Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1921-02-23
1917, some months before this country
declared war;

1917, some months before this country
declared war;"
MOVE TO IMPEAcH Lands
The move of certain congressman to
impeach Judge Lands, if successful,
would remove from the bench one of
its most picturesque characters.
A good many years ago he stepped
into the limelight by fining the Stand
ard Oil company over $29 100000 for
rebating, decision which was re-
versed by higher court Lands held
that the fine for getting railroad re-
bates should apply to each car of oil
on which a rebate was taken and thus
arrived at the startling figure, for by
the carload the sins of the Standard
Oil were many.
At one time he is spectacular cha m
pion of the common people and at an
other just as spectacularly the reverse.
attacks ever made on the Nonpartisan
league, yet he has recently stirred up
the big animals by freeing bank tell
er accused of embezzlement on the
ground that the bank had robbed him
first with a miserable wage. No one
but the judge himself probably knows
whether he is honest but erratic in
light.
The federal supreme court recently
reversed the 20-year sentence he inn
posed on Victor Berger and his Social
list associates.
The enlargement in the impeach-
ment move appears to be that he is
neglecting his work as judge to be high
commissioner of baseball. For the lat
ter work he gets $4,000 year.
RUsSo.PERsiAN TREATY TERMS
The terms of the new Russian-Per-
sian treaty are causing considerable
comment among the more 1iberal-mind.
ed elements.
Russia's remuneration of the privi.
leges secured in that country by the
car, in union with England, may be
interpreted as a clever bid for Per-
sian support by the isolated Soviet
government, but it is the kind of clev-
erness that would bring peace to the
world if the leading nations followed
it as we'll as preached it.
l. All territory taken from Persia is
given back.
2. All loans made to Persia by the
car, interest on which amounts to
more than 100000 year, are can.
celled.
3. Commercial concessions demanded
for Russian interests are annulled.
4. Russian banks formerly maintain.
ed to enable Russia to control North
Persian business are given to Persia.
The treaty undoubtedly will cause
more embarrassment to England. Her
spheres of influence in Persia and
other Near East territory are not
worth much unless they are to be ex
plotted, and imperialist exploitation
will look the worse to the natives with
the Russian comparison.
THE TROUBLE-MAkING BUSINESS
Much has come to light in the past
week on the use of spies by large cor.
porations and interests anxious to pro-
duce red" scares.
A confession by Albert Balm, one of
the "red" agents, before an official
committee Investigating New York po-
lice conditions, is perhaps the most
important.
BALM declares that the detective
agency employing him, which in turn
was paid by leading Chicago business
men, employed hundreds to talk and
scatter wild-eyed propaganda and to
induce innocent citizens to line up with
them During the trial of the 20 al.
legged communists in Chicago recently.
BALM says, he typed threatening let
tiers to the judge, prosecuting attorney
and other parties.
1.-The latter (manager of the agen.
Cyl dictated letter which I typed"
says Ballin's sworn statement. "One
letter was sent to States Attorney
Maclay Hoyne, one each to Assistant
States Attorneys Barnhart and Heth,
one to Special Prosecutor Frank Com
merford, one to Judge Hugo Pam, and
one to the general manager of the
agency, the same who had ordered the
letters, and one to Henry Berger"
The last named was custodian OF
the business mems fund for putting
down radicalism.
One of the almost humorous points
in Ballin's confession of disgusting
trickery and professional troublemak-
ing, is the point that the agency
charged the red hunters $40 day for
each spy and paid most of the spies
only So.
The New Republic, well-known
liberal weekly magazine of New York.
is running a series of article on the
use of spies and so-called under-cover
men to disrupt and spoil organizations
of workingmen. The series is the re-
suit of careful survey made under
the auspices of the Cabot fund for in.
dustrial research.
| The first article reveals that great
corporations have grown up which do
little else but this sort of work.
VIII