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Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Politics
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When New Mexicans were jailed for speaking out against World War I
In the years after the U.S. entered what was called the Great War, federal officials didn't merely seek the public's support for the new military venture; they enforced it. Anyone who publicly questioned the beating of war drums during World War I in the U.S. risked punishment, if not by mob violence then by the federal government. The erosion of free speech posed by wartime laws targeting so-called "disloyalty" came just a few years after New Mexico gained statehood. The archives of The New Mexican show the paper chronicled many of the federal prosecutions against the state's residents for alleged "disloyal" public statements that deviated from the national pro-war line. Crimes of disloyalty were prosecuted under the Espionage Act, a law passed by the U.S. Congress in June 1917 that made it illegal to "willfully make or convey false reports or false statements with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the military or naval forces of the United States," along with causing insubordination and mutiny or obstructing the military draft. Penalties included steep fines and prison sentences of up to 20 years. The following year, an amendment to the Espionage Act called the Sedition Act broadened the law to prohibit "any disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language about the form of government of the United States ... or the flag of the United States, or the uniform of the Army or Navy." New Mexico had played a role in the country's entry into the war, which was attributed partly to a 1917 telegram sent from a German official to Mexico's embassy in Germany and intercepted by British intelligence officers. The message proposed an alliance between Germany and Mexico if the U.S. were to enter the war, including help in recovering Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, which had been lost in the Mexican-American War. Among the most prominent to be charged under the Espionage Act at the time included socialist presidential candidate Eugene V. Debs and socialist writer Emma Goldman, who was deported to Russia after the war. More recently, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and government whistleblower Chelsea Manning were also charged under the law. In the years after the law was passed, people around the country — including in New Mexico — found themselves behind bars over allegations of making public statements in support of the country's enemies, critical of the U.S. military draft or merely in opposition to U.S. involvement in the war. Indictments A rancher from Weed, N.M. was indicted on an Espionage Act charge in 1919, with prosecutors alleging he had said in public the draft was "for cowards." During a hearing on the charge in Santa Fe, the rancher told the court he believed the proper way to "raise an army of real fighters" was not to draft them but to select based on "animal killing instinct" and to pay them $150 per month, The New Mexican reported. A 19-year-old man from Santa Fe was jailed in 1918 after a police officer said he made "offensive remarks" about the armed forces. Felix Sena was at the city's train depot when several men who were leaving to El Paso called out to him to join the Navy, and he "started a commotion" with remarks about the Navy and the Army, according to a report. A historian of the period in New Mexico, Dr. David Holtby, noted the "great wave of anti-German sentiment" on which the U.S. had entered the war and which also set the stage for the Espionage and Sedition acts. German-Americans and socialists made up a large portion of those charged under the laws. "At that time, the largest immigrant group in the United States were Germans," he said. "It's not clear how many were in New Mexico, but they certainly were present here, and occasionally they got cross-wise at bars." Several reports of "disloyal" statements from Germans in New Mexico stemmed from bar fights, such as a man who was arrested in a Socorro saloon in August 1918 on an allegation he violated the Espionage Act by telling others he was "for the kaiser," The New Mexican reported. The news item noted the man was "knocked down" by others at the bar in response to the statement. A German-born National Guard captain and machinist from Clovis, Frank Charles Blumlein, was prosecuted and sentenced in May 1918 to three years in prison after his fellow soldiers reported him for saying the English "[had] cannibals fighting on the battlefront" and that the U.S. "had no business going to war and drafting men," according to a report in The New Mexican. Blumlein — who had been born in Germany but moved to the U.S. at the age of 10 — told the court during his trial an antagonism toward England "had been planted in his heart" as a child, that he was loyal to the U.S. but that he believed the country should have done everything possible to avoid going to war with Germany, the newspaper reported. News reports noted Blumlein had been "instrumental" in growing a National Guard company in Clovis in the years before the war. Allegations of disloyalty in those years were often met not only with criminal prosecution, but also with mob violence. The National Civil Liberties Bureau — the precursor to the American Civil Liberties Union — counted 158 convictions under the Espionage Act or treason in a two-year span beginning in April 1917. Over the same time, the organization counted 123 cases of mob violence based on alleged disloyalty. Among the closest-followed disloyalty cases by The New Mexican was a charge against Maj. John Birkner, a physician at Camp Cody in Deming who was accused of violating the Espionage Act in 1918. Prosecutors alleged during trial that Birkner had said in the presence of other soldiers "we should have peace," and "financial barons brought on this war," according to The New Mexican. A prosecutor argued his statements were "calculated to excite opposition to the government and to lead to insubordination." In statements to the newspaper, Birkner called the prosecution "spite work" by subordinates he had disciplined in the past. In the week after he was arrested, Birkner was being held in the state penitentiary when several other inmates cornered him in the prison yard and tarred and feathered the former officer. Prison guards came upon the inmates leading Birkner around the yard with a rope tied around his neck, the newspaper reported. The attack was one of many examples of extralegal mob violence at the time that was tied to charges under the Espionage Act. Other accounts include men being forced to kiss American flags and even "an accused traitor left hanging from a piñon tree at the end of a barbed wire noose" who died, according to an article written by Richard Melzer for the New Mexico Historical Review. "With twenty-two cases from July 1, 1918, to June 30, 1920, New Mexico ranked as high as fifth among the 48 states in the number of cases per capita prosecuted under the infamous Espionage and Sedition Acts," Melzer wrote. Local U.S. attorney 'a little more committed to law' Holtby acknowledged the years of World War I represented a particularly dark time in the country's history for civil liberties, but he also noted many Espionage Act cases in New Mexico in those years were thrown out or dismissed, unlike in neighboring Texas, which he characterized as "certainly less constrained by courts looking dubiously on the act." "New Mexico, in that sense, was a little more committed to law over just the politics and hysteria of the moment," Holtby said. The historian described Summers Burkhart, the U.S. attorney for New Mexico during the war, as one of the more "judicious" federal prosecutors of the era, perhaps saving New Mexicans from the most repressive excesses of the era. "He used [the Bureau of Investigation] very judiciously and ensured that they got thorough examinations," Holtby said. "In general, those inquiries led to a peaceful resolution, so New Mexico ... had from this one man, the U.S. attorney, a kind of model for how people in law enforcement should behave during times of kind of hyper-public patriotism." A New Mexican story in late 1918 noted a federal grand jury found sufficient evidence to forward 97 cases — Espionage Act as well as bootlegging and illegal liquor sales — and that 82 such cases were declined. The report stated the "large number" of declined prosecutions was "due to the government's decision not to prosecute any but flagrant violations of the Espionage Act at this time." The newspaper — like many across the country — stood in support of prosecutions against disloyalty in spite of the implications for freedom of speech. A notable example was a column that supported federal action against Hearst Publications for "disloyalty and sedition." The newspaper chain — owned by William Randolph Hearst — had in 1918 sued the New Mexico Council of Defense for suppressing its publications by distributing signs to an "honor roll" of news sellers that proudly stated "Hearst's Papers Not Sold Here," along with allegations the papers were "anti-British, un-American and pro-German since America entered the World War." In court arguments, the council described Hearst's papers as "poisonous," "evil" and "deadly" for printing pro-German sentiment. "We do not defend Hearst," The New Mexican wrote, "but it cannot be assumed that treatment of Hearst publications can be any different than that necessary in the case of any other alleged disloyal publications. The state council of defense of New Mexico should file charges with the federal government against the Hearst newspapers and periodicals if it believes them disloyal and seditious." The newspaper submitted "in all patriotism and justice, with no sympathy for Hearst" that the question of loyalty or disloyalty of the press was a matter for the federal courts.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Yahoo
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's crossword, "Totally Saw That Coming!"
There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Totally Saw That Coming! (Freestyle) Constructor: Kyra Goudsmit Editor: Jared Goudsmit Kyra: This is my first-ever puzzle, and I'm so excited to see it run! I was particularly happy to highlight 20-Across, who was a professor at Berkeley, where I currently study English. Another personal clue for me is [___ Marquette State Park] at 25-Across, where my family vacationed when I was a kid. Jared was a great editor to work with (and I'm not just saying that because he's my brother). I hope you like the puzzle! PERE (25A: ___ Marquette State Park) PERE Marquette State Park is located in western Illinois, near the junction of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. The park is named for a Jesuit priest, PÈRE (Father) Jacques Marquette (1637-1675). CLASS (31D: "While there is a lower ___, I am in it, while there is a criminal element, I am for it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free" (Eugene V. Debs quote)) Eugene V. Debs (1855-1926) was one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), an international labor union founded in Chicago in 1905. Eugene V. Debs ran for President of the United States five times, as a candidate of the Socialist Party of America (of which he was also a founding member). The quote in the clue is part of a statement Eugene V. Debs made to the court when he was convicted of violating the sedition act for making a speech denouncing U.S. participation in World War I: "Your Honor, years ago I recognized my kinship with all living beings, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower CLASS, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free." TONAL (5A: Like the Yoruba language) In TONAL languages, various tones are used to distinguish the meaning of words. A single word may be said with different tones, and each tone will change the meaning of the word. The Yoruba language is spoken in West Africa, particularly in southwestern and central Nigeria. CHE (10A: ___ Diaz (character in "And Just Like That...")) And Just Like That... is the revival and sequel of Sex and the City (1998-2004). CHE Diaz, portrayed by Sara Ramirez, was a character in the first two seasons of And Just Like That. CHE Diaz, a non-binary comedian who hosts a sex and relationship podcast, was introduced as a new character in And Just Like That. SEA ANEMONE (13A: Marine invertebrate with a foot) SEA ANEMONEs are colorful marine invertebrates that attach themselves to a base (rocks, coral, shells, concrete) with their foot. As invertebrates, SEA ANEMONES lack skeletons. SEA ANEMONES also lack brains. Fun fact: A SEA ANEMONE's mouth also functions as its anus. ODE (18A: "___ to the Midwest" (Kevin Young poem)) Kevin Young is a poet and the director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture. You can read Kevin Young's poem, "ODE to the Midwest" on the Poetry Foundation website. If you have any Midwest connection, I recommend taking a moment to read it; I certainly found myself relating to some of Kevin Young's words. SUN RA (20A: Afrofuturist jazz composer who claimed he was from Saturn) SUN RA (1914-1993) was a jazz composer and bandleader known for his experimental and avant-garde music and theatrical performances. SUN RA led the Arkestra, an ensemble with an ever-changing line-up, which gave performances sometimes featuring dancers and musicians in elaborate, futuristic costumes. SUN RA claimed to be an alien from Saturn, with a mission on Earth to promote peace. In 1974, he released an Afrofuturist sci-fi film titled Space is the Place, in which he landed a spaceship in Oakland, California and recruited Black youth to move to a new planet. As Kara mentioned in her constructor's note, SUN RA spent time at the University of California, Berkeley in 1971 as artist-in-residence. MAE (27A: The Perks of Being a Wallflower" actress Whitman) MAE Whitman plays the role of Mary Elizabeth in the 2021 coming-of-age movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The movie is based on Stephen Chbosky's 1999 book of the same name. GLEN (32A: "Anyone but You" actor Powell) Anyone but You is a 2023 rom-com loosely based on William Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing. Sydney Sweeney and GLEN Powell star as two people whose interactions are plagued with misunderstandings. OMEGA (6D: Greek letter after psi) Psi is the penultimate letter of the Greek alphabet, which means it's followed by the 24-letter alphabet's final letter, OMEGA. ETNA (12D: Sicilian volcano) Mount ETNA (also referred to simply as ETNA) is an active volcano on the island of Sicily, Italy. ETNA featured in the theme of the puzzle two days ago. HULLABALOO (23D: Commotion) HULLABALOO is a fun word! EAST (26D: Namibia-to-Botswana direction) Namibia and Botswana are countries in southern Africa. Namibia is located on the west coast of Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. Located EAST of Namibia, Botswana is a landlocked country. The capital of Namibia is Windhoek, and the capital of Botswana is Gaborone. "TOTALLY SAW THAT COMING!" (Freestyle): There's no theme today, as this is a freestyle, or themeless, puzzle. The title is a nod to NO SURPRISE THERE (7D: "That was predictable." I enjoyed the long conversational phrases in today's puzzle. "NO SURPRISE THERE," is a great grid-spanner hinted at by the title. I also enjoyed "THE THING IS..." (51A: "About that..."), "SURE ENOUGH..." (54A: "Just as I thought..."), and "COUNT ME OUT!" (10D: "I'm not gonna be a part of this!"). Congratulations to Kyra Goudsmit, making a USA TODAY crossword debut, as well as her overall crossword debut! In the process of corresponding about this puzzle, editor Jared Goudsmit and I discovered we both have sisters named Kyra – what a fun coincidence. Thank you, Kyra, for this delightful puzzle. USA TODAY's Daily Crossword Puzzles Sudoku & Crossword Puzzle Answers This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Crossword Blog & Answers for February 7, 2025 by Sally Hoelscher
