Page:The web (1919).djvu/453

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

says: "We had the state secretary of the Socialists in the penitentiary. Many I. W. W.'s were jailed, and many more were inducted into the Army. Some of the latter tribe have been court-martialed since entering the Army." As it were, and so to speak, Atta Boy!


ALASKA

And now let us give, as the very last tribute of The Four Winds, the report of a town which may seem a long way from home to many readers, but which, out of all the many hereinbefore mentioned, will show best of all the far-flung activities of the American Protective League. This report comes from Anchorage, Alaska. Leopold David is Chief at this far off station, and every word that he has written shall go to the readers of the League:


Members of the League have been active in Red Cross work here, in food conservation, and in the sale of Liberty Bonds and War Savings Stamps. From the moment the Anchorage branch was first organized, I impressed upon the members the necessity of counter-propaganda to refute any insinuations or charges that they might hear against the causes leading the U. S. into war, and the conduct thereof. Everything in connection therewith which was derogatory to the interests of the U. S. was immediately traced to its source, if possible, and the false impression corrected. We have a large foreign element here employed in railroad construction, and members of the League made it a point in their trips up and down the line to explain the reasons for all restrictions.

When a strike was threatened on the Government railroad last year, members of the League explained to the men the necessity of staying at work until their case could be decided, so as not to interfere with the development of the coal fields to which the road was being built, as coal was a war necessity. I believe that such action by the League was in large measure responsible for avoiding a strike.

Members of the League were on all committees in connection with war work activities, as well as on the Territorial Council of Defense, of which the Chief of the Anchorage branch acted as Chairman. During the time the League was organized, every member did his best for the interests of the country, and no need arose for disciplining any member. The