The Oklahoma Leader (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Vol. 6, No. 30, Ed. 1 Saturday, January 31, 1920 Page: 4 of 4
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EDITORIAL
PAGE
The Oklahoma Leader
EDITORIAL
PAGE
No. 30—Vol. 6.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA, JANUARY 31, 1920.
Weekly.
THE OKLAHOMA LEADER
ffucceuor to Olter bailey Soda!fat. Bo* 777. Oklahoma City, Okl*
OKLAHOMA I.FADER COMPANY.
Entered an aacond elatja mail matter June 1, 191 i. tha Poat Offtca al
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, under the Act of March S. 1879.
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THE OKLAHOMA LEADER, Boi 777. Oklahoma City. Oklahoma.
THE USUAL SQUEAL
WHY THE BLOCKADE IS OFF
Might does not make right, but it has compelled the allies to
grant a measure of right to soviet Russia. The blockade is off-
so far as the European allies are concerned.
As usual the reason given is hypocritical. "With a view of
remedying the unhappy situation of the population of the inte-:
rior of Russia"—that is the reason the allied supreme council
gives for allowing trade to be resumed.
If the council had told the truth, it would have announced
that, because the soviet armies have whipped the czaristic auto-
crats whom the allies have been backing—and because John Bull
is shaking in his boots lest the soviet armies should menace his
autocratic sway in Mesopotamia, Persia, Afghanistan, India,
Egypt, and other enslaved areas—therefore, the allies have de-
cided that in order to save their own skin they will grant a meas- j
lire of justice that they should have granted long ago.
Such belated and compulsory submission to a right course
does not arouse admiration. It arouses contempt.
An additional reason for this submission is the fact that, in
the Russian territory which the soviet government has regained,
that government now has access to the materials with which to
rehabilitate the railroads and other industries. It also has gained
access to coal and food supplies.
Therefore—since the allies can no longer succeed in starving
Russian men, women and children to death anyhow—why not
make a show of piety by allowing commodities to go in—"with
a view to remedying the unhappy condition of the population"?
A. F. OF L AND SEDITION BILLS
We are glad to see the American Federation of Labor waking
up to the necessity of opposing the sedition bills.
Gompers is bitterly hostile to the Socialists—and the So-;
cialists are not overflowing with affection for him
y ■ - ^
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BIOGRAPHY OF DEBS
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:fSsi ^
Debs: His Authorized Life and
Letters. By David Karsner. Boni
& Liveright, $1.50.
This is a book that we have been
looking for, for a long time. It
is the plain, unvarnished story of a
man who is more than a man; the
story of the best beloved man in
America.
Gene Debs is in prison, and the
end of his story has not been writ-
ten and it will not be written for a
long time. We do not know today
how large a place in history will be
reserved for this wonderful man:
but we do know that the historian
of the future will give Debs, the
lover of mankind, a niche much
more prominent than is reserved
for many of the men who are fill-
ing much space today. Much more
important than all the Roosevelts,
all the Woods, all the Palmers and
Lansings and Houses of this gen-
eration. When Debs went to jail
in 1895, his career was at an end—
so it was fondly believed. It was
at an end—the old Debs, the mere
trade unionist. But Debs came
| out a bigger man, a greater man
than he went in, while Judges
his life and his career, and the rea-
son that the one man in America
who comes closest to the character
of the Christ whose religion is uni-
versally professed, is in a felon's
cell put there by professing Chris-
tians.
The story is not as detailed as it
will be when the time comes for a
full biography. But it is sufficient
to show why it is that a man of
Debs' character became "danger-
ous'' to the enemies of the people.
The chapter on the A. R. U., the
two great strikes that Debs led, the
trial for conspiracy that was a
boomerang, and the jailing for
contempt, is the best in the book.
It is full of excellent historical ma-
terial, history that should be fa-
miliar to every American, history
that has been lied about by every
"historian" and "statesman," his-
tory that means much to us in this
terrible day of insane reaction.
The Socialist chapters are a bit
too sketchy; the story of the or-
ganization of the Social Democ-
racy, the Social Democratic party
of 1897, and the union and integra-
tion of Socialist forces, in which
work Debs and his "pard" and be-
loved brother, Theodore, were tire-
j Woods and Grosscup, who sent j less workers, should be expanded
him to jail "for contempt of a Jin later editions. That was great
court that was contemptible have; work, and there we learn that Debs
only foiled oblivion by obloquy," j is not only an inspired advocate of
to quote the words of Debs' old j a great cause, but that also, he has
running mate, the unforgetable j a fine organizing head, and that he
Ben Hanford. has used that head to advantage
And so, we cannot write a final | just when it has been needed.
| history of Debs. We cannot do j But that is a minor defect. The
| more than tell the story of what I book, after all, is a series of etch-
Ihas thus far taken place in his life,! ings, and it is designed to instruct
and attempt to appraise, tentative-1 us in the character of the flaming
•
_ SMASHING THERMOMETERS j | Prison Comfort j
by scott wearing. , United States Steel corporation, The work of the Prison Comfort
n . ., , ... i The profiteering scheme of so-' and who dares to make those ideas c'ul5' t'le relief department of the
... j'nfi jWfJ' ""^er Gompers lead, the F ederation stood jcial organization which goes un- known hasbeen muzzled or ban Social,s, party organization, has
still and allowed the liberties of the people to be wrecked. Ap- der the name of "civilization" has ished or throttled—then, * * • hit the right spot to judge from
parently it believed the twaddle to the effect that the repressive'entered at last upon the long trail.. The morning papers carry two ,he letters that come to the office
tactics were intended to operate in war time only, and that the I Fach da.y hrin8s fresh evidences announcements, one of the Plumb ,, ,, c, n H Ih H
former measure of freedom would be restored after the war was its 'ssoIution fresh manifes- "industrial program," the other of 0 ' ,s' L 3 11 - * 10 1 irc'-
A foxy old bird like Gompers ought not to have been so
easily taken in. But there's no accounting for war passion. It
knocks common sense cold and stiff.
The war hsd not been over long when repressive measures
iiegan to be used against union workers who had supported the
war fervently. The miners and the steel workers were the hard-
est hit. They had been war enthusiasts.
Gompers—unlike candid Upton Sinclair—is not confessing
his mistake. But he is getting a corner of one eye open far
enough to see that the new sedition bills, if they become law, can
be used, and doubtless will be used, for the purpose of suppress-
ing the American Federation of Labor—not simply the I. W. W.
und the Communists.
Of course, the Federation, by its stupid failure to support
labor's political party in the past, has largely disarmed itself.
But, even so, it is very powerful. And we trust that Gom-
pers means just what he says when he promises that it will op-
pose the sedition bills with whatever power it may possess.
JOHN BULL LOOKS OUT FOR HIMSELF
John Bull can be trusted to look out for Number One. Num-
ber One, being interpreted, means the financial and commercial
interests of the British ruling class.
When our Woodrow was in Paris, John had his own way in
nearly everything. No doubt he jollied and flattered the great
man—we believe Woodrow would admit that he is a great man
and now and then gave in a little bit in order to get away with
the big chunks.
Upon coming home our Woodrow left his representatives to
took after the completion of the job of making the world safe for
iemocracy—or shall we say making the world safe for British
imperialism? Finally the successors came home, too.
Not long after, Britain, France and Italy withdrew the Rus-
sian blockade without consulting our Woodrow.
You can shut your eyes and see the lords of British com-
merce laughing at the discomfiture of their American competi-
tors. Undoubtedly the British had prepared themselves to jump
in and hog the bulk of the Russian trade. Unless prevented b}'
the Russians—as intimated in the Litvinoff interview—they will
suck up the profits while Woodrow contents himself with his
acid test. It ought to be in perfect condition, for he never has
j.sed it.
AN AMERICAN HIDING IN WASHINGTON
tations of the new world that is the determination, reached by the 'n® t'le work from 220 South Ash-
arising on the ruins of the old. .representatives of the railway men 'and Blvd., from the prisoners who
. , . —- railway
The imprecations and curses of to stop fooling with wage in-i have been benefited by the club's
the old order ring out like the cries creases and to turn to an extensive! activities
of an enraged fish-wife. Judges system of co-operative production! Nnt . t. ,,, . t.
issue their injunctions, intended to and distribution as the only pos- . the politi-
hamper and retard the work of the sible means of solving present! ca' and industrial prisoners in the
labor movement. The spokesmen 1 economic and social problems. I various jails of the country were
of capitalism, writing from their, a few wee|<s 8g0 was ,j,e mjn.j supplied with warm winter under-
editorial sanctums, denounce the ers> demanding nationalization of | wear and woolen socks by the loy-
new order in all of its manifesto, the m,ncs Beforc ., was fhe comrades everywhere and
tions. imploring their readers to dockers, demanding ownership of'Y L comrades everywhere and
t,„ .I,-.- .1— --j; .... v I the efficient work of distribu-
tion by Mrs. Huth. It is an-
nounced, however, that there are
many more to be supplied.
A letter, typical of scores that
come to the office of the organiza-
tion, is the following, from an in-
dustrial prisoner in Leavenworth:
My Dear Friends:
"Acknowledging receipt of your
Christmas box gift containing
be on their guard against the radi : thc docks on which thev are em-
cal doctrines that are making such rioyed. Alreadv the farmers of
headway among the "ignorant; the northwcst
are busy with plans
masses. ; that will wipe out the private ele-
The Chicago Tribune, in order vator, the private packing house,
to prove to its 680,000 buyers that the private bank, and the private
the red menace is threatening store. The northwest is to be or-
to overwhelm the country, prints ganized and run for those who
the manifesto of the Communist work there and live there—not for
party on the front page, thus giv-jthe Chicago packers, thc Minne-
ing it more circula:ion in 24 hours; apolis grain interests and the Wall
than it has had in the pr-jvious six!St. bankers
months. I These, in turn, are but signs— , .
Victor Berger, lawfully elected I signs of a conviction that is tak-1 ^ 5 _
representative from Milwaukee, is! ing possession of the workers all
excluded from the house of rep-1 over the United States—that this
resentatives, re-elected by an enor- will never be a free country again
mously increased vote and, while'until the workers own and manage
he waits for the house to exclude the machinery of production and
him a second time, is escorted out; exchange.
of a New Jersey city by the policej Wake up, Mr. Attorney General!
before he has so much as reached Organize new campaigns; secure
the meeting which lie was sched-l bigger appropriations; hire more
uled to address. |secret police; do more front page
Now comes the story of the New ! advertising! Otherwise, how can
York legislature, calling five So-! you hope to save the system? Oth-
cialist members—duly elected ! erwise how can you expect to con-
front five New York districts—be-
fore the speaker, and, on thc ad-
vice of the attorney general of
the state, denying them their seats
on the ground that they are mem-
bers of the party which elected
them to office.
Meanwhile, as a sort of bass-
viol, accompaniment to this mani-
fold orchestration, day by day
sound the strummings of the de-
partment of justice, with the inter-
midable raids, prosecutions, trials,
investigations, deportations and
other "front page" matter. At last
capitalism has become articulate—
how monstrous its discords!
What is the purpose of this fren-
zied attack on the "reds"? It has
but one purpose—to "save civiliza-
tion" ; to "preserve law and order;"
to safeguard the inalienable rights
of thc parasite and the profiteer.
When will this salvation be as-
sured?
After all of the members of thc
There must be a real American hiding somewhere in the
administration at Washington—or perhaps the poor fellow has
long ago been waylaid and dispatched.
Admiral Sim- ays that early in 1917 Secretary of the Navy
Daniels orally instructed him not to let the British pull the wool
over his eyes.
But Daniels denies it. No, sireel Our Josephus is not going, _ ...
to get himself in bad with John Bull by admitting to any such!'. W. W. have been lodged in jail
treasonable utterance. Since Woodrow handed our country over After all of the Communists have
to the keeping of John, it behooves Josephus to fling the lie into ''
the face of any man who dares charge him with having said
naughty things about John.
If he didn't, who did? Where is that real American? Dare ...
be show himself in the midst of his pro-British associates and cvery man or woman who has ideas
'fess up? I that differ from the by-laws of the
And hv tho u,uv u,hv hih , .. Union League club or the charter
advii ? Woodrow the same of the National City bank or the|
articles of incorporation of """
beer, raided and beaten and de-
ported. After all of thc Socialists
have been given 10-ycar sentences,
or sent to the projected "penal col-
ony" in the Philippines. After
vince the American people that
they should pay 20 cents for sugar
and $10 for coal while the sugar
profiiteers and the coal barons
tuck away their millions? Other-
wise how will you cope with these
new perils that are each day
threatening to send the whole cap-
italist world into the limbo of dejd
dreams?
You had thought, Mr. Attorney
General, that the 1. W. W. and the
Socialists and the Communists
were the cold weather, and that
when you got rid of them, it would
be warm Wrong again! They
were the thermometers. You may
break the glass and let out the
mercury, but never fear, old Jack
Frost will find the zero mark just
the same.
The I. W. W.'s and the Socialists
and the Communists stand for
ideas. Their programs are based
on logic, reason and belief. The
entire organization of the. depart-
ment of justice cannot stamp out
even a small idea—let alone a big
one. It may burn leaflets, smash
presses, tear up charters, deface
pictures, raid homes in the dead of
night, set children crying,
ly, while waiting for the unrolling
of the years to estimate exactly
how great Debs is.
And this book of David Kars-
j ner's is therefore a fine piece of
j work; Karsner does not attempt to
I give a full life of Debs, or finally
I to appraise his services to human-
jity. But in the fascinating volume
I that he has given us. he has caught
the spirit of the great man, and
| has set it down.
One cannot rise from a reading
| of the book without a moisture
! gathering in the eyes, for one feels
singularly close to Debs after
reading this book. And if one hap-
pens to know Debs, and has had
dealings with him, one is filled with
reverence and awe. as something
like the full story of Debs' glori-
ous soul is read, because of the al-
most unbelievable character of the
man.
The author of the book has
taken a new tack in the writing of
biography. He begins with Debs
in prison, the most famous politi-
cal in American history, takes us
back to the trial, the journey to
prison, Debs in Moundsville, and
then spirited away to Atlanta. That
is what every American wants to
know about. That is what Karsner
tells. And then, with the rever-
ence and awe at the greatness and
the sweet simplicity of the man.
one is eager to read the story of
and many other articles.
"That gift has been received by
me, as well as by all other indus-
trial and political prisoners here,
with a great feeling of toy and
gfatitude, not only for the ma-
terial comfort that it conveyed to
us, but most especially in consid-
eration of the spirit of solidarity
and kindness that prompted it. Not
for a moment do we overlook the
fact that most of the friends who
concurred in these donations are
working people who might have
deprived themselves and their dear
ones of a good deal of comfort and
happiness in order that we fellows
who are standing behind the prison
bars be cared for. Therefore, I
deem it my duty to express my
warm gratitude to you and all
members of the Prison Comfort
club for the interest that you are
taking in our behalf, with the hope
that your sacrifices and faithful-
ness to the common cause may be
instrumental in bringing about in
a very near future emancipation
and liberty for the American work-
ing class.
"While conveying to you. in thc
name of all my fellow workers
here, the greetings of a happy new
year, I want you to be assured that j
1 do exceedingly appreciate your
faithful endeavors for the cause.
"Lovingly Yours,
"GIOVANNI BALDAZZI."
wind has died down and the naked
stars snap and crackle in the
drive | frozen sky. Pause for s moment,
women into hysteria and lock up Consider the immensity that sur-
the men who accept certain ideas [ rounds you. while the cold pene-
and hold certain Beliefs; but the trates to the very marrow of your
ideas, * * * 'bones. Then, eagerly, energetical-j
Go out, Mr. Attorney General, I ly wrathfully grab a hatchet and;
thc on some winter's nieht. when the smash another thermometer!
j God or Mammon? j
Why should not the poor man
live? Why not as well as you live
a life free from care? Why must
he eke out his days in misery and
mortification?
Because you would not then be
able to receive so large dividends
or build houses so fine; or else be-
cause his cry strikes so unpleasant-
ly on your ears?
But did not the same God to
whom you pray weekly that he
may preserve your property also
create the poor man? And do you
dare speak of the will of God when
the poor man sinks under your
heavy hand?
If suffering is God's will, if you
have no other comfort for the poor
man's misery but that it is good
for him to cultivate submission
and patience, why then do you cry
out against the dangers that
threaten you, why talk of revolu-
tion and violence when yoUr
thrones totter? Does not the Bible
say: With what judgment ye judge
ye shall be judged and with what
measure ve mete it shall be meted
to you?
If it is right for you to oppress
the poor, tell me why it is not right
for the poor to def«d themselves
against you?
Is it true that God has deter-
mined on a diverse lot for men, de-
creeing happiness for the rich and
suffering for the poor? It is true
that your industrial advantages
give you a rightful monopoly of
happiness?
I will tell you thc truth: Mum-
soul that belongs to us. And this
the book does magnificently.
Some day the name of Jijdge
Westenhaven will be forgotten,
and the names of those who per-
secuted the "politicals" will again
foil oblivion only by obloquy. But
there is a large open space in front
of the railroad "depot" in Terre
Haute, and on that spot the people
with whom 'Gene Debs lived all his
life, the people who loved him, and
whom he loved with a wonderful
passion, the people to whom he
was a loving, considerate, affec-
tionate neighbor, will erect a mon-
ument. And the monument will
be to the man who went to prison
in 1895, to whom was sent this
message: "Stand by your prin-
ciples, regardless of consequences
—your father and mother"; the
monument will be to a man who
of all Americans came closest to
the perfect ideal of suffering, toil-
ing, hoping humanity, humanity
that is today in the gutter, but has
its head in the sky.
That is the feeling one gets
from reading this book of David
Karsner's. And that is why every
American worker should read the
book at once, and feel proud and
happy that such a man lives, and
that he is the blood brother of
every man and woman and child
who suffers in this great land.
WM. M. FEIGENBAUM.
I Doom of Slavery j
The Socialist party is the politi-
cal expression of what is known as
"the class struggle. This struggle
is an economic fact as old as his-
tory itself, but it is only within the
past generation that it has become
a thorough conscious and well or-
ganized political fact. As long as
this struggle was confined to its
economic aspect the ruling classes
had nothing to fear; as, being in
control of all the means and agen-
cies of government, they were al-
ways able to use their power effec-
tively to suppress uprisings either
of chattel slaves, feudal serfs or
freedborn and political equal cap-
italist wageworkers. But now that
the struggle has definitely entered
the political field, it assumes for
the present ruling class a new and
sinister aspect. With the whole
power of the state—the army, the
navy, the courts, thc police — in
possession of the working class by
virtue of its victory at the polls,
the death knell of capitalist pri-
vate property ijnd wage slavery
v- Det>s-
mon has blinded your hearts, dark-
ened your intellects, broken your
strength of soul. He has taken
justice, truth and love from your
[ hearts and planted there his own
morals.
It is even as Jesus said: "Ye
j cannot serve God and Mommon."
and you who serve Mammon are
incapable of understanding the so-
cial question, because its vci'y es-
sence is the irreconcilable cntr.itv
between God a>:d Matnmon.—Pi -
i tor Kutter
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The Oklahoma Leader (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Vol. 6, No. 30, Ed. 1 Saturday, January 31, 1920, newspaper, January 31, 1920; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc148991/m1/4/: accessed April 25, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.