Defense Councils – 1918 – Patriotism Gone Awry
Defense Council In Every Town
County Organization Plans to Form Subordinate Bodies
Letters To Citizens
Local Society Assists in Reaching Communities With News.
In accordance with a recent decision of the State Council of Defense to the effect that all County Councils of Defense in the state of Montana should proceed at once to extend their organization to include every center of population in their respective counties, the Council of Defense in this county, cooperating with the Missoula County American Defense society, is sending to several towns and cities in the county letters purposed to carry out this decision. The organizations thus formed are to be permanent for the duration of the war, and are to assume the responsibility to carrying on all patriotic work in the communities in which they exist.
These letters are being mailed to citizens of the several cities and towns of the county who have since the beginning of the war been active in the execution of patriotic affairs. These citizens are asked to make arrangements for meetings of organization. When the time and place of meeting in each community have been arranged, the Missoula County American Defense society will send speakers who will take charge of the organization of the sub-councils. These speakers will attend in pairs, one acting as chairman of the meetings and the other as speaker and director of organization. After the organizing work has been completed the meetings will be turned over to the officers thus elected.
The speakers who will take part of this work are A. J. Violette, Dr. Asa Willard, Henry Stiff, Rev. W. T. Lockwood, County Attorney Fred Angevine, Scotty Brown, Rev. J. N. Maclean and A Besancon.
The probable dates and places of meetings are Ronan, June 20; Frenchtown, June 23; St. Ignatius, June 20; Arlee, June 23; Clinton, June 20; Lolo, June 20.
The above article appeared in The Daily Missoulian on June 14, 1918.