OCR Text |
Show Hulet M. Wells, City Employee and Former President of Central Labor Council, Is Charged With Seditious Sedi-tious Conspiracy for Advocating Resistance by Force. TOWN FLOODED WITH HANDBILLS "Resist Conscription" Painted on Fences and Sidewalks in Sound City; Michigan Socialist Social-ist Editor Arrested; Topeka Federal Attorney At-torney Begins Inquiry. SEATTLE, May 28. United States secret service operatives today arrested Hulet M. Wells, a city employee, former for-mer president of the Seattle Central Labor council, on a charge of seditious conspiracy, growing out of the alleged distribution by Wells and others of literature lit-erature advocating resistance by force of the government's army draft plan. Wells is a clerk in the city light department, de-partment, was twice Socialist candidate for mayor, and has been prominent in the affairs of that party during the last ten years. According to government agents, Wells is at the head of the Seattle branch of the "Xo Conscription League," which has flooded Seattle with anti-draft handbills and other literature lit-erature and painted on fences and sidewalks, side-walks, in large red letters, exhortations to "resist conscription." Sidewalks all over town have been daubed with these words nightly. Secret Meeting Held. Captain Thomas B. Foster of the secret se-cret service said that the pian to dis- tribute the "No Conscription" circulars circu-lars was reported about three weeks ago at a secret meeting between Wells and his assistants in the Socialist hall. Men and women attending this meeting, meet-ing, officials said, were cautioned to enter and leave the hall one at a time and to make sure they were not followed. fol-lowed. The circular was headed "No con-scriptien! con-scriptien! No involuntary servitude! No slavery!" and was signed by the "Seattle No Conscription league," post-office post-office box 225." Counselled Mutiny. It counselled mutiny, defiance and death before conscription. In another place the circular said: "Resist! Refuse! Don't yield the first step toward conscription. Better to be imprisoned than to renounce your freedom of conscience." Aaron Fislerman, secretary of the Ming county central committee of the Socialist party, and Robert E. Rice, a dyer, were arrested May 12 charged with participation in circulation of the circular attacking the draft. Fislerman and Rico are at liberty on bail. Sam Sadler, husband of Mrs. Kate Sadler, a well-known Socialist, later was taken into custody on a charge similar to that made against Wells. He will be given a hearing tomorrow. Wells was released on $3000 bail. ELEVEN ARRESTS SO FAR MADE BY FEDERAL AGENTS By International News Service. WASHINGTON, May 2S. Eleven arrests ar-rests have been made a nd nine indictments indict-ments returned by the federal grand jury investigations in the anti-registration plots, according to an announcement made at the department of justice today. to-day. Two of the men arrested, both of whom are in jail, were organizers of an armed camp In the mount a in districts of Virginia, Vir-ginia, which Intended lo equip its members mem-bers with rifles and defy the authorities. The other men, all of whom have been indicted, were prominent members of an organization effected several months ago for the ostensible purpose of co-operative buying. The department has received information informa-tion that attempts are on foot in several cities of the central west to influence men from joining the army. The department de-partment has distributed its agents in nil sections with instructions to see that registration officers do their duty on (Continued on Page Two.) IEHIE8 OF DRAFT GET 111 TRDU8LE (Continued from Page One.) June 5. and that they are not Interfered with. Attorney General Gregory issued a word of warning . in a brief statement saying: These arrests should he accepted by the country in general as a warning warn-ing against interfering with the en-fo en-fo -cement of the provisions of the 'army law. They merely demonstrate what i he department of justice proposes pro-poses to do in every case where attempts at-tempts are made to hinder or discourage dis-courage registration. Tiiere have been a few reported instances of threats to interfere with the execution of this law. Wherever they come to the attention of officials of the department arrests will he made and the offenders will be ar-i ar-i raigned before United States commissioners com-missioners for commitment to await indictment by grand juries. There are indications that 'attempts will be made in one or two of the central cities to make registration ineffective. The department is prepared for such emergencies. , . |