Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1920-02-05
UNITED AMERICANS
MOVEMENT EXPLAINED
National Field Director, in City
for Completion of State Or
ganization, Says Vermont Will
Have Paid Executive. With
Headquarters in Burlington

A paid executive who will have charge
Of the United Americans movement in
Vermont and who probably will make his
headquarters in Burlington will begin
work in the State as soon as Inc neccs-
sary arrangements can be completco'
according to c. w. Williams of New YORK
city, national field director of the
United Americans. who has been IN the
city for the last two days assisting in
completing the organization in Vermont.
II L. probable that this paid executive
will begin work this spring. and that
the Vermont section Of United Ameri-
cans will be going at full speed by mid
summer Twenty mine States already are
organized and going ahead with the
work.
The purpose of this organization,
according to article two Of the constltu-
tion, ia ito preserve the Constitution OF
the United States. with the representa-
tive form of government and the right of
individual possession which the Constitu-
tion provides; to stand firm for law and
order; to foster among our people high
standards of individual and corporate
conduct; and to advance the prosperity
and happiness of the United States"
Article three Of the constitution pro-
vides that United Americans shall have
public officials. or otherwise in party
politicA
The program Of the United Americans
includes research, publicity. education
along the lines of more active American
Ism, using every available agency to adj
vance the cause. including newspapers,
four-min1te speakers in schools. theatres
movies. Industries, churches and on the
streets in behalf of Americanism, moving
pictures with American principles as the
basis, and the organization Of community
life to counterfeit the dangerous trend
toward class consciousness.
Along the line of this program.
Thomas A. Edison in an interview Civ
en- to the New York World, and print
ed in thei rissue of Sunday, February
1. says, in speaking of the Red dis
turbers in this country:
1.-THE thing which would destroy
them utterly, making all of their eff
forts unavailing with the American
public, would be to prove them to the
public to be liars. If we adopted tao
tics of that sort. we would run them
out of the country in year. We
wouldn't need to deport them: they
would deport themselves. and be glad
to have the chance to get away. A
man will run a great deal faster from
a hostile population than he will run
from a hostile secret service or police
force"
In this article Mr.. Edison advocates
the printing of counter propaganda to
combat the propaganda which the Reds
are spreading in the country, and
thinks that the counter propaganda
should be printed in several foreign
languages, so as to reach as many peo-
pie as possible. He says rurtner:
I can see no earthly reason why
the sensible and constructive elements
in American Life should not publish
the sensible and constructive facts of
American Life and hand them out to
men as they leave the gates, as the
Reds publish and hand out their argu-
ments now"
'"rhe chambers of commerce and
other organizations which have pract
ical reasons for desiring peace and
progress along rational lines in the
United States should come to life, get
orators and get soap-boxes and not
only trail the Reds, but precede them.
Such procedure would wipe out all the
nonsense or as much of it as really
- dangerous, in no time"