Putnam patriot., 1919-07-11

any extended consideration of those
problems. Briefly we may character
ize them AS three-fold, Wis. world,
European or eastern hemisphere and
domestic The first and the second
have been, | trust, already solved by
the work of the Peace Conference,
subject to ratification by the Senate,
the final constitutional authority so
far as our nation is concerned. As
good American citizens we are bound
to accept the action of the Senate as
conclusive and at least to try to be-
lieve it to be for the best.
As to the third, the domestic prob
lem of reconstruction, little progress
appears to have yet been made to-
wards its solution, and it is here that
the aid of the American soldier is inn
perative. This problem in its branch
es is manifold. As to one of those
branches it seems to me that a special
duty rests upon the scholar, and
therefore | venture to call particular
attention to it, and that is the prob
lem of our dealing with the restless
dissatisfaction with our system of
government and indeed with any
practical system of government,
which has lately so manifested itself
and which has come to be termed Boil
shevism. 1t cannot be doubted that
the chaos into which the war has
plunged so much of Europe has great
ly stimulated that feeling here. The
first thought respecting it is that in
this country it is utterly without JUS
LITIGATION or even excuse, and that 1t
must be dealt with as an enemy. with
out fear, favor or weakness.
remember well and with pride
how in my boyhood these hills and
valleys rang with the slogan Free
Soil, Free Men, Free Speech and a
Free Press" / believe still in all that
freedom as guaranteed by the Con-
stitation but the free speech guaran-
teed by the Constitution obviously
does not grant or tolerate freedom to
assail the virility or life of the Con-
stitution itself, the guarantor. Such
thing as that is unthinkable. The
Good Book says, you know But when
He saith all things are put under
Him, it is manifect that He is except
ed which did put all things under
Him." Our Government must with
stern and relentless hand repress the
teaching of disloyalty. Before our
participation in the war the habit had
arisen in many localities of conduct
ing so-called forums, evenings and IN
some cases Sundays, in the public
school assembly rooms, for the dis
cussion of public questions. When the
war opened it was soon, realized that
most of the speeches at such forums
were paeifst, and then, public atten-
ton being attracted, it was also soon
| realized that most Of them for some
time had been socialistic, many OF
them Of an advanced order, and that
their teachings had been extremely
radical, even unto anarchy. Eterna
warfare between capitalists,--pluto
Gratis being the fayorite term, --or
the one side and the proletarIans upor
the other, was their favorite theme
and among plutocrats some OF them
seemed to include everyone who by
thrift and prudence had come to owr
| the roof over his head. A common
outcry of all such is that THE courts
are for the rich, not for the poor.
/ Especially do they utter this when
| ever it chances that jury, upon EVIL
dence not amounting perhaps to ar
| absolute demonstration, which indeed
is very seldom attained, has convicted
one of their iIk of participation IN
the execution Of plot whereby many
innocent people have been blown into
| pieces. "Oh," they cry, there is IN
America no justice for the poor
man. And. unless the convict be
| pardoned out Of hand, they threaten
to paralyze the industries and trans
/ portation of the country and thus
force their own will upon the nation.
There can be no greater falsehood
than the statement that the courts
favor the rich at the expense OF the
poor. Every experienced trial Judge
knows well that the contrary is true
This is naturally so because in most
| cases the vital determination is giver
by the jury, composed for the mos
part of men Of moderate means ane