination of the most fanatic be construed to
be profanity. It is just plain English of the
vintage of the spiritual era of Grover Roose-
welt and Theodore Cleveland.
We would rather be the small potato that
we are and see things through our eyes,
than be the ears of the Democratic Donkey and
flop every time the ass brays, or the tail of The
Republican Elephant and wag every time the tusk-
end gets peanut, or yet the teat of the Nonpar-
tisan udder and give milk whenever we are squeez-
ed
We do not believe that things are right just be-
cause Wilson, or Taft or Townley say they are
Much less do we believe they are right just be-
cause some party boss says they must be right in
order that his party may win at the polls
The man who has so tied himself to party
that he must needs sneeze every time The par
ty boss takes snuff has ceased to function as
rational being in the matter of politics.
We believe that every man has right to his
opinion.
We believe that the potential explosive that
rests dormant within suppressed opinion is
frought with far greater danger to the state than
can possibly accompany expressed ideas.
Within the bounds of decorum we believe in
the utmost freedom of speech and press.
We believe that the people will take care of
every opinion that is put up to them and that
the surest and quickest way to kill dangerous
ideas is to expose them to the sunlight of truth.
History's ledger shows more crimes charged to
the account of autocratic intolerance than to that
of unbridled liberty.
And when we apply these principles to the dis
cussion of party politics all the sacredness of par
" vanishes into thin air.
Loyalty to party is often but unconscious dis
loyalty to the state-counting loyalty 20 consist
in working for the best of the commonwealth.
In the ABOVE may De 1Ouuu SOulS VI JIG TED
sons why we prefer to do our own thinking and
why we refuse to be an echo of the bray of some
party organ-also why we refuse to salaam to
the dust before every blatant ass who wraps .he
flag around himself and his party and claims
hereby to have covered all of patriotism and 10y
atty.
We believe that The world patriotism
ed as it is-still stands for one OF the highest
virtues of which man is capable. 1t stands for
the high, the noble and .he self-sacrificing. Be
lieving thus we believe also with President Wilson,
that outrages committed-n the name OF loyalty
and patriotism become doubly repulsive because
of the cloak of virtue that the perpetrators parade
under
We are free to admit that our faith in Wilson
would be greatly strengthened if he would 90
more to bring the principles of elf-determlna-
tion," of which he has so eloquently spoken, home
to nations that have suffered for centuries under
the yoke of foreign oppression notably the case
of Ireland. But, in spite of some OF the things we
fail to embrace the Wilson way we have moth
ing but contempt for the tactics of some Republi-
can leaders, who for political reasons only, would
to borrow one of Ig. Donnelly's expressions
Gle the sun and moon out of equilibrium" to put
the President in wrong.
President Wilson has carried the greatest load
of any man Of any time during the whole period
Of the world and to say that he has acquitted