Document 3a

… I think all men recognize that in time of war the citizen must surrender some rights for the

common good which he is entitled to enjoy in time of peace. But, sir, the right to control their

own Government according to constitutional forms is not one of the rights that the citizens of

this country are called upon to surrender in time of war.

Rather, in time of war, the citizen must be more alert to the preservation of his right to control

his Government. He must be most watchful of the encroachment [intrusion] of the military upon

the civil power. He must beware of those precedents in support of arbitrary action by

administration officials which, excused on the pleas of necessity in war time, become the fixed

rule when the necessity has passed and normal conditions have been restored.

More than all, the citizen and his representative in Congress in time of war must maintain his

right of free speech.…

Source: Senator Robert M. La Follette, “Free Speech in Wartime,” October 6, 1917

What is one argument against restricting free speech during wartime, according to Senator Robert M.

La Follette?