Page:The web (1919).djvu/72

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propaganda. She does not believe herself defeated even now. The undying occult spirit of the old Teutonic Knights still lives to-day in America. Now, you will begin to hear attempts to make us dislike England, attempts to incite Ireland to revolt against England, attempts to make us dislike France, stories that England and France owe us much for everything they gave us in the way of equipment, aeroplanes, munitions; stories that we will never get back any of the moneys we loaned to the Allies; stories of how simple and innocent the German people are, how anxious they are to be friendly to America. That is all propaganda. By this time we ought to know how to value it.

Of course, the German language papers in this country were hotbeds of propaganda and sedition. Some of them were suppressed by the censorship, some by the indignant American people who informed the courts of justice. Most of them by this time have become tame since they have seen the penitentiary sentences imposed upon the more outspoken of these German editors living in America. These foreign language papers were prominent in New York, Chicago, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and other cities. They show the strength of German sentiment in America. Every one of them was a center of propaganda, at first outspoken, then more careful. The great majority of these papers, in order to protect their business investments, tried to cover up when they found which way the wind was setting. The censorship officers were flooded with complaints against these papers. For instance, there came all the way from Indianapolis a complaint against a paper printed in Baltimore, Maryland, "The Bavarian Weekly." A. P. L. had many extended translations of articles printed in this paper, the general tenor of which was a laudation of Germany and German methods. One wonders what Germany would have done to any American newspaper printed within the confines of Germany which might have expressed such hostile sentiments against the country harboring it.

In addition to these, there were, of course, the English language papers which for one reason or another were covertly or outspokenly in favor of Germany. Papers all the way from New York to Pueblo, Colorado, were bought or were attempted to be bought outright by German capital.