Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 152, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 July 1917 — Pacifists Are Menace to Nation And Activities Must Be Curbed [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Pacifists Are Menace to Nation And Activities Must Be Curbed

By JOSEPH H. COIT.

, Chairman of Board of Trustees, American Defense Society

This country must "get” the pacifist before he gets the country. There is need now for strong warfare within our own geographical limits against the man who wants Uncle Sam to turn the other cheek, .to take the insults of anyone who wants to hand them out, and to allow any militaristic nation in Europe to step on our toes rather than fight. The pacifist is a menace. The fight against the pacifist must be carried on relentlessly and he must be reminded that, in the face of the declaration of war against Germany, he stands

in the position of a man close to the border line of treason and, possibly, over that line. One great weakness of this country—a weakness that stands out like spines on a cactus plant —is that we argue too much. Instead of telling the traitorous and un-American pacifist to shut up or get out of the country, we try to make him come around to our way of thinking. This cannot be done. The pacifist will remain disloyal to the end.