The Omaha guide., 1935-04-20
ALI Who Love Peace Are Not
Traitors!

Colonel L. R. Boals Of the 426 Infantry in a
National Defense Week address the other day de-
livered a sincere and in many ways deserved at
tack on forces that man undermine the country ne
defended in war.
In the sourse of that address, ne made several
remarks that are so open to misinterpretatio and
SO susceptible of misuse by professional red bal'ers
and flaw wavers that we believe the general deus
sion of the issues he raised will be good Tor the
country.
If we do not now pause to make certain that eur
vision has not been befuddled by propagandist' 8
smoke screens and that our other senses have not
been dulled by loose use of words by lecture plat
form warriors, or by careless readers among the
headline scanners, we are headed for trouble.
In short, if we do not take stock now, we ap-
pear destined for a carefully plotted campaign to
paint all who love peace as traitors and all VINO
believe in human rights as Communists.
Then the paint brushes, the tar and feathers, and
the flags will fly in the hot-air conditioned breezes
Of our hinterland to the accompaniment OF claiter-
ing lances thrust into whirling Quixotic %windmllls.
The reason for this is that no one, we hope,
wants to be a traitor, and no one with an abiding
love for this country wants 10 be a Communist; nor
does anyone among these care to be SO labelled.
AND Inere are ultcIcSlS lndb JUN 80 ~
labels on all with whom they disagree.
q
The preliminary skirmishes in this campaing ap-
pear to have all the earmarks of the atrocity story
scourge of World War days. And, if we do not
proceed with care, we will be charging that these
who eas babies for breakfast include:
The ministers who preach the social justice
taught by Christ, and emphasized by the good Pope
Leo, and by others since then.
The war widows, the war orphans, the teachers,
the prechers, yes, and the war veterans who love
peace and would do anything short of betraylng
their country to prevent war.
The patriots who are digging into the rotteness
and corruption exposed among the munitions
makers, conditions that will not. prevail in 1.-The
next war; if the program of the American Legion
calling for universal service OF manpoWer ana
wealth is adopted.
We will see and hear more comments such as
this from a Youngstown newspaper which sald'
after commenting on Father COughlln, founder OF
the National Union for Social Justice:
'In the showdown which must finally come,
the decision will rest with the true Christians as
AGAINST the spokesman for social justice which IN
the final analysis is merely Communism masquerade
ing under and American name"
m
Father Coughlin Of course is not a Communist.
His ideas of "social justice" are no more 'com-
munism' than are the teachings of Pope Leo on
which Father Coughlin bases his most effective
craftsmanship for ''social Juice" Communism has
no more bitter and effective enemy than the Catholic
Church and its leaders.
The hasty headline reader may fall into just as
dangerous errors in his consideration of Colonel
Boal's fine talk before the Canteen Club at the
American Legion Home
Mr.. Boals attacked a certain man who happened
to be a Methodist for his pacifist preaching, which
called for the same consideration for conscientious
directors among the Methodist that is given Quak-
erS.
Many we have talked with since that address
have the idea that Colonel Boals intended to label
all Methodists as Communists or traitors; and
whether he did so or not, we do not believe he SO
intended.
We would want to be considered as much out
of sympathy with such a National Defense Week
purpose, as we are out of sympathy with some OF
Haywood Broun's ideas of civil liberties which ap-
pear to be confined so often to the freedom OF
wine, women, song, and the ponies.
We will consider all who love peace as traitors,
and we will consider all who preach human rights
or social justice as Communists when someone else
can prove to our satifaction that:
All American Of German origin were traitors in
1918:
All the flag wayers who never got into q uni
form were saviours of their country;
All the benevolent speech makers who told us