Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1920-07-21

Il another league of nations center
Ing around Russia, Germany, dissatis-
led italy and Austria becomes fact,
then there must be another war to
keep Germany from getting ali of
trade and to prevent revolt
In British and French territory border
Ing onthis alliance. Have the allies
allowed things to go too tar to pre-
tent this natural alliance7 II they have
the lighting around Russia viii be
to the Rhine.
MANY DESERTED FARMS
The secretary Of agriculture In
Pennsylvania reports from 1900 to
5000 idle farms In that stationary
OF them In the most fertile parts.
Michigan reports 1882 idle farms and
the disappearance Of $4,000 farmers
and farmhands within the last three
years.
Many another state could make
similar reports, and no state except
North Dakota, where the farmers have
control, can claim any practical effort
toward meeting the farm problems
which such figures disclose. Our fed
eral government, which controls great
factors affecting the farmers, has like
wise deserted their interests. /,
ARMY COURT FACTS
Late reports show that during q
little more than a year of our par
ticipation in the World war, there
we're $4,000 inferior court and $4,000
general court cases in the army. OF
the cases brought against enlisted
men, SO per cent were tried, and 81
per cent of these resulted in convic-
tion. The average sentence was about
seven years. OF the total number of
enlisted men It would appear, there
fore, that one in every ten was brought
before the bar of military Justice
The war department, in defending
the military court system, points out
that at the present time there are
fewer general military prisoners In
prisons and disciplinary barracks than
on April 6, 1917. This statement
would indicate that most of those re-
ceiving severe treatment and long SEN
fences during the war have been freed.
But the American Legion Weekly says
that this proves, If any proof were
needed, that the great objective before
the army court was to enforce discip-
line and not to- administer JUSTICE"
There is thus evidently good grounds
for believing that the army courts
were used to punish men as means of
bolster1ng up incompetent leadership
rather than to secure what we think
Of as justice.
The American Legion Weekly also
quotes the Judge advocate general,
under whom the largest number of
army cases were reviewed for -correc-
ton and clemency, as saying: "(a)
That 60 per cent of the court-martial
cases ought not to have been tried:
(b) that according to a reasonable,
common sense and ~untechnical stand
ard 70 per cent of the~cases were not
well tried; (c) that 20 per cent were
so poorly tried that the record can not
be relied upon at all, and (d) that In
IS per cent of the convictions the
punishment awarded was such as to
shock the conscience"
BUSINESS AND THE CHURCHES
AFTER less than a year of activities
on large SCALE" says the Christian
Herald, the movement Tin the church
World) faces complete collapse. not
because it was not doing it's work but
because some UNCONVENTIONAL leaders
for some reason or other refuse the
measure Of cooperation rightfully ex-
pected OF them" In general it ap-
pears that the promised support from
men OF large finance has not been
Forthcoming. For some time organs
that speak for big business have been
warning the 1nterchurch World move
ment OF the danger of what they call
"radicalfsm." And it would seem that
the failure Of the financiers to gain
control of the Interchurch movement
and to dictate its entire policy is re-
sponsible for their denial of the prom
Used support.
A sweeping survey of the steel in
dustry seems to have been one of the
things which has reused the ire of
big business. The survey was plan
ned as means of formulating a pro-
gressive industrial policy to ''bridge
the gulf between those who look only
for an entirely new order and the
forces Of conservatism" and recoe-
nizes that 1.-The conflict between the
principles of Jesus Christ and an in
dustrial system based upon competi-
ton is sharply drawn" Agents of the
steel trust sought to purchase this re-
port and placed agents with instruc-
lions to steal it. But the general COM
mittee OF the movement has decided tn
print brief abstract of this compre-
hensive report.
Much more of an intensely interest
Ing nature will develop around this
struggle in the near future.
San Francisco-The United States
circuit court of appeals denied a petit
ton for rehearing filed by Hullet C.
Merritt, Pasadena millionaire, who
was fined $4,000 and sentenced to five
months in Jail for boarding sugar dur
ing the war;
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