The Price of Dissent in Wartime

William J. Reynolds, of Richland, is in the county jail in North Yakima to await appearance before the federal grand jury on a charge of having made treasonable utterances against the president and the army of the United States. Reynolds was given a hearing here last Saturday before U. S. Commissioner E. W. Trenbath, who gave him the choice of going to jail or furnishing $2,000 bonds. At the hearing, three witnesses testified that Reynolds had called President Wilson by a vile name and had expressed the wish that every American boy who went to France to fight would be killed. When placed upon the witness stand, Reynolds admitted that he had made the statements, asserting his constitutional right to speak his mind. Reynolds, 77, stated, 'If this country were to be invaded, as old as I am I would shoulder a gun and march to its defense. In fact I am a darned sight more loyal than a lot of the young fellows of my own community who have tried to escape the draft.' Reynolds has lived in Richland for eight or nine years, where he is engaged in the business of making concrete pipe and building blocks. Politically, he is a strong and uncompromising socialist.