Hide Article Text (OCR)
u rw »^Mlt;Mr,^snVK^' i.~ i ■ - i*«- —|——rf - ~T|T ♦* - --,11 —ip*rQin~n—M—|-iT|^fc JMM|Walter Lippmann Tells Even int.I Huronite ReadersIndiscriminating Policy Needed To Handle Pacific Coast Alien Problemln and from without The danger is logical arguments between the mili-not, as it would be in the inland cen- Ury authori11es out here aTld ^ters or perhaps even for the present cjvji authorities n Washington, and on the Atlantic Coast, from sabotage between the aroused citizenry of thePacific SWt. r£daccompanied by enemy action inside A much simpier apprDach will, IAmerican territory. This combma- believe, yield much more practical turn can be very formidable indeed^ results Forgpt for a moment aUFor while the striking power of about enemy aliens, dual citizenship, Japan the seas and air might naturalized citizens, native citizensnot in itself be overwhelming at any 0f enemy alien parentage, and con-pomt just now, Jj*pan could strike sjder a warrhip in San Francisco a blow which might do irreparable Harbor, an airplane in Los Angeles,? were accompanied by a general’s headquarter at Oshkosh ^.°f orfcmuzed sabotage to and an admiral’s at Podunk. Thenwhich this part of the country is think of the ]ineal desCendant. if, there happened to be such a person,, of George Washington the FatherI of His Country, and consider whathappens to Mr. Washington if he decides he would like to visit the warship, or take a walk in the airplane plant, or to drop in and | photograph the general and the admiral in their quarters.He is stopped by the sentry. He has to prove who he is. He has to prove that he has a good reason for doing what he wishes to do. He has to register, sign papers and wear an identification button. Then per-t haps, if he proves his case, he •I escorted by an armed guard w'hile he does his errand, and until he has checked out of the place and his papers and his button have been returned. Have Mr. Washington's constitutional rights been abridged? Has he been denied the dignity of the human person? Has his loyalty been impugned?Now, it seems to me that this is in principle and in general the procedure which ought to be used for all persons in a zone which the military authoritiesregard as open to enemy attack.In that zone, as in the corridors of the general’s headquarters or on the deck of the warship or within the gates of the airplane plant, every one should be compelled to prove that he has a good reason for being there, and no one should be allowed to come and go until he has proved that his business is necessary andconsistent with the national defense.In the vital and vulnerable area* it should be the rule that residence,employment, communication by telephone, telegraph; automobile andthat a citizen may not be interfered cam vDAWprerrt r . .. m, with unless he has committed anSAN FRANCISCO, Feb 1^-The overt act or at least unless th,,rlt;, isenemy alien problem on the Pacific st evWtnce ,hat he is about to Coast, or much more accurately the commil an ovcrt t Thlt;,re j ,hfifth column problem, is very serious nssumptjon that if the rights of aand it is very social. What makes citizen are abridged anywhere, theyI o i run an.d 80 speclal “ )hat have been abridged everywhere. The die Pacific Coast us in imminent dan- effect of these assumptions has been ger of a combined attack from with- - •ever can hope to get the right an- railroad are confined to licensed per-swer unless he first asks the right! sons who are fully identified and questions. | whose activities are fuilv known toThe official approach to the dan- the authorities and to their neigh-ger is through a series of unrealities, bors. The Pacific Coast is officiallyThere is the assumption that it is a problem of “enemy aliens.” As a [ matter of fact it is certainly also 11 a problem of native-born American citizens. There is the assumption**By WALTER LIPPMANN***to precipitate legalistic and ideo-especially vulnerable.This is a sober si element ofthe situation, in fact a report, based not on speculation but on what is known lo have taken place and to be taking place in this area of the war. It is the fact that the Japanese navy has been reconnoiiering the Pacific Coast more or less continuallyand for a considerable period of time, testing and feeling out the American defenses. It is the fact ihat communication takes place between the enemy at sea and enemy agents on landL These are facts which we shall ignore or minimise at our peril. It also is the fact that since the outbreak jf the Japaneee war there has been no important sabotage on the Pacific Coast. From what we know about Hawaii and about the fifth column in Europe, this is not, as some have liked to think, a sign that there is nothing to be feared. It is a sign that the blow is wel lorgan-sign that the blow is well organ-til it can be struck with maximum effect.In preparing to repel the attack the Army and Navy have all the responsibility but they are facing it with one hand tied down in Washington. I am sure I understand fully and appreciate thoroughly the unwillingness of Washington to adopt a policy of mass evacuation and mass internment of all those who are technically enemy aliens. But I submit that Washington is not defining the problem on the Pacific Coast correctly and that therefore it is raising insoluble issues unnecessarily and failing to deal w ith thepractical issues promptly. No oneIrIa combat zone* some part of it may at any moment be a battlefield. Nobody’s constitutional lights include the right to reside and do busines* See LIPPMANN—Paoa Nias
Newspaper Details
Huron Evening Huronite
Huron, South Dakota, US
Sat, Feb 14, 1942
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 05 Oct 2018
Other Publications Near Huron, South Dakota
Huron Evening Huronite
Daily Huronite
The Huron Tribune
Weekly State Spirit and Dakota Huronite
The Dakota Huronite
