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Show REHURUCANS VIGILANT IN DEFENSE OF LIRERTY. r The people of this country should not overlook over-look the fact thnt they nre indebted to republicans republi-cans for the protest made in the senate against thnt provision of the so-called spy bill which would have destroyed freedom of the press nnd of speech. Scnntors Lodge of Massachusetts, Cummins of Iowa, Jtornh of Idnho, Johnson of California, Brandcgce of Connecticut led the opposition op-position to one of the most drastic measures ever proposed for tho purpose of giving government govern-ment officials autocratic power. The bill provided pro-vided that whoever in time of war jn violation of regulations prescribed by the President shall publish any information with respect to wnr mn-tcrlals, mn-tcrlals, plans or supposed plans, or any other in- , formntion relating to the public defense calcu lated to be or which might be useful to tho J enemy shall bo punished, and then there was u proviso that pretended to but did not protect tho j freedom of the press. As ono senator pointed out, if shells furnished to our ships proved to bo 1 worthless exploding In tho guns, the American j press would not dare expose the fraud because j thnt would bo giving the enemy information re- gnrding our wenkness. Senator Borah added the comment thnt it would beWtcr to hnve n littlo . publicity rather thnn hnve our soldiers go into battlo with defective shells. Tho sweeping nn-Jturo nn-Jturo of the bill wns emphasized by Senator i Cummins, who said thnt it npplied to individuals as well as to newspapers. |