Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1940-12-26
Tolerance

When the Duluth Labor World
began publication two weeks ago
of the names of Duluth residents
appearing on petitions for Earl
Browder and James w. Ford,
Communist candidates for presi-
dent and vice president, respec-
lively, it really started something.
1t seems that many of the signers
put their names on the dotted line
without reading over what they
were signing or because they
thought they were doing someone
a favor and not because they were
Communists or favored the Com
munist party. Now since their
names appear in print as petit
tioning for Browder and Ford
they are all worked up about 1t.
Concerning the above matter,
the Minnesota Union Advocate,
in an editorial. Tolerance" in
its issue of December 10, has the
following to say:
Because Editor Arthur E. Ramberg,
of the Duluth Labor World, began
the publication last week of the COM
plete list of Duluthians who had
signed petitions asking the secretary
of state to place the names of COM
munist presidential electors on the
1910 ballots, great furore has been
raised and the intrepid editor of one
of the finest Labor journals in the ma
ton is being threatened with libel
suits, personal injury and what not
by many of the signees of the petit
tions. Half of the original list was
published last week the remainder
will appear in the current issue, and
noteworthy is the fact that none of
the regular communists of Duluth
appear in the list The only ones to
sign the petitions, so it would ap-
pear, were folks who were not men,
bers of the communist party but who
felt that it was the proper thing to
do.
Naturally a lot of folks simply
signed the petitions without even
making a casual inquiry as to what
they were signing Others signed to
get rid of the pests while still others
actually felt that they were exercis-
ing that grand old virtue of tolerance
which has supplied so many of the
paving blocks of hell.
Tolerance is fine quality, but it
has been worked to death during these
last few years. Tolerance has per-
mitted this nation to maintain what
appears to be an attitude of sympa-
thy for China-while American scrap
iron spectators sold millions of tons
of metal to Japan to aid that goddess
nation in its merciless ravishment of
the Chinese people. Tolerance has
made it possible for Hitler's Shiny
agents to slither through every strata
of American life and activity, pois-
Oning the public mind and betraying
this nation to mailman intent upon
dominating the world. Tolerance has
permitted the German Bund to furn-
ish the matches to the Ku Klux Khan
IN its croSs-burning ceremonies. Toll
Terance has opened the ramparts of
democracy to secret agents of foreign
powers now desecrating the embas-
sizes in Washington. Tolerance is that
strange virtue that sometimes prompts
proud parent to allow his own child
to become the playmate of human
-rattlesnakes and scorpions.
1he publication of the names of
those well-meaning-and otherwise
citizens of Duluth who disclaim men,
bership in the communist party after
they had signed petitions in behalf of
comm unist presidential electors
should have very helpful effect on
everyone concerned. The next time
someone asks them to sign a petition
they are likely to read the petition
first and then make their decision
And folks who boast of their tolerance
may come to the conclusion that there
are various degrees and kinds of toll
erance. The kind they demonstrated
is out of the same kettle that gave
Norway its Quisling and France its
Laval