ts allowances were made for the families of enlisted
men, compensation for injuries was provided, death benefits were
instituted, and a system of national insurance was established in the
interest of the men in service. Never before in the history of the
country had the government taken such a wise and humane view of its
obligations to those who served on the field of battle or on the seas.

=The Espionage and Sedition Acts.=--By the Espionage law of June 15,
1917, and the amending law, known as the Sedition act, passed in May of
the following year, the government was given a drastic power over the
expression of opinion. The first measure penalized those who conveyed
information to a foreign country to be used to the injury of the United
States; those who made false statements designed to interfere with the
military or naval forces of the United States; those who attempted to
stir up insubordination or disloyalty in the army and navy; and those
who willfully obstructed enlistment. The Sedition act was still more
severe and sweeping in its terms. It imposed heavy penalties upon any
person who used "abusive language about the government or institutions
of the country." It authorized the dismissal of any officer of the
government who committed "disloyal acts" or uttered "disloyal language,"
and empowered the Postmaster General to close the mails to persons
violating the law. This measure, prepared by the Department of Justice,
encountered vigorous opposition in the Senate, where twenty-four
Republicans and two Democrats voted against it. Senator Johnson of
California denounced it as a law "to suppress the freedom of the press
in the United States and to prevent any man, no matter who he is, from
expressing legitimate criticism concerning the present government." The
constitutionality of the acts was attacked; but they were sustained by
the Supreme Court and stringently enforced.

[Illustration: _Copyright by Underwood and Underwood, N.Y._

THE LAUNCHING OF A SHIP AT THE GREAT NAVAL YARDS, NEWARK, N.J.]

=Labor and the War.=--In view of the restlessness of European labor
during the war and especially the proletarian revolution in Russia in
November, 1917, some anxiety was early expressed as to the stand which
organized labor might take in the United States. It was, however, soon
dispelled. Samuel Gompers, speaking for the American Federation of
Labor, declared that "this is labor's war," and pledged the united
support of