Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1940-11-07

| TAKE oil dCtlNC PdlI
because of illness VSz'a aA''Ass' ~
which has kept me in local hospi-
tai for nearly three weeks. This
was one campaign that 1 had really
looked forward to taking part in
because of some unusual issues at
stake. l have referred to these vari-
Gus factors from time to time in my
weekly letters as they have been the
outstanding issues the past three or
more years.
AS l said at the outset, the cleo
ton will be over before this letter
will appear in print. The future lies
before us. Let us all turn our ener-
gies toward making this better
country in which to live. 1t is now
the best land in all the world but
my readers agree with me that there
is room for improvement.
Secret Understandings?
Rumors persist that we have secret
understanding nd commitments
with one or more foreign countries
that may rise to haunt and plague us
before long. One of the persistent
rumors is that we have an agreement
with England under which we may
use Singapore as naval and air
base. In some ways an agreement OF
that kind would be advantageous,
but the advantages to be gained would
be more than offset by the obliga-
tions that we would have to assume.
If we are to take over joint protec-
ton of Singapore it would definitely
commit us to the maintenance OF
status quo in the Orient, and that
might we'll mean war with Japan, and
finally with the Axis powers. To
my way of thinking, that would be
altogether too big price to pay for
the use of Singapore or any other
foreign owned naval base in the ORR
ent
Therefore, if such an agreement
does exist it should be denounced be-
fore it is too late. We have no bust
ness meddling in Asiatic and Euro
pean affairs. The foreign policy OF
this government should be primarily
concerned with maintaining the in
tegrity of the western hemisphere.
After all, that is our real sphere of
influence and one to which we should
confine ourselves.
Is This America?
After the President had delivered
his famous 'Stab in the Back" speech
at Charlottesville, Virginia, last sum-
mer, an Eastern woman wrote him
a mildly critical, but respectful let
ter, wherein she took issue with the
President on his position. A short
time ago she received from an As
sistant Attorney General brief let
ter advising her that the letter adj
dressed to the President had been
referred to the Department of Justice
and that the contents chad been care
fully noted" Surprised, and DESTROYS
of refreshing her memory as to what
she had said in the letter, copy of
which she had failed to keep, the
woman wrote and asked the depart
ment to send her copy of her let
ter to the White House. A photostat
copy bearing two rubber stamp marks
of the criminal division" was mailed
to her. This is not the first instance
where the White House has turned
over to the Department of Justice
letters written in criticism of admin
stration policies.
Have affairs reached a point in
this country where American citi-
RI fhoir~ yoroci1oy,f
and criticize him without having such
letters turned over to the Criminal
Division of the Department of Justice?
Just what is the purpose of turning
these letters over to the legal division
of the government? Are we getting
ready to set up 'Gestapo" in Ameri-
ca, such as they now have in the to-
talitarian states of Europe? Is this
but a forerunner of concentration
camps and purges?
Frankly, it would seem that we
have been much nearer to losing our
individual liberties than many of us
have realized. The old saying that,
Eternal Vigilance Is The Price OF
Liberty" is as true today as it ever
was.
Rise in Relief Rolls.
Official figures bear out the state
ment made late in the campaign that
the Work Projects Administration
rolls have increased by more than
100000 since the first part of June.
On October Is WPA employment to-
tailed l,768, 100 compared with 1,611,-
213 during the first week of June,
and the rolls are increasing on an
average of 1000 a week. I cannot
understand these figures. Informal
ton from Canada discloses that since