PRUSSIANIZING WISCONSIN
Prussianizing Wisconsin Badger Author Writes Letter To The Editor Of Atlantic Monthly Regarding Recent Political Changes In Wisconsin And Their Cause THE following letter is written by Charles D....
...Keller...
...The Editor of the Atlantic Dear Sir:— As a member of the profession which looks before and after, possibly you may appreciate a sort of news-letter from Wisconsin...
...working outside the law, it becomes lawless...
...When the squadron arrived at the home the son was out...
...All well and good...
...They have a large package of yellow placards reading,— The Occupant of these premises has refused to take his just share of Liberty bonds...
...Twenty-five automobiles containing sixty to seventy respectable citizens of Milwaukee...
...Such methods have created opposition...
...You might ask, Is this comic opera or is it government...
...If he owes for the farm, and has just paid his interest, and has only fifteen dollars to go on with It makes no difference...
...He refused to stop on call of the committee...
...With little ceremony the third card of the day and the fourth of the campaign was placed in position...
...By F. C. Fehr, Committeeman...
...They form a semi-circle about him...
...and the government does not make a certain quota of bonds compulsory upon citizens—oh, no...
...Louis Socialistic platform, which was against the war and condemned it on mercenary grounds...
...About half-past twelve (continuing for more than an hour) Sunday morning, October 20th, my wife awaked me, saying that there were a large number of men on the front porch, pounding and rapping on the door, besides talking in a loud tone of voice...
...With this they fetched the farmers, and put the county "over the top...
...This is true...
...the manufacturers must see the honor of Milwaukee and Wisconsin, maintained...
...No excuses accepted...
...Indeed, the dogs have constituted a distinct and recognized branch of each of the leading armies with recruiting bureaus, training camps, extensive quarters behind the lines, and elaborate hospitals...
...Then the committee would try something new and more persuasive...
...To show you that this method is taken as a matter of course out here, —as natural to Milwaukee as if it were Prussia itself,—I append a clipping which happens to come from the Milwaukee Journal...
...He must subscribe tho amount of bis "assessment," and "sign there...
...Imag-ine yourself either a workman in Milwaukee, or a farmer out in the country...
...But the result was a great relief to me, even if some did vote Socialist...
...One "official" stenographer...
...And to a large extent, and in a sense which you will understand, the Socialists' sudden accretion was a Pro-American vote, not a Pro-German...
...Given Yellow Tag IF not, what happens...
...One color Guard (a flag at the head) with two home guardsmen in citizens' clothes...
...Picture to yourself the following "collection committee" traveling out of the highly civilized "kultured" city of Milwaukee...
...FOR my own part, if another bond sale is made in the state I shall feel compelled to notify the men in charge that certain methods must not be repeated...
...In the whole state you would not find a newspaper which said a word of protest—or raised a question as to the citizen's - hts under the Constitution...
...In the town of Oak Creek one supposed slacker was absent, and left word he had come into Milwaukee to buy a $100 bond...
...As the war progressed tank tactics developed in efficiency, and in 1917 attack at Cambrai, it came into its own by making a 10-mile breach through the German system of entrenchments—this being the first time that an absolute break-through was accomplished...
...and while his horses stand there the speech-maker delivers a speech...
...Now, if you were a workman or a banker, and the government was supposed to be the one who was dealing with you thus, and an election came along, what would you do...
...Two of a special "collecting" committee came round, both employees of the local government factory which has a large government contract...
...In the Wisconsin Legislature we shall have seventeen socialists in the Assembly and four Socialist senators—far more than the Socialists ever had at the height of their power here...
...The man, a Hallander by bnh, came to thus country when 18...
...Someone then gave a sharp jerk at the rope and forced me to my knees and hands...
...The first call of the Liberty Loan flying squad Friday was near the city limits in the town of Lake...
...When the respectable and wealthy elements are resorting to this sort of government, abetted by the newspapers and by all sorts of busybody societies intent upon "government by public sentiment," we finally have a new thing in the world and a most obnoxious one—mob-rule by the rich...
...Manner is Prussian AND now we come to the conclusion...
...at the same time some of them jumped on my back, and while bent over someone struck me in the face, making me bleed...
...Until this was invented the country had fallen short in its "quota...
...But if he argues too much, he finds this...
...The various schemes (I am not troubling you with all) in the various counties all emanate from the city or the small manufacturing town...
...A farmer, considered financially able, had purchased a $50 bond...
...In presence of G. H. Pratt, Then What Happened OF course, this thing, with its whereas and its therefore has about as much legal standing as the resolution of a woman's sewing society...
...The governor says he has received a good deal of information tending to substantiate the Stewart charges...
...I walked to the road to see if they had painted my mail box...
...E. L. Philipp of Wisconsin, commenting on the attack on the Liberty Loan methods, by Charles D. Stewart...
...so the local manufacturer lets loose some of his foremen, and others who do not depend upon farmer trade...
...The Real Cause Carlyle said that "Of all forms of government, a government by busybodies is the worst...
...Its first operations in 1916, in the great British attack on the Somme, were necessarily tentative in character...
...The whole proceeding was represented as coining from "our government," "by order of Secretary McAdoo," etc...
...Louis platform, to the war for Democracy...
...it must always go over the top...
...those who are in business and those who farm...
...What shall we do with him...
...and while it is not compulsory, this committee's law must, somehow, be made as the laws of the Medes and the Persians...
...At the same time, Wisconsin has always gone "over the top...
...Debs, whom they ran repeatedly for President, was a convert of his...
...Signed—John Deml...
...False law, with false threats and penalties which are never carried out, creates contempt for real law, and is itself contemptible...
...But for you there is no remedy if you are "assessed" too high...
...It has always been a Democratic county...
...He must subscribe his assessed amount—no excuses accepted...
...Now there was a conundrum...
...From the beginning the drives were preceded by bluffs and threats and illegal claims of some indefinite penalty—and each time none of the threats was carried out against those who defied them...
...Humanity falls into three classes...
...Ha!—Milwaukee must redeem its reputation...
...Stewart's article is as follows: Hartford, Wisconsin, September, 1918...
...In fact, I would do that myself were it not that I know the essential nature of Wilson's government by request, and the inevitable outcome of such a policy of "government by public sentiment" instead of by law...
...so that Milwaukee has a stamp to be affixed to business and private mail, which announces that "Milwaukee has met every demand of the Government in men and money...
...and the little paper in the country town simply goes along in the swim— never does any thinking for itself...
...Republicans came second...
...Quota in the State NOW as the state has a quota, and the county and city has each a quota, so each individual must have his quota...
...About half of the calls resulted in the men deciding to do their fair share, without offering the plea that they couldn't afford it and had already invested in a $50 bond...
...SUCH methods have created opposition...
...This, the local proprietors fear, may affect its trade...
...and the state has been complimented by General Crowder for its efficiency in the selective draft and for being the first of the states to report its work done in that regard...
...And they put them all over his place...
...and he replied, 'My orders are you must take $500 or nothing.' "After I had replied that I had done my share in the spring they demanded that I open the door and let them in...
...now let us take a chance at Milwaukee County, as being more interesting...
...they do not know their "Rights" from a hole in the ground...
...But why go into further details...
...But the farmer...
...Socialism did not cut much of a figure...
...Several answered at once, "The Council of Defense...
...For the business leaders own and advertise in and run the newspapers...
...either by actual violence, or by ingenious schemes to make illegality look legal, or by searing him and making him think that something indefinite but awful is going to happen to him if he buys only three hundred dollars worth of Donds, for instance, instead of five hundred dollars worth...
...the subscription is, in short, taken out of their wages...
...They could not be...
...Vote for the party in power...
...Dogs In War THE dog may well be proud of his splendid record in the great war...
...As to lines of business these were organized in groups and so solicited...
...The man finally subscribed for his full share of $500, remarking: "There has been a war at each stage of my life and each has cost me $550.' "In the same town a bachelor living with his father, a man more than 80, said he could do no better than subscribe $50 additional to the $50 he had purchased through workers...
...It is not compulsory to give a certain "assessed" amount to the Y. M. C. A...
...GOVERNOR ADMITS FACTS...
...As Wisconsin was the birthplace of the Republican party—it was born at Ripon, Wisconsin,—one might now say that it bade fair to be the birthplace of a new political power, Socialism...
...Notices were sent round on a white postal card under government frank, headed "White House" and then, to make everyone think that they were obliged to go to that meeting, and take their assessed amount in a savings society, the President's War Savings message was altered from the original version...
...Thus they kept track of one another, and any quibbling about the size of your assessment was not politic...
...Got No Results THIS man tried to get a wariant for assault with in tent to do great bod y harm...
...His allotment was placed at $150 additional...
...But it is intended to appear to be legal summons...
...From the beginning, the drives were preceded by bluffs and threats and illegal claims of some indefinite penalty—and each time one of the threats was carried out against those who defied them...
...It went "over the top" in the Fourth Liberty Loan...
...If one man did not, another must...
...But why go into further details...
...But the struggle that ensues is not so much local pride as it looks to be...
...they undertook to force the door open, and went as far as to tear the screen door open...
...It is practised against a farmer who has taken only one hundred dollars when he was assessed a hundred and fifty—and this is to make him "come across" with the re mainder...
...Because of the cold weather he was taken inside the house by the committee, where Dr...
...Socialists second...
...then I went to the kitchen door and opened it and found a crowd of men (much larger than I expected) around the door, and then reaching out two by two around towards the front of the house...
...some grabbing my fingers, or wrist, others my legs and several of them were shouting, holding a paper before me, 'Sign up.' I said 'I will not sign up at this time of the night.' Then a man shouted, 'Get a rope!' The first I knew was when the rope was about my neck and around my body, under my arms...
...At the same time, the district which has returned Berger has always gone "over the top" in all war-drives...
...Nothing happened, of course...
...The first class is easy to handle—Subscribe your assessed amount or lose your job...
...It starts as follows: The government wishes a certain amount of money...
...Success must be made sure...
...More Slackers on Loan Found "Milwaukee county has been blemished by three yellow cards placed in front of homes whose occupants refused to invest their fair share in the Fourth Liberty Loan...
...It may be boycotted to some extent...
...he cannot be discharged on Saturday night...
...He said he was financially involved and had no money, but refused the offer of the bank to carry tho loan for him Iden ors of the committee posted the yellow card...
...I told them I didn't have to open the door...
...a man indicted by the Federal Grand Jury in Chicago, and also, more recently, in Milwaukee...
...The Republicans, as the rural mailman eloquently said, "wiped 'em up...
...Every man visited bore a German name...
...Eastern papers, such as the New York Times, for instance, will tell you quite confidently that it is just Pro-Germanism...
...With the Y. M. C. A. and other religious society drives, the same assessment scheme is worked...
...As to the people who do the assessing, they are just local committees loosely got together...
...I trow not...
...He is the author of several books and is a regular contributor to the leading magazines of the nation...
...Their methods went from bad to worse...
...So much for Outagamie County...
...Never...
...I did not go to see Mr...
...The meaning of the whole phenomenon is simply this: the manufacturer or financier in town wishes to make sure that the farmer will subscribe liberally so that the burden may not fall wholly on himself...
...Milwaukee, for instance, a big manufacturing center, is noted for its German population...
...You are dealt with in this entirely Prussian manner— possibly the committee, which knows little of your financial difficulties in your home, has just assessed you arbitrarily...
...The following document illustrates the scheme resorted to in this same county for dealing with those who had not subscribed to the Fourth Liberty Loan their quota as "assessed...
...Exemption from military draft depends upon the employer...
...I would say that it was the former, were it not so serious in its effects upon a peaceful, law-abiding population...
...it would be of little use for the workman to say he was essential...
...Your constitutional rights do not count...
...those who work at a trade...
...you might inquire...
...You would vote Socialist till the cows came home...
...Being a Republican, of course, I vote the ticket straight...
...It therefore appeals to local pride...
...So it is a case of subscribe or lose your job—and probably go to war...
...But government by busybodies has neither head nor tail...
...This is Business at work in Wisconsin...
...I was upstairs...
...It is the same with the Democratic and Republican parties...
...They then went to the Governor...
...Democrats—Wilson's men, with "Wilson" nailed to the mast-head—came limp-, ing along at the rear, after the Socialists, a sudden new element...
...and having no law to support it, it finally depends for its enforcement upon hoodlums and mob rule...
...For instance, in the stamp drive, all the men in the district were obliged to meet at the school house and make up any shortage in the quota...
...As you are aware, a party which gets a sudden accession of voters at one time—as when Berger was originally elected to Congress and then beaten in the same district, and then elected again—is profiting not by a steady clientele moved by unswerving devotion to its abstract principles, but by voters who are influenced by immediate conditions against which they are registering a protest...
...speechmaker says, "Let us salute the flag (watching him to see that he does it promptly...
...DO NOT REMOVE...
...Two deputy sheriffs...
...and so General Crowder insisted that others besides the registrant should make a plea for his exemption— the employer, for instance...
...This is Business at work in Wisconsin...
...Stewart, WHEREAS it appears that you have so far failed or refused to support our government by subscribing for your share of the Fourth Liberty Bond: YOU WILL THEREFORE appear at the Court House in West Bend, Wisconsin, on the 19th day of October, 1918, between the hours of 10 o'clock a. m. and 6 o'clock p. m. then and there to subscribe your full allotment, or SHOW CAUSE for your apparent delinquency and your apparent obstruction to the war finance requirements of the United States...
...As I say, you would never get any light on this matter in any editorial in a Milwaukee or other Wisconsin paper...
...The President of the Equity Society and the Assemblyman from that district both argued the matter with the District Attorney, but without success...
...it would be of little use for the workman to say he was essential to any industry if the employer said he was not...
...Prompted by his sister, he refused to subscribe to more than $50 worth, although his allotment was placed at $500...
...As you are aware, of course, Wisconsin— the Milwaukee District—has returned a Socialist—Victor Berger—to the House of Representatives...
...For, while acknowledging the great services rendered by other military animals, such as the horse, mule, and carrier pigeon, the dog has the distinction of having served in the front-line trenches and even out in No Man's Land, where only the bravest dared venture...
...CHARLES D. STEWART...
...A district supports the government in every way, and yet returns a Socialist to Congress...
...How is this...
...I said 1 will not sign up for any man after being abused like this.' Then a man whom I knew) told me I would have to go with them, or, if I didn't go with them would have to come to town that Sunday morning at 10 o'clock to see Mr...
...a Democratic nomination was equivalent to election...
...During the last days of the great war the French army had some 10,000 dogs in active service.—Scientific American...
...the THE RESULT...
...And it is not difficult to imagine the effect upon the farmer's ideas of a federal administration to which he attributes such methods...
...I acquired it by the simple process of standing on my constitutional rights and awaiting complete results...
...Just how much is this permanent and convinced advance, and how much a mere protest against this local condition and that...
...The yellow card was ordered tacked up...
...a great victory in a particular locality does not mean a great victory the next time...
...To Chas...
...The campaign of 1918 served to introduce the whippet or small "baby" tanks, and in the great counter-offensive operations of this year, both of the French and British and Americans, the tank established itself as the most effective weapon of the offense...
...and you cannot boycott him in business, or refuse to deal with him when he comes soliciting for trade...
...Also—as in Milwaukee from another department of the works, whom you cannot report by name, will coat you with yellow paint as you leave the works...
...He has two grown sons who are known as patriots and active in loyalty work...
...Thus the farmer—who in a great many cases has been assessed too high by people not fam iliar with his problems—-finds himself being camped upon and persecuted by manufacturing and financial interests...
...you are to appear at the "Court House"—though not in court...
...I shall feel called upon to protect the people," said Gov...
...Another point...
...You cannot give to the Y. M. C. A. You are told right off how much you are to pay...
...they left as they left, I noticed, and so did my family and neighTHE SUMMONS, WHEREAS it appears that you have so far failed or refused to support our government by subscribing for your share of the Fourth Liberty Bond: YOU WILL THEREFORE appear at the Court House in West Bend, Wisconsin, on the 19th day of October, 1918, between the hours of 10 o'clock A. M. and 6 o'clock P. M. then and there to subscribe for your full allotment, or SHOW CAUSE for your apparent delinquency and your apparent obstruction to the war finance requirements of the United States...
...they assess by one rule of thumb or another, with little real knowledge of the individual's financial difficulties...
...bors, that they rode away in several automobiles...
...Made False Threats | N the rural county where I live, different methods were used, more ingenious and more flagrant, as creating a disrespect for law...
...Or take the county I live in—Washington County...
...And you must remember that the population of Wisconsin is quite largely an agricultural population, and with a considerable amount of nationally famous lines of manufacture sprinkled all over in the little towns, and concentrated in Milwaukee...
...The only answer to this conundrum is simply—mob rule, in one form or another...
...then they threatened to break down the door, and I said, 'Come on then, boys.' Then they appeared to be planning, and while they were doing that, I took the time to put on my shoes...
...The state officers of these drives, Federal Representatives, are always Milwaukee bankers...
...and this at a time we are at war for "Democracy...
...To make it plain, on the 28th of September, at the opening of the fourth drive, I was notified by letter that my bond assessment would be $500...
...Later he was seen cutting across lots toward the rear of his premises...
...In several instances they were reputed to be worth more than $20,000, considerable of which was in cash...
...and worse than Socialism, because Socialism would be run by law, anyway...
...Prussianizing Wisconsin Badger Author Writes Letter To The Editor Of Atlantic Monthly Regarding Recent Political Changes In Wisconsin And Their Cause THE following letter is written by Charles D. Stewart, a well known author, to the Atlantic Monthly and was published in the January issue...
...I told them that I would be there...
...His father is known to have done his full share...
...But they got the full quota out of most of the farmers who had not taken enough—and I got the document...
...each firm would be solicited by someone in the same line of business—a wholesaler or customer with whom you dealt...
...He said he had no money other than that which he loaned on interest...
...He does not work for a "boss...
...A statement made by John Deml of Outagamie County, Wisconsin, at Madison, Wisconsin, Tuesday, October 22, 1918...
...And we will see that you do...
...Their methods went from bad to worse...
...And the man elected to Washington still stands on the St...
...The farmer all this time, of course is probably scared out of his wits, or does not know what to make of this delegation of notables bearing down upon his solitary task in the fields...
...They could not be...
...One "official" photographer...
...he would "investigate"— but nothing was done...
...Now bear in mind that this method is not practised merely against farmers who have made unpatriotic remarks, or have refused to support the war...
...Country merchants do not usually go out on these soliciting committees— it might insult customers...
...His home is at Hartford, Wis...
...Some very unfortunate incidents occurred in connection with the Liberty Loan drive as are shown by letters which have come to me and by visits that have been made to my office," says the governor.—News Item...
...I left the door and walked to the front of the porch to see if they had done any painting (as they had previously painted a neighbor's mail box...
...The whole proceeding was represented as coming from "our government," "by order of Secretary McAdoo," etc...
...an idealistic war for human freedom...
...By that time they were at the kitchen door, and they made a demand that I let them through that door...
...local pride is a very fine thing, competition is wholesome...
...and then as they got me away from them a little, I heard a man say, 'You can't scare him.' Then a man (whom I knew) got me to one side, and he said, 'Let's go into the house and talk between ourselves.' Then two men went with me into the house, and we sat or stood around the table, and they still demanded that I sign up...
...This phalanx, entirely lawless, moves down upon a farmer who is urging two horses along a cloddy furrow—doing his fall plowing...
...At the recent election, the result stood as follows...
...And while Meyer London, Socialist Congressman, was defeated in New York, Socialism out here has come back with a whang that seems to send the party wondering ahead, and caused the whole country to turn its head in this direction...
...I told the collector and his "witness" that they could "rest assured that I would not be there," and asked them to please watch and see what happened...
...This sworn statement was made for a Wisconsin association of some 30,000 members—the Farmers' Equity Society, which was incensed at the treatment accorded many of its members...
...Officials "passed the buck," as usual in such cases...
...they were lawless and illegal...
...I then asked them, 'What do you want?' and they replied, 'We want you to sign up.' I replied, 'I have done my share.' And they asked me when, and I replied, 'I did my share in the spring.' (That is, I meant to say I had done my share in the third loan, when I subscribed for $450 in bonds...
...The second call was at the home of man of 84, who had subscribed $50, while his allotment was placed at $500...
...The Tank In War UNQUESTIONABLY, the most novel and most effective of the new weapons of warfare developed during the great conflict, was the tank...
...One banker (this personage to make arrangements to lend a farmer the money in case he protests that he has subscribed too much already...
...Papers Do Not Answer YOU will find no answer to this question if you read every newspaper published in Milwaukee or throughout Wisconsin...
...it is not compulsory, only you must abide by your assessment...
...then I came downstairs and went to the front door, where they were, and asked them who was there...
...So early in the war the Belgian machine guns were mounted on light carts and drawn by trained dogs, with the result that the few machine guns available to the Belgian army accounted for more than their due share of German invaders, because of their extreme mobility...
...Berger founded the Social-Democratic party in this country...
...This unwritten and unexpressed law soon becomes known...
...He reckoned the government owes him about $2,000 by this time as interest on one money, which never was returned...
...One was the "collector" and the other the "witness" and they handed me this:— TREASURY DEPARTMENT LIBERTY LOAN ORGANIZATION Federal Reserve District Number Seven West Bend, Wis...
...He probably signs...
...It was quite natural for the Belgians to employ dogs in military operations, as they have been doing in the days of peace...
...And it is not difficult to imagine the effect upon the farmer's ideas of a federal administration to which he attributes such methods...
...This is America...
...A traveling man comes back and says that a "certain dealer in stoves refuses to buy stoves made in Milwaukee...
...If you asked any of them what the Bill of Rights was, they could not tell you...
...In the whole state you would not find a newspaper which said a word of protest—or raised a question as to the citizen's rights under the Constitution...
...He was overtaken and given the customary message from the government...
...And then I turned around to return to the house when all at one time closed in on me like a vise...
...A few examples from different counties will serve to illustrate...
...Then the committee would try something new and more persuasive...
...Other armies soon introduced trained dogs in their organization, using them as watch dogs, and despatch carriers at first, and later for carrying food and ammunition to the first line, as well as medical supplies to the wounded lying about the battlefields...
...is fact, German military commanders openly attributed the success of the Allied offensives to the employment of the tank in large numbers.— Scientifie American...
...It is no use to report to the District Attorney...
...A neighbor of his, who had subscribed $100 was alloted $500 as his fair share...
...It is worse than Prus-sianism, because that is one form of government, at least...
...Asserting that he had done his share by coming north from Louisiana at the outbreak of the Civil War to avoid service in the Confederatc-army, he said he was drafted in Wisconsin and had to pay a substitute $550 to right in his place...
...Now, how is this...
...If you are painted yellow, the District Attorney will pass the buck—he knows what the manufacturer expects of him, and the financier...
...Soliciting the Farmer HANDLING the working classes to go "over the top" was easy...
...Keller...
...it must be able to affix this stamp to all its letters...
...I have before me a sworn statement, which I got from a friend in Outagamie County...
...you will say...
...he will "have to investigate," but will do nothing...
...then a man (whom I recognized) said, 'Boys, yon are going too far...
...There is no remedy...
...Signed: E. J. KEARNEY, Federal Reserve Director of Sales for Wisconsin...
...Stewart is a trained writer and is familiar with economic and political activities in Wisconsin...
...The meaning of the whole phenomenon is simply this: the manufacturer or financier in town wishes to make sure that the farmer will subscribe liberally, so that the burden may not fall wholly on himself...
...with the able assistance of the hoodlums—always looking for a chance...
...all workmen subscribe...
...Shall we leave him to subscribe what he can, and voluntarily...
...It is easily done...
...When Henry Baumann came to see me, I told him I could not possibly take $500 now but would take some, meaning a substantial amount, that is all I could afford...
...For what, forsooth, but Pro-Germanism would elect a Congressman who represents opposition, as per the St...
...it sets a "quota," which has been apportioned to each locality, and promises a fine "over-the-top" flag to be hoisted over the court house...
...they were lawless and illegal...
...W. B. Hill explained matters...
...But the issue was with the father...
...Served this 18th day of October, 1918...
Vol. 11 • January 1919 • No. 1
