“ The trial judge instructed the jury, rightly we think, that 'bona fide honest intent to make a test case is no defense,' saying: 'If there was a conspiracy amongst these defendants or any of them having as its object the violation of the Selective Service Law, knowingly, the reason for such violation is immaterial to you in your consideration of the question of their guilt or innocence.' Plainly one who would assail the validity of a statute in a test case can do so only by violating its provisions, here by knowingly counselling another to evade registration or service in the armed forces. ”

“ There is abundant evidence showing a consistent purpose of the Bund and Bund members to promote in the United States the interests of Nazi Germany. It is not denied, and could not be, that there is ample evidence from which the jury could have found that the Bund members, and petitioners in particular, were opposed to war with Germany and hostile to the Selective Service legislation of 1940 because they wished to prevent the raising of an Army for a war against Germany. ”

“ As the draftsmen of statutes do not usually limit the application of the chosen word to only some of its common meanings without indicating their purpose to do so, the word, read in its context in the statute, is far more revealing of the legislative purpose than the arbitrary selection of one of its dictionary meanings to the exclusion of others which are equally applicable. ”

“ Throughout the entire testimony this is the only evidence that any defendant, in speaking of the draft or military service, ever by the use of the word 'evade,' or otherwise, gave any indication of a counseling to anyone to escape military service. Under cross examination the witness testified that, in answering questions, Keegan had said that the only way anyone could avoid serving was by claiming and proving that he was a conscientious objector. ”

“ The implication from the use of the phrase 'otherwise evades' is plain that the acts of omission or refusal to perform the prescribed duty and acts of ostensible performance by false statements and the like are equally recognized by the statute as modes of evasion of military service or of other requirements of the Act. ”

“ There is much in literature put out or approved by the Bund concerning 'discrimination' against American citizens of German blood and the fight which must be waged against it. There is also much to the effect that the Bund is pursuing lawful aims within the constitutional rights of its members, and that its activities need not be hidden from governmental agencies. There is basis for suspicion of subversive conduct; there is matter offensive to one's sense of loyalty to our Government's policies. ”

“ If the meaning which the dictionary ascribes to a word standing in isolation is to be deemed controlling in the construction of a statute in which the word appears, it would seem to be of some importance to refer to the Latin derivation of the word 'evade' as meaning to go or proceed away from, and to its modern usage, also recognized by the dictionaries, as the synonym of 'avoid', or 'escape' by effort or by force or by any other means, as well as by artifice, craft or dexterity. ”

“ Military Service: On October 16, of this year, all citizens and non-citizens (male) who are of age, but who have not passed their 36th year, must register with the military authorities. This order must be complied with unhesitatingly.
'We represent the standpoint, however, that AN INDUCTION into the MILITARY SERVICE is NOT justified, in as far it concerns Bund members and American Germans, for in the Selective Service Law the citizenship rights of Bund members and the defenders of Germandom are unconstitutionally severed! ”

“ It is the expressed policy of the Congress that whenever a vacancy is caused in the employment rolls of any business or industry by reason of induction into the service of the United States of an employee pursuant to the provisions of this Act such vacancy shall not be filled by any person who is a member of the Communist Party or the German-American Bund' 50 U.S.C.App. ”

“ Funk & Wagnalls: 'To avoid by artifice; elude or get away from by craft or force; save oneself, as an impending evil; as, to evade an argument or a crisis.' Webster: 'To escape; to slip away * * * to get away from by artifice; to avoid by dexterity, subterfuge or ingenuity * * * to escape or avoid, often by the use of skill, dexterity, or contrivance.' Oxford: 'To escape by contrivance or artifice from * * * to avoid, save oneself from * * * to elude. ”

“ If defendants had innocent motives they are nonetheless guilty; if they had guilty motives they, of course, are guilty. It is somewhat difficult to see how the jury could reach any other than a verdict of guilty.
From what has been said above it will be seen that we are of opinion, first, that the promulgation and communication of Bund Command No. 37 was not in itself a counsel to evade; second, that the evidence of the general disposition of the petitioners either towards the Government of the United States or towards the Selective Service Act did not make the Command such ”

“ For testimony as to these protests was a vit l part of the evidence against them-without that part of the evidence they could not possibly have been convicted. It is necessary to distinguish between honest objections directed at legitimate wrongs, and sham protests which only obscure the real purpose. Language and actions of these defendants which is crucial to their convictions must be judged in the light of the fact that it followed passage of the Selective Service Act which contained the following provisions. ”

“ He explained that the article would make clear that if American citizens were deprived of their right to work they should not be saddled with the burden of military service. He said the Bund intended to fight this discrimination by a test in court. Neither Keegan nor Kunze suggested that Bund members should resist military service irrespective of what happened in the test case. Luedtke who is the principal witness as to what occurred at this meeting said he never heard Keegan, Kunze, or any national leader advise anyone to resist military service, irrespective of the outcome of the test case ”

“ That articles in the newspaper 'The Free American', published by the Bund, which were distributed, urged German-American citizens and others to resist, refuse and evade such service.
(6) That the defendants otherwise urged German-American citizens and others to resist the provisions of the Act of 1940 and to evade service. ”