New Ulm review., 1922-09-27

It makes a mockery of our boastet
Liberty because in every other country
which engaged in the great war the
political prisoners have been released
long ago.
"Our courts did themselves little
credit by the hysteria with which they
undertook to punish men who cared
to express their opinions against the
recent war as Lincoln and Webster
and others Of our great forefathers had
expressed their opinions in other wars.
''In Italy political prisoners were re-
leased one week after the armistice;
in France and Belgium in less than a
year, and in Canada in less than thir-
teen months. Il, is.ls ID
I'm England the longest sentence
for public expressions denouncing the
war was six months while many Of
our hysterical judges imposed sentences
Of twenty years.
England, on the threshold Of the
war, within sight and sound Of it,
and fighting for her very life, kelt he1
poise, remembered the right Of ninori-
ties, remembered the virtue of free
dom of speech, and kept her sentences
down to six months.
I'VE, three thousand miles away
from the war, always safe and never
with such vital stake in it's results,
lost our heads and gave forty times
more savage sentences.
Nov, four years after the war and
long after the other countries have re-
leased their prisoners, we are still
holding ours.
Gone of the things that gave this ad-
.ninistration it's tremendous majority
was the revolt of the country against
the tyrannical, oppressive and lawless
methods Of the Wilson administration
in its wilful attempts to have its own
way despite its constitutional restraints,
1--WE ought to end this shame upon
our institutions and upon our sense Of
justice by releasing Immediately all
political prisoners who were guilty of
no act of violence or attempt to OBJ
struct our military preparations or con-
duct of the war:
Governmental Apology is Due.
In a lengthy leading editorial, the
Dearborn Independnt declares that
most of the political prisoners are en-
titled to governmental apology and
reparation. Its comment follows:
cover and over again, in hope that
the shame of it might burn, the insis-
tent statement is made that the United
States lags behind the whole world
in giving amnesty to political prisoners
The enemy agents who blew up ou1
factories and docks have been released
Military spies OF the enemy, taken in
the very act of espionage, have been
released. Suspect aliens of every de-
gree have been released.
"But Americans whose, chief fault
was that they held a certain economic
theory are still in Jail. OF all the nations
joined ia the war. on either side, only
Russia and the United States continue
to use prisons for the punishment Of
differences Of political opinion.
"Since the facts have forced pub.
lie hearing it is no longer possible tt
quiet the conscience with the notion
that our political prisoners are reds
and are, therefore, just as we'll in jai
as out. The facts are that the MAORI
ty of these men are Americans, sup
posedly possessing the guarantees O.
American citizenship, and that in very
many cases their arrest had nothing te
do with tie war at all, not even with
the passions incident to war, but were
victims of plan, proceeding under covel
of war excitement, to terrorize Ger.
tain labor movements.
Men were arrested, thrown intc
| jail, Id11IO6uSu w plASO1A OAAOCA AOus
sentences, because they had IDEAS abodl
industry with which others did not
agree. Men were arrested because they
had ideas about wages which were in
convenient at the moment, and the
easiest way to suppress the idea was
to have them hauled off to Jail. In
1 I .FsE e
no case was disloyalty proved; in many
cases it was not even charged. Some
of the men had not even expressed
their distaste for war, a distaste shared
by millions of US whom no govern
ment would dare touch. s
But aside from that, as politica
prisoners, they are entitled to the
enlightened treatment which all the
enlightened nations have meted out tc
their political prisoners namely, release
and liberty. Most Of them are actuar
ly entitled to governmental apology
and reparation but to suggest it would
be millennial.
''The friends of these men and tn
believers in liberty everywhere ar
making one last effort to get America
decency into action. Their fear
! that few Of the more favored me