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VERSUS 
BOLSHEVISM 


^LE    HANSON 

Fopmer  Mayor  of  Seattle 


AMERICANISM  versus  BOLSHEVISM 


AMERICANISM 

VERSUS 

BOLSHEVISM 


By 
OLE  HANSON 

Former  Mayor  of  Seattle 


DATE 


SEEN  BY 
PRESERVATION 
SERViCES 
JAN  3  0  t992 


DOUBLEDAY,  PAGE  &  COMPANY 

GARDEN   CITY         NEW  YORK  LONDON 

1920 


H36 


1102871 


COPYRIGHT,  I9I9,  1920,  BY 

DOUBLBDAY,  PAGE  &  COMPANY 

ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED,  INCLUDING  THAT  OF 

TRANSLATION  INTO  FOREIGN  LANGUAOEB, 

INCLUDING  THE  SCANDINAVIAN 


AMERICANISM  versus  BOLSHEVISM 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  witii  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


littp://www.arcliive.org/details/americanismversuOOIiansuoft 


DEDICATION 

I  dedicate  this  book  to  all  Americans  who  love  their  coun- 
try, revere  its  ideals,  understand  and  support  its  institutions, 
and  are  willing  to  give  their  all  in  order  that  "  our  Govern- 
ment shall  not  perish  from  the  earth." 

I  dedicate  this  book  to  them,  caring  not  from  what  hu- 
man breed  they  sprang,  regardless  of  their  length  of  residence, 
despite  any  difference  in  religious  creed  or  political  faith, 
only  requiring  that  they  place  our  country,  the  United 
States  of  America,  First,  Now  and  Forever! 


PREFACE 

I  UNDERTOOK  the  writing  of  this  book  for  the  pur- 
pose of  placing  before  the  people  of  my  country  the 
truth  in  relation  to  bolshevism  and  its  American  mani- 
festation, I.  W.  W.'ism;  as  well  as  stating  in  plain 
language  just  what  the  concept  of  Americanism  means 
to  me. 

I  am  tired  of  reading  rhetorical,  finely  spun,  hypo- 
critical, far-fetched  excuses  for  bolshevism,  commun- 
ism, syndicalism,  I.  W.  W.'ism!  Nauseated  by  the 
sickly  sentimentality  of  those  who  would  conciliate, 
pander,  and  encourage  all  who  would  destroy  our  Gov- 
ernment, I  have  tried  to  learn  the  truth  and  tell  it  in 
United  States  English  of  one  or  two  syllables. 

Every  statement  made,  every  principle  enunciated, 
every  record  quoted,  almost  without  exception,  is 
taken  from  the  records  of  the  syndicalistic  and  bol- 
shevistic organizations;  from  the  columns  of  their  maga- 
zines and  propaganda  newspapers;  from  their  text  books; 
from  the  lips  of  their  leaders  and  from  other  authorita- 
tive sources,  agreed  upon  and  repeatedly  quoted  by  their 
propagandists. 

In  searching  the  pages  of  its  brief  but  eventful  his- 
tory I  could  find  no  more  terrific  indictment  of  bolshe- 
vism and  I.  W.  W.'ism  than  its  own  authoritative  rec- 
ords, which  prove  conclusively  that  bolshevism  is  the 

vii 


viii  PREFACE 

autocratic  rule  of  the  lowest,  least  intelligent,  least 
able  class  who  believe  that  by  "direct  action"  and 
"force"  they  can  terrorize  our  people  into  turning  over 
to  them  the  conduct,  ownership,  and  control  of  every- 
thing. Strikingly  ignorant,  malignantly  cruel,  with  no 
concept  of  history,  with  but  an  elementary  knowledge 
of  social  production,  with  little  productive  capacity, 
with  no  constructive  ability,  this  movement  in  our 
country  would  be  ludicrous  were  it  not  for  the  senti- 
mental, weak-minded  followers  who,  steeped  in  idealism 
and  fanaticism,  really  believe  in  a  bolshevik  Utopia, 
where  free  milk  will  run  in  the  water  mains  and  life 
may  be  supported  without  toil,  where  knowledge  may 
be  gained  without  effort,  and  where  the  established 
truths  of  the  centuries  will  be  overthrown  by  soviet 
resolutions. 

With  syndicalism — and  its  youngest  child,  bolshe- 
vism — thrive  murder,  rape,  pillage,  arson,  free  love, 
poverty,  want,  starvation,  filth,  slavery,  autocracy, 
suppression,  sorrow  and  Hell  on  earth.  It  is  a  class 
government  of  the  unable,  the  unfit,  the  untrained; 
of  the  scum,  of  the  dregs,  of  the  cruel,  and  of  the  fail- 
ures. Freedom  disappears,  liberty  emigrates,  universal 
suffrage  is  abolished,  progress  ceases,  manhood  and 
womanhood  are  destroyed,  decency  and  fair  dealing 
are  forgotten,  and  a  militant  minority,  great  only  in 
their  self-conceit,  reincarnate  under  the  Dictatorship 
of  the  Proletariat  a  greater  tyranny  than  ever  existed  un- 
der czar,  emperor,  or  potentate. 

The  anarchist  was  courageous;  he  risked  his  life  to 
take  a  life.    The  nihilist  was  a  wan,  despite  his  crimes 


PREFACE  IX 

of  violence;  but  the  Bolshevist  (the  I.  W.  W.)  is  a  sneak 
and  a  coward  per  se,  made  so  by  the  absorption  of  a 
propaganda  which  teaches  violence  of  every  descrip- 
tion, advocates  sabotage  in  the  darkness,  always, 
everywhere,  saying:  "Do  this  deed.  Terrorize  the  ma- 
jority y  but  take  care  of  your  own  worthless  hide  /"  Mor- 
ally debauching  every  member  by  the  teachings  of 
cowardice  and  hate,  the  propagandists  have  used  the 
ignorant  and  the  mattoid  and  the  moron  for  their  foul 
purposes. 

The  American  bolshevists  (I.  W.  W.)  fired  wheat 
fields  when  our  army  needed  wheat,  put  dead  rats  and 
mice  in  canned  food,  spiked  logs  in  order  to  destroy 
machinery  and  fellow  workmen,  set  forest  fires,  placed 
emery  dust  in  machinery,  burned  down  mills  and  logging 
camps,  killed  vineyards,  and  did  every  other  damnable 
and  cowardly  thing,  always  taking  care  that  their  own 
life  and  liberty  were  safe. 

Their  real  and  avowed  purpose  is  the  overthrow  of 
all  order  and  government  and  the  making  of  our  coun- 
try an  experimental  station  for  the  purpose  of  trying 
out  the  blind  vagaries  and  nightmares  of  the  intellectual 
pismires  and  spittoon  philosophers  who  would  then  be- 
come the  autocrats  in  control  of  all  things. 

In  this  book  I  have  briefly  sketched  the  history  of 
syndicalism  in  France,  Germany,  England,  Russia,  and 
the  United  States.  I  believe  I  have  conclusively  proven 
that  the  syndicalist,  whether  called  bolshevist  or 
I.  W.  W.,  is  simply  a  revolutionary  criminal;  that  each 
and  every  one  teaches  the  commission  of  crime,  that 
each  and  every  one  commits  crime  in  the  exact  propor- 


PREFACE 

tion  as  his  courage  and  opportunity  permit.  The 
methods  of  syndicalism  consist  of  force,  direct  action, 
sabotage,  strike  after  strike,  in  order  to  foment  class 
hatred,  and  then  the  general  strike  which  if  successful 
brings  revolution. 

The  last  part  of  the  book  is  devoted  to  a  discussion 
and  explanation  of  the  cures  for  bolshevism.  In  my 
constructive  programme  I  have  discussed  Americanism 
and  Americanization,  selective  immigration,  education 
and  educators,  private  rights,  social  legislation,  deporta- 
tion of  aliens,  punishment  of  citizens,  and  universal 
service. 

A  government  which  will  not  defend  itself  cannot 
stand.  We  have  had  enough  of  weakness,  conciliation, 
and  pandering.  We  must  run  the  United  States  of 
America  primarily  for  the  United  States  of  America. 

America  First! 

Ole  Hanson. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PACE 

I.    Why  and  How  I  Became  Mayor  of  Seattle       3 

II.    Agitation  of  the  Industrial  Workers  of 

the  World  Culminates  in  Shipyard  Strike      28 

III.  The    Labour    Situation    in    Seattle   and 

Throughout  the  Northwest  Preceding 
THE  Attempted  Revolution      ....       47 

IV.  The  New  American  Revolution   Planned 

AND  Developed 59 

V.    Revolution  Started  and  Stopped  in  Seattle      84 

VI.    Something  of  the  Rise,  Trial,  and  Failure 

OF  Bolshevism  in  Europe 97 

VII.    Some  of  History's  Verdicts  on  Reformers, 

Utopias,  Trade  Unions,  and  Bolshevism  .     114 

VIII.    The  Causes  of  Bolshevism  in  Russia      .     .     134 

IX.  The  Czar  and  the  Duma  Come  to  the  Part- 

ing of  the  Ways 152 

X.  How  the  World  War  Saved,  the  Revolution 

Destroyed,    and    Lenin    Reestablished 
Czarism. 169 

*J   XI.    The  Origin  and  Development  of  Bolshevism 

IN  THE  United  States 194 

XII.    The  Gradual  Penetration  of  the  American 
"4  Federation  of  Labour  by  the  Industrial 

Workers  of  the  World 223 

Y  XIII.    Bolshevism  in  America;  Its  Causes  AND  Some 

Remedies 240 

KlW.    Bolshevism  Contrasted  With  Americanism    281 

xi 


Americanism  versus  Bolshevism 

CHAPTER  I 

WHY  AND  HOW  I  BECAME  MAYOR  OF  SEATTLE 

When  I  came  to  Seattle  in  1902, 1  pitched  my  tent  on 
Beacon  Hill,  a  close-in,  non-settled  part  of  the  city. 
The  first  night  I  arrived  I  stood  on  the  hill  and  saw 
the  child-city  spread  out  before  me.  Below  me  to  the 
west  were  the  tide-lands  covered  with  bulrushes,  with 
an  occasional  street  on  stilts  running  over  them;  to  the 
north  was  the  city  ablaze  with  light,  with  small  build- 
ings, narrow  streets,  a  station  house  for  a  depot,  and 
hills  and  hills  covered  with  forests.  Around  the  fire 
that  night  I  told  the  curious  who  had  gathered  to 
watch  the  strangers  that  we  had  come  to  Seattle  to 
make  it  our  home,  to  be  a  part  of  its  growth,  and  that 
some  day  I  would  be  its  mayor.  Of  course  they 
laughed  at  the  idea  of  the  red-headed  stranger  with  his 
team  and  covered  wagon  becoming  the  mayor  of  their 
city  of  100,000  people.  Laughter  and  ridicule  have 
never  bothered  me,  as  I  have  always  believed  that  if 
one  wants  to  do  anything  bad  enough,  he  can  do  it, 
and  that  it  is  just  as  easy  to  fish  for  whales  as  for  min- 
nows.    Man  is  the  only  animal  who  can  laugh  and 

3 


4      AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

surely  is  the  only  one  who  ought  to  be  laughed  at. 
Anyhow,  it  is  always  easy  to  convert  the  man  who 
laughs. 

We  built  a  home  on  Beacon  Hill  and  lived  there  for 
many  years,  until  my  family  increased  so  in  size  that  we 
outgrew  the  house  and  spread  out  into  two  tent- 
houses.  Then  my  wife,  woman-like,  insisted  on  secur- 
ing a  home  with  fourteen  rooms.  She  said,  in  order  to 
house  the  family,  but  verily,  I  believe,  in  order  to  have 
more  work  to  do.  While  we  now  have  a  larger  home, 
every  now  and  then  I  return  to  the  old  spot  to  relive, 
as  it  were,  one  of  the  happiest  periods  of  my  life.  And 
how  we  worked  to  plan  and  then  build  that  first  home! 
I  dug  the  holes  and  planted  the  trees,  brought  the  climb- 
ing rose-bush  from  Oregon,  the  birch  from  California, 
the  magnolia  from  Florida.  Really,  you  know,  I  like 
the  old  place  best,  and  some  day  perhaps,  when  the 
boys  and  girls  have  gone  out  into  the  world,  if  I  have 
money  enough,  I  may  buy  it  back  and  live  there  again. 
But  we  wander. 

About  Christmas  time  in  1917  people  in  Seattle 
began  to  look  around  for  a  mayor.  They  said  they 
wanted  a  war-mayor  and  were  tired  of  the  old  cam- 
paign issues.  No  one  came  and  asked  me  to  become  a 
candidate,  but  folks  generally  conceded  that  if  I  made 
up  my  mind  to  run,  I  would  win.  Few  ever  ask  an 
independent  free  man  to  seek  office!  Usually  those 
who  ask  you  to  run  want  something  an  honest  man 
cannot  grant ! 

I  happened,  one  evening,  to  go  up  to  look  at  the  ^ 
place  and  as  I  stood  on  the  same  promontory  where  I 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM      s 

unhitched  the  team  seventeen  years  before,  I  saw,  in- 
stead of  dank,  stagnant  tide-lands  and  bulrushes, 
hundreds  of  magnificent  buildings;  the  waterfront  was 
ablaze  with  thousands  of  Hghts;  the  furnaces  lit  up  the 
heavens,  and  the  shipyards  fringing  the  bay  looked 
like  one  great  vessel  with  ropes  and  spars  and  with 
thousands  of  little  things  called  men  swarming  about 
them.  Some  of  the  great  hills  were  gone,  washed  away 
to  replace  the  ooze  of  the  ocean  with  solid  land — and 
where  were  the  forests?  Cut  down,  sawed  up,  and  in 
their  places  stood  thousands  of  homes. 

Seattle,  at  that  time,  had  400,000  people  living  in 
homes,  many  of  which  I  had  helped  to  build.  For  the 
first  time  in  years  real-estate  and  building  were  active 
and  my  business  was  prosperous.  I  knew  that  during 
the  war  one  could  amass  a  fortune  in  Seattle  who  knew 
the  building  business  as  well  as  I  did.  But  our  boy, 
our  first  born,  was  suffering  from  throat  trouble.  He 
was  five  feet  nine  and  weighed  but  109  pounds. 
He  was  not  well  and  could  not  serve.  I  wanted  to  help 
and  do  my  share.  My  parents  had  come  to  this  coun- 
try from  Norway.  They  came  here  wanting  liberty, 
freedom,  and  a  greater  opportunity  for  themselves  and 
their  children.  They  found  this  country  to  be  good, 
and  never  tired  of  telling  us,  in  broken  English,  what  a 
great  country  this  was  and  how  different  from  any  other 
land  in  the  world.  They  loved  the  United  States  and 
so  do  their  children,  every  one.  Both  were  dead,  but 
I  knew  that  could  I  ask  their  advice,  they  would  say, 
"^ur  country  is  at  war.  Others  are  going  to  the  front, 
but  you  can  serve  at  home.     Do  your  duty!"     lowed 


6      AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

considerable  money  (for  me),  but  my  creditors  were 
secured  and  I  felt  they  could  wait.  Wanting  to  serve 
my  country  in  some  capacity,  I  determined  that 
evening  to  run  for  mayor  and  if  elected,  to  abandon 
my  private  business  and  stay  on  the  job  during  the 
zvar. 

I  did  not  know  whether  I  could  be  elected  as  the 
political  fights  in  which  I  had  participated  had  been 
bitter.  My  support  of  the  direct  primary,  the  eight- 
hour  law  for  women,  the  eight-hour  law  for  under- 
ground miners,  and  the  workmen's  compensation  act, 
etc.,  had  made  me  enemies,  and  when  I  forced  the 
passage  of  the  anti-racetrack  gambling  bill,  which  elimi- 
nated a  gang  of  crooks  from  our  midst,  the  grafters 
never  forgave  me.  My  fight  on  the  red-light  district 
during  three  city  campaigns  earned  for  me  the  opposi- 
tion of  that  multitude  of  wretches  who  owned  and 
rented  property  in  the  district  as  well  as  all  the  box- 
coated,  pink-cufFed  hangers  on.  The  business  com- 
munity, just  awakening  to  the  righteousness  of  the 
measures  for  which  I  had  fought,  still  regarded  me  as 
somewhat  unsafe.  The  labour  forces  had  never  had 
any  fault  to  find  with  my  record,  and  I  felt  that  the 
"old  timers"  would  be  for  me  while  the  "Reds"  and 
anti-war  faction  would  just  as  surely  be  against  me. 
My  hope  of  election,  apparently,  depended  on  the  great 
middle  class  who  had  no  axes  to  grind,  wanted  no  special 
privileges,  but  simply  desired  a  fair,  square  business  ad- 
ministration, lOO  per  cent,  loyal. 

Soon  after  our  country  entered  the  war  Carap 
Lewis  was  established  near  Tacoma,  a  city  of  100,000, 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM      7 

thirty-eight  miles  away.  It  was  here  that  the  soldiers 
were  to  be  received,  trained,  and  prepared  for  war. 
Upon  the  establishment  of  this  camp,  immediate  fric- 
tion arose  between  army  officials  and  Seattle's  city 
officials.  Mayor  Gill,  since  dead,  was  in  office.  He 
was  attacked  by  the  army  officials  for  not  **  keeping  the 
town  clean"  and  because  "sedition  and  treason  were 
not  suppressed'*;  because  the  "I.  W.  W.  still  continued 
their  activities,"  and  because  *'no  soldier  could  visit 
Seattle  without  being  handed  anti-war  literature  and 
hearing  speeches  against  the  Government."  It  was 
also  openly  charged  that  "Seattle  was  infested  with 
itinerant  women  who,  reeking  with  disease,  were  spread- 
ing the  same  amongst  the  soldiery."  Army  officials 
said  that  "the  I.  W.  W.  propaganda  was  German 
propaganda  and  that  the  women  were  ofttimes  Ger- 
man agents,  paid  with  German  money  to  destroy  the 
health  of  the  soldiers,  and  that  the  whole  thing  was  a 
conspiracy  against  Uncle  Sam  and  not  just  a  *  hap- 
penstance.'" Notice  was  given  to  Mayor  Gill  to  re- 
move his  chief  of  police  and  clean  up.     Gill  told  them 

to  go  to and  insisted  that  the  town  was  clean.     It 

was  not  clean,  but  so  far  as  morality  was  concerned,  it 
was  certainly  as  clean  as  Tacoma.  The  Mayor  of  Ta- 
coma,  however,  agreed  to  cooperate,  and  as  I  under- 
stand it  Gill  did  not. 

One  morning  Seattle  awoke  to  find  that  a  "ban"  had 
been  placed  on  the  city  of  Seattle  and  no  soldier  or 
officer  or  any  one  connected  with  the  army  could  enter 
our  city  except  on  army  business.  This  was  by  order 
of  General  Greene  in  charge  of  Camp  Lewis.     It  was  a 


8      AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

terrific  blow  to  our  civic  pride,  and  every  effort  was  made 
by  determined  citizens  to  cause  Mr.  Gill  to  change  his 
mind,  remove  his  chief  of  police,  and  do  as  the  army 
officials  dictated.  After  six  weeks  of  national  disgrace 
for  our  city  Mayor  Gill  did  remove  the  chief  and  ap- 
pointed in  his  stead  Joel  F.  Warren,  who  had  been  in 
the  Government  Secret  Service. 

At  the  request  of  the  Government,  Mayor  Gill  then 
instituted  a  quarantine  station  for  diseased  men  and 
women  under  the  supervision  of  Commissioner  of 
Health  Dr.  J.  S.  McBride.  From  that  time  on  (and 
we  are  still  continuing  it),  when  men  and  women 
were  arrested  for  certain  misdemeanors,  they  were 
given  a  thorough  examination,  including  the  Wasser- 
man  and  Noguchi  blood  tests,  and  if  found  infected, 
were  quarantined  and  kept  away  from  society  until  all 
trace  of  the  malady  had  disappeared. 

There  was  a  great  deal  of  dissatisfaction  with  the 
conduct  of  affairs  at  the  City  Hall,  for  years  every  cam- 
paign having  been  conducted  on  police  issues.  We 
really  did  not  elect  a  mayor  to  conduct  the  affairs  V  a 
great  business  institution,  such  as  Seattle  had  become, 
but  to  become  a  kind  of  glorified  chief  of  police.  Great 
issues  were  forgotten  every  time  and  petty  police  dis- 
putes were  in  everyone's  mouth.  A  ten-cent  poker 
game  received  more  headlines  than  did  the  municipal 
light  and  power  plant.  The  trials  of  alleged  grafting 
policemen  filled  our  dailies  while  city  business  ran  any 
old  way.  The  position  of  mayor  was  a  trying  one. 
With  the  city  just  emerging  from  its  frontier  past, 
some  of  the  old  ways  persisted  and  the  new  laws  were 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM      9 

often  resisted.  One  crowd  or  the  other,  usually  both, 
were  against  the  mayor! 

Men  fit  to  guide  the  destinies  of  the  city  either  re- 
fused to  neglect  their  private  business  or  were  thought 
unable  to  secure  election.  The  next  election  was  to 
be  held  March  5,  1918,  and,  as  in  the  past,  it  was 
thought  necessary  to  have  a  chance  for  success,  that 
the  candidate  must  either  become  subservient  to  Big 
Business  or  to  the  labour  group.  One  or  the  other,  poli- 
ticians said,  a  candidate  must  have.  One  or  the  other, 
they  said,  a  mayor  must  serve.  I  have  always  held  a 
different  theory.  It  has  been  my  belief  since  a  boy 
that  a  candidate  for  office,  playing  fair  and  square 
with  all  men,  with  no  special  interest  to  serve,  could  be 
elected,  provided  he  was  believed  to  be  honest  and  could 
get  circulation.  I  have  helped  demonstrate  to  the 
politicians  very  often  in  my  lifetime  that  they  really 
cannot  run  nominations  or  elections  if  the  people  are 
appraised  of  their  intentions. 

After  reviewing  this  situation  in  my  mind  I  went 
home  and  told  my  wife  of  my  decision.  She  never 
favoured  my  political  ventures,  but  this  time  she  as- 
sented on  account  of  the  war.  The  next  day  the  papers 
carried  notice  of  my  candidacy  and  things  started  to 
happen.  I  had  no  campaign  committee — they  usually 
talk  and  seldom  work.  I  wanted  no  headquarters  for 
political  loafers.  I  wanted  no  paid  workers — they  are  so 
ll  often  no  good.     My  campaign  was  to  be  purely  a  truth- 

telling  one.  I  would  attack  no  opponent,  but  would 
tell  the  people  what  I  would  do  if  elected,  not  that 
someone  else  had  done  wrong.     It  was  a  new  method 


lo    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

in  Seattle  and  consisted  in  telling  the  people:  "If 
elected  I  will  do  this."  I  had  never  lied  to  the  people 
and  felt  they  would  believe  me.  I  engaged  a  stenog- 
rapher and  prepared  my  own  printed  matter. 

The  chairman  of  the  Republican  Central  Committee 
announced  his  candidacy;  a  former  prosecuting  attor- 
ney entered  the  field;  the  president  of  the  Municipal 
League  filed,  followed  quickly  by  a  young  man  who  had 
held  mass  meetings  denouncing  vice  and  who  believed 
himself  to  be  a  great  man,  but  who  had  failed  to  con- 
vince others.  Then  came  Mayor  Gill  seeking  reelec- 
tion. 

About  that  time  a  delegation  from  the  Central  Labour 
Council  called  on  me,  tendering  me  the  support  of  their 
65,000  members,  provided  I  would  agree,  upon  my  elec- 
tion, to  let  Joel  F.  Warren,  chief  of  police,  go. 

I  asked:  "What's  the  matter  with  Warren?"  They 
said:  "Your  record  has  always  been  fair;  in  the  legisla- 
ture and  on  the  labour  committee  you  were  100  per  cent. ; 
you  fought  the  fight  for  better  conditions,  but  Joel 
Warren  at  one  time  was  a  police  officer  during  a  strike 
over  across  the  mountains.  He  does  not  suit  us."  I 
then  asked:  "What  did  he  do?"  After  several  evasive 
answers  they  replied:  "He  arrested  and  imprisoned  the 
boys  when  they  tried  to  raise  a  little  hell."  I  then  told 
them  that  I  thought  their  statement  was  the  best 
recommendation  I  had  heard  for  Warren;  that  if  he  en- 
forced and  observed  the  law,  he  certainly  would  remain 
chief  if  I  was  elected.  They  then  asked  for  the  dis- 
charge of  the  fire  chief,  a  man  with  an  excellent  record 
as  an  efficient  fire  fighter  and  whose  reputation  in  the 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    ii 

community  was  beyond  reproach.  As  with  the  chief 
of  poHce,  I  told  them  he  would  also  remain  if  I  was 
elected,  provided,  always,  he  did  his  duty.  They  left 
with  threats  on  their  lips  and  the  next  day  a  man  named 
Bradford,  who  had  been  corporation  counsel  for  the 
city,  was  chosen  by  the  Central  Labour  Council  Com- 
mittee as  their  candidate.  He  had  never  done  anything 
for  labour;  he  had  never  accomplished  much  but  quarrel 
for  the  city,  but  "Jim"  was  subservient  to  their  wishes 
and  would  represent  them  if  he  became  mayor. 

At  the  last  moment  a  miUionaire  shippmg  man  filed 
his  candidacy.  That  made  eight,  but  upon  reading 
the  charter,  a  local  paper  found  that  the  last  candidate 
was  ineligible  because  of  his  not  having  been  an  Ameri- 
can citizen  four  years,  so  he  withdrew.  He  was  a  very 
good  man,  able  and  courageous,  and  would  have  secured 
certain  business  support  which  I  afterward  received. 

As  soon  as  the  filings  closed  and  the  campaign  began, 
I  issued  my  card  containing  my  platform.  It  was  brief, 
hence  I  quote  it: 

I  stand  for  construction,  not  destruction;  more  factories  and 
less  lawsuits;  a  square  deal  to  labour  as  well  as  capital;  for  a  loyal, 
united  Seattle,  a  Seatde  free  from  turmoil,  treason,  and  I.  W.  W. 
control. 

Immediately  1  became  the  foe  of  the  "inner  cir- 
cle" at  the  Labour  Temple.  Their  propaganda  fac- 
tory worked  to  the  utmost  to  convince  the  new  work- 
ers that  Hanson  was  a  bad  one.  Believing  that  no 
"clique"  could  control  the  minds  of  the  thinkers 
in  labour,  once  they  knew  the  truth,  I  immediately 
published  a  letter  I  had  received  from  the  past  president 


12    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

of  the  State  Federation  of  Labour,  thanking  me  for  my 
service  to  labour  in  the  Legislature  and  saying:  "You 
are  lOO  per  cent,  right." 

With  no  paid  campaign  workers,  I  made  a  strenuous 
campaign  through  pamphlets  and  mass  meetings. 
Three  daihes  came  out  for  me  and  printed  the  truth, 
but  the  I.  W.  W.  element  worked  night  and  day  spread- 
ing their  lies.  One  evening,  as  the  campaign  waxed 
hotter  and  hotter,  and  the  Red  element  at  the  Labour 
Temple  became  more  vicious  in  their  attacks  on  me,  I 
went  before  their  weekly  meeting.  I  told  them:  "1 
have  not  come  before  you  for  your  votes  or  your  sup- 
port, but  I  have  come  here  to  tell  you  the  truth  about 
yourselves  as  well  as  review  in  brief  my  history  in  the 
state  of  Washington  as  far  as  it  relates  to  labour."  I 
then  quoted  from  the  official  record  as  to  my  stand  on 
the  remedial  and  reform  measures  which  had  been  agi- 
tated and  sometimes  enacted  into  law.  In  every  in- 
stance the  official  documents  and  letters  from  their 
own  officials  showed  conclusively  that  I  had  made  the 
fight,  spent  my  time  and  my  money  furthering  the 
progress  of  labour.  They  sat  in  silence;  once  in  a  while 
one  would  applaud.  James  Duncan,  one  of  the  Reds 
and  secretary  of  the  Central  Labour  Council  of  whom 
I  will  have  more  to  say  later,  tried  to  interrupt  sev- 
eral times,  fearing  the  effect  of  the  truth  on  the  up- 
right and  fair  members  of  the  council,  but  so  interested 
were  the  auditors  that  he  was  promptly  squelched.  In 
closing  I  denounced  the  Reds,  the  I.  W.  W.'s  and  their 
kind,  and  said:  "If  elected  I  will  clean  you  up  (meaning 
the  Reds)  lock,  stock,  and  barrel.     You  do  not  belong  in 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM     13 

this  country.  Your  talk  of  revolution  has  no  place 
where  the  majority  can  and  does  govern.  You  are 
fighting  the  best  government  yet  conceived  by  man. 
I  shall  close  every  hall  where  the  overthrow  of  our  Gov- 
ernment by  force  and  violence  is  taught.  You  shall 
not  parade  with  the  Red  Flag;  you  shall  obey  the  law 
or  you  shall  go  to  jail.  Neither  your  leaders  nor  the 
leaders  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  shall  control  the 
city  government.  It  shall  be  run  for  the  benefit  of 
all  the  people,  not  a  particular  class.  You  are  against 
me  because  I  am  for  the  government  you  are  against. 
You  know  there  is  nothing  wrong  with  my  labour  record, 
but  my  government  record  is  too  loyal  to  suit  you.  I 
defy  you  and  your  kind.  You  make  the  most  noise, 
but  Seattle  is  loyal  and  will  not  stand  for  your  control. 
I  shall  see  the  day  when  some  of  you  that  now  hiss  and 
jeer  will  do  so  behind  prison  walls."  Within  a  year 
two  of  my  hearers,  Hulet  M.  Wells  and  Sam  Sadler, 
were  in  the  Federal  Penitentiary  and  others  who  were 
present  will  surely  follow  when  justice  is  done. 

That  meeting  at  the  Labour  Temple  clinched  my 
nomination.  Truth  is  a  powerful  weapon  if  one  can 
only  give  it  circulation.  From  that  meeting  on,  the 
rank  and  file  asked  the  Red  leaders  questions  zvhich 
they  could  not  answer.  Within  twenty-four  hours  loyal 
labour  men  and  women  called  and  proffered  me  their 
secret  help.  It  meant  ostracism  for  them  openly  to 
defy  the  men  who  controlled  the  Central  Labour  Coun- 
cil. For  fifteen  years  I  have  always  known  how  elec- 
tions were  going.  I  have  my  own  method  of  taking  a 
poll,  and  it  has  never  failed  me.     This  poll  showed  that 


14    AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

I  would  lead  in  the  primary,  Bradford  (candidate  of  the 
labour  leaders)  second,  and  Mayor  Gill  third,  with  the 
*' great  young  man"  last.  And  so  it  happened.  Under 
our  non-partisan  election  law  the  top  two  are  nominated 
and  then  two  weeks  afterward  the  election  takes  place. 

In  the  primary  I  received  nearly  one  half  of  all  the 
votes,  although  there  were  seven  candidates.  In  the 
finals  Mr.  Bradford  and  his  supporters  endeavoured  to 
oflFset  the  charge  that  the  I.  W.  W.'s  were  backing  him 
by  claiming  that  his  ancestors  came  over  in  the  May- 
flozver.  The  Mayflower  certainly  must  have  had  gutta- 
percha sides.  His  "ancestral  father"  claim  did  him 
little  good,  for  I  had  a  logger  friend  of  mine  poll  the 
I.W.W.  hall  and  the  result  was  Bradford  i8o,  Hanson 
none.  This  result  was  published  and  when  the  votes 
were  counted  on  election  day,  Bradford  was  over- 
whelmingly defeated,  and  to  the  labour  leaders*  chagrin 
and  surprise  I  carried  dozens  of  precincts  where  no  one 
but  union  workers  lived !  Union  labour  people  are  the 
same  as  you  and  I.  They  are  for  right  just  as  you 
and  I,  and  when  the  facts  are  before  the  rank  and  file 
no  fairer  jury  could  be  desired. 

On  the  same  day  I  was  elected  mayor,  Anna  Louise 
Strong,  who  had  been  educated  in  Germany  and  was 
a  member  of  the  School  Board,  was  recalled  from  that 
honourable  position  because  of  her  antagonism  to  our 
Government,  and  she  was  recalled  by  almost  exactly 
the  same  number  of  votes  that  elected  me  mayor.  The 
same  forces  that  supported  me  voted  for  her  recall. 
The  line  was  plainly  drawn  and  most  of  the  people 
took  their  stand  on  our  side.     The  entire  campaign 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    15 

against  my  election  was  because  I  stood  with  the 
Government  at  Washington,  and  the  Reds  knew  that 
their  anti-war  activities  would  be  suppressed,  come 
what  would. 

I  took  my  oath  of  office  on  March  5,  1918,  and  within 
a  few  days  the  very  men  who  had  fought  my  election 
tried  to  use  **soft  soap"  in  order  to  sway  me  from  my 
path.  The  business  community  had  supported  me  al- 
most to  a  man  and  most  of  the  old  resident  union  men 
had  done  the  same.  Within  a  few  days  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce,  which  I  did  not  trust,  offered  to  help  me 
in  any  way  they  could.  It  was  my  opinion  they  would 
want  something  wrong;  that  they  had  ulterior  motives, 
and  the  offer  was  but  a  bluff.  But  I  am  frank  to  say  it 
was  not.  During  my  entire  term  of  office  the  business 
community  assisted  me  in  every  manner  possible  and 
never  tried  to  dictate  the  policy  of  the  administration  in  a 
single  particular.  They  left  me  entirely  alone,  but 
when  once  embarked  upon  my  course  of  action,  I  found 
helpers  in  every  bank,  factory,  and  business  house  in 
Seattle.  The  great  rank  and  file  of  labour  has  supported 
my  every  endeavour,  while  on  the  other  hand  the  labour 
misleaders  came  time  and  again  for  favours  and  privi- 
leges ranging  from  asking  the  discharge  of  department 
heads  to  getting  out  of  jail  men  who  had  committed 
crime.  I  soon  learned  that  overalls  did  not  denote  a 
greater  degree  of  honesty  than  broadcloth.  When  I 
was  in  the  Legislature,  Big  Business  tried  to  run  things; 
as  mayor,  I  found  the  I.  W.  W.  demanded  control. 
The  Red  employer  and  the  Red  employee  are  inter- 
changeable anarchists! 


i6    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

As  soon  as  I  came  to  get  the  "feel"  of  my  new  posi- 
tion I  investigated  the  quarantine  of  men  and  women 
and  demanded  that  the  council  give  me  better  quarters 
to  house  them.  This  was  consistently  refused  on  one  plea 
or  another  until  the  date  of  my  leaving  office. 

I  called  a  congress  of  the  Northwest  to  consider  the 
"vice"  question  from  a  new  angle — the  sanitary  one. 
Doctor  McBride,  the  Commissioner  of  Public  Health, 
redoubled  his  efforts,  and  within  ninety  days  after  I 
became  mayor,  we  cut  the  rate  of  diseased  soldiers 
drafted  from  Seattle  from  four  out  of  one  hundred  to 
one  out  of  one  hundred.  The  vice  congress  spread  to 
other  states  and  during  the  war  Washington,  Oregon, 
and  Idaho,  because  of  the  quarantine  of  the  infected,  led 
the  government  list.  In  other  words,  fewer  of  our 
soldiers  were  found  infected  upon  going  to  camp  than 
those  from  any  other  part  of  the  nation.  Despite  his 
wonderful  work  Doctor  McBride  became  the  target  of 
every  pacifist,  every  I.  W.  W.,  every  pro-German,  and 
every  vice  profiteer  in  the  city.  Everyone  who  was 
against  the  war  was  against  the  quarantine. 

One  man,  who  pulls  teeth  by  day  and  practises  law 
by  night,  had  supported  me  for  mayor,  as  I  thought, 
because  he  believed  I  would  serve  the  people.  In 
reality,  as  I  afterward  learned,  he  supported  me  because 
he  thought  I  would  serve  him  and  his  crowd.  He 
haunted  my  ofiices  continually  and  waged  an  open  fight 
against  the  quarantine  station,  and  collected  $i,ioo, 
under  the  guise  of  attorney  fees,  from  five  inmates, 
these  particular  inmates  being  the  ones  he  was  try- 
ing to  have  me  release.     One  member  of  the  City  Coun- 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM     17 

cil  was  his  able  assistant.  Doctor  McBride  and  myself 
worked  with  and  under  the  direction  of  army  physicians 
and  to  the  last  had  their  enthusiastic  cooperation.  I 
wondered  at  the  opposition  of  the  council  member 
until  his  wife  called  at  my  home  one  evening  and  told 
me  the  unprintable  story  of  their  lives.  Then  I  under- 
stood his  opposition  to  compulsory  treatment  and 
quarantine.  The  reason  the  quarantine  was  fought 
was  because  the  men  who  fought  it  were  either  against 
our  securing  a  healthy  army^  jit  to  fight,  or  were  engaged 
in  making  profit  from  the  unfortunates. 

As  a  mayor  one  learns  too  much  of  the  vileness  of  men. 
I  had  never  before  really  sensed  what  men  would  do 
for  money.  While  the  council  refused  a  better  place  to 
house  the  prisoners,  despite  repeated  requests,  members 
of  the  council  attacked  us  because  the  place  was  not 
sanitary.     Hypocrisy  could  go  no  further! 

Some  day  the  Government  will  district  the  United 
States  and  meet  this  scourge  by  quarantining,  treat- 
ing, and  curing  all  infected  persons.  Our  experi- 
ence proves  that  a  few  years  of  such  procedure  will 
practically  wipe  out  these  dread  diseases.  In  the  be- 
ginning of  the  quarantine  more  than  eighty  per  cent. 
of  the  women  and  men  arrested  and  examined  were 
found  to  be  infected.  In  six  months'  time  less  than  forty 
per  cent,  were  found  infected,  and  in  twelve  months,  less 
than  ten  per  cent. 

We  treated  many  hundreds,  but  the  greatest  benefit 
came  from  the  publicity  which  caused  unarrested  folk 
to  secure  treatment  at  once.  The  afflicted  hurried  to 
their  physicians  and  took  private  treatment.     I  sent  a 


i8    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

questionnaire  to  some  three  hundred  who  were  at  one 
time  in  quarantine  and  there  were  no  skilled  or  trained 
workers  among  them  and  only  one  that  even  claimed 
to  have  attended  a  high  school.  They  were  an  ignorant, 
dirty,  incompetent,  uneducated  crowd,  whose  mentality 
was  on  the  average  not  as  high  as  children  of  fourteen. 
They  were  mostly  un-moral,  not  immoral.  They  were 
so  ignorant,  few  realized  what  they  were  doing  to  the 
soldier  boys;  few  indeed  sensed  the  gravity  of  their  con- 
dition at  all,  and  almost  invariably  had  no  moral  sense 
whatever.  The  war  did  one  thing  for  the  American  peo- 
ple— it  opened  their  eyes  to  this  menace.  Some  day  the 
Government  will,  as  I  have  said,  by  a  continuous,  forceful 
campaign,  clean  it  up. 

The  I.  W.  W.  halls  were  still  open,  their  propaganda 
was  still  being  distributed,  and  many  wondered  why  I 
had  not  closed  them  at  once.  I  knew  why.  We  waited 
until  May  2nd,  nearly  six  weeks  after  my  election,  for 
two  reasons.  One  was  to  secure  the  names  and  ad- 
dresses of  all  who  were  members  of  the  I.  W.  W.,  and 
the  other  was  to  ascertain  where  they  secreted  their 
literature.  The  day  after  the  European  Labour  Day, 
May  I  St,  we  struck,  and  closed  every  I.  W.  W.  hall  in 
Seattle  and  kept  them  closed.  We  confiscated  their 
literature,  burned  up  what  we  did  not  turn  over  to  the 
Government,  and  stopped  every  street  meeting.  Hall 
meetings  were  closed  to  everyone  who  preached  over- 
throw of  our  Government  by  force  and  violence  and  we 
received  the  united  support  of  the  vast  majority  of  the 
citizens  of  Seattle. 

In  the  summer  of  191 8  the  election  of  officers  of  the 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM     19 

Central  Labour  Council  took  place.  Robert  L.  Proctor 
and  Hulet  M.  Wells,  of  whom  the  latter  had  been  at  one 
time  socialist  candidate  for  mayor  and  had  already  been 
convicted  in  the  Federal  Court  for  violating  the  Espion- 
age Act,  were  opposing  candidates.  It  was  only  after 
days  and  nights  of  hard  work  that  Proctor  finally  was 
elected  by  a  scant  majority  of  25  votes  over  Hulet  M. 
Wells!  Think  of  it! — a  central  labour  council  in  an 
American  city  were  able  to  marshal  only  25  more  votes 
for  a  loyal,  able  union  man  than  for  a  man  who  openly 
proclaimed  himself  a  bolshevist  and  who  was  even  then 
under  sentence. 

For  a  time  all  was  lovely  with  the  leaders  of  the 
Central  Labour  Council.  Fear  of  an  outraged  people 
kept  them  semi-silent.  The  rank  of  the  union  men 
came  to  see  that  I  was  fair  and  square,  and  upon  the 
purchase  of  the  street  car  lines  by  the  city,  the  largest 
local  union  in  the  world,  having  18,000  members,  voted 
me  an  honorary  membership  and  presented  me  with  a 
silver  membership  card. 

The  committee  that  called  upon  me  to  present  the 
card  came  to  the  mayor's  office  and  my  secretary  took 
down  what  was  said.  Their  spokesman  said:  "We 
present  you  this  card  as  a  token  of  our  appreciation 
of  your  services  during  your  life  to  labour;  you  have 
always  stood  firm  and  true  for  th^  man  who  toils. 
Last  spring  many  of  us  supported  your  opponent;  we 
feel  we  were  mistaken  and  want  to  assure  you  that  every 
act  of  yours  has  been  satisfactory  to  us."  I  replied: 
"You  are  presenting  me  with  honorary  membership 
in  your  union.     You  say  you  do  this  because  of  my 


20    AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

services  to  the  cause  of  labour.  I  accept  this  card  in 
the  same  spirit  as  I  hope  it  is  given,  but  feel  that  you 
are  giving  me  this  card  because  you  happen  to  agree 
with  what  I  have  done  and  that  the  time  may  come 
when  I  will  do  something  just  as  right  but  with  which 
you  will  not  agree.  When  that  time  comes,  this  card 
is  ready  and  waiting  for  you,  as  I  refuse,  as  mayor  of 
Seattle,  to  serve  any  particular  class  in  the  community. 
I  shall  represent  them  all." 

This  occurred  in  September,  1918.  On  August  30, 
1919,  they  had  not  called  for  the  card.  I  then  returned 
it  to  them  with  a  letter  which  denounced  their  leaders; 
stated  they  (the  leaders)  had  "entered  into  a  coalition 
with  the  I.  W.  W.'s  and  planned  for  the  overthrow  of  the 
Government  at  the  time  of  the  general  strike;  had 
planned  to  turn  over  the  city  government  to  a  soviet 
approved  by  A.  E.  Miller,  James  Duncan,  Anna  Louise 
Strong,  recalled  school  director;  George  F.  Vandeveer, 
I.  W.  W.  attorney;  Wm.  D.  Haywood,  national  secre- 
tary of  the  I.  W.  W.;  Leon  Green,  Russian  anarchist, 
and  Sam  Sadler  and  Hulet  M.  Wells  convicted  sedi- 
tionists."  I  expressed  the  hope  "that  the  rank  and 
file  will,  in  the  near  future,  remove  from  the  positions 
of  power  the  officers  and  leaders  who  so  grossly  misled 
and  deceived  the  workers  and  by  so  doing  proved 
themselves  not  only  false  to  this  country  and  my  flag 
(not  their  flag),  but  also  false  to  the  true  principles  of 
labour  unionism.  Until  that  time  arrives  I  cannot, 
as  an  American  citizen  who  loves  his  country,  retain 
even  a  card  presented  by  an  organization  ruled  by  such 
men.     The  cause  of  labour  has  ever  had  and  always 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    21 

will  have  my  support,  but  no  organization  can  super' 
sede  my  loyalty  to  the  United  States."  , 

One  of  my  first  acts  as  mayor  was  to  cause  a  survey 
to  be  made  of  the  cost  of  living  and  when  the  difference 
in  cost  over  the  pre-war  period  was  ascertained,  I 
recommended  and  succeeded  in  securing  an  increase  of 
the  city  workers'  minimum  wage  from  $3.50  to  ^4.0x5 
per  day.  Some  months  later  we  made  another  survey 
and  increased  common  labour  to  ^4.50  per  day.  Just 
before  I  left  the  mayor's  office  I  recommended  to  the 
budget  committee  a  raise  of  I2|  per  cent,,  which  was  the 
exact  increase  in  living  costs  from  July  i,  191 8,  to  July 
I,  1919,  in  Seattle.  The  committee  agreed  to  make  the 
increase  when  the  budget  was  passed.  Skilled  crafts- 
men were,  of  course,  increased  in  proportion.  It  was 
impossible  for  the  city  government  of  Seattle  to  regu- 
late the  cost  of  living;  all  we  could  do  was  to  keep  track 
of  the  increased  cost  and  see  that  the  city's  employees 
received  a  sufficient  wage  to  live  in  decency  and  comfort. 
The  dollar  measure  is  so  full  of  rubber  that  without 
taking  into  consideration  what  the  dollar  will  buy, 
no  fair  wage  can  be  established!  Besides,  a  well-paid 
worker  is  not  susceptible  to  the  rainbow-hued  prom- 
ises of  the  bolshevists.  I  consider  it  not  only  good 
morals,  but  good  business  to  give  men  what  they 
are  entitled  to,  without  waiting  for  them  to  make  a 
fight  for  it.  If  men  secure  increased  remuneration 
for  their  services,  after  they  have  struck,  or  threat- 
ened to  strike,  they  believe,  and  usually  rightly  so, 
that  they  force  the  employer  to  be  fair.  If  the  wage 
is  increased  without  any  such  action,  it  proves  to  the 


22    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

worker  that  the  employer  thinks  of  somebody  besides 
himself. 

During  the  war  a  great  need  of  men  occurred  in  the 
shipyards,  and  in  order  to  set  a  good  example  and  assist 
the  Government,  I  went  to  work  in  the  yards  after 
putting  in  most  of  the  day  in  the  mayor's  office.  While 
there  I  did  a  full  day's  work  without  any  camouflage. 
It  was  hard  work  and  the  scant  ^4.00  a  day  was  not 
enough  money  for  the  work  and  not  enough  for  the 
labourer  to  live  in  decency  and  comfort.  While  in  the 
shipyards  I  became  acquainted  with  many  good  men 
and  some  bad  ones.  You  did  not  have  to  ask  a  man 
whether  he  was  a  Red  or  not.  The  manner  in  which 
he  worked  showed  that.  If  he  was  against  the  Gov- 
ernment, he  did  as  little  as  possible  in  as  long  a  time  as 
possible,  and  in  as  poor  a  manner  as  possible.  If  he 
was  loyal  and  right,  he  did  a  fair  day's  work,  looked  the 
boss  in  the  eye,  and  did  not  "soldier."  In  the  main, 
however,  the  boys  worked  hard,  but  under  the  hulls 
the  minority  were  continually  agitating  "taking  over 
industry,"  "running  things  ourselves,"  and  "joining 
the  one  big  union." 

The  speakers  sent  out  by  the  Government  to  the  ship- 
yards did  a  valuable  work,  no  doubt,  but  it  always 
seemed  to  me  that  they  spread  it  on  pretty  thick.  One 
would  think,  to  listen  to  some  of  the  spell-binders,  that 
the  shipyard  workers  were  working  for  $30.00  per 
month,  like  the  soldiers,  and  had  all  enlisted  to  serve  the 
Government  during  the  war  for  patriotic  reasons.  This 
was  true  of  some  but  by  no  means  true  of  all.  Men 
went  to  work  in  the  shipyards  for  different  reasons — 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    23 

some  to  earn  a  living,  some  to  assist  Uncle  Sam,  others 
to  escape  the  draft,  and  a  considerable  number  simply 
to  agitate  against  the  Government  and  bring  about 
chaos  in  our  country.  There  is  no  use  lying  about 
these  things.  There  were  many  bad  men,  many  Revo- 
lutionists, and  many  slackers  in  the  Government  works 
everjrwhere,  and  there  were  many  aliens  and  I.  W.W.'s 
who  spent  a  goodly  share  of  their  time  talking  and  agi- 
tating against  the  Government  they  were  receiving 
their  bread  and  butter  from.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
there  were  several  thousand  I.  W.W.'s  who  had  formerly 
operated  in  Butte,  Montana,  who  came  to  work  in  the 
yards,  feeling  that  they  were  secure  from  arrest  in  the 
larger  and  more  cosmopolitan  city  of  Seattle.  A  great 
many  more  came  here  from  Arizona,  Idaho,  and  Cali- 
fornia. Everyone  knew  that  Seattle  was  the  home  nest 
— the  headquarters — the  central  station — for  their 
organization  in  the  United  States. 

During  the  war  a  great  many  kept  under  cover 
through  fear  of  prosecution  and  the  draft  law,  but  when 
the  armistice  was  signed,  anti-government  activities 
increased  overnight.  A  carefully  planned  propaganda 
of  discontent  was  spread  among  the  workers,  especially 
in  the  shipyards.  The  increased  cost  of  living,  the 
fact  that  many  of  the  men  were  away  from  their  families, 
and  living  in  over-crowded  quarters,  aided  the  agitators. 
It  was  a  strange  sight  to  see  men  from  Russia,  the  land 
of  tyranny  and  poverty,  preaching  against  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  land  where  they  had  sought  refuge.  The 
doctrine  of  syndicalism  was  especially  effective  with 
the  young  men  in  the  yards.     American-bom  youths. 


24    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

with  loyal  fathers,  accepted,  believed,  and  assisted  the 
propaganda. 

The  Government  and  the  workers  throughout  the 
Union  had  agreed  on  a  peaceful  adjustment  of  all  dif- 
ferences worked  out  by  the  Macy  Board,  and  this 
governmental  body  now  became  the  target  for  attack. 
In  November,  191 8,  the  officers  of  the  unions  asked 
that  the  workers  vote  for  a  strike  unless  the  Macy 
Board  agreed  to  their  demands  when  they  journeyed 
east.  The  men  in  Seattle  understood  that  this  was  to 
be  but  a  bluff"  to  force  the  Macy  Board  to  grant  them 
higher  wages,  despite  a  definite  and  certain  agreement 
which  was  in  eff'ect  at  that  time.  No  other  vote  than 
this  vote,  which  was  to  arm  the  officers  with  a  bluff",  was 
ever  taken  before  the  shipyard  strike  was  called  three 
months  later. 

I  felt  that  some  of  the  workers  in  the  yards  were 
not  receiving  sufficient  wages.  This  was  undoubtedly 
true  of  the  common  labourers — but  it  was  not  the 
wages  or  conditions  that  caused  the  leaders  to  agitate 
the  strike.  It  was  because  of  a  desire  on  their  part 
to  foment  hatred,  suspicion,  and  discontent  to  such  a 
degree  that  the  workers  would  first  make  impossible 
demands;  then  call  a  general  strike,  establish  a  soviet, 
and  start  the  flame  of  revolution  in  this  country,  with 
the  hope  and  plan  of  the  ultimate  destruction  of  the 
Government  and  the  establishment  in  its  stead  of  bol- 
shevism,  pure  and  undefiled,  with  its  consequent  red 
terror  and  tyranny.  But  few  of  the  shipyard  workers 
knew  of  this  conspiracy.  They  were  simply  taught 
to  hate  their  employer;  to  hate  the  Macy  Board;  to  defy 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    25 

the  Macy  award,  and  to  refuse  to  work  for  the  Macy 
scale. 

The  employer  in  this  case  was  practically  the  Gov- 
ernment, as  all  contracts  were  governmental  contracts 
and  the  wages  were  fixed  by  a  governmental  body. 
Everjnvhere — on  the  street  cars,  at  work,  at  home — the 
agitators  told  of  the  fabulous  receipts  of  the  shipyard 
owners,  nothing  being  said  of  the  great  overhead,  or  of 
the  men  in  the  yards  who  did  no  more  than  half  a 
day's  work  for  a  full  day's  pay.  Nothing  was  said 
either  of  the  great  war  taxes  imposed  by  the  Govern- 
ment. The  shipyard  owners  had  no  interest  in  holding 
down  the  pay  of  the  men.  Under  their  contract  with 
the  Government,  any  increase  in  the  cost  of  labour 
meant  a  consequent  increase  in  the  prices  paid  them  by 
the  Government  for  their  ships.  Without  the  Govern- 
ment's sanction,  no  raise  in  wages  could  be  made.  Agi- 
tators everywhere  talked  of  taking  over  industries  and 
"firing"  the  bosses,  but  condemnation  of  governmental 
action  was  their  main  theme. 

This  state  of  unrest,  of  hatred,  of  lies  and  suspicion 
was  fanned  every  day  by  a  newspaper  called  the  Seattle 
Union  Record.  This  paper  had  formerly  been  a  weekly, 
but  upon  the  influx  of  the  workers  and  the  consequent 
increase  in  the  labour  unions  it  was  transformed  into  a 
daily.  It  is  not  a  union  paper,  but  a  sheet  which  some- 
times by  clever  insinuation,  and  sometimes  openly, 
preaches  internationalism,  hatred  of  government,  and 
revolution. 

Its  editor,  A.  B.  Ault,  at  one  time  worked  for  a  living, 
but  now  heads  one  of  the  most  radical  newspapers  in 


26    AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

the  country,  one  which  will  probably  be  suppressed  by 
the  Government. 

There  is  no  backache  in  his  job,  or  headache  either. 
Backache  comes  from  toil — headache,  from  thought! 
He  refuses  to  toil  and  has  not  the  tools  with  which  to 
think.  He  was  chosen  editor  of  the  paper  because  of 
his  well-known  revolutionary  tendencies  and  because 
strong-minded  men  knew  that  he  would  obey  them 
without  question.  The  office  force  of  the  Record  is  as 
Red  as  their  headlines.  The  Record's  leading  editorial 
and  special  writer  was  and  is  Anna  Louise  Strong,  re- 
called by  the  outraged  citizens  of  Seattle  from  the 
position  she  so  dishonoured  on  the  School  Board  the 
same  day  I  was  elected  mayor. 

At  one  time  I  visited  the  office  of  the  Record  and  found 
it  in  an  uproar  of  joy.  Theodore  Roosevelt  was  dead ! 
It  was  January  6,  1919,  my  birthday.  I  asked:  "Why 
the  jubilation?"  And  Ault  shouted,  "Roosevelt  is 
dead,  he  stood  in  our  way."  That  night  the  paper 
carried  an  editorial  on  Roosevelt's  death  from  which  I 
quote  a  part: 

THEODORE  ROOSEVELT  IS  DEAD 

Theodore  Roosevelt  is  dead  .  .  .  Hisoutlook  was  never  very 
subtle  or  penetrating.  .  .  .  Roosevelt  lived  to  see  the  pro- 
gressive movement,  which  he  once  championed,  moved  so  far  past 
him  that  he  was  driven  to  closer  and  closer  arraignment  with  the 
most  reactionary  forces  in  this  nation.  His  conception  of  society's 
friendship,  never  very  fundamental,  was  clouded  more  and  more  by 
his  own  egotism,  played  upon  by  those  big  interests  which  know 
so  well  what  motives  to  stress  in  order  to  gain  their  end. 

We  must  admit  the  fact  that  his  death  at  the  present  moment 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    27 

removes  one  of  the  greatest  obstacles  to  permanent  peace  through- 
out the  world.  .  .  .  But  they  will  hardly  find  quickly  another 
mouth-piece  who  could  so  convincingly  mislead  the  people  of  this 
country.     .    .     . 

From  that  day  to  this  I  have  never  visited  the  office 
of  the  Record.  The  unclean  atmosphere  of  treason 
stifles  me,  and  besides,  when  Ault  made  his  statement  in 
relation  to  the  death  of  one  of  the  greatest  men  of  his 
time — a  real  American — I  said  things  which  were  true 
and  forceful,  but  which  precludes  my  seeing  Ault  again 
unless  perchance  I  could  gaze  on  him  in  stripes. 

In  order  to  show  the  spirit  and  hypnosis  of  the  Record 
staff,  I  will  relate  another  incident  which  occurred  when 
I  met  a  lady  reporter  who  worked  for  the  paper.  She 
said:  "Mr.  Mayor,  we  have  sure  got  the  goods  on  John 
Miller."  (Miller  is  our  Congressman.)  I  said:  "What 
has  John  done  now?"  She  said:  "He  just  denounced 
the  Red  Flag."  I  said:  "That  ought  to  boost  him." 
She  replied  by  saying:  "Not  with  our  readers."  The 
Reds  really  believed  they  were  in  a  majority  and  that 
Mr.  Miller  had  destroyed  his  political  future.  Welling- 
ton once  said:  "I  mistrust  the  judgment  of  every  man 
in  a  case  in  which  his  own  wishes  are  concerned."  The 
death  of  Roosevelt  gave  great  courage  to  the  foes  of 
our  Government.  His  moral  influence  and  his  fearless 
stand  against  wrong  were  a  greater  influence  than  most 
of  us  can  realize. 


CHAPTER  II 

AGITATION   OF   THE    INDUSTRIAL   WORKERS   OF   THE 
WORLD    CULMINATES    IN    SHIPYARD    STRIKE 

About  the  time  of  Col.  Roosevelt's  death  and  my 
visit  to  the  Record  office  the  I.  W.  W.'s  became  even 
more  threatening  in  their  attitude  toward  the  city  au- 
thorities. One  evening  E.  I.  Chamberlain,  a  general 
secretary  of  the  I.  W.  W.,  called  me  on  the  'phone  and 
demanded  the  release  of  all  prisoners  in  the  city  jail  who 
belonged  to  his  order,  and  also  a  permit  to  open  the 
I.  W.  W.  halls.  Of  course  I  told  him  "No."  He  then 
said:  "Do  you  want  your  jail  overcrowded  with  I.  W. 
W.'s?"  My  reply  to  his  question  was  that  our  jail 
was  a  little  overcrowded,  but  we  would  always  find  suf- 
ficient quarters  to  house  "all  law  breakers."  As  a 
parting  shot  he  said:  "Well,  the  battle  is  on;  we'll  show 
you." 

Apparently,  orders  went  out  to  increase  I.  W.  W. 
activities.  The  police  next  raided  an  office  in  the 
Pacific  Block,  and  a  great  quantity  of  new  literature 
aimed  at  the  Government  was  confiscated  and  de- 
stroyed. I  felt  that  trouble  could  not  long  be  averted 
and  that  it  was  necessary  to  have  a  larger  police  force, 
but  the  Public  Safety  Committee  of  the  council  on 
January  8,  191 8,  had  refused  the  request  of  the  chief  of 

28 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    29 

police,  endorsed  by  myself,  for  more  police.  Councilman 
Erickson  leading  the  opposition. 

A  great  throng  of  women  from  all  parts  of  the  city 
then  went  before  the  committee  and  told  them  of  out- 
rages being  perpetrated  in  the  suburbs,  but  it  was  of  no 
avail — the  committee  again  turned  the  request  down. 
After  the  committee  had  been  attacked  and  ridiculed 
in  the  public  press,  however,  the  council  itself  granted 
a  small  increase.  But  there  were  other  ways  to  get 
police  without  securing  the  votes  of  such  men  as  Erick- 
son. When  the  time  of  necessity  came,  I  appointed 
emergency  police,  many  of  them,  and  an  appropriation 
was  made  for  their  payment  by  the  votes  of  all  the 
council,  including  Erickson. 

With  additional  recruits  pouring  into  the  shipyards 
daily,  the  activities  of  the  I.  W.  W.'s  on  the  outside 
were  redoubled,  if  such  a  thing  were  possible.  In  the 
early  part  of  January,  1919,  five  leading  members  of 
the  I.  W.  W.  met  in  secrecy  in  Room  310,  Collins 
Building — the  headquarters  of  the  Metal  Trades  Coun- 
cil— and  after  carefully  studying  the  procedure  used  in 
Russia,  formed  among  themselves  a  soviet,  which  was 
to  be  called  the  "Soldiers,  Sailors,  and  Workmen's 
Council."  Several  revolutionary  speeches  were  made 
and  it  so  happened  that  every  word  was  overheard, 
except  the  words  of  one  man  who  was  clever  enough  to 
hold  his  hand  over  his  mouth  as  he  spoke,  so  that  his 
words  were  but  an  indistinct  mumble. 

Thus  a  soviet  came  into  existence  by  secrecy  and 
stealth  with  only  five  members  present.  It  was  decided 
to  call  a  great  mass  meeting  on  the  corner  of  Fourth 


30    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

Avenue  and  Virginia  Street.  The  meeting  was  to  be 
called  "on  behalf  of  Russia,"  as  a  camouflage,  then 
was  to  be  turned  into  an  organization  meeting  of  the 
"Soldiers,  Sailors,  and  Workmen's  Council."  A  great 
parade  was  to  be  formed  which,  following  the  Red  Flag, 
would  march  to  the  city  jail  and  release  the  prisoners. 
An  advertisement  appeared  in  the  Union  Record,  giving 
notice  of  the  meeting.  Circulars  were  distributed  all 
over  the  city,  stating  that  Hulet  M.  Wells,  already 
convicted  of  sedition  and  out  on  bail,  would  be  one  of 

the  speakers  and  Mr.  ,  of  Canada,  would  be  the 

other.  On  some  of  the  circulars  it  was  stated  that 
"The  meeting  is  to  be  held  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Metal  Trades,  Central  Labour  Council  and  Hope  Lodge 
No.  79,  Machinists." 

Knowing  what  the  soviet  plans  were,  I  was  surprised 
at  the  signature  to  the  circular,  and  in  company  with 
Councilman  Robert  B.  Hesketh,  a  union  labour  loyalist, 
I  went  to  the  Central  Labour  Council,  and  there 
the  business  agent  of  the  council  informed  me  that 
the  Central  Labour  Council  knew  nothing  of  the  meet- 
ing. We  then  called  on  A.  L.  Miller,  one  of  the  heads 
of  the  Metal  Trades  Council  (since  suspended  by  his 
International  Union),  and  he  said  he  knew  nothing 
of  the  meeting.  I  made  proper  police  arrangements, 
instructing  the  officers  not  to  interfere  with  the  meeting, 
but  to  allow  things  to  come  to  a  head.  The  police 
authorities  marshalled  their  men  in  the  assembly  room 
and  waited.  Word  had  reached  the  conspirators  that 
we  were  prepared,  and  the  mysterious  speaker  from  Can- 
ada did  not  appear.     Hulet  M.  Wells  could  not  be 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    31 

present  because  of  tonsilitis  !  S.  W.  Brooks,  under  or- 
der of  deportation  by  the  Federal  authorities,  was  chair- 
man of  the  meeting.  Brooks  then  called  for  "fellow 
workers"  to  volunteer  and  distribute  propaganda  liter- 
ature, appealing  to  the  soldiers  and  sailors  to  join  the 
ranks  of  those  who  would  "put  down  industrial  autoc- 
racy at  home."  As  stated  by  the  Seattle  Post-Intelli- 
gencer on  January  13,  1919,  Walker  C.  Smith,  author  of 
"Sabotage,"  and  an  I.  W.  W.  leader,  followed,  demand- 
ing "release  of  all  political  prisoners"  and  calling  the 
naval  intelligence  staff  "a  bunch  of  scab  herders." 
In  speaking  of  the  necessity  of  changing  the  Govern- 
ment, he  said :  "  If  our  Government  cannot  be  changed 
without  bloodshed,  let  bloodshed  come,"  and  concluded 
with  the  words:  "Hail  to  the  bolsheviki,  hail  to  the 
Revolution."  A.  V.  Brown,  the  next  speaker,  said  to 
the  men  in  the  shipyards:  "You  men  are  going  to  be 
discharged.  But  when  the  time  comes,  refuse  to  quit. 
Stay  on  the  job.  Tell  them  if  there  is  not  enough  work 
for  all,  the  working  day  must  be  shortened  to  six  hours." 
Thousands  of  circulars  were  passed  out  at  the  meeting, 
calling  on  the  soldiers  and  sailors  to  join  their  ranks. 

After  the  speakers  had  concluded,  several  "soap- 
boxers" and  ahen  speakers  moved  out  into  the  street  and 
in  a  few  minutes  several  meetings  were  in  progress  and 
obstructing  traffic.  This  was  forbidden  by  city  or- 
dinance and  the  police  immediately  asked  that  the  meet- 
ings be  held  on  an  adjoining  lot  so  as  not  to  obstruct  the 
street. 

Just  then  a  loaded  lumber  wagon  came  along  with  a 
red  flag  swinging  from  the  rear  end — and  this  on  Sun- 


32    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

day,  the  day  of  rest!    I  now  quote  from  the  Seattle 
Daily  Times ,  January  13th: 

Someone  raised  the  cry:  "There  she  is!  There's  the  only  flag!" 
In  a  flash  the  cry  was  taken  up.  The  wagon  momentarily  stopped 
while  almost  all  took  off  their  hats  to  the  emblem  of  Bolshevism 
and  someone  started  the  chorus  of  "The  Red  Flag,"  an  I.  W.  W. 
battle  cry.  .  .  .  Mutterings  grew  to  loud  cries  and  a  violent 
attitude  of  the  surging  crowd. 

Spying  a  man — since  declared  by  the  police  to  be  Walker  Smith, 
a  noted  I.  W.  W.  agitator — gathering  a  crowd  about  him.  .  . 
Captain  Searing,  who  was  directing  the  splitting  up  of  the  throng, 
broke  away  from  the  other  ofiicers  and  dashed  through  the  mob 
toward  the  man,  said  to  be  Smith. 

"I  wanted  to  nip  in  the  bud  any  further  demonstration  and  stop 
the  parade  he  was  endeavouring  to  form  before  it  could  get  under 
way  and  make  such  a  mob  that  we  would  have  difficulty  in  handling 
it,"  said  Captain  Searing  afterward  in  explaining  his  action.  "I 
wanted  to  get  them  before  they  had  a  chance  to  get  us,"  he  added. 

The  police  captain  had  not  quite  reached  his  objective  when  the 
persons  surrounding  the  would-be  parade  marshal  attacked  Searing. 
The  latter  declared  later  he  couldn't  pick  out  a  single  person  who 
had  attacked  him,  save  one  woman  who  was  trying  to  strike  him 
with  her  fists  and  an  umbrella.  .  .  .  Captain  Searing  early 
became  the  centre  of  the  fighting,  but  was  saved  from  serious  in- 
jury by  the  arrival  of  squad  after  squad  of  police.  .  .  .  Patrol- 
man Bert  Houck  pursued  a  man  through  the  crowd  who  was  ad- 
vancing on  Captain  Searing  with  a  large  pocket-knife. 

Several  of  the  radicals  were  arrested  "while  pro- 
claiming .  .  .  their  disrespect  for  the  American 
flag  and  this  Government.  One  of  them,  W.  I.  Fisher, 
was  shouting  'Down  with  Democracy'  it  is  alleged, 
when  Sergeant  Ballinger  of  the  military  police  gathered 
him  in." 

As  the  mob  was  broken  up  they  cast  slurs  at  several 
men  in  the  army  and  navy  and  marine  service  with 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    33 

whom  they  came  in  contact.     Continuing,  the  Times 
said: 

In  these  melees  Sergeant  Moore,  in  charge  of  the  Fort  Lawton 
provost  guard,  was  struck  in  the  mouth  after  he  had  arrested  a  man 
who  had  been  discharged  from  the  army  on  December  19th  last. 
This  prisoner,  it  was  alleged,  had  taken  off  his  hat  to  the  red  flag 
on  the  lumber  wagon  and  was  loudly  declaring  his  "wobblyism" 
(I.  W.  W.'ism)  and  lack  of  respect  for  the  Stars  and  Stripes. 

Parading  without  a  permit  had  always  been  forbidden, 
and  as  PoHce  Captain  Searing  ran  into  the  centre  of  the 
street  and  ordered  the  paraders  to  break  ranks,  his  an- 
swer was  a  blow  in  the  face  which  broke  his  nose  and 
knocked  him  to  the  pavement.  Immediately  a  dozen 
Reds  joined  in  the  assault,  but  he  finally  succeeded  in  re- 
gaining his  feet  and  with  the  aid  of  his  men  fought  clear 
of  the  crowd.  When  the  provost  guard  or  police  arrested 
one  of  their  assailants,  others  fought  to  release  him. 

In  commenting  upon  the  attack  made  upon  Sergeant 
Morris  of  the  Marines,  the  Times  added : 

The  most  exciting  incident  next  to  the  attack  on  Captain  Searing 
was  the  assault  on  Sergeant  Morris  of  the  U.  S.  Marines.  He  was 
struck  in  the  mouth  by  a  man  who  later  gave  his  name  as  Leo 
Polishuk,  a  Russian  labourer,  twenty  years  old.  The  marine  cap- 
tured his  assailant  at  Fourth  Avenue  and  Pike  Street  and  was  taking 
him  toward  an  alley  "to  give  him  a  trial  and  punish  him  on  the 
spot"  when  the  city  police  hurried  up  and  through  the  crowd,  which 
was  threatening  to  take  Morris's  prisoner  from  him. 

Among  those  who  tried  to  rescue  Polishuk  from  the  marine  was 
Leo  Udcovisky,  forty-five  years  old,  a  Russian.  Sergeant  (Jack) 
Sullivan  (Seattle  soldier  and  loyalist),  who  was  going  to  the  marine's 
assistance,  grabbed  Udcovisky  and  turned  him  around.  The  Rus- 
sian kicked  him,  and  while  the  soldier  was  recovering  from  this  blow 
his  assailant,  it  is  alleged,  tried  to  strike  him  with  an  iron  bar. 


34    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

As  the  Russian  started  away  from  the  scene,  hurrying  down  the 
alley  toward  Union  Street,  Sullivan  painfully  followed,  never  Josing 
sight  of  him.  In  front  of  the  Post  Office  Building  he  caught  up 
to  him  and  made  him  prisoner. 

It  was  a  free-for-all  fight  before  it  was  over,  but 
when  things  commenced  to  be  fairly  equal,  the  cowardly 
Reds  "hunted  their  holes,"  as  they  always  do  and  al- 
ways will  do.  There  is  no  courage  in  them!  Their 
teachings  have  taken  all  sacrifice  and  ability  to  battle 
out  of  them !  They  never  won  a  single  fight  with  the 
police  while  I  was  mayor.  Given  200  Seattle  blue  coats 
and  1,000  Reds — the  Reds  run! 

A  total  of  thirteen  men  were  arrested  and  when  one 
was  asked  what  his  nationality  was  he  said:  "I  am  an 
American,  and  ashamed  of  it."  Thus  ended,  in  the 
Reds'  defeat,  the  first  open  battle  between  the  forces  of 
law  and  order  and  the  I.  W.  W.  in  Seattle. 

The  well-laid  plans  of  the  "Soldiers,  Sailors,  and 
Workmen's  Council"  could  not  be  carried  out  on  ac- 
count of  the  help  given  the  police  by  the  loyal  citizens 
and  returned  soldiers.  In  the  entire  crowd  of  Reds, 
there  was  but  one  returned  soldier. 

The  Union  Record  the  next  day,  in  flaring  headlines, 
denounced  the  police  for  enforcing  the  law.  It  also 
published  an  editorial,  calling  the  police  "Prussians," 
and  abused  the  chief. 

The  next  day,  January  thirteenth,  I  made  the  follow- 
ing statement : 

Order  will  be  maintained.  Laws  will  be  enforced.  Riot  and 
disorder  will  be  suppressed. 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    35 

The  men  arrested  were  found  guilty  and  police  sen- 
tences imposed. 

On  the  following  Wednesday  I  went  to  the  meeting 
held  in  the  Central  Labour  Council  in  order  to  secure 
statements  of  any  specific  usurpation  or  abuse  of  au- 
thority on  the  part  of  the  police.  When  I  arrived, 
there  was,  as  usual,  but  a  small  attendance  of  Central 
Labour  Council  members,  the  vacant  seats  being  filled 
by  I.  W.  W.'s  who  were  not  members.  These  men 
voted,  however,  on  motion  after  motion,  as  did  the  Reds 
who  filled  the  gallery.  The  speakers  simply  denounced 
the  police  and  all  in  authority,  but  did  not  present  for 
consideration  a  single,  specific  instance  where  a  po- 
liceman or  provost  guard  had  not  observed,  as  well  as 
enforced,  the  plain  law. 

When  my  name  was  mentioned,  a  man  sitting  among 
a  crowd  of  I.  W.W.*s  and  bearded  Russians  (all,  by  the 
way,  wearing  red  neckties),  shouted,  "Let's  hang  Han- 
son." I  was  unable  to  reach  him  before  he  disappeared 
in  the  crowd.  Upon  leaving  the  hall,  several  I.  W.  W.'s 
blocked  my  path  and  started  an  argument.  Although 
alone  I  was  fully  prepared  to  protect  myself,  but  the 
argument  did  not  last  long.  A  stranger  seemed  par- 
ticularly anxious  to  get  to  close  quarters  with  those 
who  obstructed  my  path.  The  next  day  a  report 
laid  on  my  desk  explained  that  the  argument  was 
started  in  order  to  "beat  me  up,"  while  the  solici- 
tous stranger  was  none  other  than  a  Secret  Service 
operator. 

While  present  at  the  meeting,  I  demanded  that  the 
Central  Labour  Council  either  repudiate  their  name 


36    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

appearing  on  the  circulars  advertising  the  previous 
Sunday  meeting,  or  explain  how  it  came  to  be  there. 
An  ofl&cer  of  the  Machinists'  Union  said  that  the 
meeting  was  arranged  by  them  but  that  the  speakers 
had  been  changed  after  the  printing  of  the  circular, 
and  added  that  Anna  Louise  Strong  had  told  him  it 
would  be  all  right  to  announce  that  the  Central  Labour 
Council  was  back  of  the  meeting.  The  President  of 
the  council,  Robert  L.  Proctor,  denounced  the  use  of 
the  central  body's  name.  At  the  same  meeting,  how- 
ever, the  same  Central  Labour  Council  endorsed  a  call 
for  a  mass  meeting  to  be  held  the  following  Sunday 
afternoon,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  "Soldiers, 
Sailors,  and  Workmen's  Council,  or  soviet ! "  When  the 
thirteen  men  arrested  for  the  Sunday  riot  were  placed 
on  trial,  W.  N.  Stumpf,  the  man  charged  with  assaulting 
Captain  Searing,  said:  "Don't  bother  about  a  lawyer 
for  me;  the  Defense  Committee  of  the  I.  W.  W.  will 
furnish  me  an  attorney." 

We  have  seen  how  the  organization  of  a  soviet  was 
planned  in  Seattle.  It  is  well  to  call  to  the  reader's 
mind  that  the  radicals  at  the  National  Labour  Congress 
in  Chicago,  on  January  sixteenth,  demanded  the  or- 
ganization of  American  Soviets.  This  was  the  congress 
called  to  consider  a  programme  for  liberating  Thos.  J. 
Mooney  and  Warren  K.  Billings,  then  serving  life 
terms  for  murder  in  connection  with  bomb  outrages 
committed  in  connection  with  a  preparedness  parade  in 
San  Francisco. 

As  stated  by  the  Post-Intelligencer  of  January  17, 
1919: 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    37 

The  climax  at  the  Chicago  convention  was  reached  when  a  motion 
picture  was  shown  of  the  Mooney  case,  one  film  showing  American 
soldiers  carrying  an  American  flag  in  the  San  Francisco  prepared- 
ness parade,  and  there  were  hisses  from  many  of  the  radicals  when 
this  was  flashed  on  the  screen. 

A  telegram  was  then  read  from  Eugene  V.  Debs,  ad- 
dressed to  E.  B.  Ault,  who  was  in  attendance  at  the 
meeting,  which  said  in  part: 

The  hour  has  struck  for  action.  Long-winded  resolutions  and 
humble  petitions  to  corporation  tools  in  public  office  .  .  .  are 
worse  than  useless.  The  convention  can  do  no  less  than  demand  his 
(Mooney's)  unconditional  release  and  issue  an  ultimatum  to  that 
effect,  giving  due  notice  if  that  fails,  a  general  strike  will  follow  at  a 
specified  time  and  industry  be  paralyzed  throughout  the  land. 

One  delegate  shouted :  "We'll  make  this  country  a 
desert  like  Arizona." 

A  message  was  also  read  from  five  members  of  the 
executive  board  of  the  I.  W.  W.,  pledging  that  organiza- 
tion to  support  a  general  strike. 

Of  course,  Gompers  and  the  American  Federation  of 
Labour  were  bitterly  attacked.  A  telegram  of  greeting 
was  also  received  from  the  Seattle  "Soldiers,  Sailors, 
and  Workmen's  Council,"  although  it  had  had  as  yet 
no  open  meeting  in  Seattle,  and  its  members  consisted 
of  the  five  ringleaders  only! 

On  the  same  night,  January  sixteenth,  a  meeting  of 
5,000  I.  W.  W.'s  was  held  at  their  favourite  spot, 
Fourth  Avenue  and  Virginia  Street.  A  resolution  was 
adopted,  condemning  all  law-enforcing  officials. 

The  Post-Intelligencer  of  the  seventeenth  had  the 
following  to  say  of  this  meeting: 


38    AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

Following  the  chairman,  F.  Clifford  spoke.  He  told  his  hearers 
that  the  workers  ought  to  take  over,  own,  and  run  the  machines  of 
industry.  He  urged  cooperation  of  the  workers  at  the  next  elec- 
tion, told  them  to  stick  together  at  the  polls,  and  if  they  then  could 
not  "get  it  by  the  ballot  route,  get  it  by  the  bulUt  route." 

I  was  present  during  the  entire  meeting.  As  it 
broke  up,  50x3  men  took  the  lead  and  the  crowd  of  5,cxx> 
followed,  starting  toward  the  jail,  half  a  mile  away. 

In  speaking  of  the  parade  after  the  meeting,  the 
Post-Intelligencer  said : 

Shouting  defiance  at  the  police,  the  leaders  reached  Jefferson 
Street  and  Third  Avenue.  (One  block  from  police  headquarters.) 
A  few  of  them  turned  down  Jefferson  Street  toward  the  waterfront. 
The  others,  however,  kept  on  Yesler  Way  in  the  direction  of  the 
police  station. 

"Come  on  to  the  police  station,"  urged  the  leaders.  The  others 
wavered,  then  obeyed. 

At  that  instant  those  in  the  van  saw  a  column  of  fourteen  mounted 
policemen  moving  down  the  Yesler  Way  hill  from  the  police  station 
to  meet  them.  Behind  came  four  automobile  trucks  containing 
sixty  policemen  armed  with  carbines,  followed  by  five  squads  of 
patrolmen  on  foot  armed  with  night  sticks.     .     .     . 

For  a  space  of  several  minutes  the  I.  W.  W.  element  followed 
their  leaders  in  the  "  battle  hymn  "  of  the  organization.  The  second 
stanza  was  barely  started  when  the  five  squads  of  mounted  police- 
men came  down  the  street  and  sidewalks  on  both  sides  in  a  solid 
body.  The  crowd  of  singers  was  swept  before  them.  .  .  . 
Within  five  minutes  after  the  police  had  started  work,  Yesler  Way 
between  Second  and  Third  avenues  was  as  bare  of  loitering  crowds 
as  on  a  Sunday  at  midnight. 

On  the  same  day,  January  sixteenth,  that  the  Mooney 
Congress  in  Chicago  was  hissing  the  American  flag,  advo- 
cating a  general  strike  and  passing  I.  W.  W.  resolutions — 
with  many  of  its  members  from  the  state  of  Wash- 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    39 

ington,  including  "Jimmy"  Duncan,  and  our  good 
friend,  E.  B.  Ault,  who  acted  as  secretary  of  the  con- 
vention— members  of  the  Central  Labour  Council  in 
Seattle  were  encouraging,  abetting,  and  protecting  the 
Reds  who  met  and  marched  down  the  street  to  take 
the  city  jail. 

And  on  that  same  night  an  order  was  issued  by  the 
Metal  Trades  Council  in  Seattle,  ordering  a  strike  of 
25,000  workmen  employed  in  the  shipyards,  building 
government  ships  in  Seattle  alone,  and  requests  were 
sent  to  the  shipyard  workers  of  the  entire  Pacific  coast 
to  take  like  action.  Nothing  could  prove  more  con- 
clusively that  there  was  a  widespread  conspiracy 
throughout  the  Union  for  a  concerted  effort  to  estab- 
lish bolshevism. 

The  men  in  the  main  did  not  understand  what  the 
leaders  were  doing.  They  were  not  permitted  to  vote 
as  to  whether  they  would  strike  or  not.  I  talked  with 
dozens  of  workmen  from  the  yards,  as  did  many  of  my 
friends,  and  outside  of  the  leading  agitators,  none  of 
them  wanted  to  go  on  strike.  But  when  ordered  to  go 
on  strike^  these  men  obeyed^  so  thoroughly  had  they 
had  it  drilled  into  them  the  iniquity  and  perfidy  of  a 
man  who  would  "scab." 

In  speaking  of  the  manner  in  which  the  shipyard 
strike  was  called,  the  Times  of  January  17th  said: 

Disregarding  appeals  from  some  delegates  that  the  workers  them- 
selves be  given  opportunity  to  express  their  views  on  the  final  ques- 
tion by  a  referendum  ballot,  fifty-seven  delegates  representing  the 
Seattle  Metal  Trades  Council  last  night  voted  to  call  a  strike  of  the 
25,500  members  of  the  twenty-one  affiliated  unions  next  Tuesday 


40    AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

morning  at  lo  o'clock,  provided  the  owners  of  shipyard  and  con- 
tract shops  concerned  do  not  in  the  meantime  sign  the  council's 
blanket  wage  agreement. 

On  the  same  day,  the  Seattle  Union  Record  printed  a 
statement  under  great  headlines:  Shipyard  Workers 
TO  Strike  Tuesday,  and  another  dispatch  on  the 
same  page  to  the  effect  that  the  Tacoma  Metal 
Trades  Council  had  taken  the  same  action.  In  the 
same  issue  a  story  was  printed  ridiculing  Gompers's 
statement  that  "Bolshevism  is  a  menace,"  and  followed 
by  a  reproduction  of  the  constitution  of  the  Russian 
Soviet  Republic,  copied  from  the  Nation  of  New  York 
City.  Preceding  the  constitution  itself  the  Record 
says: 

The  Nation,  New  York  City,  of  January  fourth,  has  done  a  distinct 
service  in  printing  in  full  the  constitution  of  the  Russian  Socialist 
Federated  Soviet  Republic  in  its  latest  form  as  adopted  July  lo, 
1918. 

Editorially  the  Record  comments  on  the  publication  of 
the  constitution  as  follows: 

So  much  misinformation  has  been  spread  about  Bolshevism  and 
the  Russian  Soviet  Republic,  that  the  Union  Record  takes  pleasure 
in  commending  to  its  readers'  notice  the  article  printed  in  the  last 
two  '--olumns  of  this  page.  It  is  worth  careful  reading  by  any  one 
who  is  sincerely  trying  to  understand  what  is  going  on  in  Russia. 

Of  course  the  Record  demanded,  as  usual,  the  dis- 
charge of  Chief  of  Police  Warren,  as  a  direct  menace  to 
the  peace  of  the  community  and  the  recall  of  myself  as 
mayor.     In  glaring  headlines  they    also    printed  the 


AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    41 

resolution  passed  at  the  Mooney  Congress,  which 
demanded  the  destruction  of  the  American  Federation 
of  Labour  and  the  recall  of  Samuel  Gompers  as  presi- 
dent of  the  Federation,  with  Mooney  endorsed  as  a 
candidate  for  the  position.  Perhaps  they  were  follow- 
ing a  plan;  perhaps  they  were  preparing  for  future 
events — ^we  shall  see.  We  knew  exactly  what  the 
plan  was  and  we  thought  we  knew  what  the  result 
would  be.  There  is  a  well-worn  adage  to  the  effect 
that  if  you  give  one  rope  enough  he  will  hang  him- 
self. 

As  a  result  of  the  police  interfering  with  their  two 
previous  street  parades,  the  leaders  by  word  of  mouth 
and  the  Union  Record  through  its  columns  claimed  the 
"right  of  free  speech"  had  been  abridged.  I  therefore 
assisted  in  securing  a  hall  where  "free-speech"  advo- 
cates could  meet  on  the  following  Sunday.  They  did 
meet  and  followed  their  programme  by  openly  forming 
the  "Soldiers,  Sailors,  and  Workmen's  Council"  which 
had  been  secretly  planned  some  time  before!  It  was 
now  thought  that  with  the  shipyard  workers  out  on 
strike  and  a  general  strike  being  agitated,  the  time  was 
ripe  for  the  public  formation  of  a  soviet.  A.  E.  Miller 
was  advertised  as  the  chairman  of  the  meeting,  and 
when  the  great  hall  opened  on  Sunday,  January  nine- 
teenth, more  than  5,000  persons  were  present,  the 
overflow  crowd  going  up  to  their  old  meeting  place  at 
Fourth  and  Virginia  streets.  The  meeting  was  con- 
ducted under  the  joint  auspices  of  the  Seattle  Metal 
Trades  Council  and  the  Central  Labour  Council.  A 
resolution  was  passed  authorizing  five  delegates  from 


42    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

every  working-class  organization  in  the  city  to  meet  at 
the  Metal  Trades  Council  on  the  following  Saturday 
evening  to  perfect  the  organization  of  the  "Soldiers, 
Sailors,  and  Workmen's  Council."  Frank  A.  Rust, 
manager  of  the  Labour  Temple  Association,  was  one  of 
the  speakers.  Mr.  Rust  is  reputed  to  be  a  conserva- 
tive labour  leader  and  yet  he,  in  the  presence  of  my 
successor  Mayor  C.  B.  Fitzgerald,  said  to  me:  "I  am  not 
for  revolution  now.  I  am  afraid  it  cannot  win,  but 
if  I  thought  it  could  win,  I  would  be  for  it  down  the 
line." 

Again  the  hypocritical  propaganda  of  aiding  the  re- 
turned soldiers  was  talked  of  in  order  to  win  their 
support  for  this  revolutionary  organization.  The 
next  day  the  streets  were  flooded  with  circulars  headed: 
Chief  of  Police  Warren  Must  Go,  and  closing  with 
the  statement: 

Workers,  go  to  your  labour  meetings  and  demand  his  removal 
in  no  uncertain  terms.  This  loathsome  character  can  be  removed  by 
you,  the  organized  workers,  through  your  economic  power,  if  nothing 
else  will  prevail. 

They  knew  I  would  never  remove  any  man  for  doing 
his  duty  and  they  could  have  struck  until  the  cows  came 
home;  Warren  would  not  have  been  "fired"  to  please 
them  or  any  one  else.  It  is  hard  enough  to  get  a  man  that 
will  do  his  duty  fearlessly,  and  the  more  law  breakers 
"knock"  such  a  man,  the  greater  the  proof  of  his 
well  doing.  "No  thief  ever  felt  the  halter  draw  with 
good  opinion  of  the  law." 

Agitation  was   increased.     Men  worked   but   little 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    43 

in  the  shipyards,  but  gathered  in  knots  to  listen  to  the 
revolutionists,  and  on  January  twenty-first,  at  10  a.  m., 
all  the  shipyard  workers  in  Seattle  went  out  on  strike. 
And  the  fight  was  on  between  the  Government  and  the 
workers. 

The  lowest  wage  paid  for  common  'abour  in  the 
shipyards  was  $4.16  and  the  loudly  vaunted  reason  of 
the  strike  was  to  aid  the  men  who  received  this  mini- 
mum wage.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  were  but  few 
men  in  the  shipyards  who  received  this  small  amount. 
At  the  Skinner  &  Eddy  plant  (the  largest  in  the  city) 
only  six  men  out  of  a  total  of  14,629  received  this  mini- 
mum wage  The  following  statement,  taken  from  the 
books  of  the  Skinner  &  Eddy  Corporation,  show  con- 
clusively that  the  strike  was  not  called  to  increase  the 
wages  of  the  $4.16  men: 


NUMBER  OF  MEN 

6. 
81  . 

571  . 
6,064  • 
2,911  . 

568. 

815. 


DAILY  WAGE 
$4.16 

4.48 

4.64 

4.64  to  $5.00 
5.00  to  6.00 
6.00  to  7.00 
7.00  to  8.00 
8.00  and  up 


ty  of  Tacoma  15,000  workers 


In  the  neighbouring  ci 
walked  out. 

The  propaganda  regarding  the  soldiers  and  sailors 
joining  the  ranks  of  the  I.  W.  W.  had  been  spread  so 
broadcast  throughout  the  country  that  on  January 
twenty-second   Senator  Johnson   of  California  stated 


44    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

on  the  floor  of"  the  Senate  that  "press  dispatches 
claimed  that  after  dispersing  a  demonstration  of  I.W. 
W.'s  in  Seattle  it  was  found  that  among  the  outcast 
I.  W.  W.'s  were  soldiers  of  the  United  States  who  were 
being  fed  by  the  I.  W.  W.  and  who  were  without  re- 
sources or  money  or  food."  Our  senator  from  Wash- 
ington, Wesley  L.  Jones,  wired  to  Harold  Preston,  then 
chairman  of  our  County  Council  of  Defence,  and  myself 
as  mayor,  requesting  information  in  relation  to  this 
matter.  I  replied,  as  did  Mr.  Preston,  that  it  was 
untrue;  that  no  soldiers  or  sailors  had  been  arrested 
charged  with  being  law  violators;  that  no  soldier  or 
sailor  outcasts  were  being  fed  by  the  I.  W.  W.;  that  so 
far  as  I  knew  they  were  with  the  authorities  for  the 
enforcement  of  law  to  the  man;  that  all  employers 
had  opened  places  for  them  upon  their  return;  that 
there  was  no  unemployment  in  the  city,  and  that  up 
to  the  day  of  the  strike  labour  was  in  good  demand. 

But  from  house  to  house,  at  night,  went  the  Red 
agitators,  preaching  discontent  and  hatred  of  our 
Government,  and  within  twenty-four  hours  of  the  decla" 
ration  of  the  shipyard  strike,  open  agitation  began  for 
the  calling  of  a  general  strike.  On  the  night  of  Janu- 
ary twenty-second,  thirty-six  hours  after  the  shipyard 
workers  struck,  a  meeting  was  held  at  the  Central 
Labour  Council,  and  at  this  meeting  a  resolution  was 
passed,  asking  every  union  in  Seattle  to  go  on  a  general 
strike  in  support  of  the  workers  in  the  shipyard  indus- 
tries. In  describing  the  meeting,  the  Union  Record, 
under  the  caption  "General  Strike  to  Be  Voted 
Upon  by  Unions,"  said : 


AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    45 

With  cheers  for  the  solidarity  of  Labour,  and  without  a  dissenting 
vote  [an  untruth],  the  Central  Labour  Council  last  night  resolved  to 
ask  every  union  to  go  on  a  general  strike  in  support  of  the  workers 
in  the  shipyard  industry.  ...  As  explained  by  Chairman  A. 
E.  Miller  of  the  Metal  Trades  Strike  Committee,  Business  Agent 
Von  Carnop,  Delegate  Jack  Mullane,  and  others,  the  plan  is  for  "mass 
action  and  mass  results."  Hulet  M.  Wells  said  when  he  took  the 
platform :  "  Seattle  is  one  place  where  a  universal  strike  can  be  pulled 
off  with  success.     ..." 

Concluding  the  debate,  Delegate  Fred  Nelson  unfurled  one  of  the 
big  coloured  posters,  showing  a  soldier  and  a  sailor  in  uniform,  and  a 
worker  in  overalls,  with  the  motto:  ** Together  We  Win,"  amidst  a 
storm  of  applause  which  lasted  several  minutes. 

"That's  the  way  I  came  back  from  Chicago,"  shouted  Delegate 
King  who  had  just  returned  from  the  Mooney  Congress,  "sleeping 
between  soldiers  and  sailors,  and  they  are  all  with  us." 


Thus  the  stage  was  set.  The  next  day  members  of 
the  346th  Field  Artillery  returned  to  Seattle.  I  won- 
dered at  the  time  whether  the  revolutionists  really 
believed  they  could  make  bolshevists  of  these  loyal 
heroes.  Before  me  is  a  report  stating  that  they  did 
expect  and  plan  to  absorb  these  soldiers.  The  thou- 
sands of  returned  soldiers  gathered  at  the  Hippo- 
drome to  be  welcomed — the  same  hall  which  but  a 
few  hours  before  had  been  filled  with  men  who  aimed 
to  destroy  the  Government  these  men  had  fought  to 
save. 

As  mayor,  I  was  requested  to  make  a  short  address. 
It  was  hard  to  stand  before  those  men  and  not  tell  them 
in  plain  words  just  what  was  to  be  attempted,  but 
doing  so  would  only  have  postponed  the  crisis.  I  knew 
it  had  to  come  and  did  not  want  to  put  it  off.  We  were 
ready. 


46    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 
I  said  in  speaking  of  the  Reds: 

To  that  minority  who  would  rule  or  overthrow  this  Government, 
I  say,  "  Beware."  Passion,  noise,  declamation,  disorder,  riot,  trea- 
son, sedition,  anarchy,  are  but  the  bubbles  floating  on  the  surface  of 
the  great  river.  The  depths  flow  silently  on  to  the  sea  bearing  on 
their  bosom  the  hopes  and  ideals  of  all  humanity,  pregnant  with  un- 
known and  unthought  possibilities  of  happiness  and  peace  for  all. 
Our  country  has  been  the  beacon  light  for  all  the  peoples  of  the 
world.  Let  us  stand  for  orderly,  well-thought-out  progress;  let  us 
construct,  not  destroy;  let  us  stand  for  order,  not  disorder;  let  us 
stand  by  our  flag  in  this  crucial  time  and  when  the  smoke  and  dust 
and  noise  have  passed  away,  our  children  and  our  children's  children 
will  reap  the  great  reward.    God  Bless  You  and  Keep  You  Safe. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE   LABOUR   SITUATION   IN  SEATTLE  AND  THROUGH- 
OUT THE    NORTHWEST   PRECEDING  THE 
ATTEMPTED   REVOLUTION 

Before  proceeding  to  tell  the  story  of  the  general 
strike  or  attempted  revolution  in  Seattle  I  want  to 
give  the  reader  a  little  idea  of  some  of  the  events  which 
had  immediately  preceded  and  led  up  to  this  ominous 
labour  situat  on  throughout  the  Northwest  and  es- 
pecially in  Seattle. 

The  Convention  of  the  Industrial  Workers  of  the 
World  in  Chicago,  in  1914,  took  an  open  stand  against 
our  Government.  The  result  of  this  action  was  soon 
apparent  in  the  West,  and  in  and  around  Seattle,  open 
denunciation  of  the  Government  becoming  the  order  of 
the  day.  The  street  corners  of  Seattle  and  adjoining 
"towns  and  villages"  became  the  nightly  forum  for  the 
soap-boxers  and  little  or  no  attempt  was  made  to  en- 
force the  law  prohibiting  street  meetings  which  caused 
obstruction  of  traffic.  No  eflfort  whatever,  so  far  as  we 
know,  was  made  by  the  authorities  to  punish  the  open 
teaching  of  sedition.  Sabotage,  too,  came  into  as  gen- 
eral use  as  was  consistent  with  safety  and  the  preaching 
thereof  became  as  free  and  untrammeled  as  the  preach- 
ing of  the  Gospel. 

47 


48    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

Soon  stickers  appeared  in  the  camps  explaining  how 
to  destroy  or  injure  machinery;  accidents  to  logging 
and  milling  machinery  became  of  daily  occurrence,  and 
almost  every  bunk  house  became  a  debating  club 
where  the  best  methods  of  practising  sabotage,  with 
safety^  were  freely  discussed.  The  output  was  de- 
creased and  men  did  but  a  part  of  a  day's  work,  grudg- 
ing every  movement  put  forth  that  meant  production. 
Strike  after  strike  occurred,  almost  any  excuse  suf- 
ficing as  a  reason  Impossible  demands  were  made,  the 
best  of  food  was  refused  as  uneatable,  and  a  black  pall 
of  trouble  settled  over  practically  the  entire  Northwest. 

Apples  were  bruised  in  the  packing  so  they  would 
decay  in  but  a  short  time.  Logging  engines  were 
turned  loose  down  the  mountain  sides,  and  fires  became 
daily  more  numerous  Police  officers,  soldiers,  sailors, 
and  all  forces  charged  with  enforcement  of  law  were 
openly  denounced  and  abused  If  one  I.  W.  W.  was 
arrested,  hundreds  more  came  from  the  surrounding 
country  and  tried  to  overcrowd  the  jails,  laughed  and 
sang,  kept  everyone  awake,  and  generally  kept  things 
in  a  state  of  turmoil.  There  was  absolutely  no  respect 
for  duly-constituted  authority,  for  law  and  order.  Like 
the  noisy  frogs,  the  I.  W.  W.  apparently  believed  that 
noise  spelled  numbers,  force,  and  power  to  control. 

Everett,  a  city  of  30,o<X)  and  but  thirty  miles  from 
Seattle,  finally  passed  a  law  prohibiting  the  obstruction 
of  traffic  by  means  of  street  meetings,  and  a  strong  effort 
was  made  to  enforce  it.  The  I.  W.  W.  were  equally 
determined  that  this  law  should  not  be  enforced,  and 
continued  their  attempts  to  hold  nightly  meetings  in 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    49 

the  down-town  section.  In  desperation,  Everett's 
outraged  citizens  organized  to  protect  their  city  and 
drove  certain  I.  W.  W.'s  from  their  midst,  several  being 
tarred  and  feathered.  They  were  given  to  understand, 
in  no  uncertain  language,  that  Everett  was  through 
with  the  I.  W.  W.  for  all  time. 

Bent  upon  revenge,  the  I.  W.  W.'s  met  in  Seattle, 
armed  themselves,  chartered  a  steamboat,  and  sailed 
for  Everett  to  enforce  the  "right  of  free  speech."  They 
were  met  at  the  wharf  by  an  armed  group  of  men  led 
by  the  sheriff  and  refused  a  landing.  Someone  opened 
fire,  either  from  the  boat  or  from  the  land;  the  testi- 
mony to  this  day  is  conflicting  as  to  who  fired  the  first 
shot.  A  battle  ensued.  Several  were  killed  on  both 
sides,  but  the  boat  finally  departed  and  came  back  to 
our  city,  carrying  with  it  the  wounded  and  the  dead, 
and  leaving  several  of  Everett's  citizens  sleeping  their 
last  sleep.  Wholesale  arrests  were  made  upon  the 
boat's  arrival  in  Seattle.  A  trial  was  had,  both  sides 
presenting  directly  conflicting  stories.  No  one  was 
found  guilty,  but  to  this  day  Everett  has  had  no  fur- 
ther open  and  violent  disorder. 

As  a  result  of  the  Everett  trouble,  thousands  of 
converts  of  I.  W.  W.'ism  hurried  to  the  centres  of  pop- 
ulation; Seattle,  as  the  largest  city  in  the  Northwest, 
getting  her  full  quota.  For  a  time  things  looked  bad,  but 
no  open  revolt  took  place.  There  did  come,  however, 
a  sharp  division  in  the  population,  the  vast  majority, 
of  course,  demanding  enforcement  of  existing  laws. 
The  city  government,  as  then  constituted,  refused. 
Public  sentiment   became  so  crystallized   against  the 


50    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

then  mayor  that  there  was  talk  of  his  recall.  A  for- 
mer mayor  had  built  a  stand  in  a  down-town  park  for 
the  convenience  of  the  I.  W.  W.,  but  they  almost  invar- 
iably refused  to  use  it.  What  they  wanted  was  to  be 
put  in  jail,  to  r.gitate  and  become  martyrs.  They  did 
not  want  free  speech — they  wanted  free  board  and  free 
advertising. 

Conditions  in  the  lumber  industry  became  worse 
daily.  Men  could  not  be  secured  to  do  the  work  and, 
when  secured,  would  not  work.  In  the  lumber  camps 
of  Oregon  and  Washington  there  were  at  least  40,000 
I.  W.  W.'s. 

With  this  country  drawing  nearer,  daily,  to  the  world 
war  raging  in  Europe,  Councilman  Allan  Dale  thought 
it  but  proper  that  the  city  government  should  be  the 
first  to  set  an  example  of  respect  for  our  flag.  He  intro- 
duced, and  had  passed  by  the  City  Council,  a  resolution 
providing  that  at  the  opening  of  each  session  the 
council  clerk  should  carry  the  flag  into  the  chamber, 
whereupon  each  member  was  to  salute  and  stand  at 
attention  until  the  flag  was  in  its  standard  beside  the 
president's  desk.  One  member  of  the  council,  Oliver 
T.  Erickson,  voted  against  the  resolution.  Erickson 
also  absented  himself  from  the  opening  ceremony,  and 
never  thereafter  saluted  our  flag  when  it  was  carried 
into  the  council  chamber.  A  fine  commentary  on  the 
patriotism  and  loyalty  of  a  man  who  owes  all  that  he 
has  to  our  country — and  Erickson  was  born  in  Minne- 
sota, not  in  Europe. 

Up  at  the  Central  Labour  Council  certain  delegates 
openly  fought  the  Government,  and  our  flag  was  re- 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    51 

fused  a  place  over  their  building.  Finally,  Frank  W. 
Gates,  a  labour  union  man  who  was  a  member  of  the 
King  County  Council  of  Defence,  a  patriot  whose  three 
sons  went  to  war,  climbed  the  flag  pole  and  nailed  the 
Stars  and  Stripes  to  the  mast.  Mr.  Gates  made  the 
following  signed  statement: 


Ten  days  before  war  was  declared  the  United  States  flag  which 
had  flown  over  the  Labour  Temple  disappeared.  The  Central  La- 
bour Council  met  that  night.  I  was  a  delegate  representing  the 
Painters  and  Decorators'  Local  300.  I  made  a  motion  that  a  new 
flag  be  purchased,  but  no  action  was  taken. 

The  following  Wednesday  I  wainted  to  know  why  the  flag  had 
not  been  raised  over  the  Labour  Temple,  and  James  Duncan  in  his 
ofiice  told  me  that  the  reason  was  that  "our  flag  was  an  emblem 
of  war  and  bloodshed  and  that  if  it  was  raised  the  red  flag  must  be 
hung  beside  it!"  I  told  him  that  if  Labour  did  not  put  the  flag  up 
the  patriotic  citizens  of  Seattle  would  do  so  and  that  this  would  put 
Labour  in  a  bad  light.  If  war  was  declared  and  the  labour  officials 
did  not  fly  the  American  flag,  I  said  I  would,  with  the  help  of  loyal 
labour  people,  raise  the  flag  myself.  He  said  if  I  did,  "the  red  flag 
would  fly  with  it."  I  said:  "The  people  will  take  care  of  the  red 
flag." 

That  same  night  I  fought  on  the  floor  to  get  the  flag  up,  but 
James  Duncan  led  the  opposition  to  it,  and  the  motion  was  tabled 
and  laid  over.  The  Spanish  War  veterans  called  me  up  that  night 
and  said,  "  If  Labour  does  not  fly  the  flag  over  the  Temple,  we 
will  put  it  up  ourselves." 

Again  I  went  to  the  labour  officials  and  asked:  "Why  is  not  the 
flag  on  our  Temple?"  Duncan  said:  "I  don't  know  as  it  ever  will 
fly  from  this  temple."  I  then  asked  Bob  Hesketh,  who  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Finance  Committee,  if  he  would  vote  with  me  and  back 
me  up  if  I  used  labour  funds  to  buy  the  flag.  He  said,  "Yes."  I 
wanted  the  flag  to  be  bought  with  Labour's  money.  I  then  went  to 
the  Labour  Temple  and  called  on  patriotic  labour  men  to  come 
with  me  and  buy  the  flag.  At  least  twenty  men  responded,  and  we 
bought  the  flag  and  we  went  up  to  the  Labour  Temple,  and  with  an 
impromptu  ceremony,  hung  the  flag.    The  following  Monday  the 


52    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

officials  became  so  alarmed  at  the  public  sentiment  that  they  pulled 
down  the  flag  I  had  paid  for  and  purchased  another  and  hung  it  in 
its  place  and  returned  mine  to  me.  I  stood  the  cost  of  the  first  flag 
myself.     The  flag  has  never  been  taken  down,  and  it  won't  be  either. 

Immediately  upon  our  country  declaring  war  every 
effort  was  made  by  the  I.  W.  W.  and  radical  elements 
to  obstruct  the  success  of  our  Government.  Hulet  M. 
Wells,  together  with  others  of  his  stripe,  conspired  to 
resist  and  obstruct  the  Selective  Draft  Act.  Anna 
Louise  Strong  at  once  became  an  open,  Red  Revolu- 
tionisty  and  one  of  Wells's  chief  co-workers.  Sam  Sadler, 
another  well-known  I.  W.  W.  already  referred  to,  be- 
came a  leader  with  Wells  in  his  effort  to  stop  the  selec- 
tive service  draft.  So  openly  defiant  did  Wells  and 
Sadler  become  that  they  were  finally  arrested,  tried, 
and  convicted,  and  are  at  this  writing  serving  their 
sentences  in  the  Federal  prison.  Miss  Strong  was  one 
of  the  principal  witnesses  at  their  trial. 

On  April  seventh,  the  day  after  this  country  de- 
clared war,  a  great  mass  meeting  was  called  at  the 
Arena,  Seattle's  largest  auditorium,  with  a  seating 
capacity  of  8,000  for  the  purpose  of  declaring  Seattle's 
intention  of  supporting  the  Government  and  to  unify 
all  loyal  elements  under  one  head.  The  situation  was 
critical.  It  was  a  time  for  unity  of  action — not  for 
division.  The  loyalists  invited  the  following  speakers 
to  address  the  assemblage:  President  Henry  Suz- 
zalo  of  the  University  of  Washington;  Rev.  Carter 
Helm  Jones,  one  of  the  leading  ministers  of  the 
city;  Judge  Thomas  Burke,  famous  lawyer  and  lead- 
ing citizen  and  loyal  every  ounce,  and  myself.     Rob- 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    53 

ert  C.  Saunders,  now  U.  S.  District  Attorney,  who 
subsequently  sent  three  of  his  sons  to  the  front,  was 
chairman. 

The  doors  were  opened  to  a  crowd  which  overflowed 
the  building.  The  opening  song  was  sung;  the  people, 
stern,  white  faced,  determined,  sang  the  chorus.  There 
was  no  laughter  or  smiling.  It  was  stern  business  and 
the  crowd  meant  business.  The  chairman  introduced 
the  Reverend  Mr.  Jones  first.  Jones  was  inspired.  He 
made  a  speech  that  lifted  the  very  souls  of  men  to 
Heaven — his  love  of  country  rang  in  every  sentence, 
every  syllable,  every  word!  He  spoke  of  France,  of 
Belgium,  of  its  murdered;  he  demanded  the  defeat  of 
Germany  and  all  her  policies.  It  was  immense!  I 
could  feel  my  heart  pound.  My  blood  raced  like  a 
torrent  in  my  veins.  Everybody  felt  the  same.  He 
sat  down.  The  crowd  arose  and  cheered  itself  hoarse. 
It  was  the  greatest  speech  any  of  us  had  ever  heard. 
I  would  cross  the  ocean  to  hear  such  another. 

I  was  next  called  and  did  my  best,  taking  as  my  maiir 
topic  the  Selective  Service  Act.  I  praised  it  "as  the 
most  democratic  method  of  selecting  a  country's  de- 
fenders ever  devised."  I  said:  **If  it  is  a  duty,  alt 
should  share  it;  if  a  privilege,  all  should  enjoy  it."  1 
denounced  the  camouflaged  traitors  who  were  obstruct- 
ing our  Government,  and  impressed  on  the  multitude 
that  it  was  not  a  rich  man's  war,  nor  a  poor  man's  war, 
but  was  a  war  for  all  of  us,  by  all  of  us,  with  equal  sacri- 
fice for  all.  When  I  closed  by  saying,  **We  are  em- 
barking upon  a  path  that  will  be  wet  with  tears  and 
stained  with  blood,  but  we  must  and  will  follow  it  to 


54    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

the  end,"  the  audience  arose  and  sang  "The  Star- 
Spangled  Banner." 

Then  came  Doctor  Suzzalo,  who  dehvered  a  most 
wonderful  address,  brimful  of  hope,  love,  and  patriotic 
fervour,  and  again  the  great  crowd  responded.  Then 
Judge  Burke,  about  five  feet  high  and  more  than  seventy 
years  old,  took  the  platform.  The  judge,  besides  being 
a  great  orator,  is  one  of  the  clearest  thinkers  in  our 
country,  one  of  our  most  able  and  patriotic  citizens,  and 
is  a  real  loo-per-cent.  American !  He  told  of  the  cruelty 
of  Germany;  he  recited  the  rape  of  Belgium  and  the 
murder  of  our  own  people.  As  he  talked  the  faces 
of  his  hearers  became  dark  and  grim;  hard  lines  ap- 
peared. There  was  not  much  applause  Feeling  was 
too  intense.  But  when  he  finished,  the  hopes  of  the 
Anna  Louise  Strongs,  the  Sam  Sadlers,  the  Hulet  Wells's, 
and  all  anti-war  factions  in  Seattle,  had  vanished.  Every 
man  and  woman  of  the  8,000  stood  ready  to  do  their 
•duty  no  matter  what  happened.     Seattle  was  united. 

In  reality,  Seattle  was  and  always  has  been  loyal, 
hut  a  few  loud-mouthed  traitors  had  actually  suc- 
ceeded in  creating  the  impression  that  this  was  not  so. 
That  meeting  settled  the  question  for  the  entire  war. 
I  went  home  but  did  not  sleep  very  much.  The  longer 
I  thought  about  it,  the  more  I  felt  that  hanging  by  the 
neck  was  too  good  for  any  one  who  was  false  to  our  flag 
and  our  country.  I  am  very  proud  that  I  was  privileged 
to  take  part  in  this  great  demonstration.  I  feel  that 
it  did  Seattle  and  our  country  good.  I  know  it  did  me 
good.  I  knew  then  that  when  the  time  of  trouble 
came,  when  anarchy  lined  the  sky,  Seattle  with  her 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    55 

best  and  bravest  would  meet  the  crisis  and  stand  four 
square. 

Then  came  the  establishment  of  shipyards  in  our 
midst.  Seattle  was  beginning  to  build  ships;  the  water- 
front soon  took  strange  shape,  and  from  every  part  oi 
the  country  came  an  influx  of  strangers.  More  yards 
and  still  more  yards  were  established,  but  with  the  com- 
ing of  strangers  came  also  a  change  in  labour  and  civic 
affairs.  The  Government  needed  men  to  build  ships, 
and  in  order  to  secure  them,  gave  practical  exemption 
from  military  service  to  those  who  entered  the  yards. 
Loggers  quit  the  camps,  coal  miners  quit  the  mines, 
and  many  structural  iron  workers  who  had  "trained" 
with  the  McNamaras  found  profitable  employment. 
Boys  who  wanted  to  escape  the  draft  joined  the  work- 
ing forces,  but  the  majority  went  to  the  shipyards 
in  much  the  same  spirit  as  did  the  boys  who  went  to 
war — as  a  necessary  patriotic  duty  to  their  country. 
Soon  the  15,000  industrial  workers  increased  to  65,000, 
and  as  the  yards  came  into  being  under  closed-shop 
conditions,  the  Government  continued  them  as  such. 
Thus  there  came  to  be  in  Seattle  a  union  membership 
of  more  than  60,000. 

Here  in  the  Northwest  stood  the  biggest  body  of 
spruce  in  the  country — timber  that  was  better  suited 
for  airplanes  than  any  other.  The  Government  imme- 
diately tried  to  secure  this  spruce  for  its  war  work 
through  the  existing  lumber  camps  and  mills,  but  at 
every  turn  found  the  I.W.W.  blocking  its  path!  Every 
nerve  was  exerted  by  the  I.  W.  W.'s  to  render  the 
Government  helpless!    It  became  necessary  for  the 


56    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

Government  to  establish  its  own  camps  in  the  undevel- 
oped forests  and,  through  regulation  and  supervision, 
drive  the  I.  W.  W.'s  from  the  existing  ones,  and  produce 
spruce  to  help  win  the  war. 

Mr.  Donovan,  of  the  Bloedel-Donovan  Mill  Com- 
pany of  Bellingham,  Wash.,,  in  testifying  before  the 
Congressional  Investigating  Committee  on  August 
23,  1919,  in  Seattle,  on  I.  W.  W.  efforts  to  obstruct  the 
Government's  spruce  work,  said: 

As  soon  as  war  started,  the  I.  W.  W.  became  very  active  in  the 
woods.  I  do  not  know  whether  there  was  any  connection  between 
that  organization  and  German  agents.  We  met  their  opposition, 
which  was  manifested  by  driving  spikes  in  logs,  blowing  up  logging 
engines,  starting  fires  in  the  woods,  and  anything  else  that  would  de- 
lay production. 

Our  company  had  one  very  bad  fire  that  the  I.  W.  W.  set.  We 
had  an  engine  blown  up  and  a  man  killed,  though  I  cannot  be  sure 
that  the  I.  W.  W.  did  this.  We  found  an  average  of  one  spike  a  week 
in  the  logs  at  the  mill,  whereas  usually  we  found  one  in  six  months 
or  one  a  year.  One  ship  that  sailed  from  Bellingham  with  lumber 
was  reported  on  fire  at  sea  from  the  result  of  a  fire  bomb  set  aboard 
before  she  sailed. 

Not  more  than  20  per  cent,  of  the  men  employed  were  engaged  in 
such  activities;  the  other  80  per  cent,  were  loyal  and  earnest. 
When  the  loyal  legion  was  formed,  nearly  all  the  loggers  and  millmen 
in  the  Northwest,  including  Oregon,  Washington,  and  part  of  Idaho, 
joined.     From  that  time  on  we  had  no  trouble. 

In  every  camp  the  effort  was  made  to  eradicate  the 
I.  W.  W.'s,  and  when  driven  from  the  woods  they  found 
ready  employment  in  the  cities — many  of  them  in  the 
shipyards.  In  all  the  previous  history  of  the  I.  W.  W. 
movement,  it  had  planned  to  destroy  from  the  outside 
the  American   Federation  of  Labour.     But  upon  the 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    57 

outbreak  of  war  the  I.  W.  W.'s,  forced  to  join  the 
unions  or  go  without  work,  began  to  "bore  from 
within,"  their  aim  being  to  take  possession  of  the  al- 
ready functioning  labour  unions.  Prominent  members 
of  the  organization  have  told  me  that  this  was  the  result 
of  plans  made  in  Petrograd  by  Lenin  and  his  crowd. 

When  Lenin  and  Trotsky  decided  that  their  govern- 
ment must  fall  if  our  Government  did  not,  they  sent 
their  agents  to  these  shores  to  overthrow  our  Govern- 
ment, and  upon  their  arrival  in  Seattle,  they  found  the 
I.  W.  W.  already  in  existence  and  functioning  along 
bolshevist  lines.  They,  therefore,  joined  the  organi- 
zation, supported  it  with  their  funds,  and  led  the  fight 
against  our  Government  by  using  the  already -at-hand 
organization. 

The  old  trade  unions  of  Seattle  were  progressive  but 
not  revolutionary.  Their  organizations  were  the  re- 
sult of  years  of  effort,  toil,  and  struggle.  They  knew 
that  revolution  was  not  the  true  route.  They  believed 
in  gradual  evolution  and  never-ceasing  progress,  but 
now  a  new  note  began  to  be  sounded.  A  few  of  the 
old  leaders  were  syndicalists  at  heart,  while  the  new 
ones,  clever,  forceful,  determined,  gradually  overthrew 
the  more  conservative  leaders  and  took  their  places. 
Meetings  that  used  to  adjourn  at  twelve  midnight  now 
were  prolonged  until  almost  dawn.  The  Reds  knew 
what  they  were  doing  and  what  they  wanted.  When 
the  home  owner  and  family  man  was  forced  to  go  home, 
they  remained  and  toward  morning  did  exactly  as  they 
pleased.  The  passage  of  revolutionary  resolutions 
became  more  and  more  frequent.     Labour  was  getting 


SB    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

a  bad  name.  At  eleven  p.  m.  the  meeting  would  be 
American;  at  midnight  it  would  be  fifty  fifty,  while  at 
two  in  the  morning,  only  the  Reds  remained,  with 
sometimes  a  few  so-called  conservative  leaders  who  were 
too  cowardly  to  raise  their  voices  in  defence  of  their  country. 
Most  of  these  leaders,  who  denounced  bolshevism  and 
I.  W.  W.'ism  in  private,  were  afraid  to  do  so  in  public, 
fearing  they  would  lose  the  paltry  jobs  they  held  as  officers 
of  their  unions,  as  secretaries,  walking  delegates,  etc. 
It  was  by  pursuing  these  methods  that  the  radicals 
finally  succeeded  in  securing  control  of  the  Central 
Labour  Council  of  Seattle,  which  is  composed  of  repre- 
sentatives of  all  the  unions  in  the  city,  and  still  contains 
many  loyal  men;  who,  through  weakness  and  lack  of 
fighting  spirit,  have  allowed  a  mihtant  "bummery"to 
control  their  affairs.  This,  then,  was  the  condition  of 
Seattle's  affairs  in  1917. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  NEW  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION  PLANNED  AND 
DEVELOPED 

WHILE  THEY  SLEEP 

And  now  along  the  war-worn  land 

A  mass  would  raise  a  blood-red  lie 

To  flaunt  across  the  restless  sky 

And  call  it  FLAG — and  some  have  planned 

To  rule  our  sacred  state 

With  lust  and  death  and  hate. 

White  crosses  gleam  upon  the  hill 

Of  every  Flanders  town,  but  still 

Some  forget  the  holy  sleep 

Of  Men  who  died  to  keep 

Them  Free. 

— Leo  H.  Lassen,  in  the  Seattle  Star. 

In  THE  western  suburbs  of  Portland,  Oregon,  there 
is  a  little  village  called  Linnton.  This  village  came  into 
being  during  boom  time  and  buildings  were  built 
which  ofttimes  have  since  stood  empty.  One  of  these 
buildings  had  been  used  in  the  palmy  days  as  a  pool  and 
billiard  hall.     It  was  now  deserted. 

On  the  night  of  October  22,  191 8,  a  strange  body  of 
men  gathered  within  its  walls;  men  who  were  strangers 
to  Linnton ;  men  who  did  not  Hve  in  Portland,  or  Ore- 
gon; men  who  were  called   together  from   far-away 

59 


6o    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

places,  for  a  definite  purpose,  a  purpose  which  could 
be  carried  out  only  in  secrecy  and  darkness.  One  by 
one  they  crept  into  the  old  building,  presented  their 
credentials,  and  then  sat  in  silence  until  all  the  elect 
were  accounted  for.  The  village  slept,  and  probably 
until  this  page  is  read  not  one  man  or  woman  in  the 
little  hamlet  has  ever  heard  of  this  fateful  gathering, 
and  yet  these  strange  men,  with  turned-up  coat  collars, 
with  hats  pulled  down  over  their  eyes,  had  met  to  de- 
stroy that  which  is  most  dear  to  the  people  of  Linnton 
and  to  the  liberty-loving  folks  of  all  the  world. 

Nearly  half  a  hundred  people  attended.  They 
came  from  all  over  the  United  States;  one  from  far- 
away Siberia,  one  from  each  of  twenty-seven  states  of 
this  Union,  and  one,  the  most  important,  came  with 
credentials  and  a  message  from  the  Soviet  Government 
of  Russia.  Every  man  was  carefully  examined  and 
vouched  for  before  he  was  admitted.  Each  had  cer- 
tain credentials.  One  would  have  thought  it  was  a 
meeting  of  some  secret  society  at  war  with  civiliza- 
tion, and  it  was!  Representatives  attended  from 
Lynn,  Mass.,  from  Butte,  Mont.,  from  Houston,  Tex., 
and  from  Paterson,  N.  J. 

The  man  from  Russia  read  his  instructions  and  his 
letter.  Short,  quiet  comments  were  made.  These 
men  were  not  talkers;  they  were  doers  of  deeds,  and 
such  deeds!  Each  man  reported  as  to  conditions  in 
his  own  locality.  All  seemed  to  know  that  the  World 
War  was  nearing  its  end.  All  expected  chaos  to  follow. 
All,  everyone,  was  for  revolution;  the  only  questions 
considered  were:  when.''  where.''  how? 


AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    6i 

The  meeting  finally  decided: 

That  the  time  is  ripe  for  the  overthrow  of  our  Gov- 
ernment— ripe  for  the  establishment  in  its  place  of  a 
soviet  government  similar  to  the  one  in  operation  in  Russia; 

That  the  Government  should  be  overthrown  by 
peaceable  means  if  possible;  but  that  if  resistance  was 
encountered,  force  and  violence  of  whatever  character 
necessary  should  be  used; 

That  the  lumber  woods  of  Washington  had  the  best- 
organized  band  of  revolutionists  in  the  United  States; 
that  the  beginning  must  be  made  where  these  men  could 
help; 

That  a  shipyard  strike  in  Seattle,  therefore,  was  the 
logical  place  to  start; 

That  the  Macy  award  was  to  be  the  excuse; 

That  the  Macy  Government  Board  was  to  be  the 
target;  and 

That  a  general  strike  in  Seattle  should  immediately 
follow  the  shipyard  strike^  which  would  be  spread  to 
many  different  localities,  finally  resulting  in  the  over- 
throw of  our  Government  and  the  placing  in  power,  as 
dictators,  some  of  the  very  men  present. 

The  unanimous  agreement  of  all  present  as  to  the 
feasibility  and  certain  success  of  the  plan  ended  the 
business  before  the  meeting.  The  scenario  was  fin- 
ished; the  meeting  adjourned;  one  by  one  the  con- 
spirators left  the  building;  one  by  one  they  left  Port- 
land, soon  to  reappear  in  their  respective  communi- 
ties and  carry  out  their  respective  roles.  However, 
there  were  men  present  who  had  other  credentials 
than  those  which  admitted  them.     These  men  repre- 


62    AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

sented  society,  you  and  me.  Unknown  to  each  other, 
they  were  there.  Before  morning  the  right  people 
knew  about  the  meeting,  its  plans,  its  decisions. 

Within  three  days  events  took  place  in  widely  scat- 
tered sections  of  this  country  showing  that  the  work 
had  begun.  Every  move  ran  true  to  schedule.  There 
was  no  delay,  no  red  tape.  The  work  was  admirably 
done.  Strike  after  strike  was  called  all  over  the 
country.  The  colonization  in  the  shipyards  went  on 
smoothly.  The  aliens,  the  revolutionists,  the  I.  W.  W.'s 
came  from  everywhere.  Plausible,  forceful  talkers,  it 
was  not  hard  for  them  to  spread  discontent.  Any  one 
who  wanted  work  could  get  it.  The  propagandists 
infected  one  shift  one  week  and  the  next  week  quit 
and  worked  with  another  crew.  Literally  tons  of 
literature  were  distributed;  thousands  of  agitators 
redoubled  their  efforts  in  the  woods,  in  the  shops,  in 
the  yards,  on  the  streets,  in  the  lodging  houses,  every- 
where. Never  did  a  political  party  carry  on  such  a 
campaign.  Bearded  aliens  whose  faces  had  never 
known  a  razor  visited  their  countrymen  at  night. 
The  Russian  bolsheviki  would  tell  their  prospects: 
**This  fight  here  is  our  fight  in  Russia.  With  capital- 
ism surviving  in  America,  Russia  will  again  go  back  to 
Czarism.  By  helping  here  and  being  ready,  we  help 
Lenin  and  all  Russian  patriots.'*  This  is  taken  ver- 
batim from  a  report  of  Secret  Service  men. 

Several  who  attended  the  Linnton  meeting  came  to 
Seattle.  They  took  part  in  all  the  revolutionary  agita- 
tion up  to  and  including  the  general  strike.  Money 
seemed  to  be  very  plentiful  with  the  agitators.     Never 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    63 

was  one  arrested  who  did  not  have  plenty  of  funds; 
just  as  soon  as  he  was  booked,  the  I.  W.  W.  defence 
attorney — an  American  born,  educated  in  our  schools 
and  colleges,  at  our  expense — would  appear  and  make 
the  fight  for  his  release. 

A  post  office  for  I.  W.W.'s  and  "  Reds  "  was  opened  in  a 
book  store  on  First  Avenue.  The  volume  of  mail  was  so 
great  that  it  required  an  extra  clerk  to  distribute  it. 
One  I.  W.  W.  organizer  walked  into  the  clubhouse 
of  the  Elks,  one  of  our  most  patriotic  orders,  applied 
for  membership,  and  received  his  mail  with  checks,  sub- 
scriptions, and  I.  W.  W.  literature  for  quite  a  long  time 
at  the  Elks*  business  office.  One  day  a  man  of  the 
same  name  opened  a  letter  by  mistake  and  was  amazed 
to  find  post  office  orders  for  a  considerable  sum  with 
many  applications  for  I.  W.  W.  membership  from  Pasco, 
Washington,  a  railroad  division  point.  Of  course 
the  I.  W.  W.  never  became,  a  member,  and  his  use  of 
the  Elks'  club  ended  right  there.  In  order  to  get  the 
workers  to  read  the  literature,  which  came  principally 
from  a  Chicago  publisher.  Jack  London  and  other  prom- 
inent authors'  names  were  printed  on  the  cover  as 
authors,  despite  the  fact  that  the  pamphlet  itself 
contained  references  to  occurrences  which  happened 
long  after  London  died.  This  made  no  difference,  circu- 
lation was  thus  secured,  converts  were  made,  and  many 
contented  workmen  became  ** class  conscious,"  grew  to 
hate  the  employer,  the  Government,  and  everyone  else. 

Such  is  the  power  of  the  printed  word.  Society  never 
has  as  yet  sensed  the  value  of  advertising  ideas,  and 
perhaps  never  will  until  it  is  too  late.     The  revolution- 


64    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

ist  always  has  understood  it.  A  merchant  will  adver- 
tise the  merits  of  his  goods  but  never  the  greatness  and 
goodness  of  his  government.  Usually  when  he  talks 
about  it,  he  does  as  you  and  I  do,  and  talks  about 
the  little  holes  in  the  fabric  but  seldom  explains  how  the 
little  faults  can  be  easily  mended  by  the  people  themselves. 
If  the  Portland  meeting  had  been  exposed  it  would 
merely  have  saved  the  agitators  the  necessity  of  ad- 
vertising. The  smug  citizen  would  have  grinned  and 
gone  about  his  work  as  usual.  Every  agitator  in  the 
world  would  have  known  of  the  plan  and  its  fruition 
would  not  have  been  checked.  If  one  knows  what  his 
opponent  is  going  to  do,  one  can  prepare  to  meet  the 
situation.  Surprise  is  always  on  the  side  of  the  at- 
tacker unless  the  attacked  is  forewarned.  I  felt  that 
the  quicker  things  came  to  a  head  the  better  for  the 
country.  If  it  was  to  happen,  I  wanted  it  to  happen  in 
Seattle,  their  chosen  battle  ground.  If  they  lost 
here  they  would  lose  everywhere.  We  were  sure 
of  our  police  force,  sure  of  the  U.  S.  District  Attor- 
ney, sure  of  our  chief  of  police,  and  sure  of  our  returned 
soldiers.  I  was  also  sure  that  the  workers,  union  and 
non-union,  would  align  themselves  with  their  coun- 
try when  they  understood  the  perfidy  of  their  leaders. 
I  never  talked  with  any  man  or  woman  about  the 
Linnton  plan  until  long  after  the  general  strike  was 
over.  The  most  silent  individuals  sometimes  tell  the 
most  important  things  to  very  dear  friends  who  retell 
them  to  others.  The  talkative  man  seldom  talks  about 
the  things  he  should  keep  secret.  Very  often  many 
words  are  a  very  useful  smoke  screen. 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    65 

We  have  seen  how  the  Mooney  Congress  in  Chicago, 
the  shipyard  strike  in  Seattle,  the  agitation  for  the 
general  strike,  the  troubles  in  the  lumber  woods,  the 
formation  of  the  Soldiers,  Sailors,  and  Workmen's 
Soviet,  the  articles  in  the  Record,  etc.,  all  seemed  to  fit 
in  beautifully  with  some  general  plan.  The  thought 
probably  came  unprompted  to  the  reader:  Can  such 
things  just  happen .f*  Can  so  many  different,  isolated 
occurrences  be  brought  about  at  the  right  time,  in  the 
right  place,  without  a  plan  ?  The  answer  is.  No.  The 
Mooney  Congress,  the  nation-wide  agitation,  the  tons 
of  propaganda,  the  colonization  of  Seattle,  the  lumber 
workers'  sabotage,  the  formation  of  the  Soviets,  the 
shipyard  strike,  the  immediate  successful  agitation  for 
a  general  strike  did  not  just  happen  or  come  out  of  the 
thin  air  of  coincidence. 

The  Linnton  meeting  and  the  plans  laid  there 
brought  these  matters  about.  The  plan  was  carefully 
laid  by  shrewd  men,  men  who  had  brains  to  conspire 
and  courage  to  execute;  men  who  hated  our  Govern- 
ment, hated  all  governments  except  the  Lenin  autoc- 
racy in  Russia.  These  men  had  unbounded  means, 
secret  support  in  high  places,  and  but  for  fortuitous 
circumstances  and  Seattle's  loyalty  might  have 
changed  the  history  of  our  country,  for  a  time  at  least. 
A  great  deal  of  blood  would  have  been  shed,  innocent 
blood  in  the  main;  a  fire  would  have  started  which,  gain- 
ing headway,  would  have  been  mighty  hard  to  check, 
but  Seattle  was  loyal  and  true  and  met  the  issue  without 
flinching.  Seattle's  citizenship  stood  by  our  flag  and 
the  country  was  the  gainer. 


66    AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

We  have  seen  how  the  shipyard  workers  struck; 
how  their  delegations  went  to  other  cities  to  agitate 
and  call  out  their  brethren;  how  the  Soviets  were  formed, 
and  how  at  once  the  general  strike  was  agitated  and 
started  on  its  fateful  way.  The  Seattle  Union  Record 
spilled  more  red  ink  daily,  the  unrest  increased,  the 
name  of  Piez  of  the  Shipping  Board  became  anathema, 
the  slaughter  of  Chief  Warren  was  planned,  and  it 
looked  as  though  Hell  would  soon  break  loose.  The 
Soldiers,  Sailors,  and  Workmen's  Council,  formed  os- 
tensibly to  take  care  of  returning  soldiers  and  sailors, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  was  formed  for  the  purpose  of  tak- 
ing over  all  governmental  authority  during  and  after 
the  strike.  Five  delegates  were  decided  upon  from  each 
working-class  organization,  each  organization  was  to 
conduct  its  industrial  affairs,  but  the  Soldiers,  Sailors, 
and  Workmen's  Council  (Soviet)  was  to  possess  su- 
preme authority.  Much  ado  was  made  over  bills 
pending  before  the  Legislature  for  the  relief  of  soldiers. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  no  place  in  the  United  States  pro- 
vided better  for  the  returning  soldiers  than  did  the  city 
of  Seattle;  several  organizations  kept  open  house  and 
all  soldiers  were  able  to  secure  remunerative  employ- 
ment. The  state  of  Washington  appropriated  ^500,000 
to  be  used  for  relief  purposes.  In  the  hope,  however, 
of  capturing  returning  soldiers  and  sailors,  and  turning 
them  into  revolutionists,  every  device  was  used  to  win 
their  favour.  A  large  fund  was  raised,  contributed  by 
different  labour  bodies  few  of  whose  members  knew  of 
any  other  plan  than  to  help  the  returning  soldiers  and 
sailors. 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    67 

On  January  twenty-fifth  a  meeting  was  held  by  the 
Soldiers,  Sailors,  and  Workmen's  Council  at  the  hall 
of  the  Metal  Trades  Council.  At  this  meeting,  during 
the  course  of  discussion,  one  Russian  Bolshevist  came  to 
the  platform  and,  among  other  things,  said : 

In  1905  the  Russian  sailors  proved  what  they  could  do,  and  blood 
ran  red.  Again,  on  several  occasions,  blood  ran  to  prove  that  they 
were  always  true  to  the  cause.  In  Petrograd  the  sailors  again 
proved  it,  and  this  city  ran  with  blood.  The  sailors  of  Bremerton 
(meaning  Puget  Sound  Naval  Station)  will  be  on  hand  when  needed, 
and  the  streets  of  Seattle  will  run  red  with  blood  and  the  Soldiers, 
Sailors,  and  Workmen's  Council  need  not  worry  but  what  they  (the 
sailors)  will  do  their  part.     (Cheers.) 

This  is  an  actual  quotation  from  a  report  of  the 
meeting  by  an  operative  of  the  Department  of  Justice 
at  Washington. 

At  a  later  meeting  held  at  Painters*  Hall,  a  consti- 
tution was  ordered  prepared,  which  was  to  supplant 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  At  a  subse- 
quent meeting,  held  at  310  Collins  Building,  in  accord-* 
ance  with  a  report  made  by  the  Minute  Men,  it  was 
agreed  that  the  Soldiers,  Sailors,  and  Workmen's  Coun- 
cil "was  to  be  a  delegate  body,  representing  the  revolu- 
tionary spirit  of  the  country,  and  that  this  delegate 
body  was  to  be  the  future  government  of  the  country 
and  in  time — of  the  whole  world!  .  .  .  That  the 
delegates  would  not  represent  a  false  structure,  but 
would  have  actual  membership  behind  it,  so  that  when 
called  to  act  in  the  revolution  they  could  depend  on 
what  they  really  had  .  .  .  That  it  would  be  the 
government   of  the   country;  that   each  organization 


68    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

was  to  be  represented  by  their  delegates;  that  it  was 
identical  with  the  Russian  movement,  and  that  they 
would  take  over  and  run  all  industries;  that  they  would 
not  compensate  the  capitalists  for  the  industries  at  all, 
but  just  take  them  over." 

A  former  janitor  of  one  of  our  public  schools  who  had 
been  for  years  the  *'ad"  writer  and  propaganda  distrib- 
uter for  the  man  who  "pulled  teeth  by  day  and  prac- 
tised law  by  night,"  was  one  of  the  leading  delegates. 

The  constitution  adopted  was  a  cross  between  the 
Soviet  Constitution  of  Russia  and  the  I.  W.  W.  Decla- 
ration of  Principles.     I  quote  now  from  the 

Declaration  of  Principles  of  the  Workers, 
Soldiers,  and  Sailors'  Council 

preceding  the  Constitution  itself: 

Society  is  divided  into  two  classes,  the  working  class  and  the 
employing  class.  .  .  .  We  recognize  the  imperative  necessity  of 
developing  working-class  institutions  to  supersede  those  of  the  ruling 
class.  We  hail  with  admiration  and  pride  the  Russian  revolution. 
.  .  .  We  pledge  ourselves  to  leave  no  stone  unturned  till  the 
complete  emancipation  of  the  working  class  is  an  accomplished  fact. 
The  purpose  of  the  Council  of  Workers,  Soldiers,  and  Sailors  is  to 
organize  all  members  of  the  working  class  into  one  organization  and 
train  them  in  the  principles  of  mass  action,  in  order  that  we  may 
realize  that  accumulation  of  energy,  that  concentration  of  force, 
and  continuity  of  resistance  necessary  to  strike  the  final  blow  against 
capitalism.  With  these  objects  in  view,  we  call  upon  all  those  who 
toil,  regardless  of  race,  creed,  colour  or  sex,  to  rally  to  the  standard 
of  real  democracy  to  bring  about  the  dictatorship  of  the  only  useful 
class  in  society — the  working  class. 

On  January  twenty-fifth,  four  days  after  the  ship- 
yard strike  had  been  called,  Seattle  shipbuilders  re- 
ceived the  following  telegrams  from  Mr.  Charles  Piez, 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    69 

director-general,  United  States  Shipping  Board,  Emer- 
gency Fleet  Corporation,  and  Mr.  V.  Everit  Macy, 
chairman  of  the  Labour  Adjustment  Board: 

The  Fleet  Corporation  feels  that  the  men  in  your  district  have 
had  every  opportunity  for  a  proper  and  fair  hearing;  that  the  men 
in  striking  violated  the  spirit  and  letter  of  their  agreement  with  the 
Government;  that  they  were  in  the  highest  degree  unwise  in  the 
face  of  a  falling  market  to  stop  work;  and  that,  if  they  were  success- 
ful in  securing  their  demands  by  this  means,  the  future  of  the  entire 
shipbuilding  industry  in  your  district  would  be  jeopardized. 

The  Fleet  Corporation  stands  by  the  Macy  Board  decision  and 
will  do  nothing  more. 

I  ask  you  to  make  no  efforts  to  resume  operations  unless  the  men 
are  willing  to  accept  the  Labour  Adjustment  Board's  decision.  The 
Government  is  not  so  badly  in  need  of  ships  that  it  will  compromise 
on  a  question  of  principle. 

(Signed)  PiEZ. 

Board  regards  going  out  of  men  in  Puget  Sound  yards  violation 
of  agreement.  Shipbuilding  Labour  Adjustment  Board  cannot 
countenance  their  action  in  any  way. 

(Signed)  Macy. 

The  shipbuilders  printed  the  above  telegrams  in 
the  Times  of  January  twenty-sixth,  and  accompanied 
them  with  this  statement: 

In  connection  with  these  telegrams  it  should  be  realized  that  the 
agreement  referred  to  is  that  there  should  be  no  lockouts  or  strikes 
until  peace  is  declared  as  evidenced  by  proclamation  of  the  President. 
Our  employees,  and  the  public  as  well,  must  understand  that  we 
are  now  confronted  with  the  absolute  fact  that  the  men  must  either  re- 
turn to  work  under  the  Macy  award,  or  that  shipbuilding  with  its  com- 
mensurate payroll  ceased  in  this  community  forever  last  Tuesday. 
Skinner  &  Eddy  Corporation, 
J.  F.  Duthie  &  Co., 

Ames  Shipbuilding  &  Drydock  Company, 
Todd  Shipbuilding  &  Drydock  Corporation, 
Seattle  North  Pacific  Shipbuilding  Company. 


70    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

These  telegrams,  however,  had  no  effect  whatsoever 
upon  the  strikers.  Every  hour  brought  reports  of  some 
union  voting  in  favour  of  the  general  strike.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  not  more  than  lo  per  cent,  of  the  work- 
ers in  Seattle  ever  voted  for  the  general  strike.  Each 
meeting  was  either  packed  with  radicals  before  the 
conservative  element  arrived,  or  only  the  radicals  were 
notified  of  the  meeting. 

All  this  time  we  were  busy  at  the  City  Hall.  The 
influenza  epidemic  seemed  to  be  gaining.  In  the  Legis- 
lature, the  person  who  had  collected  ^i,ioo  from  the 
quarantined  victims  was  busily  engaged  in  lobbying 
and  making  open  attacks  against  the  city  government. 
We  were  also  doing  everything  possible  to  induce  the 
Legislature  to  pass  a  great  "land-reclamation  bill"  so 
that  those  of  the  returning  soldiers  and  sailors  who  de- 
sired to  secure  for  themselves  a  tract  of  irrigated  land 
could  do  so  on  long-time  and  easy  payments.  But 
with  all  these  added  burdens,  we  did  not  slacken  our 
preparations  to  meet  the  general  strike,  which  now 
seemed  certain  to  occur.  We  literally  worked  night 
and  day. 

In  checking  up  the  stocks  of  the  various  sporting- 
goods'  stores,  hardware  stores,  and  pawnshops,  in  neigh- 
bouring cities  as  well  as  in  Seattle,  we  discovered  that 
more  rifles,  revolvers,  and  cartridges  had  been  sold  dur- 
ing the  previous  two  weeks  than  during  the  past  six 
months.  At  our  request  the  merchants  removed 
their  stock  of  arms  and  ammunition  from  their  shelves 
and  all  further  open  sales  stopped.  The  efforts  of 
the  Metal  Trades  Council  to  tie  up  the  entire  ship- 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    71 

building  industry  of  the  United  States  and  Canada 
continued  unabated,  their  Conference  Committee  send- 
ing out  hundreds  of  telegrams  and  letters  throughout 
the  United  States  calling  for  a  general  cessation  of  work 
in  all  shipyards.  It  is  worthy  of  note  also  that  on 
January  twenty-eighth,  in  London,  England,  200,cxx> 
men  struck  in  the  shipyards  and  other  industries. 

The  general  chorus  of  discontent  was  of  course  joined 
by  the  Union  Record  and  this  sheet  on  January  twenty- 
fourth,  under  the  headlines:  "Boys  Cheer  in  Passing 
Strike  Headquarters,"  told  of  returning  soldiers 
loudly  cheering  a  large  coloured  poster  showing  a  soldier, 
a  sailor,  and  a  worker  arm  in  arm,  with  the  motto:  "To- 
gether We  Win."  Without  giving  the  name  of  the 
soldier,  the  Record  then  quotes  one  of  the  men  as 
saying: 

Most  of  the  soldiers  who  had  come  from  the  cities  would  be  eager 
to  join  the  Soldiers,  Sailors,  and  Workmen's  Council  as  soon  as 
they  were  discharged  from  the  service.  Discontent  with  the  old 
order  of  things  and  radical  ideas  are  growing  like  wildfire  in  the 
army. 

To  keep  the  general-strike  agitation  at  the  fever 
stage,  the  boiler-makers  held  a  mass  meeting  at 
the  Hippodrome  on  Sunday,  January  twenty-sixth. 
Talks  were  made  on  the  general-strike  votes  being  then 
taken  by  several  unions;  reports  were  received  from 
delegates  who  had  attended  the  Mooney  Congress  in 
Chicago;  speeches  were  made  in  defence  of  the  Union 
Record;  the  shipyard  strike  was  gone  over  once  more 
to  keep  up  the  spirit  of  the  strikers,  but  in  fact  the 


72    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

meeting  was  for  the  purpose  of  showing  "soHdarity," 
to  be  used  as  a  "club"  to  intimidate  those  unions  that 
were  "faltering"  and  failing  to  show  a  "solid  front" 
in  favour  of  the  general  strike.  The  Union  Record 
quotes  John  McKelvey  as  sa-ying  during  the  course  of 
his  speech : 

And  now  Piez  says  if  we  don't  give  in  and  go  back  to  work,  so 
these  millionaires  can  go  back  to  making  their  millions,  they'll 
take  the  contracts  away  from  Puget  Sound,  and  do  all  the  ship- 
building back  East.  Well,  let  'em  do  it.  If  they  want  to  start  a 
revolution,  let  'em  start  it. 

Commenting  editorially  on  the  Piez  and  Macy  tele- 
grams, the  Record  on  the  same  page  says : 

What  ships  have  been  built  in  the  recent  emergency  were  built 
in  spite  of  the  caveman  findings  of  the  Macy  Board  and  not  because 
of  them. 

Verily,  the  pot  was  boiling;  was  soon  to  boil  over! 

So  far-reaching  had  been  the  plans  laid  by  the  lead- 
ers of  the  strike  to  stop  all  shipbuilding  on  the  conti- 
nent that  on  January  twenty-eighth,  at  Victoria,  B.  C, 
the  Victoria  Metal  Trades  Council  refused  to  assist  in 
the  repairs  to  the  steamer  Admiral  WatsoUy  the  strikers 
saying:  "We  have  received  orders  from  the  Seattle 
Metal  Trades  Council." 

On  the  same  day  the  Metal  Trades  Council  held  its 
regular  meeting  and  promised  to  stand  by  all  unions 
that  came  out  in  the  sympathy  strike  and  to  com- 
municate with  all  shipbuilding  districts  in  the  United 
States  and  Canada  in  order  to  effect  a  complete  tie-up 
of  all  shipbuilding  on  the  continent. 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    73 

Having  worked  the  workers  up  to  the  point  where 
nothing  seemingly  remained  but  to  set  the  date  when 
the  mass  strike  was  to  begin,  300  delegates,  represent- 
ing no  of  the  130  unions  in  Seattle,  met  on  Sunday, 
February  second,  in  an  all-day  session  at  the  Labour 
Temple,  and  fixed  the  date  for  the  general  strike  for 
10  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  Thursday,  February  sixth. 
All  newspaper  accounts  of  the  meeting  agree  that  the 
vote  was  "unanimous."  Probably  it  was,  because 
the  "Conservatives"  had  been  so  terrified  by  the 
"Reds"  that  they  dared  not  oppose  them.  In  any 
event,  this  meeting  was  so  "secret"  that  even  the 
president  of  the  Central  Labour  Council — ^who  was 
not  a  delegate — was  unable  to  gain  admittance  for 
three  hours  after  the  meeting  had  begun  its  session. 
At  this  meeting  an  "executive  committee"  was  named 
to  formulate  ways  and  means  of  conducting  the  strike, 
as  was  also  a  "committee  on  tactics,"  to  work  in 
conjunction  with  a  committee  of  the  Metal  Trades 
Council  to  send  out  notices  to  all  local  unions  regarding 
the  general  strike;  also  to  work  out  plans  to  extend  the 
strike  to  other  localities,  and  to  be  in  readiness  to  be 
dispatched  to  any  place  where  the  general  committee 
might  deem  it  expedient  to  carry  on  this  work. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  reproduce  the  many  circu- 
lars and  hand-bills  which  were  thrown  about  the  city 
at  night  to  fan  the  flames  of  discontent,  biit  one  in  par- 
ticular I  wish  you  to  read  which  is  reproduced  herewith, 
verbatim.  These  hand-bills  were  being  passed  out  in 
front  of  the  Labour  Temple  on  the  night  of  February 
fourth,  thirty-six  hours  before  the  strike. 


74    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 
RUSSIA  DID  IT 

Shipyard  Workers — ^You  left  the  shipyards  to  enforce  your  de- 
mands for  higher  wages.  Without  you  your  employers  are  help- 
less. Without  you  they  cannot  make  one  cent  of  profit — their 
whole  system  of  robbery  has  collapsed. 

The  shipyards  are  idle;  the  toilers  have  withdrawn  even  though 
the  owners  of  the  yards  are  still  there.  Are  your  masters  building 
ships?  No.  Without  your  labour  power  it  would  take  all  the  ship- 
yard employers  of  Seattle  and  Tacoma  working  eight  hours  a  day 
the  next  thousand  years  to  turn  out  one  ship.  Of  what  use  are  they 
in  the  shipyards  ? 

It  is  you  and  you  alone  who  build  the  ships;  you  create  all  the 
wealth  of  society  to-day;  you  make  possible  the  $75,000  sable  coats 
for  millionaires*  wives.     It  is  you  alone  who  can  build  the  ships. 

They  can't  build  the  ships.    You  can.    Why  don't  you? 

There  are  the  shipyards;  more  ships  are  urgently  needed;  you 
alone  can  build  them.  If  the  masters  continue  their  dog-in-the- 
manger  attitude,  not  able  to  build  the  ships  themselves  and  not 
allowing  the  workers  to,  there  is  only  one  thing  left  for  you  to  do. 

Take  over  the  management  of  the  shipyards  yourselves;  make  the 
shipyards  your  own,  make  the  jobs  your  own,  decide  the  working 
conditions  yourselves,  decide  your  wages  yourselves. 

In  Russia  the  masters  refused  to  give  their  slaves  a  living  wage, 
too.  The  Russian  workers  put  aside  the  bosses  and  their  tool,  the 
Russian  Government,  and  took  over  industry  in  their  own  interests. 

There  is  only  one  way  out,  a  nation-wide  general  strike  with  its 
object  the  overthrow  of  the  present  rotten  system  which  produces 
thousands  of  millionaires  and  millions  of  paupers  each  year. 

The  Russians  have  shown  you  the  way  out.  What  are  you  going 
to  do  about  it?  You  are  doomed  to  wage  slavery  till  you  die  unless 
you  wake  up,  realize  that  you  and  the  boss  have  not  one  thing  in 
common,  that  the  employing  class  must  be  overthrown,  and  that 
you,  the  workers,  must  take  over  the  control  of  your  jobs,  and 
through  them  the  control  of  your  lives,  instead  of  offering  your- 
selves up  to  the  masters  as  a  sacrifice  six  days  a  week,  so  that  they 
may  coin  profits  out  of  your  sweat  and  toil. 

Under  the  heading:  "Strikers  to  Do  Own  Polic- 
ing," the  Union  Record  printed  a  statement  issued  by  the 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    75 

Publicity  Division  of  the  Strike  Committee.  This 
statement  announced  that  "the  personnel  of  the 
Executive  Strike  Committee  is  at  the  disposal  of 
organized  labour  and  the  general  public.  This  com- 
mittee meets  daily  at  1:30  in  room  nine,  Labour 
Temple." 

The  following  significant  statement  is  added: 

Relative  to  reports  that  Chief  of  Police  Warren  planned  an  in- 
crease of  the  Seattle  police  force  during  the  strike,  the  committee 
announces  that  there  will  be  absolutely  no  need  of  building  up  a 
larger  police  force  organization.  The  Strike  Executive  Committee  has 
already  perfected  plans  to  do  its  own  policing  on  behalf  of  organized 
labour.     Details  of  this  plan  will  be  announced  Tuesday. 

Persons  having  no  urgent  business  to  attend  to  on  the  streets 
after  8  o'clock  in  the  evening  should  remain  at  home  wherever  possible. 
.  .  .  The  firefighters  of  Seattle  have  accordingly  been  asked  to 
remain  at  their  f>osts  during  the  strike. 

The  committee  has  properly  taken  care  of  all  laundry  work  for 
hospitals  by  securing  one  of  the  largest  private  laundries  in  the  city, 
where  this  work  will  be  done  under  the  supervision  of  the  committee. 
The  health  and  sanitary  end  has  also  been  adequately  attended  to. 

The  Executive  Committee  wishes  the  public  in  general  to  realize 
that  all  matters  relating  to  the  general  strike  are  being  attended  to  by 
the  committee  in  its  usual  thorough  manner.  All  details  large  or  small 
receive  their  attention. 

(Signed)  Publicity  Committee 

W.  F.  DeLancey,  Chairman, 

W.  Z.  ZiMMER,  Secretary. 

In  Other  words,  this  government  within  a  government, 
this  self-appointed  and  Hell-anointed  Soviet,  would 
take  over  the  policing  of  the  city,  would  do  laundry 
work,  sanitary  and  health  work,  and  attend  to  all  details 
large  or  small. 

The  city  government  was  simply  to  be  supplanted; 


76    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

the  soviet  told  the  firemen  what  to  do  and  notified 
citizens  that  Chief  Warren  need  not  increase  the  poHce 
force.  They  would  attend  to  the  policing  and  every- 
thing else.  They  were  going  to  run  the  government; 
they  were  going  to  supersede  the  duly-elected  officials. 

I  read  their  proclamation.  Was  this  Russia  or  the 
United  States?  In  scanning  the  names  of  the  Execu- 
tive Committee  I  saw  they  were,  in  the  main,  brainless 
tools  who  had  been  put  in  the  front  row  to  serve  the 
leaders  who  as  yet  were  under  cover  and  operating  by 
indirection. 

Immediately  I  issued  the  following  statement: 

Certain  things  are  necessary  to  the  preservation  of  life.  Water, 
light,  and  food  are  essential.  The  city  government  will  continue 
to  operate  its  light  and  water  plants.  It  will  care  for  sanitation. 
If  the  men  now  on  the  job  quit,  others  will  be  substituted. 

The  seat  of  government  is  still  at  the  City  Hall.  The  Mayor  and 
the  Chief  of  Police,  together  with  their  legally  chosen  assistants,  are 
the  peace  officers  of  this  city,  and  will  continue  to  police  the  city  of 
Seattle.  Our  function  is  to  preserve  order  and  protect  life  and 
property.     This  will  be  done.    Ole  Hanson,  Mayor. 

The  time  had  now  come  for  them  to  throw  off  the 
mask.  They  had  led  the  deceived  rank  and  file  so  far 
that  they  believed  they  would  now  follow  the  crafty 
leaders  to  the  end.  There  was  no  further  concealment 
in  the  street  propaganda.  The  talk  went  up  and  down 
the  city  that  this  committee  of  ignoramuses  and  tools 
were  going  to  estabUsh  a  government  by  themselves 
and  for  themselves.  As  expected,  on  February  fourth, 
the  public  announcement  of  their  revolutionary  plans 
appeared  in  the  Union  Record.    This  was  done  in  order 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    77 

to  prepare  the  people  for  the  estabUshment  and  con- 
tinuance of  the  control  of  the  soviet.  It  was  considered 
carefully  and  Anna  Louise  Strong  was  chosen  to  write 
the  editorial  and  thus  prepare  the  minds  of  the  people 
in  order  to  lessen  the  shock. 

The  Record  editorial  was  captioned : 

THURSDAY  AT  10  a.  m. 

There  will  be  many  cheering,  and  there  will  be  some  who  fear. 
Both  these  emotions  are  useful,  but  not  too  much  of  either.  We 
are  undertaking  the  most  tremendous  move  ever  made  by  Labour 
in  this  country,  a  move  which  will  lead 

NO   ONE   KNOWS   WHERE 
LABOUR  WILL   FEED  THE    PEOPLE 

Twelve  great  kitchens  have  been  offered,  and  from  them  food 
will  be  distributed  by  the  provision  trades  at  low  cost  to  all. 

LABOUR  WILL  CARE  FOR  THE  BABIES  AND  THE  SICK 

The  milk-wagon  drivers  and  the  laundry  drivers  are  arranging 
plans  for  supplying  milk  to  the  babies,  invalids,  and  hospitals,  and 
taking  care  of  the  cleaning  of  linen  for  hospitals. 

LABOUR  WILL  PRESERVE  ORDER 

The  Strike  Committee  is  arranging  for  guards,  and  it  is  expected 
that  the  stopping  of  the  caEs  will  keep  people  at  home. 


A  few  hot-headed  enthusiasts  have  complained  that  strikers  only 
should  be  fed,  and  the  general  public  left  to  endure  severe  discom* 
fort.  Aside  from  the  inhumanitarian  character  of  such  suggestions, 
let  them  get  this  straight: 

NOT  THE  WITHDRAWAL  OF  LABOUR  POWER,  BUT  THE  POWER  OF 
THE  WORKERS  TO  MANAGE  WILL  WIN  THIS  STRIKE 

What  does  Mr.  Piez  of  the  Shipping  Board  care  about  the  closing 
down  of  Seattle's  shipyards,  or  even  of  all  the  industries  of  the  North- 
west? Will  it  not  merely  strengthen  the  yards  at  Hog  Island,  in 
which  he  is  more  interested  ? 


78    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

When  the  shipyard  owners  of  Seattle  were  on  the  point  of  agreeing 
with  the  workers,  it  was  Mr.  Piez  who  wired  them  that,  if  they  so 
agreed — 

HE  WOULD  NOT  LET  THEM  HAVE  STEEL 

Whether  this  is  camouflage  we  have  no  means  of  knowing.  But 
we  do  know  that  the  great  Eastern  combinations  of  capitalists  could 
afford  to  offer  privately  to  Mr.  Skinner,  Mr.  Ames,  and  Mr.  Duthie 
a  few  millions  apiece  in  Eastern  shipyard  stock, 

RATHER  THAN  LET  THE  WORKERS  WIN 

The  closing  down  of  Seattle's  industries,  as  a  mere  shutdoton,  will 
not  affect  these  Eastern  gentlemen  much.  They  could  let  the  whole 
Northwest  go  to  pieces  as  far  as  money  alone  is  concerned. 

But,  the  closing  down  of  the  capitalistically  controlled  industries 
of  Seattle,  while  the  workers  organize  to  feed  the  people,  to  care  for 
the  babies  and  the  sick,  to  preserve  order — this  will  move  them,  for 
this  looks  too  much  like  the  taking  over  of  power  by  the  workers. 


Labour  will  not  only  shut  down  the  industries,  but' Labour  will 
reopen,  under  the  management  of  the  appropriate  trades,  such  ac- 
tivities as  are  needed  to  preserve  public  health  and  public  peace. 
If  the  strike  continues.  Labour  may  feel  led  to  avoid  public  suffering 
by  reopening  more  and  more  activities, 

UNDER  ITS  OWN  MANAGEMENT 

And  this  is  why  we  say  we  are  starting  on  a  road  that  leads — 

NO  ONE   KNOWS  WHERE ! 

The  editorial  speaks  for  itself.  No  comment  is 
necessary.  The  guilty  coward  leaders  hiding  in  the 
background  had  prepared  a  dummy  committee,  and 
with  the  help  of  their  propaganda  sheet  now  proposed  to 
do  as  planned  in  Linnton  and  take  over  all  industry y  all 
civil  authority y  and  follow  exactly  the  same  course  as  was 
followed  in  Russia. 

On  the  day  before  the  strike  Leon  Green,  Russian 
alien  and  bolshevist,  gave  out  the  following  interview: 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    79 

The  members  of  the  Electrical  Workers'  Local  77  at  a  meeting 
last  night  expressed  regret  that  the  first  vote  on  the  general  strike  was  not 
unanimous.  They  then  voted  unanimously  to  order  off  every  mem- 
ber of  the  Union  employed  by  the  city,  Puget  Sound  Traction,  Light  and 
Power  Company  and  other  concerns  at  10  o'clock  to-morrow  morning. 
This  means  that  every  electrician  in  the  city  will  quit. 

It  will  affect  the  fire  alarm,  city  light,  telegraph,  and  telephone  com- 
panies.   The  intention  of  the  Union  is  to  make  the  tie-up  so  complete 

that  the  strike  will  not  last  twenty-four  hours Pulling 

off  the  electrical  workers  in  charge  of  the  fire  alarm  system  will  make 
■useless  the  effort  of  the  city  to  stay  on  the  job. 


The  Union  appointed  a  committee  of  three,  composed 
of  Leon  Green,  alien;  Hulet  M.  Wells,  already  under 
sentence;  and  "Red"  O'Neil,  with  power  to  act  on  all 
matters  affecting  the  electrical  workers  during  the 
strike. 

I  immediately  called  a  meeting,  in  my  office,  of  all 
the  department  heads,  notified  them  neither  to  ask 
for  nor  accept  any  exemption;  to  conduct  the  city's 
business  as  formerly,  and  discipline  according  to  civil- 
service  rules  all  employees  who  struck. 

A  secret  meeting  of  I.  W.  W.*s  was  interrupted  by  the 
entrance  of  A.  E.  Miller.  He  immediately  spoke  and 
said:  "I  can  stay  here  but  a  few  moments.  Someone 
has  notified  the  International  of  our  plans.  The  In- 
ternational vice-president  is  on  his  way  here.  Some 
dirty  rat  has  reported  that  we  are  I.  W.  W.,  and  if  the 
vice-president  got  the  evidence,  we  would  certainly  have 
to  go.  You  know  what  that  means;  the  strike  is  broken 
if  we  are  removed.  Don't  give  any  evidence  connecting 
us  with  the  I.  W.  W." 

The  International  vice-president  did  come  and  some 


8o    AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

time  thereafter  Miller  was  removed  from  the  Engineers 
Local  by  action  of  the  International.  At  the  time  this 
is  being  written,  the  case  is  in  court. 

On  February  fifth,  the  day  before  the  general  strike, 
I  was  called  on  the  telephone  and  asked  to  talk  with 
several  conservative  labour  leaders  at  the  Metal  Trades 
Council.  Some  of  the  men  named  were  real  loyal 
citizens,  and  I  at  once  walked  over  to  their  headquarters 
two  blocks  away.  As  soon  as  I  arrived  I  found  a  gath- 
ering consisting  of  Hulet  M.  Wells,  Anna  Louise  Strong, 
and  several  others.  They  asked  if  we  could  not  come 
to  an  arrangement  whereby  the  city  employees  might 
walk  out  and  the  light  plant  be  shut  down.  In  a  few 
words  I  told  them  they  were  revolutionists,  not  strikers; 
had  no  grievance  against  the  city,  and  that  the  city 
utilities  would  function  as  long  as  we  had  one  man  who 
would  work  and  one  rifle  to  protect  him.  I  then 
left. 

At  lo  o'clock  that  night  Frank  Rust  called  me 
on  the  'phone  and  said  that  if  I  would  come  down  to 
the  Labour  Temple  the  whole  Strike  Committee  would 
meet  me,  and  he  felt  sure  an  understanding  could  be 
reached.  I  told  him  it  was  useless.  He  said*.  "Mayor, 
come  down  for  the  sake  of  conservative  labour."  I 
was  very  busy  working  in  my  bedroom  on  plans  for 
defence,  including  securing  cartridges,  shot  guns,  ma- 
chine guns,  drawing  a  map  showing  the  places  where 
the  men  were  to  be  stationed,  and  massing  our  forces 
at  what  I  considered  strategic  points.  I  may  say  in 
passing  that  the  Labour  Temple  would  have  been  our 
uptown    headquarters    within    thirty    minutes    after 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    8i 

trouble  started  and  that  the  very  nest  where  this 
hellish  plot  was  hatched  would  have  been  the  place 
where  the  dead  would  have  been  prepared  for  later 
burial. 

After  Rust  pleaded  with  me  I  called  for  my  car  and 
went  to  the  Labour  Temple  and  was  immediately 
conducted  into  a  secret  meeting.  While  there  certain 
members  of  the  Strike  Committee  tried  to  get  me  to 
agree  to  various  proposals.  One  was  that  they  were 
to  allow  the  men  to  remain  at  work  in  our  light  plant, 
but  that  they  had  plenty  of  men  who  could  quietly  and 
secretly  cut  off  lights  from  all  stores,  factories,  etc., 
and  that  I  should  make  public  statements  but  should 
not  interfere.  I  told  them  that  the  light  and  street 
cars  and  municipal  affairs  would  continue  to  function; 
that  any  man  who  interfered  would  be  shot;  that  they 
were  revolutionists,  and  we  would  not  concede  anything 
to  them.  Speaker  after  speaker  rose  to  his  feet  and 
declared  the  city  utilities  were  theirs;  that  they  repre- 
sented the  workers,  and  they  only  were  to  be  consid- 
ered. I  told  them:  "The  city  utilities  belong  to  all 
the  people,  not  to  any  class.  They  will  function  for  all 
the  people.  Any  force  necessary  will  be  used  to  con- 
tinue their  operation." 

Leon  Green  then  rose  and  said:  "What  is  the  use  of 
talking  to  Hanson.?  Why  trim  around?  He  has  told 
you  plainly  that  he  will  run  every  public  utility.  I 
know  him  well  enough  to  know  that  he  means  it.  Now, 
if  we  have  the  greater  force,  he  will  go  down.  If  he  has 
the  greater  force,  he  will  win.  The  issue  is  plain.*'  I 
said:  "Green,  you   understand  the  situation   and   so 


82    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

do  I.  When  Americanism  is  the  issue  there  can  be  no 
compromise.  Go  to  it.  Do  your  worst.  We  defy 
you  and  all  your  kind,  and  remember  this,  that  even 
if  you  clean  us  up  [city  authorities],  back  of  us  stands 
the  whole  Government  of  this  country.  But,  in  my 
best  judgment,  we  will  win  without  government  aid, 
because  the  people  of  this  city  are  back  of  the  city 
authorities." 

I  then  left  them  and  went  to  my  home  to  work. 
I  had  already  wired  Secretary  of  War  Baker,  stating 
exact  conditions  in  Seattle,  and  asked  him  to  stand 
ready  with  government  troops  in  case  the  revolutionists 
were  able  to  win  from  the  city  authorities.  We  also 
communicated  with  Governor  Lister,  who  was  then 
very  ill,  President  Suzzalo  and  Attorney  General 
Vaugn  Tanner  having  charge  of  his  affairs,  and  asked 
that  the  troops  be  called,  stationed  in  the  armoury  and 
Fort  Lawton  and  held  in  readiness  in  case  we  proved 
unable  to  handle  the  situation. 

The  troops,  old  regulars  who  had  seen  service,  came 
quickly  to  Seattle,  were  stationed  in  the  armoury,  and 
remained  there  during  the  entire  trouble.  The  busi- 
ness community,  many  of  them,  were  very  much 
alarmed  and  wanted  martial  law.  Some  believed  that 
only  government  troops  could  handle  the  situation, 
but  good  old  Chief  Warren  was  busy.  We  swore  in 
hundreds  of  emergency  policemen,  armed  them  and 
stood  ready.  The  Chief  secured  machine  guns,  mounted 
them  on  trucks,  and  enlisted  the  services  of  discharged 
soldiers  who  had  handled  the  same  guns  on  the- Flanders 
front.     We  had  dozens  of  motor  cars  ready;  the  morale 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    83 

of  the  police  was  100  per  cent.  Lieutenant  Hedges 
had  been  in  the  army.  He  drilled  his  men  night  and 
day.  On  February  sixth  he  was  made  captain.  Every 
policeman  in  Seattle  stood  ready  to  die  in  his  tracks 
before  he  went  back  one  inch.  And  the  Irish,  God  bless 
them,  we  literally  had  to  confine  these  boys  in  the 
assembly  room,  so  anxious  were  they  to  clean  out  the 
Reds!  For  years  before  I  was  mayor,  the  Reds  had 
called  the  police  dirty  rats,  dogs,  capitalist  tools;  they 
had  pushed  them  off  the  sidewalks,  and  when  they  had 
arrested  a  Red,  they  had  been  suspended.  It  was  dif- 
ferent now.  Both  the  Chief  and  I  told  them  we  would 
go  all  the  way  with  them,  that  an  order  issued  meant  that 
they  were  to  execute  it  and  that  no  skim-milk  measures 
would  go.  They  cheered  and  waited.  Seattle  has  450 
policemen  of  whom  every  man  is  loyal  and  true,  Catho- 
lic or  Protestant,  Jew  or  Gentile,  "and  that  goes." 

In  the  meantime,  the  people  of  Seattle  had  rushed  to 
the  stores  and  purchased  hundreds  of  dollars*  worth  of 
needful  articles.  Believing  that  the  lights  would  go 
out,  whole  stocks  of  lamps  were  disposed  of.  On 
February  fifth  there  was  no  store  in  the  entire  city  that 
could  wait  on  one  fifth  of  its  customers.  It  was  as  if 
every  house  was  to  be  quarantined  and  each  household 
must  live  within  itself  for  many  days.  In  the  gray 
dawn  of  the  morning  of  February  sixth  army  truck 
after  army  truck  filled  with  regular  troops  from  Camp 
Lewis  rumbled  through  the  city,  and  wg  were  ready. 


CHAPTER  V 

REVOLUTION    STARTED   AND    STOPPED   IN   SEATTLE 

At  TEN  o'clock,  February  sixth,  a  strange  silence  fell 
over  our  city  of  four  hundred  thousand  people.  Street- 
car gongs  ceased  their  clamour;  newsboys  cast  their 
unsold  papers  into  the  street;  from  the  doors  of  mill 
and  factory,  store  and  workshop,  streamed  sixty-five 
thousand  workmen.  School  children  with  fear  in  their 
hearts  hurried  homeward.  The  life  stream  of  a  great 
city  stopped. 

The  mass  strike,  most  potent  weapon  of  revolutionists, 
was  in  operation. 

Merchants,  bankers,  tradesmen,  preachers,  lawyers, 
doctors,  and  workers  stood  in  silence  with  questioning 
looks  on  their  faces.  It  was  as  if  a  great  earthquake 
was  expected  from  which  none  could  escape. 

Without  reason — ^without  cause — our  city  lay  pros- 
trate. 

The  criminal  leaders  of  union  labour  issued  their 
ukase,  refusing  to  allow  any  one  to  do  anything  in  any 
way  without  first  securing  their  august  permission, 
evidenced  by  a  printed  slip,  marked  "exemption." 
They  announced  that  only  a  few  exemptions  would  be 
granted.  They  would  bury  the  dead  if  the  hearse  and 
automobile  owners  gave  them  half  the  profits;  they 

84 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    85 

would  allow  hospitals  to  operate  if  exemption  was  ap- 
plied for;  but  light,  transportation,  and  food  for  stores 
or  restaurants  were  not  exempted. 

They  said:  "We  will  run  our  soup  houses  and  that  is 
all  we  will  do." 

They  graciously  permitted  the  sale  of  a  ration  of 
milk  for  all  bottle-fed  babies.  They  demanded  that 
our  municipal  utilities  should  cease  to  be.  They  openly 
advocated  the  taking  over  of  all  enterprises. 

Leon  Green  said  to  me  on  the  day  of  the  strike:  "You 
shall  have  no  light  and  no  power.  Your  streets  shall 
be  dark.  Hospitals  cannot  function.  We  will  make 
it  so  terrible  that  in  a  short  time  we  will  win." 

I  replied:  "We  shall  have  Hght  and  water  and  trans- 
portation. Our  municipal  activities  shall  not  cease. 
This  is  America  and  not  Russia.  You  and  your  an- 
archists shall  not  control  this  Government." 

Thus  we  defied  them.  Their  plans  were  carefully 
laid.  The  Soldiers,  Sailors,  and  Workmen's  Council 
had  been  organized  to  have  super-control  of  all  things. 
Different  crafts  were  to  conduct  each  industry.  Con- 
fiscation and  reappropriationwere  at  hand,  they  thought. 
They  believed  that  because  of  the  response  to  the 
general  strike  order,  the  workmen  of  Seattle  were  revo- 
lutionists and  would  assist  in  the  overthrow  of  the 
Government.  Of  course,  I  remained  at  the  City  Hall 
with  my  secretary,  directing  our  preparations.  My 
problem  was  to  strike  at  the  psychological  time.  1 
felt  that  the  people  needed  a  little  time  really  to  sense 
what  was  going  on.  We  were  prepared  and  could  wait. 
Our  main  fight  was  to  continue  the  operation  of  the 


86    AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

light  plant  in  order  that  the  city  should  not  be  thrown 
into  darkness. 

I  called  about  me  the  employees  of  the  Hght  de- 
partment, and  standing  on  a  table,  told  them  exactly 
what  the  plan  was  and  how  they,  by  leaving  their 
posts,  would  be  assisting  the  revolutionists  and  turning 
the  city  over  to  the  thugs  and  blacklegs,  who  would  loot, 
rape,  and  kill,  and  establish  a  reign  of  terror.  Despite 
enormous  pressure,  the  great  majority  remained  on 
the  job,  while  the  places  of  the  few  who  left  were  im- 
mediately filled  by  volunteers  who  had  worked  at  simi- 
lar occupations  in  days  gone  by.  Practically  every 
business  house  in  Seattle  closed,  several  through  fear, 
although  they  had  sufficient  help  on  hand  to  remain 
open.  All  restaurants  were  closed,  while  the  soup 
houses  established  by  the  strikers  were  a  complete 
failure. 

As  I  walked  up  Second  Avenue  the  afternoon  of 
February  sixth  a  funeral  passed  by  and  on  the  hearse, 
in  large  letters,  were  the  words: 

EXEMPTED   BY  THE    STRIKE   COMMITTEE 

The  victims  of  the  "flu"  epidemic  could  not  be  buried 
without  the  permission  of  this  august  body!  But  still 
I  waited.  I  felt  that  the  public  had  not  suffered  suf- 
ficiently, as  yet,  to  cause  them  to  turn  upon  the  usurpers. 

On  the  morning  of  the  seventh  no  newspapers  had 
as  yet  appeared.  The  only  authentic  printed  word 
on  the  situation  to  reach  the  people  came  from  Port- 
land, Oregon,  when  the  Oregonian  was  offered  on  the 
streets.     So  eager  were  the  people  for  something  official 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    87 

that  all  copies  of  the  Oregonian  were  sold  out  half  an 
hour  after  reaching  the  city.  A  rumour  would  start, 
and  in  an  hour  spread  all  over  the  city.  Some  strike 
sympathizers  went  from  house  to  house,  telling  the 
people  the  headworks  of  the  water  plant  had  been 
dynamited.  Others  announced  that  the  city  would  be 
in  darkness  that  night;  others  that  the  Mayor  had  been 
assassinated. 

As  the  first  day  of  the  strike  came  to  a  close,  the  city 
of  Seattle  was  in  a  state  of  unrest,  while  many  of  its 
people  feared  nightfall,  shuddering  to  think  of  what 
might  follow  the  failure  of  the  lights  to  "come  on." 
Women  kept  calling  up  the  city  authorities,  pleading  for 
protection.  I  received  one  message  notifying  me  that 
I  would  suffer  the  consequences  unless  I  removed  from 
my  motor  car  the  small  American  flag  that  flew  above 
the  radiator.  I  answered  this  coward  simply  by  cover- 
ing the  entire  top  of  my  car  with  a  larger  flag,  and  from 
that  time  on  drove  the  streets  of  Seattle  with  Old 
Glory  above  me. 

The  municipal  street  cars  did  not  run  the  first  day, 
although  Thos.  F.  Murphine,  Superintendent  of  Public 
Utilities,  was  anxious  to  operate  them.  The  Chief  of 
Police  believed  that  running  the  street  cars  would 
bring  many  women  and  children  down  town  and  that 
if  a  riot  occurred  many  innocent  folks  might  be  shot 
down.  The  sidewalks  were  thronged  with  strikers, 
but  there  was  a  noticeable  absence  of  women  and 
children.  That  night  the  city  lights  continued  burn- 
ing. I  stood  and  watched  the  lights  hour  after  hour, 
wondering  whether  they  would  continue  sending  out 


88    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

their  beams  to  give  hope  and  protection  to  our  citizens. 
They  did  continue  to  burn,  and  the  general  strike  never 
succeeded  in  stopping  the  flow  of  one  drop  of  water, 
nor  was  it  able  to  keep  from  burning  one  single  eight- 
candle-power  light,  while  gas  flowed  through  the  mains 
without  any  interruption  whatever. 

At  ten  o*clock  the  next  morning  (the  seventh),  I 
decided  that  the  psychological  time  had  come  to  take  the 
ofi^ensive,  and  sat  down  to  my  typewriter  and  wrote 
the  following  proclamation  to  the  people  of  Seattle: 

Proclamation  to  the  People  of  Seattle: 

By  virtue  of  the  authority  vested  in  me  as  mayor,  I  hereby 
guarantee  to  all  the  people  of  Seattle  absolute  and  complete  pro- 
tection. They  should  go  about  their  daily  work  and  business  in 
perfect  security.  We  have  fifteen  hundred  policemen,  fifteen  hun- 
dred regular  soldiers  from  Camp  Lewis,  and  can  and  will  secure,  if 
necessary,  every  soldier  in  the  Northwest  to  protect  life,  business, 
and  proF>erty. 

The  time  has  come  for  every  person  in  Seattle  to  show  his  Ameri- 
canism. Go  about  your  daily  duties  without  fear.  We  will  see  to 
it  that  you  have  food,  transportation,  water,  light,  gas,  and  all 
necessities.  The  anarchists  in  this  community  shall  not  rule  its 
affairs.    All  persons  violating  the  laws  will  be  dealt  with  summarily. 

Ole  Hanson,  Mayor. 

I  then  prepared  an  ultimatum  to  the  Executive  Strike 
Committee,  demanding  unconditional,  complete,  and  un-' 
equivocal  surrender  and  notifying  them  that  if  the 
strike  was  not  called  off*  the  following  day,  I  would  take 
advantage  of  the  oflFer  of  the  U.  S.  Government  and 
operate  all  essential  industries.  I  instructed  my  secre- 
tary to  serve  this  notice  on  the  Strike  Committee  at 
once. 


AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    89 

I  then  rushed  copies  of  both  to  L.  Roy  Sanders,  man- 
aging editor  of  the  Seattle  Star^  who  was  determined  to 
go  to  press  and  issue  his  paper.  At  my  request  he 
gave  up  practically  his  entire  front  page  to  the  procla- 
mation and  ultimatum.  Loyal  union  men,  obeying 
the  orders  of  their  International,  printed  the  paper, 
and  alongside  the  proclamation  was  printed  a  picture 
of  the  Stars  and  Stripes.  The  date  line  read:  "Seattle, 
United  States  of  America." 

Exactly  at  noon  Mr.  Conklin,  my  secretary,  entered 
the  room  of  the  Executive  Strike  Committee  at  the 
Labour  Temple  and  asked  if  this  was  the  General 
Executive  Strike  Committee.  The  chairman  responded 
that  it  was  and  asked:  "What  do  you  want?"  He 
then  told  them  that  he  had  a  message  from  the  Mayor, 
and  continued :  "  In  order  to  be  sure  you  all  understand 
it,  I  will  read  it."  As  he  read  the  ultimatum,  pausing 
between  the  sentences,  he  noticed  the  faces  of  the  very 
men  who  had  been  loudest  in  "egging  on"  the  workers 
turn  pale.  They  knew  we  were  prepared  and  that  we 
proposed  to  go  the  full  limit  in  defeating  their  ne- 
farious and  un-American  aims. 

While  the  Seattle  Star  was  striving,  under  police 
protection,  to  get  out  their  newspaper,  a  committee 
consisting  of  eight  or  nine  labour  leaders,  including 
"Jimmy"  Duncan,  Hulet  M.  Wells,  and  E.  A.  Miller, 
came  to  the  mayor's  office  and  asked  for  a  consultation. 
This  was  about  eleven  thirty.  I  told  them  to  wait  in 
my  office  until  I  returned,  as  I  had  important  business 
to  attend  to.  I  let  them  wait  there  until  three  o'clock 
that  afternoon,  without  lunch  and  without  any  com^ 


90    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

munication  with  their  friends  on  the  outside.  Before 
they  could  get  away  to  rally  their  followers  the  Seattle 
Star,  containing  my  proclamation,  had  distributed  free, 
under  police  protection,  100,000  copies  of  the  paper, 
and  /  knew  then  that  the  attempted  revolution  was 
crushed. 

At  three  o'clock  I  came  back  to  my  office  and  in  the 
presence  of  two  citizens  whom  I  had  called  in  the  com- 
mittee were  told  that  we  had  nothing  to  say  to  them, 
that  we  would  not  deal  with  revolutionists.  Duncan 
pleaded  for  help  to  get  the  leaders  "out  of  the 
hole."  He  wanted  some  promise,  some  little  thing 
to  show  to  the  strikers,  in  order  that  he.  Wells,  Miller, 
et  al.  might  not  lose  their  prestige.  We  absolutely 
refused  to  consider  anything  but  complete  and  un- 
conditional surrender.  Duncan  said:  "Don't  be  too 
sure  about  the  troops.  It  is  about  an  even  break 
whether  they  go  with  you  or  with  us.  We  don't 
want  to  make  the  test";  and  I  told  him  that  noth- 
ing would  please  me  better  than  to  have  the  test 
come,  "the  quicker,  the  better";  that  if  our  soldiers 
were  not  loyal,  the  country  could  not  stand,  but  "you 
will  find  that  the  soldiers  will  fight  for  the  flag  in 
Seattle  just  as  quickly  as  they  did  across  the  seas." 
The  meeting  then  broke  up  and  from  that  day  to  the 
time  I  left  the  mayor's  office  he  never  set  foot  inside 
the  door  again. 

With  my  proclamation  occupying  most  of  the 
front  page  of  the  Star,  our  police  from  their  motor 
trucks  had  spread  the  paper  broadcast  over  the  city, 
and    within    fifteen    minutes    after    the    first    paper 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    91 

was  given  away,  250  Elks  came  in  a  body  to  my 
office,  offering  their  support  and  assistance.  Liter- 
ally thousands  of  Seattle  citizens  of  all  walks  of  life 
hurried  to  the  City  Hall  and  offered  their  services. 
Thomas  F.  Murphine,  my  friend  and  appointee  as 
Superintendent  of  Public  Utilities,  ran  the  first  muni- 
cipal street  car  through  the  public  streets,  unguarded 
and  unafraid. 

I  gave  orders  to  shoot  on  sight  any  lawbreaker  at- 
tempting to  create  a  riot,  and  Joel  Warren,  chief  of 
police,  a  dead  shot  and  a  true  man,  stood  ready  with 
fifteen  hundred  men  under  him  to  quell  disorder.  We 
used  no  soldiers  for  any  purpose,  either  as  guards  or 
policemen,  although  fifteen  hundred  stood  ready  to 
help.  No  martial  law  was  declared.  The  American 
spirit  of  our  people  burst  into  flame  and  the  bol- 
sheviki,  the  I.  W.  W.*s,  the  internationalists,  the  trai- 
tors— all  of  them  cowards — crowded  the  railway 
stations  and  wharves  to  make  their  escape.  Seattle 
stood  four  square  and  loyal,  and  in  my  judgment, 
its  citizenship  and  its  love  of  country  prevented 
the  spread  of  the  Hell-inspired  doctrines  of  Lenin  and 
Trotsky. 

The  Traction  Company  officials  came  to  my  bedside 
(I  was  quite  ill)  and  asked  if  I  wished  them  to  run  their 
cars.  I  not  only  told  them  I  wished  their  cars  to  be 
run,  but  demanded  that  they  commence  operation  at 
once.  They  were  willing,  and  Superintendent  G.  A. 
Richardson  of  the  Puget  Sound  Traction,  Light,  and 
Power  Co.,  took  out  the  company's  first  car,  and 
clanging  the  bell,  ran  up  and  down  Second  Avenue. 


92    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

The  operation  of  the  street  cars  was  the  finish  of  the 
strike,  and  despite  the  frenzied  orders  of  the  Bolshevist 
chiefs,  the  workers  everywhere  returned  to  their  work. 
Thf  strike  was  over.  The  attempted  revolution  was  a 
failure  and  yet,  the  men  who  led  this  Bolshevist  up- 
rising are  free  men  to-day.  It  is  true  a  few  lodging- 
house  I.  W.  W.'s  were  arrested  and  charged  with  "crim- 
inal anarchy"  under  the  state  law,  but  the  leaders  have 
never  been  arrested  and  have  never  been  prosecuted  by 
any  one. 

At  this  writing  James  Duncan  is  still  secretary  of  the 
Central  Labour  Council,  advocating  the  "one  big  union'* 
to  provide  the  mass  organization  to  overthrow  our 
Government,  and  on  September  fourteenth  President 
Wilson  received  him  as  a  representative  of  Labour  at  the 
Washington  Hotel  in  Seattle. 

Hulet  M.  Wells  and  Sam  Sadler  are  in  prison,  serving 
sentences  imposed  upon  them  long  before  the  Seattle 
strike  occurred.  Strong  efforts  are  being  made — as 
I  write — to  persuade  President  Wilson  to  open  the 
doors  of  the  penitentiary  for  them.  If  Wells  and 
Sadler  and  men  of  their  stripe  are  released,  the  efforts 
of  law-enforcing  officials  will  be  laughed  at  in  this 
country.  If  they  should  be  freed,  then  every  criminal 
in  every  jail  and  penitentiary  in  the  land  should  also 
walk  out  free.  There  are  excuses  and  reasons  for 
men  committing  breaches  of  the  law  against  one  an- 
other, but  there  can  be  no  excuse,  no  palliation,  for  the 
men  who,  during  our  time  of  trouble,  when  our  boys 
were  fighting  in  the  trenches  across  the  seas,  strove  to 
hamper  and  destroy  the  Government  of  our  country — 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    93 

activities  which  if  successful  meant  not  only  chaos  at 
home,  but  defeat,  imprisonment,  suffering,  and  death 
for  the  boys  across  the  water. 

Leon  Green,  Russian  alien  bolshevist  (right  name 
Leon  Butowsky)  has  never  been  even  arrested,  although 
he  openly  advocated  forcible  overthrow  of  our  Govern- 
ment. The  city  government  can  prosecute  men  only 
on  minor  charges,  such  as  disorderly  conduct,  etc.,  but 
it  does  seem  as  if  the  National  Government  could  find, 
arrest,  and  punish  men  like  him. 

While  the  others  trimmed  and  misrepresented  their 
objects  in  the  general  strike,  Leon  Green  told  the 
truth,  and  gloried  in  the  telling.  He  was  for  force  and 
said  it  should  be  used.  He  cared  not  for  suffering,  and 
said  so.  He  was  perfectly  willing  that  the  folks  in 
hospitals  should  die  from  want  of  heat,  food,  medical 
attendance,  nursing,  etc.  He  wanted  the  city  in 
darkness,  and  said  so.  Other  cowards  who  worked  with 
him  talked  all  these  things  in  private,  but  camouflaged 
in  public.  Leon  was  bom  in  Russia,  hated  our  Gov- 
ernment, and  expected  and  helped  plan  its  overthrow. 
He  left  Seattle  and  escaped.  Nothing  more  has  been 
heard  of  him.  The  authorities  cannot  find  him.  Well, 
I  will  tell  them  where  he  is  and  what  he  is  doing.  He 
is  business  agent  of  two  different  retail  clerks'  unions 
in  Chicago.  He  hands  out  his  cards  every  day  of  the 
month.  He  walks  the  streets  unmolested  and  una- 
fraid. He  is  still  working  to  overthrow  our  Govern- 
ment. 

Here  is  a  copy  of  his  card,  with  his  address  and  tele- 
phone number: 


94    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 


Res.  Phone  Wellington  6373 


LEON  GREEN 

166  West  Washington  Street 
704  Federation  Building 

Chicago 


Representing: 
Retail  Clerks*  Union  No.  19s 
Retail  Cigar  Clerics'  Union  No.  411 


Of  course  I  am  telling  this  in  confidence.  I  trust 
no  one  will  inform  the  hard-searching  sleuths  where 
he  can  be  found. 

E.  B.  Ault  is  still  editor  of  the  Union  Record  and  still 
attacks  the  United  States  Government,  decent  men  (and 
their  families)  nightly.  The  Central  Labour  Council 
of  Seattle  still  functions  as  a  bolshevist  organization. 
When  the  vote  was  taken  as  to  whether  or  not  to  strike 
on  the  Fourth  of  July  (the  Mooney  tie-up)  the  vote  stood 
76  for  and  67  against.  The  reason  it  was  lost  was  not 
because  of  a  desire  to  abandon  the  I.  W.  W.  propaganda, 
but  because  the  shipyard  owners  of  Seattle  let  it  be 
known  that  if  the  strike  vote  was  successful  their  yards 
would  close  and  not  reopen  for  several  months. 

Every  Wednesday  night  anarchy,  sabotage,  and  dis- 
loyalty are  openly  preached  in  the  Labour  Temple  in 
Seattle,  while  the  preaching  and  teaching  of  anarchy, 
syndicalism,  sabotage,  and  bolshevism  is  being  carried 
on  throughout  the  nation,  and  hundreds  of  tons  of 
bolshevist  propaganda  continue  to  be  distributed.  I 
go  to  our  book-stores  and  the  shelves  groan  with  hun- 
dreds of  pamphlets  denouncing  our  Government  and 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    95 

praising  the  Soviet  Government  of  Russia.  I  pick  up  a 
Social  Service  Bulletin  published  in  New  York  City 
(Grace  Scribner,  editor)  and  find  the  leading  contribu- 
tor on  the  Seattle  strike  to  be  an  I.  W.  W.  organizer 
of  Local  500.  On  the  back  page  I  find  a  list  of  numerous 
bolshevik  publications,  with  the  addresses  where  they 
can  be  secured.  Touring  the  country  from  one  end 
to  the  other  are  prominent  camouflaged  traitors  who 
describe  in  glowing  terms  the  wonderful  government 
of  soviet  Russia,  while  the  loyal  people  of  the  United 
States  sit  idly  by  and  allow  the  opponents  of  our  Gov- 
ernment to  use  the  printed  word  to  destroy  our  Govern- 
ment and  do  not  furnish  truthful  literature  to  combat 
it. 

The  working  men  of  Seattle  were  imposed  upon  by 
their  bolshevist  leaders.  There  were  on  strike  about 
65,000  union  men  and  approximately  75,000  men  and 
women  who  were  unorganized.  The  loss  to  the  work- 
ers in  wages  alone  amounted  to  $3,735,000,  but  the  loss 
to  the  cause  of  Labour  cannot  be  measured  in  dollars 
and  cents. 

Capital  has  been  charged,  and  is  ofttimes  guilty,  of 
exploiting  Labour,  but  in  Seattle  the  I.  W.  W.  leaders 
of  Labour  have  exploited  it  for  revolutionary  ends 
and  held  back  the  progress  of  those  who  toil.  Thus 
has  it  ever  been.  Whenever  Labour  listens  to  the 
teachers  of  anarchy,  whenever  it  obeys  the  commands 
of  the  revolutionaries,  it  receives  a  serious  setback. 
Not  one  International  president  in  the  United  States 
approved  the  general  strike.  Every  agreement  made 
by  Labour  was  treated  as  a  scrap  of  paper,  torn  up  and 


96    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

thrown  aside,  and  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  calling  of  a 
great  meeting  of  employers  at  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, immediately  after  the  strike,  at  which  I  and 
others  pleaded  with  the  employers  to  make  no  reprisals, 
every  labour  organization  in  the  city  of  Seattle  would 
have  been  destroyed. 

So  disastrous  was  the  effect  upon  the  minds  of  the 
people  of  this  community  that  when  three  decent, 
fairly  conservative  labour  men  became  candidates  for 
the  City  Council  on  March  15,  1919,  and  were  opposed 
by  three  men  who  had  supported  the  cause  of  law  and 
order — they  were  overwhelmingly  defeated,  polling 
only  a  scant  20,000  votes  in  a  city  of  400,000,  where 
both  men  and  women  vote,  and  where  organized  Labour 
has  a  membership  of  more  than  60,000. 

The  attempted  revolution  is  over;  the  general  strike 
and  its  results  are  history,  but  the  battle  between 
the  decent  forces  of  Labour  and  the  one  big  union — 
/.  fF.  W.  element — has  only  just  begun.  That  fight  must 
be  settled.  Either  the  conservative,  constructive  forces 
of  Labour  must  so  conduct  its  affairs  that  all  fair-minded 
men  will  respect  it;  or  the  forces  of  revolution  will 
take  charge  and  lead  it — God  knows  where. 


CHAPTER  VI 

SOMETHING    OF   THE    RISE,  TRIAL,   AND   FAILURE    OF 
BOLSHEVISM    IN    EUROPE 

In  ORDER  to  understand  that  which  is,  it  is  necessary 
to  know  what  has  been.  The  story  of  a  human  being 
does  not  begin  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  but  when  the 
first  pulse  of  Hfe  feebly  throbs  in  the  infant  body, 
months  before  birth,  and  never  ends  until  the  last 
feeble  gasp.  To  understand  the  man  of  twenty-five 
it  is  sometimes  very  helpful  to  know  the  environment  of 
his  childhood;  to  know  something  of  his  early  struggles 
and  disappointments  and  his  early  teachings. 

In  order  really  to  interpret  and  sense  bolshevism, 
one  must  start  at  its  beginning  and  trace  its  evolution 
and  development  through  the  years  of  its  existence. 
Great  movements  do  not  come  into  being  without  a 
cause,  without  leaders,  without  conscious  effort.  They 
don't  just  happen.  Never  since  the  mule  driver  Mo- 
hammed inaugurated  his  religion  has  any  belief  been 
so  thoroughly  embedded  in  the  minds  of  hundreds  of 
thousands  as  bolshevism  is  to-day.  It  has  taken  pos- 
session of  Russia,  overthrown  the  wishes  of  the  vast 
majority  of  its  people,  laid  desolate  its  countryside, 
depopulated  its  cities,  murdered  its  opponents,  starved 
unnumbered  innocents,  and  yet  to-day,  as  I  write,  it  is 

97 


98    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

in  undisputed  possession  of  a  large  portion  of  the  earth's 
surface.  It  has  invaded  Germany,  estabHshed  itself 
in  Hungary,  caused  riots  in  Italy,  France,  and  several 
other  countries  in  Europe;  has  crossed  the  sea  and  in- 
vaded our  northern  neighbour,  Canada,  and  made  a 
sinister  attempt  at  revolution  in  our  own  land.  It  is 
apparently  as  fluid  as  quicksilver,  as  cosmopolitan 
as  a  Jew,  is  indigenous  to  no  country  or  cHme,  and  its 
rise  has  been  as  rapid  as  its  effect  has  been  destructive. 

How  did  it  start?  Who  conceived  the  idea?  What 
was  its  cause  ?    What  has  been  its  history  ? 

In  Torschok,  Russia,  in  the  year  1814,  Michael 
Bakounin  was  bom.  Of  noble  parentage,  he  was  edu- 
cated for  the  military  service  and  became  an  officer 
of  artillery  before  his  majority.  While  stationed  in 
Poland,  he  became  disgusted  with  Russian  militarism, 
the  Russian  Government,  and  its  oppression  of  the  poor. 
He  threw  up  his  commission  and  studied  philosophy  at 
St.  Petersburg  and  Berlin.  He  became  a  great  student 
of  Hegel  and  Schopenhauer.  Hegel  was  a  strong  be- 
liever in  Napoleon,  calling  him  "the  universal  genius"; 
Schopenhauer  was  the  prize  misanthrope  of  the  ages 
who  held  pleasure  as  merely  the  absence  of  pain,  be- 
lieved in  nothing  or  no  one,  looked  on  the  dark  side  of 
every  shield,  and  preached  universal  unhappiness  as  a 
duty.  Fit  teachers  for  the  father  of  anarchistic  com- 
munism, which,  as  we  shall  see,  developed  later  into 
revolutionary  syndicalism.  A  disappointed  princeling, 
not  a  proletarian,  mind  you,  thought  of  it  first. 

In  Berlin  his  time  was  spent  in  the  revolutionary 
circles  and  he  came  under  their  influence.     From  Ar- 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    99 

nold  Ruge,  who  led  an  insurrection  in  Dresden  in  1848, 
he  imbibed  the  doctrines  of  communism,  advocating 
the  return  to  that  primal  society  which  was  first  estab- 
lished on  earth  and  known  as  the  Commune. 

The  Commune  is  society's  primary  organic  cell.  It  is  a  political 
body  which  regulates  all  the  local  interests  of  its  inhabitants.  The 
Commune  is  derived  from  the  French  word  ''Cotnun,"  meaning: 
"the  common  people,"  says  the  Dictionary  of  Vital  Economy,  edited 
by  Inglis  Palgrave.* 

It  would  indeed  be  difficult  to  define  the  more  modern 
soviet  in  other  terms  than  those  used  in  defining  the 
Commune.     They  are  one  and  the  same. 

Prince  Bakounin,  after  becoming  thoroughly  impreg- 
nated with  the  principles  of  the  return  to  the  first 
primitive  society,  advanced  one  stage  further  which  led 
him  to  embrace  anarchy  itself. 

Proudhun  at  that  time  was  the  dominating  intellec- 
tual figure  of  anarchy  and  revolution  in  France,  and 
from  Proudhun  the  princeling  absorbed  the  principles 
of  anarchy;  but  so  strongly  had  communism  been 
impressed  upon  him  that  he  forebore  to  throw  it  entirely 
overboard.  He  united  the  two  into  a  kind  of  a  no-law- 
much-law  combination,  the  hybrid  product  resulting 
in  what  is  known  as  anarchistic  communism. 

Ruge,  from  whom  Bakounin  imbibed  his  communism, 
wanted  to  return  to  the  first  organized  society.  Proud- 
hun, on  the  other  hand,  went  one  step  further  back  in 
the  realm  of  history,  and  his  idea,  stripped  to  the  skele- 
ton, was  the  return  to  the  first  condition  of  man  which 

*VoI.  I,  p.  360. 


loo   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

was,  of  course,  the  unrestrained,  unruled,  undeveloped 
anarchy  of  the  first  man,  before  society  had  any  or- 
ganization whatever.  He  said:  "Government  of  man 
in  every  form  is  oppression.  The  highest  perfection  of 
society  is  found  in  the  union  of  order  and  anarchy." 
Of  course  this  is  a  paradoxical,  impossible  situation. 
If  you  have  organized  society,  you  have  no  anarchy.  In 
fact,  if  you  have  order,  a  government  must  be  in  con- 
trol to  maintain  it;  but  a  Httle  truth  such  as  this  never 
bothered  Proudhun  or  Bakounin  or  any  of  their  follow- 
ers from  that  day  to  this. 

Bakounin,  after  a  career  which  inflamed  large  portions 
of  Europe,  took  part  in  the  great  Dresden  Insurrection 
of  1848.  He  was  arrested  and  condemned  to  death,  but 
was  later  returned  to  the  Russian  authorities  and  ban- 
ished to  Siberia.  He  escaped  from  Siberia  through 
Japan,  came  to  the  United  States,  and  in  1861  returned 
to  London  to  preach  his  theory  of  revolution.  As  he 
grew  older  he  became  more  demented,  if  such  a  thing 
could  be,  and  supported  every  propaganda  of  revolution 
in  every  country  he  visited. 

He  fought  Marx  and  his  theories  to  a  standstill, 
causing  Marx  to  call  the  International  Congress  at  The 
Hague  in  order  to  prevent  Bakounin  from  attending, 
as  he  was  subject  to  arrest  and  imprisonment  in  all 
countries  of  Europe  except  Switzerland.  The  doc- 
trines of  Marx  were  triumphant  at  this  congress. 
Communistic  anarchy  met  its  defeat,  although  the  doc- 
trines of  Marx  and  Bakounin  were  more  or  less  of  the 
same  bolt  of  cloth,  both  believing  in  communism.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  communism  was  the  early  name  for 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    loi 

socialism.  The  ends  sought  were  practically  identical, 
but  there  was  a  difference  in  the  methods. 

The  General  Council  was  then  transferred  to  our  own 
land  (New  York  City),  and  in  a  short  time  met  a  pain- 
less and  unregretted  death.  Bakounin,  however,  re- 
fused to  accept  his  defeat  at  the  hands  of  the  Marxists 
and  called  another  international  congress  in  Switzerland 
which  also  met  with  failure. 

The  communistic  anarchists  believed  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  state  absolutely  and  completely — they 
wanted  no  government  except  the  government  of  the 
shop.  Marx  wanted,  by  political  action,  to  take 
possession  of  the  machinery  of  the  state  and  use  the 
state  to  inaugurate  a  socialistic  regime.  Just  what 
that  regime  was  to  be  has  ever  been  a  nebulous,  very 
much  unknown  and  very  much  disagreed  upon  matter. 
Each  socialist  from  that  day  to  this  has  builded  his  own 
ideas  of  the  manner  in  which  socialism  was  to  be  con- 
ducted, very  much  as  the  peoples  of  the  world  have 
built  their  own  Heaven  in  the  future  world:  the  Es- 
quimaux believing  it  to  be  a  place  of  warmth  with  plenty 
of  whale  oil  to  drink;  the  Indian  picturing  it  as  the 
happy  hunting  giounds;  the  Mohammedan  as  a  place 
of  wonderful  houris  and  thousands  of  slaves.  Most 
people,  however,  agree  upon  it  being  a  place  where  there 
is  but  little  to  do  and  eternity  to  do  it  in. 

It  may  well  be  said  that  while  there  was  a  difference 
in  the  rules  of  the  game  then  as  now,  it  was  the  same 
old  game  of  taking  away  what  belonged  to  someone 
else,  without  compensation,  for  the  benefit  of  either 
individuals   or  groups   of  individuals  who   possessed 


102   AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

nothing  and  wanted  something.  This  fundamental 
exists  in  the  teachings  of  all  the  isms  and  runs  like  a  red 
thread  through  the  statements  of  the  aims  of  most  of 
them.  Apparently  they  make  the  great  mistake,  un- 
consciously, of  believing  that  the  wealth  of  the  world 
is  a  certain,  definite,  existing  entity  requiring  only  a  new 
distribution  to  cure  the  ills  of  man.  Of  course,  the 
wealth  of  the  world  is  an  ever-changing,  constantly 
renewing  thing;  brought  into  being  by  the  application 
of  human  labour  and  thought  to  the  raw  resources  of 
the  earth.  In  no  other  way  was  wealth  ever  produced 
and  in  no  other  way  can  it  ever  be  created.  How- 
ever, we  digress;  let  us  get  back  to  Bakounin  and 
Proudhun  and  France,  where  the  new  thought  was  re- 
ceiving its  first  trial  in  the  actual  affairs  of  life. 

It  may  well  be  said  that  the  methods  used  to  bring 
about  anarchistic  communism,  or  syndicalism,  were  not 
the  brain-child  of  any  one  man,  nor  were  they  worked 
out  in  the  libraries  of  economic  schools.  The  applica- 
tion of  the  nearest  at  hand  and  most  agitated  proced- 
ure for  the  meeting  of  economic  conditions  at  a  par- 
ticular time  and  particular  place  was  always  used. 
Syndicalism  has  the  background  of  experience  and  its 
success  or  failure  has  long  ceased  to  be  a  matter  of  ex- 
periment. It  has  been  tried  repeatedly  and  has  failed 
ingloriously,  even  after  securing  the  complete  over- 
throw of  existing  governments;  and,  as  we  will  see  later, 
its  successful  coup  in  Russia  gives  additional  proof  to 
the  world  that  it  will  not  work  and  cannot  work.  Hu- 
man nature  in  its  most  vital  depths  cannot  be  changed 
by  a  proclamation  or  a  speech.     Syndicalism  is  to-day 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    103 

the  most  stupendous  failure  in  government  of  all 
history. 

Proudhun  was  a  college-bred  young  man  and  became 
one  of  the  great  characters  of  his  time.  His  philosophy 
was  taken  from  Hegel  and  Adam  Smith.  He  believed 
in  a  redistribution  of  wealth  and  one  of  the  first  meas- 
ures he  introduced  in  the  Assembly  of  the  Seine,  to 
which  he  was  elected  in  1848,  was  a  measure  whereby 
one  third  of  the  rent,  interest,  and  profit  was  to  be  taken 
away  from  its  possessors.  This  was  rejected  by  the 
Assembly.  One  good  thing,  however,  may  be  said  of 
this  anarchist  and  that  is,  he  was  free  from  any  feelings 
of  personal  hate  and  did  not  teach  the  doctrine  of  per- 
sonal hatred  against  the  fortunate  possessors  of  wealth. 

Proudhun  became  the  leader  of  those  who  would  in- 
novate and  change  the  existing  order  of  things.  The 
question  before  France  was  its  rehabilitation.  Social- 
ism had  been  advocated  in  France  theretofore,  but  re- 
ceived its  greatest  impetus  at  that  time.  "Civil  liberty 
for  all"  became  the  battle-cry.  The  absence  of  civil  lib- 
erty was  pointed  out  by  all  radicals  and  a  return  to  the 
conditions  of  prehistoric  man  and  his  full  liberties  was 
advocated.  Rousseau,  long  before,  had  urged  full  po- 
Utical  liberty  for  all  mankind  on  the  theory  that  each 
man  being  a  part  of  the  community  should  have  his  say 
as  to  the  conduct  of  that  community. 

In  passing,  it  may  be  recalled  that  in  our  own  country 
at  that  time  (1848)  slavery  reigned  triumphant  over 
the  most  fertile,  settled  part  of  the  Union  and  there 
were  comparatively  few  men  who  advocated  complete 
and  immediate  abolition  of  that  evil. 


I04   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

In  France  this  doctrine  of  equality  gained  adherents 
rapidly  because  mis  government  caused  discontent  and 
because  all  men  in  all  times  have  dreamed  and  desired 
equality  and  freedom.  Of  course,  the  dreams  of  reform 
left  unsatisfied  led  to  the  advocacy  of  insurrection. 
The  hurry-up,  get-it-over-quick  zealots  brought  on 
chaos  instead  of  a  constructive  policy.  The  revolt  was 
openly  preached;  the  repressive  and  neglectful  govern- 
ment added  oil  to  the  fires,  and  the  reign  of  Louis  Phi- 
lippe brought  weakness  and  do-nothingness.  Con- 
tempt instead  of  allegiance  was  stimulated.  The  rot- 
ting out  of  the  old  institutions  of  State  and  Church 
brought  widespread  distrust  and  rebellion.  Some 
other  form  of  government  was  needed.  The  result 
was  that  the  one  most  exploited  was  adopted.  French- 
men of  that  age  said:  "Nothing  can  be  worse  than  what 
we  have.  Let  us  try."  Other  nations  cleaned  out 
and  cleaned  up,  but  the  rulers  of  France  slept  on,  lack- 
ing the  vision  and  courage  to  change  the  existing  order 
to  meet  the  views  of  the  moderately  liberal  who  are 
always  in  the  majority  in  every  land. 

At  this  time  industry  in  France  and  the  other 
Latin  countries  of  Europe  was  in  the  primary  state  of 
organization — in  England  and  the  United  States  it 
was  very  much  farther  advanced.  It  may  be  said  that 
industrialism  in  France  in  1840  occupied  about  the 
same  plane  of  development  as  that  of  Russia  in  1917. 
It  was  inchoate,  unformed,  undeveloped.  The  main 
industries  were  conducted  in  small  shops;  five  or 
ten  or  twenty  workmen  under  one  master.  This  dis- 
connection undoubtedly  gave  form  to  the  "one  shop,  one 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    105 

vote"  rule,  which  then,  as  now,  was  the  teaching  of  the 
syndicaHst.  The  absolute  futility  of  political  effort 
was  preached  on  every  corner  and  in  every  pamphlet. 
The  overthrow  of  the  government  was  openly  advo- 
cated. Strike  after  strike  was  inaugurated,  finally 
culminating  in  1848  in  a  general  strike  and  the  over- 
turning of  the  government.  Under  the  new  socialistic 
regime  happiness,  contentment,  and  prosperity  had 
been  promised  and  the  people,  believing  the  promises, 
had  acted  accordingly. 

Just  as  soon  as  the  new  government  took  charge  the 
people  demanded  of  the  government  the  right  to  work. 
The  government  immediately  instituted  great  systems 
of  public  workshops  to  provide  employment  and  pro- 
duce something.  Thrifty  men  and  women  with  songs 
on  their  lips  and  joy  in  their  hearts  went  to  work,  be- 
lieving that  the  millennium  had  come.  The  lazy,  the 
loafer,  the  agitator,  did  not  go  to  work  but  immediately 
began  another  agitation  that  unemployment  insurance 
should  be  furnished  them.  Thirty  sous  per  day  was  to 
be  the  pension  for  doing  nothing — forty  sous  the  reward 
for  work. 

The  unemployed  increased  miraculously  overnight. 
The  thrifty  and  industrious  then  saw  that  they  were 
supporting  the  no-goods  and  do-nothings  and  they 
finally  declared  that  as  those  who  do  not  work  receive 
thirty  sous  a  day  and  we  who  work  receive  but  forty 
sous  a  day,  we  will  do  only  ten  sous'  worth  of  work  a 
day,  the  difference  between  idleness  and  effort! 

People  became  discontented  and  hungry  because 
production  was  restricted  and  men  looked  upon  the 


io6   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

government  as  a  sort  of  perpetual  and  self-perpetuating 
Christmas  tree,  which  had  only  to  be  shaken  to  bring 
presents  sufficient  for  the  maintenance  of  all.  They 
forgot,  as  apparently  do  many  of  our  later-day  social 
evangelists,  that  the  government  is  a  pauper  and  only 
maintains  itself  on  what  you  and  I  furnish  it.  When 
our  contributions  cease,  government  must  cease.  The 
places  where  the  coin  was  distributed  became  the 
centres  of  enormous  mobs  of  unemployed.  People 
fought  for  places  in  the  ever-lengthening  lines  of  pen- 
sioners. 

Then  the  development  of  land  projects  was  decided 
upon,  but  still  production  decreased  and  the  unem- 
ployed increased !  Want,  hunger,  and  suffering  became 
universal  until  finally  the  very  crowds  which  had  de- 
manded revolution  forced  their  way  into  the  Assembly 
Chamber,  declared  the  socialistic  scheme  a  complete 
and  ignominious  failure,  and  demanded  its  cessation! 
The  leaders  who  brought  about  the  experiment  were 
the  loudest  in  denouncing  its  failure. 

The  new  government  did  as  requested,  acceded  to 
the  people's  demands,  reduced  and  finally  suppressed  the 
public  works,  declaring  that  they  demoralized  the  people 
and  were  a  complete  failure.  The  decision  brought  on 
a  bloody  insurrection  which  was  suppressed  only  after 
several  days  of  street  fighting.  The  leaders  of  the  re- 
volt, in  order  to  save  themselves  from  their  infuriated 
followers,  escaped  to  foreign  lands,  there  to  prepare 
their  alibis  and  excuses.  The  cause  of  honest  labour 
received  a  setback  from  which  it  did  not  recover  for  a 
quarter  of  a  century. 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    107 

Louis  Napoleon  was  then  inaugurated  President  of 
the  Republic,  and  in  order  to  save  France  from  starva- 
tion, used  the  credit  of  the  country  and  embarked  upon 
gigantic  schemes  of  public  works  which  rebuilt  a  large 
portion  of  Paris  and  provided  employment  for  many 
who  otherwise  would  have  died  from  starvation.  Thus 
ended,  in  complete  and  disastrous  failure,  the  first  great 
experiment  in  creating  wealth  by  law  instead  of  by  work. 

The  stark  truth  stands  out  in  all  history  that  every 
class  which  has  emancipated  itself  did  so  by  evolution 
and  not  by  revolution.  The  memory  of  failure,  however, 
usually  lasts  but  a  few  short  years;  another  generation 
and  the  same  old  Utopian  dreams  of  bygone  days  are  re- 
juvenated under  different  leaders  and  different  names 
and  the  futile  struggle  is  continued. 

People  do  learn  from  experience,  but  only  from  their 
own  experience.  Seldom  are  the  experiences  of  others 
in  other  days  accepted  as  a  guide.  There  are  so  many 
explainers  who  point  out  in  detail  the  causes  of  failure, 
leaving  out  the  fundamental  truth,  that  the  thing  itself 
was  wrong  to  start  with. 

**  Syndicalism  aims  at  the  federation  of  workers  in  all 
trades  into  an  effective  body  for  the  purpose  of  en- 
forcing the  demands  of  Labour  by  means  of  sympathetic 
strikes,"  says  the  New  Standard  Dictionary.  The 
substitution  of  "direct  action"  in  place  of  "sympathetic 
strikes"  makes  the  definition  more  comprehensive. 

A.  D.  Lewis  defines  syndicalism,  in  "Syndicalism  and 
the  General  Strike,"  as  "aiming  at  replacing  an  eco- 
nomic hierarchy  by  a  system  in  which  different  kinds  of 
work  are  regarded  as  being  of  one  value,  and  where 


io8    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

there  is  brotherhood  instead  of  mastery  and  subservi- 
ence. It  recommends  immediate  aggression  without 
carefully  planning  what  is  to  be  done  after  the  victory  is 
won." 

SyndicaHsm  is  the  doctrine  of  direct  action,  princi- 
pally through  sabotage  and  the  general  strike,  inaugu- 
rated for  the  purpose  of  abolishing  private  rights,  private 
property,  and  all  government  and  taking  over  control 
of  all  things  by  the  minority.  It  stands  for  a  vote  for 
each  industry  instead  of  a  vote  for  each  human  being. 
It  makes  the  shop  or  syndicate  the  local  unit  of  govern- 
ment and  a  combination  of  the  shops  the  general  gov- 
erning body. 

Syndicat  in  French  simply  means  "a  labour  union." 
In  '.ts  final  analysis,  syndicalism  is  a  government  of  the 
trades  unions,  no  one  else  having  any  voice  in  the  gov- 
ernment. It  is  essentially  a  rule  of  the  minority,  as 
well  as  a  revolutionary  organization  advocating  class 
war.  It  teaches  sabotage  and  destruction  of  our  pres- 
ent system  by  force,  recognizing  no  act  as  wrong  so 
long  as  it  injures  some  one  or  some  thing  and  hampers 
existing  institutions.  It  repudiates  the  State,  God,  and 
good;  despises  and  abstains  from  political  action;  de- 
sires by  force  to  overthrow  existing  governments,  but 
has  no  agreed-upon  plan  for  conducting  government 
after  its  overthrow.  It  is  more  or  less  a  return  to  the 
no-government  plan  of  the  first  man  on  earth;  lack  of 
compulsion  or  lack  of  government  being  widely 
preached.  It  always  becomes  popular  when  an  agi- 
tating minority,  desiring  to  possess  the  fruits  of  the 
efforts  of  the  majority,  find  it  impossible  to  secure  con- 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    109 

trol  politically.  Still  desirous  of  possession,  they  try 
to  gain  it  by  direct  action,  force,  sabotage,  and  the 
general  strike  is  used  to  overthrow  the  government  which 
protects  private  rights  and  enforces  order. 

All  men  intrusted  with  the  maintenance  of  order,  the 
police,  the  army,  the  navy,  the  executive  officials  of 
city,  state,  and  nation,  are  considered  by  syndicalists 
as  the  arch  enemies  of  progress.  They  are  hated,  lied 
about,  and,  if  possible,  destroyed.  All  syndicalists 
are  against  preparedness  and  armed  forces,  because 
their  doctrine  of  forcible  overthrow  always  fails  when 
met  with  a  greater  force.  They  would  disarm  the  world 
and  aboUsh  authority  and  all  means  of  self-defence 
in  order  to  bring  about  a  successful  revolution.  They 
would  weaken  the  majority  to  such  an  extent  that 
their  minority  can  prevail.  All  moral  law  is  called 
bourgeois  morality  and  is  to  be  ridiculed  and  disobeyed. 
Instead  the  moral  fibre  of  mankind  must  be  destroyed. 
Religion  and  its  teachings  must  fall  and  a  code  of  scoun- 
drelism  take  its  place.  Open  denunciation  of  the  mar- 
riage relation  is  one  of  the  essentials,  while  free  love  is 
almost  universally  advocated,  and,  where  opportunity 
offers,  practised. 

As  we  know,  the  only  way  a  minority  can  rule  is  by 
the  disfranchisement  and  repression  of  the  majority; 
by  the  establishment  of  an  autocratic  rule  supported 
by  an  army;  by  the  repression  or  destruction  of  the 
unarmed  and  unready  population.  Such  a  rule  was 
the  government  of  the  Romanoffs  of  Russia.  It  lasted 
a  long  time.  Such  a  government  has  since  been  estab- 
lished out  of  the  embers  of  the  Russian  Revolution  by 


no   AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

Lenin  and  Trotsky.  Its  length  of  rule  depends  upon 
the  size  and  morale  of  its  army,  temporarily;  on  starva- 
tion and  want,  primarily. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  methods  of  production  insti- 
tuted by  the  workers  in  France  in  the  form  of  govern- 
ment workshops,  etc.,  met  with  complete  failure. 
Ism  authors  place  the  responsibility  for  failure — "ist, 
upon  the  ignorance  of  the  masses;  2nd,  upon  the  selfish- 
ness of  individuals;  3rd,  upon  the  lack  of  capital  and 
credit.'*  I  quote  this  from  Levine,  the  socialist  author 
who  wrote  "French  Syndicalism."  Strange  that  capi- 
tal and  credit,  the  bane  of  the  revolutionary  ism-ist, 
should  have  been  found  at  all  essential!  Strange  that 
human  selfishness  and  mass  ignorance  could  not  be 
abolished  by  ukase! 

Upon  the  complete  breakdown  of  syndicalism  in 
1848,  the  workmen  of  France  and  England  and  Ger- 
many turned  to  internationalism  as  an  escape  from  fail- 
ure nationally.  "We  failed," they  argued,  "because  other 
countries  were  not  doing  what  we  were  doing,  but  were 
proceeding  under  the  old  system.  We  could  not  exist 
alone.  We  must  establish  internationalism  in  all  gov- 
ernment and  industry."  Can  it  be  that  the  Russian 
bolshevist  agitates  in  every  country  for  the  same 
reason  ? 

The  revolutionist  argues:  "We  must  place  the  work- 
ers of  every  country  on  an  equality;  one  must  receive  as 
much  as  the  other  in  order  that  there  be  no  advantage 
between  brothers."  Of  course,  they  never  advertise 
the  fact  that  costs  of  living  in  different  countries  might 
make  the  wage  smaller  or  larger,  although  the  money 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    iii 

unit  be  the  same,  nor  apparently  do  they  take  into  con- 
sideration the  fact  that  a  country  rich  in  natural  re- 
sources and  favoured  by  cUmate  and  transportation 
facilities  might  produce  a  great  deal  more  with  a  great 
deal  less  labour.  These  things  they  may  know,  but 
they  never  talk  about  them  in  pubHc;  it  would  hurt 
their  argument. 

The  International  was  formed  in  1864,  Karl  Marx 
becoming  its  first  great  leader.  It  was  composed  of 
French  syndicalists,  German  socialists,  and  English 
trade  unionists.  It  had  no  common  programme,  but 
its  members  were  united  in  discontent  over  existing 
conditions.  Karl  Marx,  sociaHst,  and  Prince  Bakounin 
communistic-anarchist,  or  syndicalist,  led  two  op- 
posing factions;  Marx  advocating  the  capture  of 
government  by  orderly  political  methods,  the  prince  de- 
manding its  violent  overthrow.  United  as  to  the  ne- 
cessity and  righteousness  of  stealing,  but  divided  as  to 
the  methods  of  theft ! 

The  first  International  advocated  direct  action,  say- 
ing it  might  assume  various  forms,  such  as  strike,  boy- 
cott, union  label,  and  sabotage.  They  preached  the 
strike,  not  only  as  a  means  to  better  conditions,  but  for 
the  purpose  of  harming  the  employing  class  and  creating 
and  fomenting  discontent  and  class  hatred  among  the 
workers.  The  boycott  also  was  advocated  as  an  effec- 
tive method  of  forcing  employers  to  terms.  Sabotage 
consists  in  obstructing  in  all  possible  ways  the  regular 
process  of  production  to  the  disadvantage  of  the 
employer.  It  includes  destruction  of  property,  in- 
timidation of  employers,  employees,  and  the  pubUc, 


112   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

wasting  materials,  etc.  It  really  has  the  same  meaning 
as  the  well-known  Scotch  word  "Ca'cannie." 

To  strike  and  then  strike  again  seemed  to  be  the 
main  plan  then  as  now.  The  great  strike  was  to  be 
the  last  strike  and  was  to  bring  about  revolution  and 
overthrow  government.  What  else  the  success  of  the 
general  strike  would  bring  about  was  left  to  each  one's 
individual  fancy  and  the  whims  of  inexperienced  and 
unable  dictators. 

The  development  of  revolutionary  syndicalism  appar- 
ently was  the  kind  of  movement  suited  to  the  French 
temperament,  which,  as  Weill  points  out  in  his  "His- 
tory of  the  Social  Movement  of  France,"  "is  far  more 
capable  of  a  single  great  effort  than  of  continuous  and 
plodding  toil."  The  Latin  races  usually  reject  with 
scorn  small  but  constant  progress,  preferring  the  ca- 
tastrophic, far-off,  soap-bubble-hued  achievements. 

The  fact  that  industrialism  had  been  far  more  back- 
ward in  the  Latin  countries  than  in  England  and  the 
United  States  also  encouraged  the  idea  of  government 
by  shops;  there  being  thousands  of  little  establishments 
with  a  master  in  charge  while  in  more  advanced  indus- 
trial countries  thousands  worked  in  one  factory. 

Levine  in  his  book  on  "Syndicalism  in  France" 
states : 

The  French  syndicalists  recognize  that  they  lack  method,  per- 
sistence, and  foresight,  although  they  are  sensitive,  impulsive,  and 
combative.  Many  syndicais  are  loosely  held  together  and  are  easily 
dissolved.  They  are  composed  of  a  more  or  less  variable  and  shift- 
ing membership.  A  disorganized  syndicat  generally  leaves  behind  a 
handful  of  militant  working  men,  determined  to  keep  up  the  syn- 
dicalist movement.    This  necessarily  brings  the  syndicats  into  con- 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    113 

flict  with  the  State.  The  result  is  a  feeling  of  bitterness  among  the 
working  men  toward  the  army,  the  police,  and  the  Government 
in  general.  The  ground  is  thus  prepared  for  anti-militaristic,  anti- 
state,  and  anti-patriotic  ideas. 

In  England  the  situation  was  different.  Prior  to  the 
industrial  revolution  in  England,  the  craft  unions  were 
very  strong  and  numerous.  Continuous  development 
took  place  but  it  was  very  slow,  the  workers  forming 
trade  unions  which  were  simply  combinations  of  the 
working  men  of  one  particular  trade.  This  particular 
method  of  collective  bargaining  held  its  own  for  many 
years  and  the  development  was  along  those  lines  in- 
stead of  along  the  lines  of  syndicalism.  All  members  of 
the  unions  were  skilled  workers  and  it  was  not  until 
machinery  made  possible  the  employment  of  unskilled, 
untrained  men  that  the  lower  strata  of  labour  joined 
labour  organizations.  This  became  essential  as  any 
man  could  supplant  a  trained  worker  with  a  few  days* 
experience.  The  trades  unions  developed  into  a  trades 
union  which  became  a  national  organization.  The 
builders  and  weavers  pioneered  this  amalgamation. 


CHAPTER  VII 

SOME   OF  history's  VERDICTS  ON  REFORMERS,  UTOPIAS, 
TRADE    UNIONS,    AND    BOLSHEVISM 

In  a  small  town  in  Wales  in  1771  Robert  Owen  was 
born.  He  was  put  to  work  when  but  ten  years  old  and 
before  he  was  twenty  was  the  manager  of  a  large 
cotton  mill.  The  memory  of  his  early  struggles,  how- 
ever, remained  with  him.  A  self-made  man,  he  never 
forgot  his  origin.  He  never  said,  as  so  many  self-made 
men  do:  "I  succeeded,  I  broke  through  the  crust. 
Why  cannot  all  men  do  likewise  ? "  Robert  Owen  realized 
that  the  great  success  he  had  made  was  the  exception  and 
not  the  rule  and  his  life  was  spent  in  an  effort,  usually 
fruitless,  to  better  the  conditions  of  the  class  of  men 
and  women  from  which  he  sprang. 

Surrounding  his  establishment  (where  one  of  the  first 
spinning  machines  invented  by  Arkright  was  installed), 
he  built  pleasure  resorts  for  the  purpose  of  discouraging 
drunkenness  and  furnishing  the  workmen  places  to 
play  and  to  learn.  At  that  day  and  age  he  made  the 
fight,  not  against  "child  labour,"  but  against  infant 
labour.  Men,  women,  and  children  were  worse  off  in 
many  instances  than  chattel  slaves  and  lived  amidst 
surroundings  of  filth,  ignorance,  drunkenness,  and  im- 
moralit^^     He  instituted  lectures  in  order  to  teach  the 

114 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    115 

people,  few  of  whom  could  read,  the  laws  of  health 
and  decent  conduct.  He  did  more.  He  stopped  the 
employment  of  very  young  children.  The  homes 
of  the  people  were  wonderfully  improved;  provisions 
were  supplied  at  cost  to  the  workers;  schools  were 
started  and  he  also  inaugurated  old-age  pensions  and  sick 
benefits. 

In  1826  Sir  Robert  Owen  brought  communism  to  the 
United  States  and  established  a  colony  at  New  Har- 
mony, Indiana.  This  colony  was  situated  on  30,000 
acres  of  land  which  had  previously  been  somewhat  de- 
veloped by  a  German  colony  who  sold  their  entire 
holdings  to  Owen.  Three  thousand  acres  were  already 
under  cultivation,  besides  a  vineyard,  several  orchards, 
and  many  other  improvements.  There  was  a  total  of 
27,000  acres  of  good,  rich,  undeveloped  land  to  fall 
back  on.  The  village  streets  were  already  laid  out  and 
there  was  a  great  public  square  surrounded  by  large 
brick  buildings,  owned  by  the  community.  The  aim 
of  Owen  and  his  followers  was  to  establish  a  community 
where  property  was  held  in  common.  All  were  to  share 
in  the  common  labour  and  all  were  to  receive  a  liberal 
education  and  have  every  opportunity  for  the  fullest 
pursuit  of  knowledge.  The  qualifications  essential 
for  membership  were  honesty  of  purpose,  temperance, 
industry,  and  cleanliness. 

Surely  this  colony,  situated  on  some  of  the  richest 
land  in  the  world,  had  every  chance  to  work  out  com- 
munism if  it  could  be  worked  out.  What  happened,? 
Just  what  always  has  happened.  Some  worked  and 
delved  while  others  loafed  and  did  nothing  but  strive 


ii6   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

to  place  the  burden  of  their  support  upon  Owen  and  the 
workers ! 

Owen  thought  that  the  colonists  were  not  quite  ready 
for  a  full  experiment,  so  asked  that  a  constitution  be 
adopted  and  for  three  years  a  near  form  of  communism 
was  to  be  tried.  This  was  agreed  upon.  The  manage- 
ment was  to  be  a  council  (soviet)  under  the  absolute 
control  of  the  colonists. 

Experience  soon  proved  that  things  could  not  be  run 
in  that  manner  and  the  members  unanimously  requested 
that  Owen  be  made  sole  manager.  Then  were  inaugurated 
the  only  prosperous  times  the  colony  ever  enjoyed.  He 
made  the  idlers  go  to  work  and,  for  a  time,  all  was  a  new 
harmony. 

Within  a  few  months,  however,  disturbances  arose; 
there  was  a  continual  dispute  about  work  and  about 
land,  with  the  result  that  on  March  30,  1826,  the  land 
was  divided  into  four  parts  and  four  associations  tried 
to  do  the  work  that  one  had  failed  to  do.  They  tried 
to  trade  between  themselves  with  a  paper  currency, 
but  in  one  year  Sir  Robert  saw  his  idealistic  community 
resolve  itself  into  a  wrangling,  quarrelling,  disorganized 
mob.  Human  nature,  ever  present,  demanded  individ- 
ual reward  for  effort;  the  lazy  wanted  rest  and  their 
needs  supplied  without  toil.  The  same  work  day  did 
not  suit  either  the  industrious  or  the  shiftless.  It  was 
found  impossible  to  make  men  into  a  common  mold 
either  by  law  or  agreement.  There  was  individualism, 
the  fruit  of  the  ages,  in  every  man  and  woman — hence 
the  failure !  Despite  this  failure  at  New  Harmony, 
dozens  of  other  experiments  were  tried  in  the  effort  to 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    117 

equalize  men  by  law.  Henry  Ford  says:  "History  is 
bunk."     The  communists  evidently  think  so,  too. 

Verily  there  is  nothing  new  under  the  sun.  Styles 
come  in  and  styles  go  out.  Fifteen  years  ago  Theodore 
Roosevelt  visited  Seattle  and  I  bought  my  first  silk  hat. 
When  I  was  elected  mayor,  I  bought  another  in  order 
to  be  truly  de  rigeur.  I  happened  to  find  the  old  hat, 
and,  much  to  my  surprise,  was  unable  to  tell  one  from 
the  other.  The  style  had  gone  out  and  then  come  back 
again.  This  apparently  is  as  true  in  social  reform  as 
it  was  with  my  hat. 

In  1832  Sir  Robert  Peel  made  a  strenuous  fight 
against  one  of  the  grossest  evils  of  the  day.  The  ap- 
prentices in  the  cotton  mills,  according  to  early  English 
descriptions,  were  kept  in  a  miserable  condition.  By 
his  effort  the  first  statute  in  English  law  in  favour  of  the 
workers  was  enacted.  All  laws  theretofore  had  length- 
ened hours,  made  conditions  worse  instead  of  better,  and 
invariably  had  been  enacted  to  favour  the  employers. 
Pauper  children  had  been  disposed  of  by  the  parishes 
(poor  houses)  to  the  employers  under  the  name  of 
"apprentices";  but  while  they  were  supposed  to  be 
learning  a  trade,  they  were  really  slaves.  These  |K)or 
little  children  of  a  century  ago  were  compelled  not  only 
to  work,  but  to  overwork,  as  the  overseer's  pay  was 
based  on  what  the  children  did.  They  were  flogged, 
placed  in  irons,  and  even  tortured  in  order  to  coin  the 
blood  and  bones  of  their  frail,  emaciated  bodies  into 
dirty  profits.  The  Peel  Law  prohibited  the  binding 
out  as  apprentices  of  children  under  nine  years  of  age 
and  restricted  the  hours  of  labour  to  twelve  hours  per  day; 


ii8   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

forbade  night  toil,  and  prescribed  religious  teaching  and 
an  elementary  education.  A  wonderful  age  to  live  in 
where  such  a  ifaw  could  excite  such  condemnation  and 
such  unstinted  praise! 

Sir  Robert  Owen  and  Sir  Robert  Peel  united  their 
forces  and  met  the  arguments  of  the  child  murderers  who 
solemnly  said  it  was  wrong  to  forbid  the  little  toilers 
to  work  longer  than  twelve  hours  as  they  would  starve 
unless  allowed  their  freedom  to  toil.  They  also  said :  "The 
children  will  learn  bad  habits  and  get  into  bad  com- 
pany and  grow  up  shiftless  if  such  laws  are  passed." 
One  cannot  but  note  the  similarity  of  their  arguments 
to  those  used  to-day  to  "protect"  child  labour  in  our 
own  country.  One  writer  said:  "This  law  encourages 
vice  and  idleness."  It  took  a  quarter  of  a  century  of 
hard  work  to  shorten  the  hours  of  labour  to  sixty-nine 
per  week,  and  this  law  applied  to  cotton  mills  only. 

In  1833  the  well-known  Factory  Act  was  passed. 
While  the  press  and  pulpits  resounded  with  denuncia- 
tion of  slavery  in  the  West  Indies  and  demanded  its 
destruction,  the  same  powers  protected  the  factory 
owner  although  the  poet  Southey  declared  that  "the 
slave  trade  is  divine  mercy  compared  to  our  factory 
system." 

However,  Lord  Ashley,  afterward  the  Earl  of  Shaftes- 
bury, took  the  leadership  in  this  humanitarian  move- 
ment and  although  despised  by  his  class,  fought  it  to  a 
successful  finish,  so  that  no  child  under  nine  years  of 
age  could  be  employed  except  in  a  silk  mill,  where  two 
hours'  schooling  a  day  was  made  compulsory  and  night 
work  for  any  one  under  eighteen  was  prohibited.     After 


AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    119 

many  years  of  agitation,  the  employment  of  women 
and  of  boys  under  the  age  of  ten,  in  underground  mines, 
was  prohibited! 

Apparently  every  improvement  in  the  working  con- 
ditions of  mankind  has  been  criminally  slow  and  always 
a  matter  of  compromise  and  only  successful  when  de- 
manded by  practically  the  whole  population.  Some 
day,  somewhere,  perhaps,  employers  such  as  those  who 
fought  these  reforms  will  realize  the  reason  why  so 
many  working  people  have  transferred  the  hatred  they 
first  felt  toward  the  machines  to  the  employers. 

England  was  the  first  country  where  industrialism 
took  a  real  foothold.  England  had  a  great  deal  of  idle 
capital,  thousands  of  idle  men  and  women,  and  above 
all,  she  led  the  world  in  inventive  genius. 

Arkright  invented  the  water  frame  which  made  it 
possible  to  spin  other  threads  than  linen,  his  invention 
Imparting  a  strength  and  solidity  to  the  thread. 

Hargreaves  invented  the  spinning  jenny  and  Key  the 
flying  shuttle.  In  1792  our  own  EH  Whitney  invented 
the  cotton  gin  which  revolutionized  the  cotton-growing 
industry  and  made  possible  an  unHmited  supply  of 
cotton.  Without  his  invention  slavery  would  have 
been  abolished  as  an  economic  waste.  Cartwright 
developed  the  process  whereby  falling  water  would  run 
the  looms,  and  Watt  perfected  his  steam  engine  to  a 
point  where  it  could  be  used  for  power  in  the  mills. 
It  drove  spindles,  ran  spinning  machines,  etc. 

Theretofore  the  workers  had  worked  in  their  own 
homes  and  Spun  and  woven  by  hand.  The  invention  of 
machinery  necessitated  a  general  factory  and  because 


I20   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

of  the  above-mentioned  inventions  and  many  others,  the 
factory  system  was  estabhshed.  Of  course,  there  had 
been  some  factories  before,  but  it  was  not  until  this 
period  of  development  that  the  factory  system  came 
into  existence. 

The  factory  system  changed  industry  from  hand  work 
to  machine  work  and  for  many  weary  years  the  battle 
was  carried  on  between  the  workers  and  the  machines. 
Mills  were  burned  down  and  riots,  disturbances,  and 
bloody  street  battles  took  place  everywhere.  The  fac- 
tory system,  however,  never  wholly  replaced  the  hand 
workers.  In  Birmingham,  for  instance,  small  cutlery 
is  still  made  in  the  homes. 

It  may  well  be  said  that  the  first  organization  of  labour 
was  by  the  "  boss"  himself,  in  giving  each  worker  certain 
definite  duties  to  perform  which  dovetailed  one  into  an- 
other. This  method  taught  the  workers  the  power  of 
organization,  their  dependence  on  one  another,  and  as 
they  met  and  worked  and  talked  and  argued,  they 
finally  evolved  the  idea  that  they  must  have  a  real 
organization  in  order  to  secure  their  rights,  and  in 
order  to  keep  their  wages  from  falling  as  the  inaugura- 
tion of  the  machine  made  every  idle  man  with  but  a 
little  training  capable  of  taking  their  positions.  After 
the  trade  unions  were  supplanted  by  the  Trades  Union, 
aggressive  and  active  leaders  taught  syndicalism,  brought 
about  a  consolidation  of  the  workers,  and  frightened 
the  middle  class  until  finally  the  Government  indicted 
the  trades  unionists  for  illegal  combinations  when  they 
notified  their  employers  of  a  strike.  Strike  after  strike 
occurred  and  they  were  uniformly  unsuccessful,  so  that 


>■ 

i 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    121, 

by  1834  the  Trades  Union  was  gradually  losing  member-; 
ship  and  prestige.  The  workers  then  reestablished  the 
trade  or  craft  unions. 

In  "History  of  Trade  Unionism,"  by  Sidney  and; 
Beatrice  Webb,  the  following  comment  on  the  rise  and? 
fall  of  syndicalism  in  England  is  found : 

The  records  of  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  "new  unionism"  of  1830-' 
1834  leave  us  conscious  of  a  vast  enlargement  in  the  ideas  of  the^ 
workers,  without  any  corresponding  alteration  in  their  tactics  in 
the  field.  In  council  they  are  idealists,  dreaming  of  a  new  heaven 
and  a  new  earth,  humanitarians,  educationalists,  socialists,  moral- 
ists; in  battle  they  are  still  struggling,  half-emancipated  serfs  of 
1825,  armed  only  with  the  rude  weapons  of  the  strike  and  the  boy- 
cott; sometimes  feared  and  hated  by  the  propertied  class;  sometimes 
merely  despised;  always  oppressed  and  miserably  poor. 

Germany  was  the  most  backward  of  the  three  great 
European  countries  so  far  as  industrialism  was  con- 
cerned. England  was  becoming  industrialized  rapidly; 
her  factories  ran  day  and  night;  the  establishment  of 
the  Bank  of  England  gave  her  credit,  while  her  ships 
carried  her  goods  to  every  part  of  the  world.  She  con- 
trolled the  world  markets. 

France,  to  a  smaller  degree,  was  becoming  industrial- 
ized, but  Germany,  backward,  agrarian  country  with 
an  innate  attachment  to  the  soil,  with  a  people  opposed 
to  change  and  having  very  few  markets  for  her  goods, 
lagged  far  behind.  For  a  score  of  years  Germany  was 
even  behind  France  in  the  adoption  of  machinery  and 
the  factory  system. 

Marxism  had  now  become  the  Bible  of  many  Ger- 
mans.    He  and   Lasalle  advocated  taking   control  of 


122   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

government  and  the  socializing  of  all  property  and  all 
industry.  Political  methods  were  the  most  popular 
means  taught,  although  there  were  at  times  sharp  di- 
vergences in  the  preachings  of  Marx  himself. 

The  continued  agitation  of  syndicalism  resulted  in  the 
declaration  of  the  Commune  of  Paris  in  1871.  For  the 
third  time  Paris  was  placed  under  the  rule  of  the 
Commune.  Probably  because  of  this  Paris  has  no 
strong  city  government  but,  like  Washington,  D.  C, 
is  controlled  by  the  general  government.  The  argu- 
ments used  by  the  syndicalists  of  that  day  resemble 
very  much  the  arguments  used  by  Lenin  when  the 
Kerensky  Government  was  overthrown. 

Germany  had  just  defeated  France  and  a  great 
indemnity  had  been  exacted.  The  Communists  declared 
that  the  bourgeoisie  had  "sold  France  out";  therefore 
they  revolted.  In  Marseilles  and  other  smaller  cities 
Prince  Bakounin  also  brought  about  revolts  which  were 
promptly  quelled,  but  in  Paris  a  large  part  of  the  Na- 
tional Guard  joined  the  syndicalists  and  a  general 
election  was  held  in  March  at  which  members  of  the 
communal  government  were  chosen.  The  army  came 
from  Versailles  and  made  a  strong  and  continuous  at- 
tack. A  reign  of  blood  and  terror  ensued,  which  finally 
ended  in  the  defeat  of  the  Commune  in  May,  twenty- 
five  thousand  communists  being  taken  prisoners  and 
many  thousands  of  others  deported.  The  leaders  were 
executed.  Thus  ends  the  story  of  the  revolt  which  was 
to  revolutionize  Europe  and  make  all  men  happy. 

The  excuses  given  for  this  failure  by  the  ism-ists  were 
that  Marx  and  Lasalle  did  not  agree;  and,  that  there 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    123 

was  a  conflict  of  interest  between  the  workers  them- 
selves. They  apparently  discovered  that  self-interest 
could  not  be  entirely  eliminated. 

In  Germany,  the  continuous  socialist  propaganda  of 
securing  the  control  of  government  by  political  means 
gained  thousands  of  adherents.  The  German  people 
have  always  been  firm  supporters  of  a  strong  central 
government.  They  have  always  beheved  in  paternal- 
ism and  strict  governmental  regulation  of  all  things. 
The  sign  VerboteUy  found  everywhere  in  Germany 
before  the  great  war,  would,  in  any  other  country,  have 
brought  about  instant  denunciation. 

The  middle  classes  refused  to  join  hands  with  the 
workers.  Therefore,  the  sociaHsts  under  the  name 
of  the  Social  Democratic  Party  went  it  alone.  They 
received  a  serious  setback  because  of  the  successful  war 
against  France  and  made  a  grave  tactical  error  by  en- 
dorsing the  Paris  Commune;  but,  in  spite  of  these  fac- 
tors, at  the  election  held  in  1874  they  cast  more  than 
350,000  votes,  electing  nine  members  to  the  Reichstag. 
Three  years  later  nearly  half  a  million  votes  were  cast 
and  twelve  Reichstag  members  elected. 

Bismarck  determined  to  destroy  socialism.  Two 
means  were  to  be  used:  one,  relentless  repression,  the 
other  the  inauguration  of  the  well-known  social  welfare 
measures  such  as  old-age  pensions,  accident  insurance, 
old-age  and  invalidity  insurance.  The  German  Govern- 
ment became  the  owner  of  the  railroads,  and  tobacco 
became  state  controlled  and  owned.  The  measures  of 
repression  calculated  to  take  away  the  rights  of  the 
people  to  control  and  change  their  own  government  by 


124   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

orderly,  political  methods  failed,  as  they  should  and  ever 
will  fail.  In  1890  the  Government  wisely  decided  that 
it  was  the  part  of  wisdom  to  decline  to  renew  the  stat- 
utes of  persecution.  This  same  year  nearly  one  and  one 
half  million  votes  were  cast  for  socialism  and  this  after 
years  of  relentless  Bismarckian  cruelty  and  persecution 
and  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  there  was  no  equal  suffrage. 

Syndicalism,  which  declined  after  1871,  gained  new 
strength  in  France  in  1887  when  the  Council  of  Paris 
(the  municipal  governing  body)  subsidized  with  state 
money  the  first  bourse  du  travail^  or  labour  exchange.  In 
reality  it  was  in  the  nature  of  a  workingmen's  club  where 
employment  matters  were  attended  to  and  a  library 
furnished  for  the  benefit  of  the  wage  workers.  Im- 
mediately other  cities  followed  the  example  of  Paris  and 
by  1892  there  were  a  score  of  such  institutions  in  France. 
The  syndicalists  (revolutionists)  took  immediate  con- 
trol of  these  centres  and  all  who  believed  in  direct  action 
found  a  glorious  opportunity  to  agitate,  preach  revolu- 
tion, and  foment  strikes  at  government  expense. 

It  was  in  1892  that  Aristide  Briand  aroused  such  en- 
thusiasm at  the  Federation  de  Syndicats  in  Versailles 
that  they  voted  a  resolution  endorsing  the  general  strike. 
This  had  been  the  main  bone  of  contention  between  the 
syndicats  and  the  Bourse  du  Travail  direct  actionists, 
and  this  action  brought  about  a  union  of  the  two  bodies. 
Becoming  alarmed,  the  Government  now  demanded 
that  the  old  forgotten  law  requiring  syndicats  to  file 
the  names  of  their  officers  with  the  Government  be 
obeyed.  The  organization  refused.  The  Bourse  was 
then  raided  and,  by  force  of  arms,  closed.   The  workers, 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    125 

enraged,  stood  together  for  nearly  a  year  when  the  con- 
servatives who  had  never  beheved  in  the  general  strike, 
which  with  sabotage  is  the  keystone  of  syndicalism,  re- 
gretted their  hasty  action  and  repudiated  the'principleby 
an  overwhelming  vote.  The  revolutionaries  then  again 
took  control  of  the  Bourse  du  Travail  and  became  the 
real,  live,  agitating  members  of  that  body.  Disdaining 
political  action  because  of  the  "disgraces  and  scandals  in- 
volved," the  Federation  of  Syndicats  virtuously  decided 
for  "direct  action,"  particularly  the  general  strike.  Of 
course  the  fact  of  their  hopeless  minority  had  no 
influence  on  their  decision!  The  Federation  stood  for 
Proud hun-anarchy  which  was  really  group-anarchy 
instead  of  anarchy  of  the  individual. 

The  following  table  taken  from  the  Annuaire  des 
Syndicats  Professionels,  191 1,  gives  the  growth  of  revolu- 
tionary syndicalism  in  France: 

1894 403,440  members 

1896 422,777 

1898 437,793       " 

1900 491*647       " 

1902 614,173       " 

1904 715.576  " 

1906 836,134  " 

1908 957,102  " 

1910 977»3SO  " 

Of  this  number,  but  36  per  cent,  belong  to  the 
Federation  or  central  body  and  at  no  time  have  half 
of  the  syndicats  been  united.  Human  nature  persists 
in  working  out  its  future  in  its  own  way  regardless  of 
rules,  fiery  speeches,  and  glowing  promises  of  a  future  of 


126   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

unalloyed  happiness.  The  great  organization  fault  of 
the  syndicats  of  France  has  always  been  the  irresponsi- 
bility of  its  membership  when  it  actually  came  to  paying 
dues.  The  precepts  of  the  organization  itself  taught 
irresponsibility  and  more  or  less  criminality;  hence  it  is 
not  strange  that  when  the  time  came  to  pay  the  piper, 
hundreds  of  thousands  refused.  They  were  perfectly 
willing  to  dance  but  wanted  someone  else  to  pay  for 
the  music — a  basic  fundamental  belief  held  by  all  syndi- 
calists from  Bakounin  down  to  our  own  Haywood ! 

The  movement  has  gone  on  in  France  with  varying 
success,  but  always  with  a  record  of  absolute  defeat  so 
far  as  the  ultimate  aims  are  concerned. 

The  characteristics  of  syndicats  in  France  have  al- 
ways been: 

Opposition  to  political  or  orderly  means  of  any  kind. 

Opposition  to  universal  suffrage. 

Opposition  to  proportional  representation. 

Opposition  to  any  form  of  government. 

Opposition  to  centralized  authority. 

Opposition  to  God  or  religion. 

Opposition  to  democracy. 

Opposition  to  the  rule  of  the  majority  (even  among 
themselves). 

They  stand  for  the  doctrine  of  force  and  preach  it. 

They  stand  for  sabotage  with  all  its  manifest  evils. 

They  stand  for  immorality  and  crime. 

They  stand  for  restricted  production. 

Their  method  of  training:  strike  after  strike! 

Their  guerrilla  warfare:  sabotage 

Their  heavy  artillery:  the  general  strike  ! 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    127 

Their  object:  the  overthrow  of  government  and  the 
inauguration  of  a  dictatorship  of  the  proletariat! 

Our  own  I.  W.  W.  now  indorse  every  clause  in  the 
above  statement. 

The  history  of  syndicalism  shows  that  the  proletariat 
are  not  indispensable  to  the  rest  of  humanity  in  time  of 
great  stress,  but  that  other  men  step  to  the  front  and 
do  the  work.  The  tying  up  of  industry  by  the  revolu- 
tionists has  never  been  successful  in  terrifying  the  bal- 
ance of  the  population  for  any  length  of  time.  The 
practice  of  sabotage,  while  irritating,  has  always  been 
more  disastrous  to  the  class  that  practised  it  than  to  the 
industry  it  was  aimed  at.  The  failure  of  revolutionary 
syndicalism  is  but  the  natural  outcome  of  such  beliefs 
and  practices.  The  people  of  the  world  are  not  cowards 
nor  can  any  one  rule  by  fear  or  achieve  a  good  thing  by 
bad  methods.  Time  and  again  in  public  office  one  is 
tempted  to  do  a  little  wrong  that  good  may  come;  but 
always,  when  attempted,  disaster  follows. 

The  invasion  of  Belgium  by  Germany  carried  with  it 
every  element  of  cruelty  and  crime  that  devilish  in- 
genuity could  invent;  but  to  the  last  the  Belgians  and 
the  rest  of  mankind  felt  resentment  instead  of  fear. 

The  general  strike  is  a  terrible  weapon,  but  it  is  a 
sword  with  two  edges.  The  perpetrators  are  invariably 
the  ones  who  suffer  most.  The  agitators,  the  workers 
who  work  the  workers,  are  the  only  beneficiaries. 
Labour  loses  overwhelmingly,  Capital  but  seemingly,  for 
in  the  nature  of  things  Capital  makes  up  its  loss  in 
nine  cases  out  of  ten.  True,  the  stoppage  of  production 
makes  the  whole  world  poorer,  and  no  matter  what 


128    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

the  method  of  division  may  be  there  is  always  less  to 
divide. 

Most  teachers  of  the  isms  have  always  looked 
upon  wealth  as  an  existing  entity,  unbounded  and 
boundless.  All  their  talk  is  of  proper  distribution. 
No  one  apparently  paid  much  attention  to  production 
in  Russia  until  Lenin  found  that  without  production 
increase  the  people  of  Russia  would  perish.  Wealth  is 
not  a  static  thing,  it  changes  every  day;  a  little  more 
production,  a  little  more  wealth;  a  little  more  consump- 
tion, a  little  less.  It  may  best  be  stated  by  saying  that 
our  entire  national  wealth  is  $250,000,000,000  while  our 
production  last  year  amounted  to  about  $50,000,000,000. 
In  other  words,  in  five  years,  without  production,  we 
would  have  no  wealth  left. 

It  is  very  encouraging  to  quote  the  facts  of  our 
natural  resources.  For  instance,  this  country  has  un- 
mined  coal  to  the  extent  of  4,231,000,000  tons.  This 
stored-up  sunshine  of  the  ages  is  worth  absolutely 
nothing  without  labour  being  applied  to  it.  It  is  as 
sandstone  or  salt  water.  Wealth  is  created  by  the  ap- 
plication of  labour  to  natural  resources.  Let  all  work  stop 
and  all  wealth  production  stops.  Just  subtract  every- 
thing that  would  have  been  produced  from  our  wealth 
and  you  have  the  loss.  One  might  just  as  well  fire  a 
building  containing  a  like  amount  of  goods — the  result 
is  absolutely  the  same.  It  is  time  that  we  all  under- 
stood that  restriction  of  production,  whether  by  "Ca* 
cannie  "  or  sabotage  or  cessation  from  work,  means  the 
same  as  the  destruction  of  things  already  made. 

The  work  of  the  revolutionists  operating  as  syndi- 


AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    129 

calists  in  France  has  had  a  great  deal  to  do  with  the  low 
position  of  France  in  the  industrial  world,  and  despite 
the  thrift  of  its  people  and  its  many  great  opportunities 
Frenchmen  have  realized  in  small  measure  only  their 
heritage.  While  much  advance  has  been  made  it 
has  not  met  the  advance  of  the  neighbouring  countries 
of  Europe.  No  people  can  escape  the  results  of  their 
own  acts,  and  destruction  is  destruction  and  means  loss 
of  prosperity  no  matter  in  what  guise  destruction  comes! 

When  a  house  burns  down  the  owner  collects  its  value 
from  an  insurance  company  and  many  people  imagine 
there  was  no  loss.  That,  of  course,  is  a  simple  fallacy 
as  someone  somewhere  pays  for  the  destruction  and, 
more  than  that,  all  the  money  in  the  world  cannot 
replace  and  retrieve  to  the  world  the  destroyed  wealth. 
A  friend  of  mine  who  visited  France,  who  was  by  the 
way  a  great  reader  of  John  Burroughs,  said:  "The 
beautiful  trees  that  German  soldiers  wantonly  cut  down 
and  the  orchards  destroyed  cut  me  to  the  heart.  Twenty 
years  of  care  and  sometimes  more  are  needed  to  replace 
them.  The  world  is  just  that  much  less  beautiful  and 
that  much  poorer." 

It  were  strange  if,  with  all  this  agitation  continuing 
for  a  century,  syndicalism  did  not  come  to  curse  other 
peoples  and  other  countries.  In  the  next  chapter  we 
will  take  up  syndicalism  and  its  growth  in  Russia  where, 
under  the  new  name  of  bolshevism,  the  anarchistic 
communism  of  all  the  ages  has  become  a  ripened  fruit, 
the  eating  thereof  bringing  more  suffering  to  its  people 
than  the  fabled  apple  in  the  Garden  of  Eden.  Theories 
and  bchefs,  while  oft  very  comforting  and  beautiful 


I30   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

dreams,  sometimes  prove  in  practice  to  be  horrible 
nightmares.  A  theory  of  government  founded  on 
violence,  theft,  sabotage,  force,  and  wrong  must  in  the 
final  analysis  become  self-destructive  and  disappear  or 
else  there  are  no  such  things  as  right  and  wrong. 

One  of  the  salient  characteristics  of  syndicalism  is  its 
consistent  opposition  to  preparedness,  its  efforts  to  stop 
the  enlisting  and  disciphning  of  an  army,  to  check  all 
military  expenditure  or  preparation  of  any  kind.  The 
Government  of  France,  with  its  neighbour  Germany  to 
the  north  preparing  for  years  for  war,  often  found  itself 
unable  to  proceed  as  it  should  with  preparations  for  its 
own  protection.  Politicians,  cowardly  in  France  as  in 
the  United  States,  often  refused  to  do  the  right  thing 
at  the  right  time.  The  people  themselves,  impregnated 
to  a  certain  extent  with  pacifism,  although  the  danger 
was  manifest  for  many  long  years,  refused  to  support 
the  Government  in  its  preparedness  endeavours.  The 
decentralization  policy  of  the  syndicalists  had  its  influ- 
ence in  the  minds  of  the  people  and  there  never  was  a 
ready  acceptance  of  necessary  preparedness  measures 
until  the  danger  was  right  upon  them.  Then  it  would 
have  been  too  late  had  not  the  other  nations  of  the  world 
come  to  the  rescue  of  France. 

At  the  time  of  the  Franco-Prussian  War,  1 870-1 871, 
the  population  of  France  was  36,102,921;  of  Germany 
41,058,792.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  great  conflict  just 
terminated  the  population  of  the  respective  countries 
was:  France,  39,601,509;  Germany,  67,812,000. 

One  of  the  teachings  which  was  interwoven  with 
syndicalism  was  a  defiance  of  the  laws  of  nature  as  well 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    131 

as  the  laws  of  man  and  God.  But  few  children  were 
born;  the  reproductive  duty  was  never  taken  seriously. 
The  industrial  situation  was  such  that,  strike  following 
strike,  no  workman  knew  what  the  morrow  would  bring 
forth,  and  the  result  of  the  propaganda  of  selfishness  and 
fear  prevented  millions  from  being  born,  and  when  the 
time  came,  brave  and  valiant  as  France's  wonderful 
army  was,  they  were  too  few  in  numbers  and  centraliza- 
tion was  too  new  a  thing  for  the  equalling  of  industrial, 
centralized,  populous  Germany  on  the  field  of  battle. 

One  hundred  years  of  continuous  advocacy  of  syndical- 
ism in  its  revolutionary  form  placed  France  in  a  con- 
tinually declining  position  industrially  and  it  speaks 
much  for  the  virility  and  bravery  of  her  people  that 
despite  the  handicaps  of  a  century  of  anarchistic  teach- 
ings, the  war  of  self-defence  rallied  and  united  her  men 
and  women.  No  men  at  any  time  anywhere  showed 
greater  bravery  than  the  far-famed  poilus  of  France. 

The  constant  attacks  on  the  relations  of  the  family 
could  not  but  have  their  effect.  The  continuous  preach- 
ing of  anti-preparedness  also  bore  its  fruit;  the  demoral- 
ization of  organization  and  the  teachings  of  inspirational 
enthusiasm  in  place  of  planned  and  concerted  effort 
also  did  its  deadly  work.  The  free-love  teachings  of 
Rousseau  still  remain  the  behef  of  thousands.  It  can 
be  truly  said  that  any  government  founded  on  destruc- 
tive policies  must  fail.  A  government  is  only  a  collec- 
tion of  units.  If  the  units  are  demoralized  and  de- 
nationalized the  collection  of  units  must  be  also. 

A  government  that  is  continually  paraded  as  the 
workmen's  foe  cannot  evoke  from  the  workmen  that 


132    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

degree  of  self-sacrifice  and  loyalty  necessary  to  succeed 
except  under  the  most  extraordinary  circumstances. 

On  March  i6,  191 1,  on  the  fortieth  anniversary  of 
the  Commune,  W.  D.  Ha5rwood  addressed  a  meeting 
in  New  York  City  at  the  Progress  Assembly  Rooms. 
With  his  usual  carelessness  as  to  actual  facts  he  said 
that  had  it  not  been  for  the  co-partnership  of  Germany 
and  France  the  strikers  in  1871  would  have  won  in 
France,  and  that  "they  would  have  reestablished  the 
great  national  workshops  that  existed  in  Paris  and 
throughout  France  in  1848."  Suppose  they  had  done 
so,  is  there  a  single  logical  reason  to  believe  that  the 
result  would  have  been  one  whit  different  than  in  1848.? 
The  story  of  1848  with  its  disaster  and  failure  and  the 
consequent  retarding  of  the  working-class  movement 
carries  no  message  to  such  as  he,  who  "having  ears  hears 
not,  having  eyes  sees  not."     Coleridge  said: 

If  men  could  learn  from  history,  what  lessons  it  might  teach 
us.  But  passion  and  party  blind  our  eyes  and  the  light  which  experi- 
ence gives  is  a  lantern  on  the  stern  which  shines  only  on  the  waves 
behind  us! 

Centuries  before  Coleridge,  Cicero  rang  the  bell  when 
he  wrote: 

Not  to  know  what  has  been  transacted  in  former  times  is  to  be 
always  a  child.  If  no  use  is  made  of  the  labours  of  the  past  ages 
the  world  must  always  remain  in  the  infancy  of  knowledge. 

No  man  who  will  read  history  can  but  regard  syn- 
dicalism as  silly,  ineffective,  useless,  and  cruel.  Yet  the 
same  old  tune  played  in  bygone  centuries  pops  up  and 
for  a  day  becomes  the  favourite  music  for  those  who 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    133 

believe  in  everything  new,  that  is  new  to  them;  who 
believe  everything  true  that  a  fanatic  asserts,  every- 
thing that  is,  wrong,  and  anything  a  better  guide  than 
experience. 

It  is  only  in  government  that  men  would  imitate  the 
crab.  No  one  recommends  the  tallow  dip  to  supplant 
the  electric  light,  no  one  wants  the  ox-team  to  supplant 
the  motor  car,  and  no  one  wants  the  unwilling  labour 
of  human  slaves  to  replace  steam.  In  everything 
about  us,  except  in  plans  of  government,  all  agree  that: 
"Each  succeeding  day  is  the  scholar  of  that  which 
went  before  it.'* 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE    CAUSES    OF    BOLSHEVISM    IN   RUSSIA 

We  deplore  the  outrages  which  accompany  revolutions.  But 
the  more  violent  the  outrages,  the  more  assured  we  feel  that  revolu- 
tion was  necessary.  The  violence  of  these  outrages  will  ever  be 
proportioned  to  the  ferocity  and  ignorance  of  the  people;  and  the 
ferocity  and  ignorance  of  the  people  will  be  proportioned  to  the 
oppression  and  degradation  under  which  they  have  been  accus- 
tomed to  live. 

Could  there  be  a  more  fitting  comment  on  Russia  to- 
day than  these  words  of  Lord  Macaulay's  uttered 
many  years  before  the  Russian  Revolution  was 
dreamed  of? 

The  Story  of  Russia  is  the  story  of  a  great,  backward, 
good-natured  child  with  wonderful  latent  talents  and 
possibilities;  undeveloped  but  kindly,  slow  to  learn, 
ready  to  believe,  filled  with  ignorant  idealism  and 
youthful  enthusiasm;  all  kept  from  expression  and  from 
voice  by  fear^  force^  and  tyranny  made  possible  by  the 
prevailing  ignorance  and  lack  of  unity  amongst  the 
people  themselves.  So  far-flung  is  its  territory  and  so 
sparsely  settled  that  it  is  no  wonder  that  a  common  pur- 
pose is  oft  absent  from  amongst  its  people. 

Think  of  a  country  with  nearly  three  times  the  area 
of  the  United  States — nigh  one  sixth  the  area  of  the 
earth;  a  country  with  109,000  villages  and  180,000,000 

134 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    135 

people;  a  countty  extending  from  the  Pacific  to  Ger- 
many, with  but  a  small  portion  of  the  land  in  use;  a 
country  that  has  nearly  44,000  miles  as  its  boundary 
line;  a  country  with  550,000,000  acres  of  forest  land, 
the  largest  standing  body  of  timber  in  the  world.  Vi- 
sion a  country  with  more  than  76,000  miles  of  rivers, 
lakes,  and  canals,  of  which  17,000  are  navigable  for 
steamers;  a  country  containing  a  large  proportion  of 
the  most  fertile  land  in  the  world;  a  country  with  a 
population  which  merely  dots  its  surface  and  yet  faces 
actual  starvation  every  few  years  because  of  famine. 
Russia  is  neither  West  nor  East,  Oriental  nor  Occi- 
dental. Its  government  stood  immovable  for  centu- 
ries, ignorance  being  the  rule  and  not  the  exception, 
while  poverty  is  almost  universal.  Its  people  are  half 
men,  half  children.  In  1903  only  one  thirtieth  of  its 
people  were  at  school — in  our  country,  one  fifth  were 
studying.  Only  73  per  cent,  of  its  people  can  write 
their  own  names. 

The  government  of  the  czars  left  Russia  as  their  mon- 
ument. The  rulers  demanded  ignorance  as  an  essential 
to  their  own  continuance  in  power.  Everything  man- 
made  in  Russia  is  despicable,  vile,  and  tyrannous — no 
schools,  no  roads,  no  education,  no  freedom,  no  self- 
rule,  no  prosperity,  no  comfort,  no  health.  And  yet 
nature  has  showered  her  blessings  upon  this  land.  Its 
soil  is  rich,  its  lakes  teem  with  fish,  its  forests  with 
game,  its  mountains  with  ore,  and  its  people  are  cer- 
tainly the  equals,  if  not  the  superiors,  of  more  than  one 
European  race.  Can  it  be  that  without  freedom  and 
liberty  even  the  Garden  of  Eden  would  have  become 


136   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

an  iniquitous,  stinking  hell-hole  of  unhappiness  and 
sorrow?  When  you  read  in  your  morning  paper  of  the 
outrages  committed  in  Russia,  pause  a  moment  and 
think  of  the  past,  the  past  full  of  suffering  and  sorrow, 
ignorance  and  oppression,  lest  you  judge  too  harshly! 

As  they  are,  so  their  rulers  made  them.  The  czars 
are  dead.  They  should  never  have  lived.  Some  day 
the  intelligent  people  of  the  earth  will  realize  that 
plague  spots  such  as  Russia  cannot  exist  without 
endangering  all  of  us.  Then,  and  not  before,  will 
tyranny  cease  to  be.  Apparently,  in  191 7,  the  Russian 
people  were  in  about  the  same  state  of  development  as 
were  the  people  of  France  at  the  time  when  the  "nat- 
ural right  of  man  to  happiness"  was  taught  so  effec- 
tively by  Rousseau.  I  propose  to  tell  the  pitiful  story 
in  as  few  words  as  possible,  in  order  to  help  you  to 
appreciate  the  reasons  for  the  present  conditions  in 
Russia.  It  should  be  interesting,  as  every  statement 
made  has  been  carefully  checked  and  the  picture  of  the 
home  environment  comes  first-hand  from  the  lips  of 
dozens  of  refugees  who  have  sought  asylum  in  our  own 
land. 

The  Russian  timber  lands  teem  with  game  of  all  sorts 
and  the  production  of  furs,  honey,  wax,  and  resin  is 
very  large.  The  population,  until  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury, lived  in  stockade  towns  with  a  central  fort  very 
much  the  same  as  the  outpost  trading  points  estab- 
lished by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  our  country  and 
Canada.  As  in  America,  these  trading  points,  chosen 
because  of  their  strategical  advantages,  have  become, 
in  many  instances,  large  cities.     The  first  great  indus- 


AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    137 

try  in  Russia,  as  in  every  other  country  of  the  Old  World, 
was  deaHng  in  human  slaves. 

At  the  time  when  Sverre,  King  of  Norway,  bastard 
child  of  Sigurd  Mund  and  his  cook,  was  instituting 
great  reforms  of  every  character  in  Scandinavia,  Russia 
slept  on  and  no  progress  for  human  freedom  was  made. 
When  America  was  discovered,  agriculture  was  just 
beginning  in  Russia.  Slave  labour  planted  the  seed 
and  slave  labour  reaped  the  harvest;  but  slave  labour 
did  not  receive  the  fruits  of  its  toil.  Thus  it  has  been 
in  all  the  past  centuries — the  strong  oppressing  the 
weak,  exploiting  the  helpless,  waxing  fat  on  the  pro- 
ductive toil  of  others! 

Commerce  came  first  to  Russia  as  it  comes  to  all 
countries.  First,  the  human  race  exploit  such  of  the 
natural  resources  as  individuals  can  carry  away — the 
placer  gold,  the  skins  of  animals,  the  honey  of  the  wild 
bees,  etc.  The  next  step  is  usually  the  pastoral  stage, 
but  this  never  reached  full  development  in  Russia 
because  of  the  fact  that  markets  were  far  away  and 
the  flesh  of  the  wild  animals  sufficed  for  the  few  inhabi- 
tants. The  terrible  winters  prevented  also  the  open 
range  for  cattle.  The  number  of  slaves  became  so 
great  that  the  ordinary  occupations  incidental  to 
commerce  in  primitive  tnings  could  not  employ  them 
profitably;  hence,  the  surplus  human  material  was 
used  in  agriculture,  although  agriculture  on  an  exten- 
sive scale  did  not  come  until  much  later.  In  fact, 
it  did  not  come  until  free  peasants  tilled  the  soil  in  the 
fifteenth  century. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  the  power  of  the  Czar  was 


138    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

established  and  the  military  class  became  the  auto- 
crats. At  the  same  time  the  freedom  of  the  peasantry 
was  gradually  taken  from  them.  The  land  holdings 
came  into  fewer  and  fewer  hands,  but  at  the  end  of  the 
sixteenth  century  they  were  still  free  tenants,  matters 
being  so  arranged,  however,  that  a  great  load  of  obli- 
gations to  the  Government  and  to  the  land  owners 
weighed  them  down.  They  gradually  became  serfs 
of  the  soil,  and  in  some  matters  their  conditions  were 
more  wretched  than  those  of  the  chattel  slaves. 

The  Romanoff  Dynasty  was  founded  in  1613,  and  by 
1890  Russia  had  become  a  great  world  power.  The 
divergent  races  had  become  a  semi-nation.  The  ma- 
jority of  the  peasants  were  still  virtually  serfs  and  had 
become  firmly  bound  to  the  soil. 

It  thus  came  about  that  a  hundred  years  ago  the 
population  of  Russia  was  divided  into  two  great 
classes — the  land  owners  and  the  land  tillers.  The 
nobility  numbered  less  than  150,000  people.  There 
was  an  inconsiderable  number  of  preachers,  doctors, 
lawyers,  merchants,  and  bankers,  the  balance  being 
peasants.  In  181 5  the  Crown  lands  alone  held 
16,000,000  serfs.  The  great  estates  had  two  parts, 
one  the  rich  and  arable  land  set  aside  for  the  owner, 
the  other  for  the  workers.  These  workers  lived  in 
little  villages  called  "mirs"  and  paid  their  rent  as  a  collec' 
tive  obligation  or  debt  of  the  community.  The  serfs  were, 
of  course,  merely  renters  and  their  earnings  consisted 
of  their  share  of  the  community  production,  less  the 
rent  of  the  landlordy  who  became  so  rapacious  that  the 
average  time  they  had  to  spend  working  for  him  in 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    139 

order  to  have  the  right  to  work  for  themselves  reached 
the  stupendous  average  of  three  days  per  week  !  Not 
only  did  he  rack-rent  them,  but  he  was  judge,  jury,  and 
sheriff  when  he  desired  to  enforce  his  disciphne  and  regu- 
lations. Under  the  law,  no  serf  could  leave  the  land 
where  he  was  born.  He  was  as  much  a  part  of  the 
transfer,  when  a  sale  was  made,  as  were  the  barns  and 
houses,  and  the  title  that  passed  the  land  passed  also 
his  ownership  to  the  newcomer.  He  was  not  even  a 
chattel.     He  was  real-estate,  dirt! 

The  rubber  bail  thrown  against  the  wall  rebounds  in 
the  same  degree  as  the  force  of  the  throw.  The  op- 
pression and  robbery  and  cruelty  of  the  centuries  in 
Russia  could  do  no  less  than  react  in  somewhat  like 
proportion.  In  estimating  their  assets  the  nobles  said: 
"We  possess  so  many  souls,  not  so  much  land."  The 
nobility  of  the  twentieth  century  in  Russia  reap  the  re- 
ward of  the  acts  of  their  ancestors  four  hundred  years 
before.  "The  iniquity  of  the  fathers  shall  be  visited 
upon  the  children  unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation." 

A  class  which  counted  its  wealth  not  in  number  of 
acres  of  land,  but  in  the  number  of  souls  they  possessed, 
can  hardly  expect  sympathy  from  the  world.  Even 
Nicholas  I  (1828-55)  admitted  the  peasants'  wrongs 
and  said:  "Better  grant  some  things  before  they  take 
everything  from  us."  He  appointed  numerous  com- 
missions which,  of  course,  "resoluted"  bravely  until  the 
land  owners  talked  things  over  with  them  when  they 
did  nothing!  Czar  Alexander  II,  in  1857,  went  earnestly 
.  to  work  to  remedy  this  deplorable  condition.  It  was 
surely    time.     There   were,  at  that    time,  47,000,000 


140   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

serfs  in  Russia.  Gradually  the  Czar  freed  them  on 
the  Crown  lands;  and  then  he  carried  out  the  first  and 
greatest  Httle-down-and-so-much-a-year  real  estate  deal 
in  history.  He  freed  the  serfs  and  sold  them  the  land 
for  two  and  one  fifth  billion  dollars,  payable  in  install- 
ments running  over  a  period  of  forty-nine  years  with 
interest  at  6  per  cent.  The  new  owners,  to  be  sure, 
had  to  pay  whatever  taxes  and  rates  the  Crown  wished 
to  impose  upon  them;  the  usual  parcel,  whether  held  in 
common  or  individually,  averaging  a  trifle  more  than 
twenty-two  acres. 

Those  who  divided  and  proportioned  the  land  were 
very  careful  to  allow  each  family  only  half  enough  land  to 
support  itself.  This  was  done  in  order  that  the  great 
landed  proprietors  might  have,  surrounding  their  es- 
tates, a  great  mass  of  workers  who  would  be  com- 
pelled to  work  for  them  at  whatever  they  wished  to 
pay  them.  Despite  the  fact  that  they  tilled  their  own 
holdings  and  worked  for  the  neighbouring  lord  of  the 
soil,  famine  came  every  two  or  three  years  to  a  great 
part  of  Russia,  and  millions  lived  in  misery  from  lack  of 
food  and  the  essentials  of  life.  Millions  have  literally 
died  of  starvation  while  the  landed  proprietors,  who 
did  nothing,  lived  in  luxury  in  the  capitals  of  Europe. 
An  area  of  550,000  square  miles,  or  nearly  one  half  the 
entire  agricultural  land,  was  disposed  of  in  this  manner. 
This  is  about  eleven  times  the  size  of  the  state  of  New 
York  and  if  placed  in  a  twenty-two-mile  strip  would  ex- 
tend around  the  earth.  "Some"  real-estate  deal,  and 
this  was  in  1861  when  folks  did  not  think  in  very  large 
figures ! 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    141 

It  was  felt  that  to  liberate  an  agriculturist,  without 
giving  him  ownership  in  land,  would  do  no  good;  that 
landlordism  was  but  little  better  than  the  previous 
condition.  Government  officials,  apparently,  were 
perfectly  willing  to  protect  the  workers  from  landlord 
exploiters,  but  they  only  changed  the  yoke  from  a  pri- 
vate to  a  governmental  one;  the  taxes  levied  against 
the  lands  being  greater  than  ever  before,  and  as  each 
man  improved  his  own  portion,  or  the  portion  allotted 
to  his  miry  the  taxes  immediately  rose.  Russia  was 
becoming  civilized  and  modern !  The  mfr,  or  commune, 
in  many  instances,  took  title  to  the  common  lands  which 
were  cultivated,  allowing  the  peasant  ownership  of  only 
his  little  cot  and  garden. 

The  peasants  controlled  the  situation,  held  assem- 
blies, worked  on  a  social  and  economic  equality,  and 
the  head  man  was  not  the  master  but  the  duly  elected 
servant  of  the  people.  It  was,  in  fact,  a  village  govern- 
ment where  the  practice  of  communism,  mingled  with 
local  democracy,  met  with  a  fair  measure  of  success. 
Community  ownership,  of  course,  protected  the  State 
from  the  disaster  that  might  overtake  the  individual  owner, 
thus  making  the  collection  of  taxes  more  certain  and 
easy;  besides,  it  saved  a  vast  amount  of  bookkeeping, 
and  the  Russians  were  never  good  accountants. 

It  has  not  been  demonstrated — the  late  Czar,  Lenin, 
and  Trotsky  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding — that 
Russia  is  not  fit  for  self-government.  The  people  of 
Russia,  by  their  wise  choice  of  a  constituent  assembly, 
have  shown  themselves  capable;  and  whenever  a  vote 
is  taken  with  equal  and  universal  suffrage  in  effect. 


142    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

no  one  need  fear  but  that  the  people  of  Russia  will  es- 
tablish a  government  fit  to  associate  on  equal  terms 
with  the  enhghtened  nations  of  the  world.  The  cen- 
turies of  training  along  cooperative  lines  should  be  of 
immense  benefit  to  the  country  when  once  a  truly 
representative  government  comes  into  being. 

Apparently  revolutionists  in  every  country  have 
known  that  the  best  way  to  promulgate  and  propagate 
ideas  is  to  teach  their  propaganda  to  the  students  in 
schools  and  universities.  The  mind  of  the  student  is 
young,  easily  impressed,  has  no  personal  experience 
by  which  to  expose  the  fallacies,  and  there  are  usually 
no  organized  arguments  on  the  other  side.  The 
teachers  and  professors  are  susceptible  to  ideas  of  this 
nature  because  of  the  fact  that  they  are  always  under- 
paid, not  by  a  private  employer  but  by  the  State;  hence, 
their  animosity  is  directed  against  their  oppressor,  the 
State. 

To  a  very  great  extent  folks  take  their  position  in  life 
from  their  economic  situation  and  it  were  futile  to  ex- 
pect a  school  teacher  to  feel  deeply  on  the  subject  of 
private  property  when  he  is  refused  the  opportunity  to] 
participate,  except  in  a  very  limited  degree,  in  that  which] 
he  is  supposed  to  uphold  and  protect.     The  agitators' 
were  always  aware  of  this  and  sowed  the  red  seed  among 
that  class  of  people  most  liable  and  able  to  spread  their 
doctrines.     To  be  a  student  in  Russia  was  to  be  a  revo- 
lutionist!   The  students  spread  over  Russia  and  carriedj 
the  doctrines  to  the  peasantry. 

While  this  was  going  on,  Alexander  II  inauguratec 
the  zemstvos,  which  were  local  assemblies  supposed  to] 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    143 

control  schools  and  hospitals,  teach  agriculture,  im- 
prove roads,  etc.  These  were  formed  in  1864  and 
"The  Reform  Czar,"  as  Alexander  II  was  called,  be- 
lieved that  out  of  these  zemstvos,  whose  members  were 
elected  directly  by  the  people,  would  come  trained  men 
fit  to  conduct  public  affairs.  He  looked  upon  them  as 
a  first  step  toward  fitting  the  rank  and  file  to  participate 
in  government.  The  autocrats,  as  might  be  expected, 
opposed  every  form  of  progress  while  the  anarchists,  of 
course,  demanded  everything  at  once. 

In  1876  the  revolutionists  (revolutionary  syndical- 
ists) organized  the  Land  and  Liberty  Party,  which 
advocated  the  same  doctrines  as  the  French  syndicahsts 
and  were  practically  identical  with  the  I.  W.  W.  of  our 
own  day.  The  party,  of  course,  taught  terror  as  a  fun- 
damental, fear  as  the  main  doctrine,  assassination  as  the 
immediate  need.  Prominent  government  officials  were 
chosen  for  the  slaughter,  bombs,  daggers,  etc.,  being 
used,  but  the  prevailing  doctrine  of  cowardice  of  the 
present  group  (I.  W.  W.'s)  was  absent.  Assassins  took 
their  lives  in  their  hands  to  do  the  deed.  Many  were 
punished.  In  1880  a  systematic  campaign  of  terror- 
ism was  carried  on,  reaching  its  apex  when  Alexander 
II  was  killed  by  a  bomb  in  March,  1881.  All  progress 
received  a  great  set-back  because  of  this  act  of  violence. 
Many  who  despised  the  Czar  and  the  Government  and 
wanted  real  reform  felt  that  murder  could  not  bring 
about  progress,  and  deeply  resented  the  methods  used. 

However,  just  as  soon  as  Alexander  II  was  dead  there 
was  another  Czar — Alexander  III — who  was  certainly 
not  as  good  a  man  as  his  predecessor.     Alexander  II  was 


144   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

assassinated  just  at  the  time  he  had  completed  a 
constitution  for  the  people  oj  Russia.  His  successor, 
ushered  in  by  blood,  was  a  weak,  ignorant,  easily  flat- 
tered idiot,  who  spent  his  time  with  little  things  and 
drink.  For  thirteen  years  he  was  the  Government^  and  a 
mighty  poor  excuse  for  a  government  he  was.  Russia's 
clock  of  progress  was  turned  back  while  the  timepieces 
of  the  other  countries  of  the  world  were  going  forward. 
Reaction  and  Divine  Right  to  rule  received  continuous 
affirmance  while  the  anarchists  were  busy  gaining  re- 
cruits. This  Czar's  main  achievement  was  the  father- 
hood of  the  late  Czar  Nicholas  II,  a  worthy  scion  of 
such  a  parent. 

Russia  was  now  awakening  and  feeling  the  pulse  of 
the  outside  world.  Our  own  continent  was  being  trans- 
formed— had  been  transformed  in  fact.  Railroads  were 
being  built  ever5rwhere,  and  the  transition  of  agricul- 
tural communities  to  manufacturing  centres  was  going 
on  apace.  In  1896,  the  first  leg  of  the  Trans-Siberian 
Railroad  reached  the  River  Ob  and  immediately  the 
hordes  of  European  Russia  started  to  emigrate  for  the 
land  of  promise,  Siberia;  the  famine,  with  its  privation 
and  death,  coming  at  a  time  to  hasten  colonization  in 
Siberia.  The  peasants  complained  that  they  had  not 
land  enough  to  raise  the  food  necessary  to  live.  The 
cry  was  for  land — tillable  land — and  cheap  land.  Land 
hunger  has  ever  been  the  dominant  factor  in  the  shift 
of  the  populations  of  the  earth.  Access  to  land  is  the 
parent  of  emigration,  oppression  acting  as  the  next 
greatest  cause.  The  immense  immigration  to  our  coun- 
try from  Russia,  especially  of  the  Jews,  explains  itself 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    145 

when  one  knows  their  restrictions  and  persecutions  in 
Russia.  The  chance  for  land  and  Hberty  will  always 
populate  the  vacant  places  of  the  earth. 

It  is  true,  however,  that  the  training  received  by  the 
peasantry  in  the  mirs  or  communistic  villages  deprived 
them  of  their  individuality  and  initiative.  They  had 
never  depended  entirely  upon  themselves;  hence,  had 
little  courage  to  pioneer  a  wild  country.  Men  become 
strong  by  becoming  self-dependent,  and  this  was  one  of 
the  main  reasons  why  the  people  of  Russia  remained  in 
crowded  districts  with  but  a  small  amount  of  land 
when  all  Siberia  lay  before  them  for  colonization.  An- 
other reason,  of  course,  was  the  abject  poverty  and  ig- 
norance of  the  peasantry,  who  knew  but  little  of  the 
wild  land  to  the  east  and  had  no  stored-up  capital  with 
which  to  maintain  themselves  even  if  they  emigrated 
to  the  new  country.  The  Russian  had  received  herd- 
training  and,  when  the  time  for  action  came,  remained 
and  functioned  with  the  herd. 

Russia  from  1861  on,  the  date  of  the  emancipation  of 
the  serfs,  became  a  centre  of  revolutionary  ferment. 
Partial  freedom  simply  acted  as  the  taste  of  food  does 
to  a  hungry  man.  One  must  not  start  a  people  on  the 
road  to  freedom  unless  prepared  to  have  them  go  the 
full  journey! 

The  Government  undertook  to  destroy  by  repression 
the  desire  for  liberty — executing  thousands,  banishing 
tens  of  thousands;  but  terrorism  by  government  is  never 
more  successful  than  terrorism  by  any  other  organization. 
It  has  always  been  a  complete  failure  because  people 
(and  the  great  war  proved  it  again  if  more  proof  were 


146   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

necessary)  are  not  afraid  and  cannot  be  made  afraid. 
Fear  of  death  will  control  only  up  to  the  point  where 
death  itself  is  preferable  to  ignoble  life;  after  that  you 
have  a  fatalist  who  has  already  discounted  everything. 
He  is  then  as  fearless  as  if  immortal!  Absence  of  fear 
spells  liberty !  There  were  thousands  of  peasant  revolts. 
The  emancipation  of  the  serfs  carried  with  it  enslave- 
ment to  the  State;  men  who  lived  in  communes  where 
the  debt  was  large  were  not  allowed  to  emigrate  and 
peasants  were  not  permitted  to  use  the  Crown  lands  for 
pasturage  as  theretofore. 

With  Russia's  railroad  building  and  industrial  expan- 
sion there  came  to  the  people  some  degree  of  learning 
and  knowledge — enough  for  the  realization  and  recogni- 
tion of  their  misery.  Many  left  Russia  for  America. 
All  wanted  to  leave.  Returning  emigrants  told  the 
story  of  our  country  and  its  opportunities.  With  the 
development  of  the  manufacturing  centres,  principally 
Moscow  and  St.  Petersburg,  workmen  still  further 
assimilated  syndicalism.  The  red  seed  sown  by  the 
agitators,  and  given  firm  root  by  the  oppressors,  was 
now  carefully  nurtured  and  propagated  by  the  oppressed, 
and  in  the  eighties  along  with  other  countries  of  the 
world,  Russia  had  strike  after  strike,  revolt  after  re- 
volt; but  all  were  unsuccessful.  The  lack  of  any 
material  advance  against  oppression  simply  confined 
the  volcano  which,  when  the  pressure  became  strong 
enough,  would  tear  a  hole  in  the  mountain  side  and 
pour  out  its  burning  lava,  destroying  all  live  and  grow- 
ing things  in  its  path. 

The  Social  Revolutionary  Party  was  founded  in  19CX), 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    147 

composed  of  peasants,  workmen,  and  students.  It  was 
a  party  of  communistic  syndicalism,  and  terrorism 
was  again  its  method,  while  assassination  was  practised 
as  a  cardinal  principle. 

We  come  now  to  the  year  1905  when  the  war  with 
Japan  was  at  its  height  and  also  the  time  when  the 
people  of  Russia  were  determined  on  securing  some 
relief.  We  have  seen  how  strike  followed  strike,  revolt 
succeeded  revolt,  and  how  all  disturbances  although 
suppressed  began  over  again  the  next  day.  The  throne 
was  tottering.  It  looked  as  though  the  Government 
must  fall,  as  it  seemed  impossible  that  order  could  come 
again  without  the  overthrow  of  Czarism. 

During  this  time  a  priest  named  Father  Gapon  had 
gained  great  popularity  amongst  the  workers.  He  had 
a  strange  hypnotic  power  which  swayed  the  easily  led 
Russians.  In  place  of  open  revolt  he  advocated  going 
to  the  ruler  for  relief.  He  argued  that  the  Czar  was 
good  and  only  his  officials  were  bad.  He  preached 
petition  instead  of  demand  and  on  January  9,  1905, 
clad  in  his  priestly  garments,  led  a  procession  of  workers 
to  the  Winter  Palace  to  meet  and  plead  with  the  Czar 
for  a  constituent  assembly  based  on  secret,  universal, 
equal,  and  direct  suffrage.  They  wanted  personal  free- 
dom, security  of  the  person,  freedom  of  speech  and  of 
the  press,  the  right  to  assemble  and  the  right  to  worship 
God  as  they  saw  fit;  also  compulsory  education  and 
free  schools,  equal  rights  before  the  law,  an  eight-hour 
day,  normal  wages,  and  the  right  to  end  the  war  by 
vote  of  the  people.  Quite  a  programme  for  the  Czar  to 
meet! 


148    AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

When  they  reached  the  square  before  the  Winter 
Palace,  troops  fired  into  the  crowds  without  warning, 
kilHng  and  wounding  about  4,000  men,  women,  and 
children.  This  solidified  the  already-present  desire  of 
all  classes  to  wipe  out  the  Government.  Business  men, 
lawyers,  and  doctors,  as  well  as  the  workmen,  became  a 
unit  against  oppression.  Nearly  all  believed  The  Day 
had  come.  Murder  and  bloodshed  had  united  the 
people  against  a  common  enemy.  The  Czar  was 
"Little  Father"  no  more,  but  stood  out  in  his  true 
colours  as  an  oppressor  of  all.  A  free  government  is 
just  as  important  to  one  class  of  people  as  to  another. 

The  war  with  Japan  and  its  failure,  with  the  conse- 
quent depression  and  exposure  of  official  incompetence 
and  crookedness,  also  caused  sincere  and  widespread 
desire  for  the  overthrow  of  the  Czar.  The  soldiers  in 
the  war  now  presented  one  of  the  most  fertile  fields  for 
propaganda.  Hungry,  ragged,  only  partially  armed, 
horribly  cheated,  treacherously  led,  they  entered  upon 
strike  after  strike,  which  were,  under  military  law, 
mutinies.  The  sailors  took  possession  of  a  man-of-war, 
but  the  Government  easily  prevailed  and  punished  the 
mutineers.  Force  ruled  the  bodies,  but  the  souls 
were  still  unconquered.  "The  body,  that  is  but  dust; 
the  soul,  it  is  a  bud  of  eternity."  Freedom  for  all  is 
certain.     Only  fools  doubt  it  and  stand  in  its  way. 

After  the  idiotic  manifestation  of  terrorism  on  the 
part  of  the  Government  in  opening  fire  on  the  crowds 
before  the  Winter  Palace,  the  Social  Revolutionary 
Party,  aided  by  thousands  of  new  recruits,  became  even 
more  frankly  revolutionary  and  abandoned  any  idea  of 


I 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    149 

gaining  help  from  the  Government.  They  came  to 
rely  solely  upon  the  only  other  means  left  to  them: 
force.  Sabotage  had  always  been  prevalent;  now  the 
general  strike  began  to  be  advocated.  With  the  Gov- 
ernment's ignorance  and  oppression  as  its  main  ally, 
the  general  strike  bade  fair  to  bring  about  chaos  and 
overthrow,  at  least  temporarily,  the  Government. 

In  October,  1905,  the  Government  tried  to  arrest 
and  imprison  the  members  of  the  Railway  Congress, 
so  called,  and  destroy  the  organization.  The  result 
was  a  general  strike.  Street  cars  stopped  running;  pos- 
tal and  telegraph  employees  struck;  everything,  even 
drug  stores,  was  closed.  The  strike  might  have  failed 
by  itself  but  the  Czar,  "scared  stiff,'*  brought  it 
to  an  end  by  a  proclamation  declaring  a  limitation  of 
his  power,  aflSrming  the  principles  of  civil  liberty,  and 
promising  that  no  law  should  become  effective  without 
the  sanction,  consent,  and  support  of  the  Duma  or 
national  assembly.  In  plain  words,  he  proposed  to 
inaugurate  a  constitutional  government  in  Russia 
and  on  October  17,  1905,  issued  his  manifesto  which, 
stripped  of  its  introductory  verbiage,  reads : 


We  make  it  the  duty  of  the  Government  to  execute  our  firm  will: 
(i)  To  grant  the  people  the  unshakable  foundations  of  civic 
freedom  on  the  basis  of  real  personal  inviolability,  freedom  of  con- 
science, of  speech,  of  assemblage,  of  unions. 

(2)  To  admit  now  to  participation  in  the  Imperial  Duma,  without 
stopping  the  pending  elections  and  in  so  far  as  it  is  feasible  in  the 
short  time  remaining  before  the  convening  of  the  Duma,  all  the 
classes  of  the  population,  leaving  the  further  development  of  the 
principle  of  universal  suffrage  to  the  new  legislative  order. 

(3)  To  establish  as  an  unshakable  rule  that  no  law  can  become 


ISO   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

binding  without  the  consent  of  the  Imperial  Duma,  and  that  the 
representatives  of  the  people  must  be  guaranteed  a  real  participa- 
tion in  the  control  over  the  lawfulness  of  the  authorities  appointed 
by  us. 

He  granted,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  an  imperial  consent 
which  might  be  revoked  at  any  time.  He  still  was 
Czar  and  autocrat;  for  a  time  a  more  reasonable  one 
'tis  true,  but  still  autocrat.  He  still  claimed  the  right 
to  interpret  his  promises  and  break  them  if  he  saw  fit. 
How  slow  the  old  order  dieth !  If  a  man  is  told  often 
enough  and  long  enough  that  he  is  a  great  man,  chosen 
of  God  to  rule,  he  comes  to  believe  it,  unless  he  has  a 
sense  of  humour.  This  the  tyrants  always  lack.  They 
never  laugh  at  themselves;  laughter  cures  bigotry. 
The  futility  of  granting,  during  or  after  a  battle,  those 
things  which  should  have  been  given  without  the  asking, 
has  no  better  example  than  the  story  of  Russia.  When 
will  men  learn  to  forestall  defeat  by  doing  the  right 
thing  at  once.''  The  reason  measures  of  reform  failed  in 
Russia  was  that  there  was  no  intent  of  true  reform. 
The  thread  of  Czarism,  or  autocracy,  distrust  of  the 
people,  flouting  their  just  grievances,  laughing  at  their 
weaknesses,  sneering  at  their  sufferings,  and  always  re- 
fusing them  real  -power — imperial  anarchy  in  other  words 
— runs  through  every  promise  and  every  proclamation ! 

But  the  harvest  day  for  the  rulers  had  come;  the  grain 
was  fast  ripening  and  no  human  power  could  stay  its 
fruition.  As  well  try  to  halt  the  sun  in  its  course 
through  the  heavens!  The  Czar  and  his  sycophants, 
however,  saw  only  the  surface  of  the  great,  slow  mass- 
movement.     They  did  not  want  to  understand   and 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    151 

feared  even  to  think  the  truth.  The  people — stolid, 
patient,  silent — bided  their  time.  Cruelty  was  accentu- 
ated; repression  made  still  stronger;  more  rights  were 
taken  away;  the  franchise  was  limited  mostly  to  the 
landed  gentry;  the  bureaucratic  system  made  its  evils 
felt  daily;  the  country  was  placed  under  martial  law, 
and  all  principles  of  civil  liberty  were  violated. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  CZAR  AND  THE  DUMA  COME  TO  THE  PARTING 
OF  THE  WAYS 

A  WRONG  thing  can  never  stand  the  light  of  day. 
The  Duma,  though  weak  and  inefficient,  did  one  thing — 
it  turned  on  the  sun's  rays  and  Russia  finally  emerged 
from  isolation  and  darkness  and  entered  a  phase  of 
twilight  they  called  representative  democracy.  It  was 
not  a  representative  democracy.  All  legal,  orderly 
methods  had  failed  because  of  military  oppression,  and 
like  every  people  in  such  circumstances,  the  Russians 
embraced  syndicalism,  direct  action,  sabotage,  general 
strike,  and  revolution.  This  seemed  to  be  their  only 
possible  escape,  their  only  possible  means  of  gaining 
freedom.  They  felt  they  must  overcome  force  with  a 
greater  force. 

Force  never  does  any  real  good  in  the  world  of  ideas ! 
The  only  people  who  obey  force  are  those  who  preach 
and  practise  it.  "He  that  killeth  with  the  sword  must 
be  killed  with  the  sword."* 

Before  you  blame  the  courageous  souls  who  revolted 
in  Russia,  however,  ask  yourself  what  you  would  have 
done  had  you  been  there.  I  am  sure  I  would  have  tried 
to  bring  freedom  to  Russia  had  I  been  a  Russian,  and  feel 

*Rev.  xlii-io. 

IS2 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    153 

certain  that  you  would  have  done  the  same.  One  can  ex- 
cuse the  excesses  of  the  helpless !  Revolutions  will  con- 
tinue to  occur  wherever  tyranny  is  practised,  wherever 
robbery  is  permitted,  wherever  equal  rights  are  denied, 
wherever  there  is  no  other  method  of  effective  expression 
of  the  soul  of  mankind.  Oppression  brings  its  own  anti- 
dote!    Injustice  is  but  temporary — ^justice  is  eternal! 

If  mankind,  inherently,  has  a  natural  right,  it  is  the 
right  of  equality  before  the  law.  Denied,  chaos  must 
come;  granted,  things  right  themselves,  though  mayhap 
through  travail  and  suffering.  People  are  not  only 
fit  to  govern,  but  must  govern.  Otherwise,  there  is  no 
peace,  no  security,  and  no  real  government!  Better 
no  government  for  a  time  than  a  government  so  brutal 
that  it  will  listen  to  no  argument  but  violence! 

In  gaining  the  proper  perspective  of  conditions  that 
brought  about  the  upheaval  in  Russia,  it  were  well  to 
pause  for  a  moment  and  consider  the  conditions  of  life 
of  the  great  mass  of  the  Russian  people.  Before  we 
breathe  one  word  of  condemnation  it  is  but  fair  to  put 
ourselves  in  their  places.  How  did  the  masses  live? 
What  hope  for  relief  had  they.f*  What  hope  for  their 
future  ? 

Briefly  sketched,  their  history  reveals  a  past  so  dark, 
so  gruesome,  so  bereft  of  liberty  and  light,  of  freedom 
and  opportunity,  that  its  recitation  cannot  fail  to  cause 
every  sincere  lover  of  freedom  to  take  the  side  of  these 
oppressed  and  exploited  people.  Picture  to  yourself 
a  nation  of  millions,  a  small  number  living  in  towns  and 
cities,  the  majority  huddled  together  in  one  hundred 
and  nine  thousand  mud-thatched,  straw-roofed  village 


154   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

huts;  each  mtV,  village,  or  commune  having  about  half 
as  much  land  to  till  as  zvas  sufficient  to  maintain  even 
the  simple  Russian  scale  of  living.  To  this  picture  must 
be  added  a  visitation  oi famine  every  two  or  three  years 
with  its  consequent  suffering  and  death.  Vision  a 
government  whose  sole  aim  is  to  maintain  itself  at  the 
expense  of  every  one  of  these  millions  and  you  have  a 
meagre  idea  of  the  conditions  under  which  the  great 
majority  of  these  people  were  forced  to  live. 

One  third  of  the  population  were  non-Russian :  Letts, 
Lithuanians,  Poles,  Finns,  Jews,  etc.  Every  branch 
of  the  Government  used  every  known  device  to  inflame 
the  Russians  against  those  of  alien  blood.  It  made  no 
diflFerence  that  they  had  lived  on  the  land  for  centuries, 
no  matter  that  they  had  supported  the  Crown  by  their 
taxes  and  their  toil;  in  fact,  nothing  mattered  except 
that  the  Czar  keep  his  tyrannous  crew  afloat.  The  blood 
of  a  few  hundreds  of  thousands  mattered  not.  Hatred 
of  all  other  races  was  taught,  preached,  and  practised, 
while  the  secret  police  were  subsidized  to  inject  the 
virus  of  hatred  and  suspicion  between  men.  The  Czar 
had  no  dangerous  external  enemy.  He  manufactured 
one  even  more  potent:  an  internal  enemy — the  alien 
races — and  the  product  of  his  manufacture,  his  creation, 
was  helpless. 

Religious  and  racial  differences  brought  about  internal 
dissensions.  Encouraged  by  the  Government,  some- 
times instigated  and  protected  by  it,  massacre  after 
massacre  took  place.  The  murderers  were  rewarded 
while  those  who  denounced  them  were  imprisoned, 
banished,  or  killed.     Russia's   subject   races   have   so 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    155 

suffered  for  centuries.  The  Jews  were  permitted  to 
live  in  only  half  the  towns.  All  Jewish  schools  were  to 
be  closed  and  the  race  of  Abraham  was  not  to  be  al- 
lowed to  secure  any  education,  anywhere.  When 
things  were  reasonably  quiet  the  Government,  through 
its  agents,  sold  the  Jews  privileges,  but  when  trouble 
came  to  the  throne,  the  Jews  were  arrested,  imprisoned, 
robbed,  and  killed.  They  were  given  the  right  to  sell 
liquor;  then  the  law  was  repealed,  again  granted,  and 
again  the  privilege  was  repealed.  The  laws  forbade 
them  to  deal  in  land — it  was  repealed,  then  enacted 
again  and  enforced  or  not  enforced,  as  the  agents  saw 
fit — and  then  it  became  absolute  law.  Certain  dis- 
tricts were  laid  off  within  which  the  Jews  could  live, 
called  the  "pale";  outside  of  these  districts  Jews  were 
forbidden.  Although  the  Jewish  population  increased 
the  rulers  saw  to  it  that  the  size  of  these  districts  was 
diminished,  resulting  in  squalor,  overcrowding,  dirt, 
filth,  and  disease.  The  Jews  were  also  shut  out  from 
agriculture,  and  thus  forced  to  become  small  tradesmen 
and  dealers,  and  because  of  this  land  policy  of  the  Czar 
it  was  easy  to  shift  the  blame  to  the  Jews  when  famine 
came  to  curse  the  country. 

By  their  thrift  and  trading  with  the  peasantry  they 
accumulated  money  and  became  the  country's  petty 
capitalists.  As  such,  they  were  blamed  for  all  the  ills  of 
the  poor.  Ignorant,  hungry,  starving,  the  villagers 
periodically  attacked  them,  stole  their  goods,  murdered 
their  families,  and  burned  their  homes. 

The  Government,  as  might  be  expected,  kept  the 
progressive  and  profitable  businesses  for  itself,  taking 


156   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

governmental  control  of  many  staples  and  charging  the 
consumer  ofttimes  three  to  four  times  as  much  as  the 
same  articles  were  sold  for  in  neighbouring  countries. 
The  money  so  derived  was  used,  not  for  the  benefit  of  the 
country,  but  for  benefiting  and  enriching  the  nobility. 
In  one  of  the  richest  countries  of  the  earth  there  was  no 
escape  for  the  great  majority  from  poverty  and  want! 
Compulsory  poverty  and  pre-determined  ignorance 
ruled  in  every  hut  in  Russia! 

Not  satisfied  with  these  and  other  monopolies,  high 
protective  duties  were  placed  on  articles  of  general 
use.  Indirect  taxes  were  piled  heap  upon  heap.  When 
the  peasantry  began  using  tea,  sugar,  and  steel  plows, 
taxes  were  again  increased,  the  starving  people  of  Russia 
paying  three  to  four  times  as  much  for  such  articles 
as  the  peoples  of  France  and  Germany.  So  expensive 
are  steel  implements  that  harrows,  plows,  and  wagons 
are  made  of  wood.  Tea  is  only  an  occasional  drink, 
while  the  use  of  sugar  is  very  limited.  In  a  starving 
country,  the  very  farmers,  although  suffering  for  lack 
of  food,  zvere  compelled  hy  need  to  sell  their  grain  for 
export.  Ninety-seven  per  cent,  of  the  exports  of  Russia 
were  for  years  and  years  raw  material.  Sixty-six  per 
cent,  of  the  exports  from  starving  Russia  is  grain, 
only  3  per  cent,  being  manufactured  articles.  While 
the  peasantry  were  starving,  the  landowners  and  nobles 
were  loaned  money  by  the  State  at  very  much  less  than 
the  current  rates  of  interest.  Surely  a  government  hy 
the  few y  and  for  the  few  ! 

Count  Witte  admitted  that  the  condition  of  the 
farmers   was   one   hundred   years   behind   the   times. 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    157 

Conditions  of  agriculture  were  primitive,  the  peasants 
getting  but  about  one  third  as  much  produce  per  acre  as 
the  Germans,  despite  the  fact  that  the  soil  of  Russia 
comprises  the  best  in  the  world.  Russia  has  always 
been  incredibly  poor,  the  peasants  never  getting  enough 
ahead  to  take  advantage  of  modern  methods  or  ma- 
chinery. The  Government  was  not  even  wise  enough 
to  follow  the  example  of  the  former  slave  owners.  The 
Government  knew  the  value  of  modernity  in  industry 
and  farming;  they  knew  that  a  well-fed  man  would  do 
the  work  of  three  "underfeds,"  and  yet  they  saw  to  it 
that  the  peasants  were  undernourished.  They  knew 
that  the  ignorant  are  always  inefficient  and  poor  pro- 
ducers; still  they  planned  for  continuous  and  never- 
ending  ignorance. 

They  were  fools!  A  fool  in  power  is  more  dangerous 
than  a  knave!  The  land  allotted  was  insufficient  to 
support  the  people  while  at  the  same  time  the  compul- 
sory poverty  and  ignorance  of  the  people  themselves 
held  down  the  productiveness  of  the  land  they  had. 

The  people,  however,  had  their  own  ideas  of  right  and 
wrong.  They  refused,  times  without  number,  to  allow 
the  Czar  to  dictate  to  them  as  to  their  village  business, 
and  refused  to  recognize  their  village  head  as  a  little 
czar — he  was  always  treated  as  their  servant.  The 
land  was  divided  between  the  villagers  by  themselves 
and  redistributed  every  three  years,  the  result  being 
that  no  individual  had  any  incentive  to  enrich  or  fertil- 
ize his  portion  of  the  public  domain;  therefore  the  land 
became  poorer  year  by  year.  The  peasantry  simply 
mined  the  land,  but  did  not  farm  it. 


158    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

The  Czar  tried  many  times  to  overthrow  village  rule, 
but  against  the  resistance  of  the  peasantry  he  found 
himself  helpless.  It  was  the  old  story  of  the  patient 
man  submitting  to  every  wrong  until  the  usurper 
entered  into  his  family  arrangements.  Further  inter- 
ference spelt  immediate  revolt.  The  Czar  had  his 
choice  of  allowing  the  democracy  of  the  villages  to  con- 
tinue, or  seeing  the  whole  country  become  free.  To  hold 
his  job,  he  submitted  time  and  again,  but  in  revengeful 
retaliation  tried  to  shut  out  all  light,  information,  and 
intelligence  from  the  villages.  Education  was  taboo; 
books  were  prohibited;  newspapers,  pamphlets,  etc.,  had 
to  be  circulated  in  secrecy.  There  were  few  railroads, 
no  good  roads,  no  privacy  in  the  mails,  and  all  who 
travelled  were  under  suspicion.  There  were  few  isolated 
farmhouses,  virtually  all  tillers  of  the  soil  living  in 
villages.  Their  sons  sometimes  went  to  the  large 
centres  to  learn  to  read  and  think.  To  remember  is  an 
inherited  faculty  and  needs  no  training.  And  such 
memories!  A  sister  violated,  a  babe  starving,  a  mid- 
night attack,  murder,  homes  in  flames,  Siberia,  prison, 
death!  Oh,  the  memories!  Well  might  the  potentate 
tremble  in  his  palace!  The  accumulated  resentment 
of  the  centuries  must  fall  upon  his  head.  Someone  has 
said : 

There  is  a  spirit  of  resistance  implanted  by  God  in  the  breast  of 
man  proportioned  to  the  size  of  the  wrongs  he  is  destined  to  endure. 

The  Russians  were  not  only  poor — they  were  paupers. 
Even  the  windmills  were  owned  in  common,  while  the 
flocks  of  sheep  and  cattle  were  so  few  that  one  lone  child 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    159 

could  tend  the  entire  possessions  of  a  village.  Surround- 
ing each  village  was  a  stockade  and  one  could  neither 
leave  nor  enter  without  first  reporting  to  the  authorities. 
The  huts  were  plastered  inside  and  out  with  mud  and 
thatched  with  grasses  and  straw.  Each  hut  had  but  a 
single  door  and  two  rooms — its  size  15  by  30  feet.  The 
cattle,  pigs,  chickens,  etc.,  were  kept  in  the  entrance 
room,  the  family  and  boarders  living  in  the  inside  cham- 
ber. The  whole  family  group,  a  dozen  or  more,  herded 
together  under  unspeakable  conditions.  In  many  parts 
of  Russia  wood  is  scarce.  If  you  open  the  door  for 
air,  this  means  fuel.  Fuel  costs  money,  labour,  effort — 
aye,  more,  it  means  less  food  for  the  hungry — hence, 
no  open  doors  or  windows.  The  smell  of  the  cattle  and 
swine,  the  odour  of  crowded  humanity,  the  crowding 
together  of  both  sexes  in  a  little  room,  some  of  whom 
were  not  even  relatives — vision  the  picture  and  imagine 
the  result  yourself.  The  furniture — a  table,  a  bench 
or  shelf  around  the  wall,  the  top  of  the  Russian  stove 
reserved  as  a  sleeping  place  for  the  old.  They  eat, 
sleep,  breed,  are  born  and  die  in  this  room! 

The  health  conditions  are  unbelievable.  Syphilis 
has  become  a  terrible  scourge  in  Russia.  According 
to  the  American  Social  Hygiene  Association,  "Sixty 
per  cent,  of  syphilis  in  Russia  is  acquired  through  lack 
of  decent  living  conditions  and  a  gross  ignorance  of 
personal  hygiene.  The  disease  has  largely  lost  its 
characteristics  as  a  sexual  disease,  because  it  is  so  gen- 
erally contracted  outside  of  sexual  relations.  In  some 
villages  every  man,  woman,  and  child  is  infected." 

In  describing  how  widespread  the  scourge  has  be- 


i6o  AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

come  in  Russia,  Vedder  in  his  work  on  "Syphilis  and 
PubHc  Health"  says: 

In  the  Parafiew  District,  consisting  of  six  villages  with  a  popula- 
tion of  9,500,  only  about  5  per  cent,  of  the  people  are  not  syphilitic. 

My  experience  as  mayor  of  Seattle,  when  I  had  super- 
vision of  the  quarantine  of  several  hundred  diseased 
men  and  women,  gives  me  full  realization  of  the  effect 
this  disease  must  have  in  Russia.  Even  under  the  most 
approved,  scientific,  and  modern  treatment  adminis- 
tered under  the  supervision  of  Dr.  J.  S.  McBride,  as 
Commissioner  of  Health  of  the  city  of  Seattle,  the 
effects  of  the  disease  were  only  too  apparent.  In  many 
instances,  paresis,  locomotor  ataxia,  and  feeble-minded- 
ness  developed  despite  the  best  of  care  and  treatment. 
We  found  that  in  practically  every  instance  the  disease 
had  destroyed  most  of  the  attributes  of  the  manhood 
or  womanhood  as  well  as  the  moral  fibre  of  the  patient! 

The  terrible  effects  of  this  disease  raging  rampant 
throughout  Russia  can  hardly  be  imagined.  It  surely 
has  left  its  impress  on  the  moral,  mental,  and  physi- 
cal condition  of  the  Russian  people.  Smallpox  is  so 
prevalent  in  Russia  that  one  seldom  meets,  in  Seattle, 
an  emigrant  from  that  country  who  does  not  bear  its 
marks  on  his  countenance.  Infectious  and  contagious 
diseases  have  unrestricted  range,  as  quarantine  regula- 
tions, etc.,  are  practically  unknown. 

The  clothing  worn  by  the  Russian  peasants  is  of  the 
cheapest  and  apparently  is  never  discarded.  The  av- 
erage Russian  farmer  not  only  has  too  few  clothes  for 
comfort,  but  too  few  for  decency.     His  food  consists  in 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    i6i 

the  main  of  bread  and  potato  soup;  his  vegetables — 
green  cucumbers,  sometimes  a  watermelon;  his  beverage 
— a  drink  made  from  sour  bread,  with  tea  once  in  a 
great  while,  sometimes  a  little  sugar,  while  meat  is  a 
rarity  in  a  country  wonderfully  adapted  to  grazing! 
The  privilege  of  picking  berries  or  killing  wild  game 
was  denied  them,  and  straw  was  mixed  with  their  flour 
to  make  it  more  bulky. 

Does  any  one  wonder  that  Russia  was  seething  with 
revolution?  Remember  that  the  women  worked  in  the 
fields  even  harder  than  the  men  and  prepared  the  sparse 
meals  as  well.  Children  were  often  born  in  the  fields, 
but  in  a  period  of  three  or  four  days  the  women  were 
again  at  their  toil.  I  am  informed  that,  as  a  result,  most 
Russian  women  are  far  from  well.  The  death  rate  is 
double  that  of  most  backward  countries.  Infants 
die  by  the  thousands  from  lack  of  nutrition  while  many 
of  those  that  survive  are  undersized. 

The  ordinary  peasant  earned,  or  rather  receivedy  about 
one  fourth  the  income  of  the  French  peasant.  In 
many  villages  the  average  family  income  was  less  than 
$75.00  per  year,  half  of  which  went  for  taxes,  direct  or 
indirect.  When  famine  came,  the  milch  cows  and  other 
live  stock  must  either  starve  to  death  or  be  sold.  They 
were  usually  mortgaged,  the  money  going  to  the  money 
lender.  Each  succeeding  year  sees  the  community 
just  that  much  more  unfit  for  the  struggle.  And  while 
the  people  starved  the  export  of  grain  continued. 
The  year  1906,  a  famine  year,  showed  an  actual  in- 
crease in  the  export  of  food  products.  While  we,  in 
this  country,  were  bitterly  complaining  of  hard  times 


i62    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

in  1907,  nearly  one  hundred  million  people  in  Russia 
were  facing  death  through  starvation. 

Ten  years  ago  economists  of  note  calculated  that  with 
the  same  efforts  at  cultivation  as  exist  in  the  United 
States,  Russia  could  support  a  population  of  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  million  people  in  comfort  and  decency. 
To-day,  the  figures  must  be  increased  at  least  50  per 
cent,  on  account  of  the  superior  equipment  and  modern 
improvements  which  have  been  inaugurated  since  that 
time. 

Not  only  is  the  peasant  unable  to  raise  enough  food 
to  feed  himself  from  the  land  allotted  him,  but  with 
the  help  of  his  labour  sold  to  the  big  holders  of  land 
near  the  village  he  is  still  in  the  circumstances  depicted 
— a  pauper  on  the  verge  of  starvation  every  second  or 
third  year. 

To  any  one  who  may  question  my  facts  in  relation  to 
Russia  I  desire  to  say  that  I  have  talked  with  dozens 
of  men  from  villages  all  over  Russia,  who,  by  some 
miracle,  escaped  thraldom  and  came  to  the  United 
States.  Not  only  is  the  story  here  told  not  exagger- 
ated, but  it  is  literally  discounted  and  understated. 
No  man  in  America  could  be  made  to  believe  the  truth 
without  actually  visioning  the  misery,  poverty,  and 
degradation  that  the  Government  of  the  czars  brought 
to  the  Russian  people. 

Schools  there  were  none,  or  practically  none.  Educa- 
tion was  as  much  restricted  to  the  cities  as  the  supplying 
of  gas.  Ignorance  prevailed  everywhere.  Only  the 
revolutionists  taught  the  people  anything.  To  these 
villagers  came  the  socialist,  the  anarchist,  the  syndical- 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    163 

ist  and  the  bolshevist !  No  wonder  they  were  welcomed ! 
Revolutionists  brought  them  dreams  of  a  paradise  on 
earth,  dreams  of  a  country  without  landlords,  dreams  of 
plenty,  dreams  of  peace,  dreams  of  clothing,  dreams  of  an 
education  for  the  children,  dreams  of  rest  and  comfort 
and  happiness  and  peace.  Welcome  ?  Of  course  they 
were  welcome,  thrice  welcome !  Listen  ?  Of  course  they 
listened.  Believed?  Yes,  they  believed.  Go  to  any  jail 
and  say  to  the  prisoners:  "If  you  all  do  this  to-morrow 
or  the  day  after,  you  will  be  free!"  Try  it!  You  will 
find  that  even  the  deaf  will  hear  and  understand! 

I  have  no  quarrel  with  men  demanding  freedom  and 
liberty  and  equal  rights.  I  love  such  men  and  so  do 
you.  I  have  no  quarrel  with  the  revolutionists  of 
Russia.     Wendell  Phillips  said: 

Revolutions  are  not  made,  they  come.  A  revolution  is  as  natural 
a  growth  as  an  oak.  It  comes  out  of  the  past.  Its  foundations  are 
laid  far  back. 

My  quarrel  is  with  the  men  who,  after  the  people  had 
secured  control  of  the  Government  and  stood  ready 
to  elect  a  constituent  assembly  by  secret,  equal,  and 
universal  suffrage,  overthrew  the  people's  Government 
by  force,  by  means  of  a  small  militant  minority,  and  in- 
stituted a  government  of  the  few,  by  the  few,  and  for  the 
few! 

The  darkest  page  in  the  history  of  the  world  is  not 
the  blood-stained  story  of  the  czars,  though  God  knows 
that  is  bad  enough;  it  is  not  the  story  of  the  Sultan 
of  Turkey;  it  is  not  the  story  of  the  rule  of  any  czars 
or  kings  or  emperors — but  it  is  the  story  of  the  betrayal 


i64   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

of  the  great  Russian  people  by  Lenin,  the  greatest  hang- 
man in  history,  and  his  autocratic,  czar-imitating 
brethren. 

Here  was  a  great,  patient  people,  silent  and  long- 
sufFering,  with  centuries  of  sorrow  and  want  and  poverty 
ingrained  in  their  very  souls;  their  brains  darkened  by 
oppression;  stunted,  half  of  the  East,  half  of  the  West, 
half  man,  half  child;  and  at  last,  through  untold  sacrifice, 
opportunity  comes — freedom,  self-government,  is  in 
their  grasp;  a  constituent  assembly  is  to  be  chosen, 
universal  suffrage  has  been  gained,  everything  is  ready 
for  the  world's  greatest  experiment — and  then,  a  few 
ne'er-do-wells,  a  few  fanatics,  a  few  scoundrels,  who 
had  claimed  for  years  to  be  friends  of  liberty,  tear  the 
cup  from  their  lips,  steal  their  hardly  won  freedom, 
institute  a  reign  of  czarism  turned  upside  down,  make 
slaves  of  the  people,  and  betray  those  who  trusted  them! 

Judas  betrayed  his  Saviour,  Benedict  Arnold  betrayed 
military  secrets,  but  Lenin  and  Trotsky  and  the  bolshe- 
vists  betrayed  one  hundred  and  eighty  million  free 
people,  and  by  assassination  and  force  drove  them  back 
into  slavery.  History  will  condemn  the  Czar,  but  he 
was  supporting  his  creed  and  his  class;  the  leaders  of 
Germany  plunged  the  world  into  war,  but  Lenin  and 
Trotsky  betrayed  their  own  blood-brothers  into  slavery 
and  took  the  positions  of  slave  drivers  and  executioners 
for  themselves!  The  ox  that  heads  his  fellows  under 
the  kilHng-hammer  in  the  Chicago  stockyards  is  a  God 
by  comparison!  Murderers  of  men  have  ever  been 
execrated  by  mankind,  but  how  much  more  will  future 
generations  in   Russia   despise  these  men  who,  with 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    165 

words  of  friendship  and  love  on  their  Hps,  stole  a 
people's  birthright  and  murdered  the  hope  and  happi- 
ness of  millions? 

The  Duma  was  dissolved  because  it  asked  the  Czar 
to  observe  his  own  proclamation.  In  this  manifesto 
he  said,  as  you  will  recall: 

We  obligate  the  Government  to  fulfill  our  unchangeable  will  as 
follows:  1st,  The  population  is  to  be  given  the  inviolable  founda- 
tion of  civil  rights  based  on  the  inviolability  of  the  person,  freedom  of 
belief,  of  speech,  of  organization  and  meeting  .  .  .  The  work- 
ing out  of  the  principle  of  universal  suffrage  will  be  left  to  the  new 
legislative  body.  .  .  .  No  law  can  be  put  into  effect  without 
the  consent  of  the  Duma. 

On  the  tenth  day  of  March,  1906,  the  Czar  convoked 
the  legislative  assembly  but  no  legislative  work  was 
accomplished.  The  Czar  simply  wanted  a  consultative 
assembly,  while  the  Duma  wanted  to  be  the  whole 
government.  The  Czar's  friends  had,  in  the  meantime, 
started  a  series  of  the  worst  massacres  in  the  history  of 
Russia.  The  Duma  demanded  control  of  the  officials 
of  the  Government  and  punishment  of  the  guilty  leaders. 
The  Czar  dissolved  the  Duma.  A  typically  Russian 
situation ! 

The  Second  Duma  was  convened,  but  its  only  law 
worthy  of  mention  was  the  Electoral  Law.  After  the 
dissolution  of  the  Second  Duma,  the  Czar  by  decree 
modified  this  law.  The  Encyclopaedia  Britannica  says 
in  relation  to  the  acts  of  the  First  and  Second  Dumas: 

As  for  the  revolutionary  "intellectuals"  without  the  level  of 
agrarian  discontent,  they  were  practically  powerless,  the  more  so  as 
their  political  activity  consisted  mainly  in  "building  theories  for 


i66   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

an  imaginary  world."  The  bourgeois  revolutionists  of  France  had 
all  been  philosophers,  but  their  philosophy  had  at  least  paid  lip- 
service  to  "reason,"  the  Russian  revolutionists  who  formed  the 
majority  of  the  First  and  Second  Dumas,  as  though  inspired  by  the 
exalted  nonsense  preached  by  Tolstoi,  subordinated  reason  to  senti- 
ment until — their  impracticable  temper  having  been  advertised 
to  all  the  world — it  became  easy  for  the  Government  to  treat  them 
as  a  mere  excrescence  on  the  national  life,  a  malignant  growth  to  be 
removed  by  a  necessary  operation. 

Apparently,  the  get-it-all-at-once  crowd  demanded 
too  much  and  got  nothing! 

The  Third  Duma  came  into  being  December  14, 1907, 
and  lasted  nine  years.  As  a  result  of  the  restrictions  on 
the  right  of  suffrage,  it  was  composed  of  landlords  and 
supporters  of  the  Czar.  The  people  saw  through  the 
transparent  evasion  of  the  promises  of  the  Czar, 
but  the  time  came  when  even  this  assembly,  hand- 
picked  as  it  was,  fought  with  courage  against  the  Czar 
himself.  A  few  reforms  were  inaugurated,  but  the  time 
for  gradual  change  had  passed.  Naught  but  a  cataclysm 
would  satisfy  the  repressed  millions.  It  was  in  vain 
that  the  Government  enacted  legislation  tending  to 
assist  the  modernization  of  Russia.  The  people  had 
lost  faith  in  their  rulers.  Everyone,  except  an  infini- 
tesimal few,  wanted  czarism  wiped  off  the  earth. 

John  Spargo  in  his  book  "Bolshevism"  says: 

The  period  1906-14  was  full  of  despair  for  sensitive  and  aspiring 
souls.  The  steady  and  rapid  rise  in  the  suicide  rate  bore  grim  and 
eloquent  testimony  to  the  character  of  those  years  of  dark  repression. 
The  number  of  suicides  in  St.  Petersburg  increased  during  the  period 
1905-09  more  than  400  per  cent.;  in  Moscow,  about  800  per  cent. 
In  the  latter  city  two  fifths  of  the  suicides  in  1908  were  of  persons 
less  than  twenty  years  old! 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    167 

Czarism  maintained  itself  by  employing  the  armed 
forces  of  the  empire  against  the  helpless  and  unarmed 
people.  Those  who  could,  sought  asylum  in  foreign 
lands.  In  1901,  85,000  Russians  came  to  the  United 
States;  in  1907,  259,000,  and  in  1913,  295,000.  Of  the 
3,300,000  immigrants  who  have  come  to  the  United 
States  from  Russia  during  the  past  century,  2,500,000 
came  during  the  period  1900  to  1914. 

Our  country  has  about  twice  the  population  per 
square  mile  that  Russia  has  and  yet  the  people  of  Russia 
come  to  a  country  twice  as  crowded  because  our  Gov- 
ernment is  a  free  government  under  which  every  man 
and  woman  has  equal  rights.  No  better  commentary 
on  the  value  and  worth  of  our  institutions  could  be 
given. 

You  will  note  that  75  per  cent,  of  the  emi- 
grants from  Russia  to  the  United  States  came  here 
after  the  desire  and  need  of  freedom  and  liberty  had 
become  apparent  to  them.  The  more  one  considers 
the  idiotic  rule  of  the  late  Czar  and  his  cohorts  and  the 
length  of  time  they  were  able  to  control  the  destinies 
of  the  Russian  people,  the  less  one  believes  in  the  near- 
at-hand  establishment  of  a  government  in  Russia  based 
upon  freedom,  liberty,  and  equal  rights  for  all. 

These  people  allowed  themselves  to  be  kept  in  sub- 
jection by  a  very  ordinary,  ignorant,  feeble  product 
of  the  most  corrupt  court  in  Christendom.  He  was 
not  even  a  strong  despot,  being  helpless  when  pitted 
against  his  nobles  or  his  German  wife.  He  canonized 
a  monk  who  had  been  dead  for  half  a  century,  believing 
that  he  had  successfully  pleaded  with  God  to  send  him 


i68    AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

a  male  heir.  He  refused  to  learn  from  the  story  of  the 
past;  used  his  full  power  to  befog  the  lessons  of  the 
present,  and  apparently  believed  that  upon  the  structure 
of  violence  and  tyranny  he  would  be  able  to  control 
the  future!     Poor  fool! 

"Whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap."* 
The  ruling  powers  of  Russia  had  shoved  all  their  chips 
into  the  centre  of  the  table;  they  had  drawn  all  the 
cards  they  could  draw;  their  hand  was  but  a  "four- 
flush."  The  only  question  was  when  the  people 
would  call  their  bluff.  Called — they  knew  they  must 
lay  down  their  hand  and  retire!  Nothing  but  a  fight, 
with  the  consequent  breaking  up  of  the  game,  could 
put  off  the  end ! 

y^nd  that  is  exactly  what  occurred. 

*GaIs.  y'l-y. 


CHAPTER  X 

HOW    THE    WORLD    WAR    SAVED,    THE    REVOLUTION    DE- 
STROYED,  AND    LENIN   REESTABLISHED,    CZARISM 

In  JUNE,  1914,  I  was  in  the  office  of  the  Spokesman 
Review  in  Spokane.  The  telegrapher  lazily  turned 
around  and  announced  that  a  prince,  whose  name  he 
could  not  quite  make  out,  had  been  assassinated  at 
Sarajevo,  the  capital  of  Bosnia.  The  office  force  yawned 
and  went  on  with  their  work.  The  editor  and  myself 
hardly  checked  our  conversation.  A  prince  more  or 
less,  what  did  it  really  amount  to  anyway?  It  was  so 
far  away — and  yet,  the  death  of  a  man  on  the  other  side 
of  the  earth  was  all  the  spark  needed  to  bring  about  a 
world  conflagration.     War  was  declared. 

Russia  came  to  life.  The  wavering  fortunes  of  czar- 
ism  seemed  to  receive  new  life.  The  country  became 
an  armed  camp.  Temple  bells  tolled  in  the  one  hun- 
dred and  nine  thousand  villages;  priests  gathered  their 
flocks;  peasants  and  workers  and  landlords  alike  be- 
came, for  the  time  being,  one — ^with  but  a  single  thought 
apparently,  and  that  thought  the  protection  of  the 
frontiers  of  Russia.  All  the  people  knew  was  that 
war  with  Germany  was  on.  Where  the  war  was,  how 
far  away,  what  kind  of  people  were  at  war,  few  knew. 

The  soldiers  gathered  while  the  officials  began  to 

169 


I70   AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

wind  and  unwind  red  tape.  Certain  preparations  were 
made.  Money  was  poured  out  like  water;  factories 
producing  railroad  supplies,  etc.,  began  to  turn  out,  or 
try  to  turn  out,  guns;  no  provision  being  made,  however, 
for  the  industrial  necessities  of  a  long  war.  No  one 
thought  it  would  last  for  any  length  of  time.  Russia 
was  face  to  face  with  her  ancient  enemy,  Germany. 
It  looked  as  though  war  would  cement  the  hostile 
factions.  The  leading  men  in  court  circles  were  Ger- 
mans; the  Czarina  was  a  German  princess;  many  of  the 
military  leaders  were  also  German,  and  as  we  look 
backward,  one  cannot  help  but  believe  that  the  prepara- 
tions were  insincere  and  were  purposely  held  back  and 
made  inefficiently. 

Millions  joined  the  army.  The  peasantry,  untrained 
and  only  partially  armed,  always  half  starved  and  mis- 
erably led,  obeyed  orders,  and  their  lives  were  the  sacri- 
fice offered  on  the  altar  by  the  Czar. 

Armies  in  the  front  trenches  had  but  one  gun  for  two 
and  sometimes  four  soldiers.  The  unarmed  waited  until 
the  armed  were  killed  and  then  grasped  the  rifles  from 
the  dying.  If  an  officer  showed  ability,  he  was  sent 
back  into  interior  villages  where  he  could  give  no  help. 
The  defeated  generals  were  promoted;  the  successful 
ones  demoted.  The  weakest  battalions  were  placed 
in  trying  positions;  those  of  experience  were  bivouacked 
miles  from  the  front.  The  wholesale  murder  by  the 
efficient  Germans  at  the  front  was  materially  aided  by 
the  pro-Germans  in  the  rear. 

Box  cars  were  sent  empty  from  Vladivostock  to 
Petrograd  to  get  their  numbers  painted,  then  sent  back 


AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    171 

again  empty,  across  half  the  earth,  to  receive  a  load. 
There  was  little  organization,  no  real  spirit.  Incom- 
petence and  criminal  negligence  were  the  rule — not  the 
exception.  And  yet  the  soldiers,  dumb,  patient,  brave, 
fought  to  the  death.  The  swamps  of  the  Mazurian 
Lakes,  the  drive  into  Galicia,  the  battles  in  the  ice  and 
snow,  all  alike  proved  the  natural  courage  of  the  soldiers 
and  the  lack  of  ability  and  the  criminal  conspiracy  of 
the  leaders.  It  was  a  nightmare  of  blood  and  murder; 
of  useless  sacrifice  and  bravery;  of  death  and  sorrow! 
A  human  life  was  held  at  less  than  a  sack  of  wheat 
and  men  were  punished  by  standing  them  unarmed  in 
the  front  lines  under  the  fire  of  the  German  machine 
guns.  It  was  a  most  brutal  exhibition  of  ruthlessness 
by  the  rulers,  not  against  another  people,  but  against 
their  own  flesh  and  blood. 

The  Russian  soldiery  fought  bravely,  but  when  the 
efficient  German  murder  machine  really  got  under  way, 
defeat  followed  defeat,  retreat  succeeded  retreat,  and 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  falsely  led,  poorly  armed, 
and  half-starved  Russians  were  killed;  millions  of  others 
were  in  open  revolt.  The  people  back  home  knew  that 
their  brothers  were  being  slaughtered — knew  that  the 
officers  were  fighting  for  Germany  and  not  for  Russia, 
and  they  demanded  a  reform  in  military  affairs.  No 
such  reform,  however,  was  forthcoming.  The  rulers 
had  unprepared  too  well. 

By  191 7,  defeat  appeared  certain.  Strike  after  strike 
took  place,  culminating  in  a  general  strike  as  a  protest 
against  the  unfairness  shown  in  the  distribution  of  food. 
The  people  believed  there  was  enough  bread  if  it  was 


172   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

properly  and  fairly  distributed.  The  soldiery  stood 
with  the  people. 

Revolution  began  on  March  lo,  1917.  The  Czar  or 
his  underlings  had  planned  too  well  the  defeat  of  Russia. 
In  accomplishing  it  they  destroyed  the  officers,  who 
came  almost  entirely  from  the  ranks  of  the  nobility  and  the 
richer  classes.  The  result  was  that  new  officers  and 
line  soldiers  who  came  direct  from  the  oppressed  people 
became  the  leaders,  the  thinkers,  the  doers;  and  when 
the  Government  was  attacked,  these  men  with  the 
memories  of  centuries  of  oppression  burned  into  their  very 
soulsj  turned  their  rifles  and  persuaded  their  soldiers  to 
fight  against  the  ruling  class  and  not  against  their  own 
brethren.  Such  was  the  result  of  czarism;  such  the 
well-earned  reward  that  autocracy  and  oppression  al- 
ways receive  under  like  circumstances! 

On  March  12,  1917,  the  famous  Preprazkensky  regi- 
ment refused  to  fire  on  the  revolutionary  crowds,  and 
mutinied.  Other  soldiers  who  were  brought  up  to 
suppress  the  insurrection  took  the  side  of  the  revolu- 
tionists. Practically  all  the  regiments  quartered  in 
Petrograd  assisted  joyfully  in  the  Government's  over- 
throw. Other  soldiers  were  called  from  the  front,  but 
those  who  had  already  taken  sides  with  the  people 
fraternized  with  them  and  won  their  support. 

On  March  17,  1917,  the  Czar  said  he  had  had  enough 
and  the  Duma  instituted  a  provisional  government, 
Kerensky  being  named  Minister  of  Justice  and  Gutcho- 
koff  Minister  of  War. 

Czarism  was  overthrown,  as  it  should  have  been 
overthrown  centuries  before.     Russia  was  ready  for  a 


AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    173 

representative  form  of  government  at  least  a  century 
before  the  revolution.  Had  it  been  granted,  Russia 
to-day  would  be  in  the  forefront  of  human  society; 
denied,  as  it  was,  the  people  went  to  extremes  in  exact 
proportion  to  their  repression. 

GutchokofF  soon  resigned,  because  the  self-appointed 
Council  of  Workmen  and  Soldiers'  Deputies  had  de- 
manded the  right  to  vise  his  orders.  Kerensky  then 
became  Minister  of  War.  Among  his  first  orders  he 
issued  a  decree  abolishing  the  death  penalty  in  the  army. 
This  completely  demoralized  the  army  and  it  gradually 
became  an  unorganized,  unled  mob.  The  German 
propagandists  circulated  forged  newspapers  and  pamph- 
lets among  the  peasant  soldiery,  telling  them  that  the 
land  back  home  was  being  divided  and  the  Government 
wanted  them  to  hurry  home  so  they  could  get  their 
share.  They  threw  away  their  arms,  ofttimes  killed 
their  officers,  and  started  for  home.  The  army  became 
a  rabble! 

Kerensky,  the  people's  idol,  became  the  head  of  the 
Government.  Universal  suffrage  and  the  right  of  rep- 
resentation had  come  to  the  people  of  Russia.  An 
election  was  called  to  choose  members  of  a  constituent 
assembly.  All  men  and  all  women  could  vote.  Russia 
was  free,  but  the  people  did  not  understand  the  differ- 
ence between  liberty  and  license.  The  jump  from  ruth- 
less repression  to  liberty  came  so  quickly  that  they  were 
dazed. 

The  Czar's  regime  had  forced  the  Russian  people 
into  but  two  classes — the  very  rich  and  the  very  poor, 
the  poor  outnumbering  the  rich  many  fold.     There  was 


174   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

but  a  very  small  middle  class  and  they,  almost  to  a 
man,  aided  the  poor  in  their  fight  for  freedom. 

Of  course,  the  people  expected  from  the  new  Govern- 
ment more  than  any  government  could  do.  The  as- 
sembly to  be  elected  must  be  truly  representative  of  all 
Russia.  Few  realized  that  a  government  is  necessarily 
a  pauper  and  lives  only  by  the  contributions  of  the  peo- 
ple. Few  knew  that  happiness  and  prosperity  must 
come  from  service  and  work  and  not  from  the  mere 
passing  of  resolutions. 

What  an  opportunity  for  the  Lenins  and  Trotskys  to 
assist  in  the  formation  of  a  truly  representative  govern- 
ment! What  a  chance  to  show  vision  and  breadth  and 
world  bigness!  The  people,  held  so  long  in  darkness 
and  sleep,  suddenly  awoke.  They  expected  everything — 
Utopia  by  wireless,  food  by  law,  education  by  immediate 
absorption,  crops  without  planting,  sustenance  without 
toil!  Liberty,  to  them,  meant  license — wealth,  simply 
for  the  taking.  The  golden  opportunity  for  the  men 
who  had  fought  against  autocracy  was  now  at  hand. 
They  could  have  assisted  Kerensky,  could  have  ex- 
plained the  manifold  difficulties,  could  have  counselled 
patience  and  love,  instead  of  hurry  and  hate,  but  they 
did  no  such  thing. 

From  the  prisons  of  Siberia  came  the  thousands  of 
political  exiles  who,  in  their  youth,  had  embraced  the 
fantastic  doctrines  of  anarchy.  In  prison  they  did  not 
progress,  or  learn  by  bitter  experience  that  human  na- 
ture has  its  limitations  and  frailties.  They  came  from 
Siberia  teaching  the  untried,  and,  in  fact,  exploded  doc- 
trines of  their  youthful  enthusiasm,  beginning  in  the 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    175 

same  state  of  mind  as  when  exiled.  All  government 
meant  to  them  was  persecution,  wrong,  force,  violence. 

Nikolai  Lenin  was,  at  the  time,  in  Switzerland.  The 
German  Government  furnished  him  with  a  special  train 
across  Germany  in  order  that  he  might  enter  Russia 
and  assist  in  the  overthrow  of  Kerensky  which  Ger- 
many deemed  essential  to  its  cause,  as  one  of  the  first 
acts  of  the  Kerensky  Government  was  to  pledge  Rus- 
sia's allegiance  to  the  cause  of  the  Allies  and  to  the 
continuance  of  the  war  against  Germany.  Money  was 
furnished  him  and  such  as  he  in  unlimited  quantities 
and  every  aid  was  given  him  both  by  the  monarchical 
party  in  Russia  and  by  the  rulers  of  Germany,  in  order 
that  he  might  successfully  combat  the  establishment  of 
a  constitutional  government  in  Russia. 

They  had  picked  their  man  well.  Lenin  was  un- 
scrupulous and  determined  to  establish  a  bolshevist 
or  syndicalist  form  of  government.  The  monarchists 
believed  that  if  they  could  establish  a  dictatorship 
under  their  friend  Lenin,  they  would  be  able  to  over- 
throw such  a  form  of  government  at  any  time  they 
chose  and  reestablish  czarism  once  more  in  Russia. 
For  centuries  the  German  plan  had  been  to  keep  Rus- 
sia in  a  backward  economic  condition.  They  wanted 
Russia  to  continue  furnishing  an  ever-increasing  supply 
of  raw  material  for  their  factories,  whose  product  was 
to  be  sold  in  turn  to  unprogressive,  non-industrial  Rus- 
sia. If  Russia  became  an  industrial  nation  they  be- 
lieved she  would  be  Germany's  greatest  trade  rival. 
Russia  free  meant  poverty  for  Germany,  they  thought. 

Lenin  never  denied  having  received  German  gold. 


176   AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

His  apologists  say  that  he  would  have  accepted  bribes 
from  any  one  for  use  in  furthering  his  propaganda  and 
that  while  apparently  serving  Germany  he  planned  all 
the  time  to  cheat  Germany  of  the  fruits  of  its  bribes 
by  continuing  the  Bolshevist  Government  indefinitely. 

From  every  part  of  the  world  came  other  dreamers, 
adventurers,  criminals — filled  to  the  Adam's  apple  with 
book-taught  panaceas  and  selfish  purposes — all  wanting 
to  get  home  to  Russia  and  get  home  quick  in  order  to  try 
their  individual  plan,  their  scheme! 

Russia  was  like  a  patient  brought  to  a  clinic  of  un- 
educated and  inexperienced  surgeons,  with  plenty  of 
knives  to  cut  with  but  with  no  healing  ointments.  All 
diagnosed  the  case  differently.  All  wanted  to  operate 
on  diflFerent  parts  of  the  patient.  Disagreements,  re- 
criminations, hatred,  were  the  order  of  the  day.  From 
our  own  shores  the  refugee  anarchists  who  had  sought 
shelter  in  America  returned.  Trotsky  tried  to  get  back. 
Our  Government  for  a  time  refused  him  passports  until 
Kerensky  himself,  believing  in  the  reasonableness  of 
mankind,  asked  our  Government  to  allow  Trotsky's 
return,  in  order  that  he  might  help  him  and  help  Russia. 
We  said  "all  right"  and  Trotsky  and  a  hundred  thou- 
sand others  Hke  him  returned  home  to  try  out  their 
street-corner  theories  of  no  government.  The  present 
Russian  Government  may  well  be  said  to  be  that  of  the 
soap-boxers  of  the  world. 

Upon  their  return  to  Russia  they  immediately  began 
an  organized  attempt  to  overthrow  majority  rule. 
Those  who  had  never  been  able  properly  to  conduct 
a  peanut  stand  advocated  that  they  be  placed  in  charge 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    177 

of  two  hundred  million  people!  The  dregs  of  the  world 
gathered  and  demanded  that  they  be  made  autocrats! 
Loud-voiced,  plausible,  full  of  the  catch  phrases  of  class 
hatred,  they  found  a  ready  response  among  many,  but 
well  they  knew  that  the  Russian  peasant  stood  not  for 
anarchy  but  order,  decency,  and  a  stable,  central- 
ized government.  They  believed  they  were  especially 
anointed  to  rule'  the  ignorant.  They  felt  the  people 
were  not  fit  to  rule.  They  were  to  be  the  chosen  shep- 
herds of  the  flock,  and  if  the  flock  did  not  appreciate 
these  self-chosen  place  seekers,  it  was  the  flock's  fault 
and  not  the  shepherds'!  They  preached  free  speech, 
free  press,  equal  pay,  confiscation  of  all  wealth,  death 
to  the  intelligent,  plenty  of  rest,  lots  of  food,  and  every- 
thing else  that  might  gain  support,  and  still  they  re- 
mained in  a  hopeless  minority. 

There  was  but  one  course  left  for  these  agitators. 
They  would  overthrow  the  Government;  they  would 
have  a  counter  revolution;  they  would  gain  control  of 
the  food  and  ammunition  supplies  in  Petrograd  and 
then  they  would  seize  the  reins  of  power  and  inaugurate 
a  dream  government  from  which  all  blessings  would 
flow.  They  talked  not  of  production,  but  of  division; 
not  of  producing  food,  but  of  eating  it;  not  of  making 
clothes,  but  of  wearing  them;  not  of  labour,  but  of  rest. 

Kerensky,  apparently,  did  not  realize  that  there  can 
be  no  compromise  between  government  and  men  who 
hate  all  government;  that  there  can  be  no  common 
meeting  ground  between  law  and  order  and  anarchy; 
that  kindness  and  conciliation  are  not  only  wasted  eflFort, 
but  are  absolutely  dangerous  when  your  opponents  are 


178    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

enemies  of  all  law  and  order.  He  talked  and  wrote  and 
preached  and  did  everything  but  use  the  only  weapon 
anarchists  understand,  which  is  force — and  plenty  of  it! 

Whenever  any  one  tries  to  usurp  authority,  the  offi- 
cials have  but  one  duty  to  perform,  and  that  is,  obey 
their  oath.  A  government  that  will  not  defend  itself  can- 
not stand!  Minority  rule  is  based  per  se  on  the  proposi- 
tion that  the  majority  are  too  ignorant  to  rule.  Ker- 
ensky  faltered  and  altered,  pleaded  and  then  threatened. 
He  tried  the  impossible  and  failed.  Hesitating  to  shed 
blood,  his  hesitation  caused  the  murder  of  innocent 
thousands;  refusing  to  imprison  the  bad,  he  Hved  to  see 
the  good  and  innocent  jailed!  With  sickly  sentiment- 
ality as  his  watchword  and  vague  speeches  for  his  edged 
tool,  he  saw  a  small  militant  band  of  adolescent  "intel- 
lectuals" seize  control  of  a  government  which  he  had 
not  the  courage  to  protect! 

Our  ambassador  to  Russia,  David  R.  Francis,  says 
that  Kerensky  made  his  fatal  mistake  when  he  did 
not  use  force  to  destroy  the  power  and  influence  of  the 
bolshevists  at  an  uprising  on  the  third  and  fourth  of 
July,  1917.  He  felt  that  Kerensky  should  have  im- 
prisoned Lenin  and  Trotsky  at  this  time  and  punished 
them  as  traitors  to  the  country. 

If  the  same  red  blood  had  coursed  through  the  body 
of  Kerensky  that  pulsed  through  the  veins  of  Theodore 
Roosevelt,  Russia  to-day  would  be  a  free,  self-governing 
republic,  immune  by  its  immensity  from  any  foreign  foe 
and  protected  from  great  internal  troubles  by  the  free- 
dom granted  to  the  people.  His  weakness,  however, 
does  not  excuse  the  betrayers  of  Russia.     On  every 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    179 

street  corner  in  the  world,  in  millions  of  pamphlets,  they 
had  declaimed  for  freedom,  liberty,  and  equal  rights,  for 
a  government  of  love  and  not  of  force,  for  free  speech, 
free  press,  etc. 

Lenin  and  Trotsky,  with  made-in-Germany  propa- 
ganda, planned  to  be  The  Government.  Make  no  mis- 
take about  that!  Lenin  knew  what  he  wanted,  and 
believing  in  direct  action,  if  opportunity  offered,  would 
take  it.  With  no  moral  scruples  or  conscience  to  check 
him,  he  determined  to  try,  once  more,  the  exploded  doc- 
trines of  syndicalism.  Poor  Russia  was  to  be  the  patient 
and  Germany  the  gainer,  no  matter  what  happened. 

Three  weeks  before  the  Constituent  Assembly  was  to 
be  elected  Kerensky's  Government  was  overthrown 
by  a  militant  minority  and  a  reign  of  arson,  murder, 
force,  violence,  repression,  hatred,  and  theft  took  its 
place.  A  dictatorship  of  the  proletariat  was  announced 
and  Lenin  became  the  Dictator. 

Kerensky  ran  away. 

WHAT  BOLSHEVISM  DID 

The  election  for  the  Constituent  Assembly  had  been 
called  for  November  twenty-fifth.  Lenin  and  the  bol- 
shevists  at  first  believed  that  they  would  be  able  to  win  at 
the  polls;  hence,  they  spoke  in  favour  of  the  Assembly, 
but  as  election  day  drew  near  they  sensed  that  they  were 
in  a  hopeless  minority  and  began  to  talk  of  the  ignorance 
of  the  masses  and  adopted  repressive  measures  in  order 
that  the  bolshevist  side  might  win.  They  were  against 
universal  suffrage,  but  felt  they  were  not  strong  enough 
to  stop  the  holding  of  the  election. 


i8o   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

They  used  Mexican  political  methods,  including  all 
means  of  suppression  and  the  use  of  governmental  in- 
fluence, but  when  election  day  rolled  around,  thirty-six 
million  free  men  and  women  of  Russia  went  to  the  polls 
and  chose  their  representatives  to  meet  on  December 
twelfth  and  establish  a  stable  government  by  adopting 
a  constitution  and  laws  for  all  Russia.  Less  than  two 
hundred  thousand  bolshevist  votes  were  cast  out  of  the 
thirty-six  million. 

Lenin  and  Trotsky  found  themselves  in  a  hopeless 
minority.  It  was  certain  that  the  Constituent  As- 
sembly would  adopt  a  constitution  and  laws  which 
would  drive  them  from  power.  It  was  certain  that  a 
government  of  the  majority  would  be  established  and 
that,  under  majority  rule,  the  dictatorship  of  Lenin 
and  Trotsky  would  cease.  The  elected  members  were 
to  meet  December  12,  191 7.  On  December  eleventh 
the  Cadets  (Constitutional  Democrats)  who  were  in 
Petrograd  were  arrested  by  order  of  Lenin,  as  counter- 
revolutionists.  Many  others  went  into  hiding,  afraid 
to  appear  at  the  appointed  meeting  place.  The  Govern- 
ment of  the  Soap  Boxers  refused  to  permit  the  meeting  of 
the  popularly  elected  representatives  of  the  people. 

On  January  eighteenth,  with  423  members  present, 
the  Constituent  Assembly  finally  attempted  to  hold  a 
meeting.  A  great  many  members  had  been  terrorized 
and  driven  away  by  fear  of  imprisonment  and  death. 
Lenin  believed  that  he  and  his  could  control  and  ma- 
nipulate the  balance  for  their  own  purposes.  Ambas- 
sador Francis  says:  "There  was  a  great  demonstration 
in  Petrograd  on  the  part  of  the  people  to  manifest 


AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    i8i 

their  joy  on  the  assembhng  of  a  constituent  assembly.** 
The  bolshevists  were  in  the  minority  in  the  Assembly 
notwithstanding  the  Cadets  had  not  come  and  some 
of  the  social  revolutionists  of  the  Right  (Moderates) 
were  not  present. 

But  when  the  first  vote  was  taken  for  election  of  offi- 
cers, despite  the  armed  forces  of  the  Reds  which 
surrounded  the  building  and  filled  the  corridors,  the  bol- 
shevists could  muster  only  140  votes  out  of  423.  As  usual 
they  refused  to  submit  to  the  decision  of  the  majority 
and  withdrew  from  the  hall,  the  loyal  members  electing 
TchemofF  as  presiding  officer.  A  drunken  sailor  from 
the  bolshevist  ranks  was  then  sent  into  the  chamber 
and  announced:  "I  am  tired  of  this  business.  We  want 
to  go  to  bed.     We  will  give  you  ten  minutes  more." 

The  delegates  were  forced  to  leave  the  hall,  and  when 
they  attempted  to  assemble  again  to  establish  a  govern- 
ment for  Russia  on  a  sane  and  stable  basis,  they  found 
the  Bolshevist  Government  in  charge  of  the  Duma 
hall,  holding  it  down  and  refusing  admittance  to  any 
of  their  members! 

By  means  of  force  the  bolshevists  defeated  the  attempt 
of  the  people  of  Russia  to  establish  for  themselves  a  repre- 
sentative form  of  government. 

On  page  945  of  the  published  proceedings  of  the 
Senate  Investigating  Committee,  entitled  "Bolshevik 
Propaganda, "  I  find  the  following  question  and  answer 
by  Senator  Knute  Nelson  and  Ambassador  Francis: 

Senator  Nelson:  "Has  the  Bolshevik  Government, 
since  that  time,  ever  attempted  to  have  a  constituent 
assembly  elected  or  meet  ?  ** 


i82   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

Mr.  Francis:  "No,  sir.  They  have  never  since  that 
time  had  a  constituent  assembly,  or  called  an  election 
for  a  constituent  assembly." 

Backward  and  downward  has  ever  been  their  motto, 
instead  of  onward  and  upward.  The  picture  presented 
to  the  Russian  people  by  Lenin  et  al.  was  like  unto  the 
spectacle  one  saw  at  the  theatre  in  my  boyhood — all 
gilt  and  glitter;  beautiful  maidens;  powerful  warriors; 
shining  swords  and  armour!  The  reality  was  but  tinsel, 
painted  women,  padded  tights,  imitation  tin  swords, 
dressed-up  extra  men  daubed  with  glistening  paint, 
and  dressing  rooms  reeking  with  the  smell  of  cigarettes 
and  stale  beer! 

But  Lenin  found  that  "he  who  overcomes  by  force 
hath  overcome  but  half  his  foe."  There  is  something 
implanted  in  the  very  marrow  of  humankind  that  re- 
sents dictatorship,  and  Lenin  soon  saw  that  running  a 
government  differed  from  destroying  one.  It  is  so  easy 
to  find  fault — to  destroy;  so  difficult  to  build  up.  A 
man  with  a  stick  of  dynamite  may  destroy  the  work  of 
a  century!  Monuments  are  erected  to  the  construc- 
tors, the  doers;  not  to  the  destroyers  and  fault-finders. 

Lenin  flew  the  Red  Flag  to  secure  office,  but  immedi- 
ately adopted,  by  his  deeds,  the  Black  Flag  to  maintain 
himself  and  his  supporters.  Irresponsibility  begets 
bitter  criticism — responsibility  soon  teaches  the  critic 
the  difficulties!  Lenin  had  stood  Russia  on  her  head 
and  gone  through  her  pockets!  It  was  now  up  to  him 
to  feed  and  employ  the  people,  but  Russia  was  under 
the  control  of  the  fault-finders,  the  critics,  the  wreckers 
and  wranglers  who,  all  their  lives  having  preached  the 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    183 

doctrine  of  destruction,  of  course,  knew  nothing  of  how 
to  solve  the  problems  of  reconstruction.  The  unarmed 
people  were  left  helpless  and  almost  starving.  The 
armed  were  fed,  clothed,  and  given  a  perpetual  holiday. 
The  bourgeoisie  were  few  and  had  been  pampered  by 
special  privileges  for  generations  until  they  were  unfit 
to  lead,  unready  to  act,  full  ripe  to  submit.  The  peasan- 
try, scattered  over  one  sixth  of  the  earth's  surface,  had 
but  little  cohesion.  Arms  there  were  none;  food  there 
was  little;  leadership  was  lacking,  and  ever  present  was 
the  fear  that  those  who  could  lead,  and  would  lead, 
would  lead  back  to  czarism. 

The  people,  long  accustomed  to  being  ruled  by  force, 
submitted  in  a  measure.  When  they  resisted,  they 
were  either  sent  to  prison  or  murdered.  Under  the  name 
of  freedom  the  worst  autocracy  in  the  world's  history 
ruled  triumphant.  Force  and  violence,  assassination 
and  theft  became  hourly  occurrences.  All  publications 
which  spoke  against  the  present  czars  were  suppressed; 
not  only  the  ordinary  papers,  but  socialist  papers  met 
the  same  fate.  Free  speech  came  to  mean  speech 
that  suited  Lenin.  Equal  rights  there  were  none  and 
universal  suffrage  became  a  memory. 

Russia  had  been  very  ill  for  centuries  but  the  cure 
of  Lenin,  the  Quack,  became  worse  than  the  disease. 
Russia  did  not  benefit  by  trading  Nicholas  II for  Nikolai  I. 
Song  and  laughter  departed  from  the  country.  The 
people  found  that  cloth  sometimes  looks  good  in 
the  bolt  but  wears  poorly  when  made  into  a  suit  of 
clothes.  One  does  not  get  maple  sap  out  of  a  mongrel 
fir;  nor  could  it  be  expected  that  men  who  would  accept 


i84   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

bribes  to  betray  their  own  people  would  change  their 
nature  and  play  square  if  it  was  more  profitable  to  be 
crooked.     Where  the  thought  is  bad,  the  act  is  worse! 

Private  rights  were  destroyed.  The  equal-pay  myth 
lasted  but  a  short  time  and,  step  by  step,  Lenin  was 
forced  to  retract  his  valiant  promises  of  the  days  of  agi- 
tation. He  who  was  against  all  armament  was  forced 
to  maintain  a  great  Red  army  in  order  to  overawe  and 
control  the  majority.  He  said  all  land  should  belong 
to  all  the  people,  yet  already  there  is  a  distribution  of 
ownership  based  on  an  attempt  to  hold  the  support 
of  the  peasantry.  He  advocated  control  of  factories  by 
the  workers,  but  so  small  did  their  product  become  that 
to-day,  in  Russia,  the  worker  is  a  slave  who  can  neither 
change  nor  quit  his  job.  He  advocated  the  creation 
of  a  free  and  voluntary  league,  but  instead  created  a 
dictatorship  which  destroyed  all  who  objected. 

But  despite  the  overwhelming  evidence  printed  in 
the  papers  and  magazines  of  the  world,  it  is  probably 
necessary  to  quote  in  exact  language — in  their  own 
language — ^just  what  the  bolshevists  of  Russia  promised; 
just  what  they  have  done  and  just  what  they  are  doing. 
There  may  be  some  question  about  the  guilt  of  one  who 
pleads  "Not  guilty,"  but  there  can  be  no  question  about 
the  guilt  of  theRussian  bolshevists  who  not  only  have 
pleaded  "Guilty,"  but  brag  of  their  infamy! 

The  apologists  of  bolshevism  in  our  country  have 
striven  hard  to  protect  before  the  bar  of  public  opinion 
of  our  people  their  ruthless  friends  in  Russia.  They 
have,  as  I  said  before,  made  claims  for  the  bolshevists 
that  the  bolshevists  themselves  indignantly  deny.     The 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    185 

American  (?)  liar  is  prone  to  claim  that  the  majority  of 
the  people  of  Russia  were  in  favour  of  bolshevism  when 
Kerensky  was  overthrown.  The  preceding  facts  show 
this  to  be  false.  They  claim  the  bolshevists  believe 
and  practise  democracy.  I  quote  what  the  socialist, 
William  English  Walling,  has  to  say  on  this  point  in  his 
work:  "Russia's  Message,"  written  in  1907  after  having 
talked  with  Lenin: 

I  was  shocked  to  find  that  this  important  leader  also,  though  he 
expects  a  full  cooperation  with  the  peasants  on  equal  terms  during 
the  revolution,  feels  toward  them  a  very  deep  distrust,  thinking 
them  to  a  large  extent  bigoted  and  blindly  patriotic,  and  fearing 
that  they  may  some  day  shoot  down  the  revolutionary  workingmen 
as  the  French  peasants  did  during  the  Paris  Commune. 

The  chief  basis  for  this  distrust  is,  of  course,  the  prejudiced  feeling 
that  the  peasants  are  not  likely  to  become  good  socialists.  It  is 
on  account  of  this  feeling  that  Lenin  and  all  the  social  democratic 
leaders  place  their  hopes  on  a  future  development  of  modem  large 
agricultural  estates  in  Russia  and  the  increase  of  the  landless  agri- 
cultural working  class,  which  alone  they  believe  would  prove  truly 
socialist.  At  the  same  time,  Lenin  is  far  more  open-minded  on  the 
subject  than  the  leaders  formerly  in  control  of  the  party  and  con- 
ceded it  was  possible  that  such  peasants  or  farmers  as  were  not  at 
the  same  time  employers  might  join  in  a  future  socialist  movement. 

We  see  at  the  same  time  that  their  leading  political  party  expects 
the  city  working  people  to  maintain  the  chief  role  and  that  the  con- 
fidence of  the  leaders  of  this  party  in  the  peasantry  is  without  any 
deep  roots. 

On  the  same  page  Mr.  Walling  says:  "Lenin  never 
did  believe  in  democracy,  nor  does  he  practise  it." 

A  democracy  without  universal  suffrage  ?  Impossible, 
you  say,  of  course,  but  in  the  very  constitution  itself, 
published  in  the  Nation  and  reproduced  by  the  Seattle 
Union  Record — that  paper  with  neither  a  soul  nor  a  coun- 


i86  AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

try — the  following  exceptions  occur  on  page  13,  Article 
4,  Chapter  13,  under  the  heading,  "The  Right  to  Vote": 

65.  The  following  persons  enjoy  neither  the  right  to  vote  nor  the 
right  to  be  voted  for,  namely: 

(a)  Persons  who  have  an  income  without  doing  any  work,  such 
as  interest  from  capital,  receipts  from  property,  etc. 

(b)  Private  merchants,  trade  and  commercial  brokers. 

(c)  Monks  and  clergy  of  all  denominations. 

(d)  Employees  and  agents  of  the  former,  the  gendarme  corps  and 
the  Okhrana  (Czar's  secret  service),  also  members  of  the  former 
reigning  dynasty. 

(e)  Persons  who  have  in  legal  form  been  declared  demented  or 
mentally  deficient  and  also  persons  under  guardianship. 

(f)  Persons  who  have  been  deprived,  by  a  soviet,  of  their  rights 
of  citizenship  because  of  selfish  or  dishonourable  offences,  for  the 
period  fixed  by  the  sentence. 

Note  particularly  article  (f) :  "Persons  who  have  been 
deprived,  by  a  soviet,  of  their  rights  of  citizenship  be- 
cause of  selfish  or  dishonourable  oflFences,  for  the  period 
fixed  by  the  sentence."  In  other  words,  we  have  a 
soviet,  our  opponents  have  a  majority;  they  will  over- 
throw us  unless  disfranchised.  Therefore,  we  dis- 
franchise them  for  as  long  a  time  as  we  see  fit.  There 
is  no  appeal.  Under  this  article  hundreds  and  thou- 
sands of  men  who  have  disagreed  have  been  deprived 
of  their  suffrage  and  right  to  hold  office,  simply  because 
the  inverted  czarism  of  Lenin  must  stifle  democracy. 
Think  of  it!  Any  merchant,  or  priest,  or  minister  is 
deprived  of  his  vote,  even  though  he  be  a  member  of  the 
army  or  navy!  A  soldier  or  sailor  cannot  vote  or  hold 
office  if  he  receives  rent,  interest,  or  profit,  or  employs 
a  labourer  to  help  him  till  the  soil. 


AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    187 

I  quote  again  from  an  article  by  Lenin  himself,  pub- 
lished in  April,  191 8,  in  the  New  International,  an 
American  bolshevist  publication: 

The  word  democracy  cannot  be  scientifically  applied  to  the  Com- 
munist Party.  Since  March,  1917,  the  word  democracy  is  simply 
a  shackle  fastened  upon  the  revolutionary  nation  and  preventing  it 
from  establishing  boldly,  freely,  regardless  of  all  obstacles  {such  or 
the  people's  will),  a  new  form  of  power — the  Council  of  Workmen, 
Soldiers  and  Peasants'  Deputies,  harbinger  of  the  abolition  of  every 
form  of  authority. 

Also  in  January,  1917,  Lenin  said: 

Just  as  150,000  lordly  landowners  under  czarism  dominated  the 
130,000,000  of  Russian  peasants,  so  200,000  bolsheviki  are  imposing 
their  proletarian  will  on  the  mass,  but  this  time  in  the  interest  of  the 
latter. 

Nothing  can  be  plainer  than  that  remark  unless  it  be 
these: 

A  fairly  prosperous  working  man  is  not  a  proletariat. 
Only  the  very  poorest  peasant  or  working  man  can  vote. 

In  speaking  of  the  restriction  of  suffrage  invoked  by 
Lenin  and  his  followers,  soon  after  they  seized  the  power 
of  government,  Charles  Edward  Russell  in  his  book, , 
"Bolshevism  and  the  United  States,"  says: 

After  the  bolshevists  had  seized  the  government  offices  and  pro- 
claimed Lenin  as  Prime  Minister,  a  change  was  made  in  the  fran- 
chise and  the  system  of  election.  It  had  been  the  boast  of  intelligent 
Russians  that  after  the  Revolution  all  citizens  of  Russia,  men  or 
women,  stood  upon  one  plane  of  equality,  in  an  absolute  democracy. 
They  were  not  long  allowed  such  a  distinction.  The  new  system 
adopted  after  the  bolshevik  coup  provided  that  delegates  to  the 


1 88   AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

provincial  Soviets  (which  elected  the  delegates  to  the  National 
Soviet)  should  be  chosen  on  this  basis: 

For  every  125  soldiers,  or  Red  Guards,  as  they  were  called  after 
Lenin's  triumph,  one  delegate; 

For  every  1,000  factory  workers  or  others  belonging  to  what  was 
called  the  working  class,  one  delegate; 

For  every  volost,  or  union  of  peasants'  villages,  two  delegates. 

Perhaps  you  do  not  get  the  whole  meaning  of  this  until  you  know 
that  a  volost  may  contain  from  10,000  to  100,000  inhabitants,  and 
seldom  has  fewer  than  15,000.  Say  the  average  is  20,000,  which  is  a 
low  estimate,  the  popular  franchise  in  Russia  would  work  out  thus: 

Every  soldier  has  one  vote; 

Every  factory  worker  has  one  eighth  of  a  vote; 

Every  peasant  has  one  eightieth  of  a  vote. 

Our  farmers  and  factory  workers  would  certainly  be 
pleased  if  we  had  such  an  arrangement  in  the  United 
States!  Offer  the  American  farmer  one  eightieth  of  a 
vote  and  you  would  be  lucky  to  escape  with  your  life. 

In  speaking  of  the  right  of  assembly,  Russell  says: 

The  Northern  Commune  of  September  13th  publishes  the  decree 
of  Zinoviev,  one  of  Lenin's  most  active  and  famous  assistants, 
covering  this  matter. 

4.  Three  days'  notice  must  be  given  to  the  soviet,  or  to  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  Village  Poor,  of  all  public  and  private  meetings. 

5.  All  meetings  must  be  open  to  the  representatives  of  the  soviet 
power — viz.,  the  representatives  of  the  Central  and  District  Soviet, 
the  Committee  of  the  Poor  and  the  Kommandatur  of  the  Revolu- 

'tionary  Secret  Police  Force. 

This  was  the  same  as  Bismarck's  law,  passed  in  order 
to  destroy  socialism.  So  successful  was  it  that  in  ten 
years  the  socialists  increased  in  Germany  from  350,000 
to  1,600,000. 

When  Lenin  thought  he  could  control  the  Constituent 
Assembly  he  declared  himself  in  favour  of  it,  but  when  he 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    189 

found  that  his  supporters  were  in  a  hopeless  minority, 
he  dispersed  the  Assembly.  Like  the  Czar?  Yes,  but 
a  Httle  worse! 

In  Article  II,  Paragraph  23,  of  the  official  Constitu- 
tion, compelled  by  law  to  be  posted  in  all  public  places 
in  Russia,  I  find: 

23.  Being  guided  by  the  interests  of  the  working  class  as  a  whole» 
the  Russian  Socialist  Federated  Soviet  Republic  deprives  all  individ- 
uals and  groups  of  rights  which  could  be  utilized  by  them  to  the  detriment 
of  the  socialist  revolution. 

The  right  of  free  assembly  was  abolished  by  Lenin 
and  the  right  of  free  speech  came  to  mean  only  the  right 
to  say  those  things  which  would  please  the  ruling  power. 
All  men  who  disagreed  with  Lenin  were  called  counter- 
revolutionists  and  he  filled  the  prisons  with  such  people. 

A  free  press  is  probably  as  necessary  an  element  in 
maintaining  the  rights  of  the  people  as  any  other  one 
thing,  and  yet  the  bolshevists  of  Russia  closed  and 
nailed  up  the  printing  plants  of  even  the  socialist  pub- 
lications and  threw  their  editors  in  jail;  and  this  was 
done  despite  Paragraph  14  of  Chapter  V  of  their  own 
Constitution  found  on  page  1161,  U.  S.  Senate  investiga- 
tion, "Bolshevik  Propaganda,"  which  reads: 


14.  For  the  purpose  of  securing  for  the  toilers  real  freedom  of 
expression  of  their  opinions,  the  R.  S.  F.  S.  R.  abolishes  the  depen- 
dence of  the  press  upon  capital  and  places  in  the  hands  of  the  work- 
ing class  and  of  the  poorer  elements  of  the  peasantry  all  the  technical 
and  material  means  for  the  publication  of  newspapers,  pamphlets, 
books,  and  all  other  press  productions  and  secures  their  free  circula- 
tion throughout  the  country. 


I90   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

Openly  repudiating  the  right  of  free  press,  I  find 
Lenin  advocating  in  his  "Soviets  at  Work,"  as  printed 
by  the  Seattle  Union  Record: 

The  merciless  suppression  of  the  thoroughly  dishonest  and  in- 
solently slanderous  bourgeois  press. 

Czar  Lenin  would  brook  no  criticism,  whether  by  the 
spoken  or  written  word ! 

Later  he  says,  in  speaking  of  the  resistance  to  soviet 
rule  through  publications  in  the  press  of  the  Cadets: 

The  nearer  we  get  to  a  complete  military  suppression  of  the 
bourgeoisie,  the  more  dangerous  become  for  us  the  petty  bourgeois 
anarchic  inclinations.    They  must  be  combated  by  compulsion. 

On  the  same  page  he  says : 

And  our  rule  is  too  mild,  quite  frequently  resembling  jam  rather 
than  iron. 

And  this  statement  despite  his  admission  of  thousands 
of  murders. 

Again  he  complains  because. 

Our  revolutionary  and  popular  tribunals  are  excessively  and  in- 
credibly weak, 

and  this  despite  the  fact  that  thousands  were  in  prisons 
while  hundreds  of  thousands  more  had  been  intimidated 
and  Lenin-shed  blood  stained  the  village  greens  all  over 
Russia. 

Lenin  and  Trotsky  advocated  soviet  or  "group 
control"  of  factories,  but  they  soon  found  that  the  laws 
of  nature  operated  even  in  Russia.    They  then  decided 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    191 

to  place  the  government-owned  industries  of  Russia 
under  an  autocratic  boss  and  demanded  absolute  and 
complete  "labour  control."  They  blame  famine  and 
unemployment  "on  everyone  who  violates  the  labour 
discipline  in  any  enterprise  and  in  any  business." 

They  tried  and  punished  without  mercy  all  men  who 
did  not  obey  without  question,  boasts  Lenin  on  the 
next  page  of  the  same  book. 

At  this  point  he  says: 

The  question  of  principle  is,  in  general,  the  appointment  of  in- 
dividuals endowed  with  unlimited  power,  the  appointment  of  dicta- 
tors   ....    etc. 

On  the  following  page  he  says : 

But  how  can  we  secure  a  strict  unity  of  will?  By  subjecting  the 
will  of  thousands  to  the  will  of  one. 

And  a  little  later  he  adds: 

But  at  any  rate,  complete  submission  to  a  single  will  is  absolutely 
necessary  for  the  success  of  the  processes  of  work    ....    etc. 

On  the  same  page  I  find  this: 

And  to-day  the  same  revolution — and  indeed  the  interest  of  so- 
cialism— demands  the  absolute  submission  of  the  masses  to  the 
single  will  of  those  who  direct  the  labour  process. 

One  notes  that  many  czarlings  of  Lenin's  creation 
are  to  control  all  workers.  The  workers  of  Russia,  if 
they  obey  Lenin,  have  nothing  to  say  as  to  their  hours 
of  labour  and  cannot  even  quit  their  jobs.  To  strike  in 
Russia,  of  course,  would  be  a  crime  against  the  State 
and  the  strikers  would  be  shot. 


192    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

In  the  United  States  many  of  the  labour  unions  have 
denounced  and  fought  the  "Taylor  System,"  which  is 
purported  to  be  the  most  scientific  method  of  efficient 
production.  In  our  country,  piece  work  has  been  de- 
nounced as  "one  of  the  worst  curses  Labour  has  to  con- 
tend with." 

In  his  "Soviets  at  Work,"  I  find  Lenin  advocating 
this  system  for  Russia  when  he  says: 

We  should  immediately  introduce  piece  work  and  try  it  out  in 
practice.  We  should  try  out  every  scientific  and  progressive  sug- 
gestion of  the  Taylor  System     ....    etc. 

Instead  of  Bolshevism  bringing  freedom  to  the  workers y 
it  brought  slavery.  Instead  of  independence — sub- 
missive dependence!  Instead  of  equal  pay  for  all 
(the  Utopia  of  the  soap-box  philosophers)  we  find  that 
Lenin  was  forced  to  engage  specialists  to  try  and  bring 
about  order  in  industry,  paying  them  25,000  to  50,000, 
yes,  even  100,000  rubles  per  year  as  he  admits  in  his 
book. 

In  spite  of  the  repressive  measures  adopted  by  Czar 
Nikolai,  discipline  could  not  be  maintained.  Produc- 
tion fell  off  in  many  instances  75  to  80  per  cent,  while  the 
people  remained  hungry,  ragged,  and  even  starving. 
During  the  winter  of  191 8  thousands  froze  to  death  in  a 
country  which  has  more  standing  timber  than  any  other 
in  the  world.  Thousands  more  starved  to  death,  al- 
though Russia  has  much  of  the  most  fertile  land  of  the 
world. 

From  my  conversations  with  returning  travellers  I 
am  convinced  that  millions  would  have  died  of  starva- 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    193 

tion  this  year  if  the  production  of  foodstuffs  had  de- 
pended on  the  demorahzed  men  of  Russia.  Thousands 
of  them  spent  their  time  in  idleness,  riding  free  on  the 
railroads  from  place  to  place  and  receiving  small  rations 
from  the  Government. 

The  women,  however,  always  in  every  country  more 
conservative  and  industrious  than  the  men,  plowed  the 
ground,  sowed  the  seed,  and  reaped  the  harvest,  thus 
saving  Russia  from  the  worst  famine  in  its  history. 
When  these  women  get  a  chance  to  vote — and  that 
chance  will  come — Quack  Lenin  and  Talker  Trotsky  will 
lose  their  jobs  and  probably  come  to  the  United  States, 
and,  under  the  beneficent  protection  of  our  authorities 
at  Washington,  become  writers  for  Max  Eastman's 
Liberator^  or  teachers  in  the  **Rand  School  of  Social 
Science.*' 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE    ORIGIN   AND   DEVELOPMENT   OF    BOLSHEVISM    IN 
THE    UNITED    STATES 

Ideas  are  cosmopolitan.  They  have  the  liberty  of  the  world. — 
Beecher. 

Our  land  is  not  more  the  recipient  of  the  man  of  all  countries  than 
of  their  ideas. — Bancroft. 

When  Lenin  and  Trotsky  secured  control  of  Russia 
they  felt  that  their  efforts  to  metamorphize  existing 
systems  must  fail  unless  the  movement  became  inter- 
national. They  knew  that  their  experiment  must 
spread  or  die  of  dry  rot.  They  knew  that  the  Red  Flag 
could  not  wave  on  the  same  planet  with  our  flag,  the 
flag  of  freedom,  liberty,  and  equal  rights.  Therefore 
with  the  help  of  their  employer,  Germany,  they^  set  out 
to  bring  about  the  overthrow  of  all  other  forms  of 
government  including  our  own.  Their  employer  fur- 
nished them  with  unlimited  means  to  destroy  other 
governments.  Especially  was  Germany  anxious  to 
bring  about  chaotic  conditions  in  countries  which  were 
at  war  with  her.  They  proposed  to  demoralize  and 
devitalize  the  spirit  of  national  patriotism  everywhere, 
in  order,  first,  to  win  the  war  on  the  battlefield;  and 
second,  to  win  the  greater  war  of  trade  and  expansion 
afterward. 

194 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    195 

Lenin  and  Trotsky  were  willing  workers.  They 
were  ready  to  use  the  methods  of  propaganda  advocated 
and  paid  for  by  Germany  but  their  purpose  primarily 
was  firmly  to  establish  internationally  the  bolshevist 
government,  and  they  cared  not  by  what  means  such 
an  end  was  attained.  Germany  supported  the  bol- 
shevist counter  revolution  as  did  the  monarchists  of 
Russia,  believing  that  it  was  an  ephemeral  thing,  would 
fall  in  a  few  days,  and  then  absolutism  could  again  take 
the  saddle.  Germany,  as  usual,  was  wrong  in  judging 
the  psychology  of  men.  Lenin  and  Trotsky,  with  Ger- 
many's help,  secured  control  of  Russia  but  then  estab- 
lished, as  we  have  seen,  an  autocracy  supported,  as 
every  autocracy  must  be  supported,  by  an  armed  force. 
Germany  had  forgotten  that  for  centuries  the  Czar  had, 
by  means  of  his  army,  maintained  tyranny  despite 
the  wishes  of  the  people  of  Russia.  Germany  appar- 
ently never  realized  that  Lenin  would  follow  in  the 
Czar's  footsteps,  and  use  the  identical  methods,  only 
made  more  stringent,  to  maintain  himself  in  power. 

The  moment  the  bolsheviki  disdained  popular  sup- 
port, repudiated  universal  suflFrage,  and  recruited  a  great 
army  that  was  well  fed  and  paid,  that  moment  Ger- 
many's hope  of  a  temporary  bolshevism  faded  away. 
Bolshevism  in  Russia  will  last  just  so  long  as  her  force 
in  the  field  is  the  strongest  force.  Argument  is  of  no 
avail.  The  fact  that  the  majority  is  against  Lenin 
means  nothing.  The  bolsheviki  see  to  it  that  the 
army  is  maintained  and  the  army  sees  to  it  that  bol- 
shevism is  maintained!  You  scratch  my  back  and 
I'll  scratch  yours!     Either  a  larger  force  must  destroy 


196   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

Lenin's  army  or  the  army  itself  must  be  permeated 
with  dissatisfaction  and  revolt;  otherwise  the  Govern- 
ment as  now  conducted  in  Russia  will  continue  in- 
definitely; provided  always  that  food  and  clothing  in 
sufficient  quantities  are  available  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  health  and  strength  of  the  soldiers. 

Germany,  no  doubt,  believed  that  the  crushing 
treaty,  forced  by  her  upon  Russia,  would  destroy  the 
bolshevist  regime.  She,  no  doubt,  expected  to  win  the 
war  and  then  turn  her  armed  forces  against  the  Red 
Army.  However,  the  fortunes  of  war  went  against 
the  Teutons  and  their  surrender  ended  any  chance  of 
their  intervention. 

Just  as  soon  as  Lenin  firmly  held  the  reins  of  power, 
he  sent  his  zealots  to  other  countries  to  spread  the 
doctrines  of  revolution.  No  land  was  immune.  Ire- 
land, England,  Austria,  Hungary,  Italy,  France,  Egypt, 
India,  etc.,  as  well  as  our  own  land,  received  their  quota 
of  men  and  women  whose  duty  it  was  to  destroy,  in 
order  to  rebuild  from  the  ruins,  a  government  such  as 
Russia  had  inaugurated. 

Thousands  came  to  our  shores;  thousands  more  were 
already  here,  fully  primed  for  action,  only  awaiting 
the  transported  spark  to  set  ablaze  a  destructive  fire. 
In  a  desultory  way,  bolshevism  had  existed  in  the 
United  States  for  many  years.  The  Noble  and  Holy 
Order  of  the  Knights  of  Labour,  organized  in  1869, 
embraced  syndicalism  in  many  of  its  manifestations. 
By  1887  they  had  more  than  one  million  members.  Their 
main  object  was  to  destroy  the  wage  system  and  craft 
unionism.     Although    the    leaders    preached    against 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    197 

sabotage  and  violence,  the  members  practised  both. 
This  was  eflPectually  demonstrated  in  the  southwest 
railway  strike  in  1886. 

In  1883  a  convention  was  held  in  Pittsburg,  composed 
of  direct  action  groups  from  all  over  the  United  States. 
They  issued  a  definite  proclamation  declaring  for  the 
destruction  of  the  existing  government  by  revolution- 
ary and  international  action,  and  demanded  the  ex- 
change of  goods  between  producers  without  profit. 

Johann  Most,  anarchist,  was  the  father  of  this  move- 
ment in  this  country,  and  once  again  honest  Labour 
suffered  the  penalty  of  the  preaching  and  practice  of 
anarchy.  This  movement  culminated  in  the  Hay- 
market  Massacre  in  Chicago,  in  1886,  which  affair  had 
a  most  disastrous  effect  on  the  labour  movement.  The 
preaching  of  anarchy  for  a  time  passed  out  of  existence, 
but  because  of  it  Labour  had  received  a  serious  setback. 

The  doctrines  taught  were  all  one  with  those  of 
Michael  Bakounin,  beginning  by  being  atheistic  and 
always  ending  with  direct  action.  One  writer  of  note, 
Robert  Hunter,  says: 

The  Labour  movement  lay  stunned  after  its  brief  flirtation  with 
anarchy.  Without  a  doubt,  the  bomb  in  Chicago  put  back  the 
Labour  movement  for  years. 

Every  time  Labour  associates  with  syndicalists,  La- 
bour is  the  sufferer,  usually  the  only  one,  and  yet  time 
and  again  false,  power-mad  syndicalists  in  labour  cir- 
cles start  the  same  old  quack  cure-all  on  its  rounds, 
often  deceiving  thousands. 


198   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

Now  enters  Eugene  V.  Debs,  several  times  since 
candidate  for  President  on  the  socialist  ticket,  and  who 
is  now  in  a  Federal  penitentiary  for  violation  of  the 
Espionage  Act.  Eugene  V.  Debs,  in  June,  1893,  or- 
ganized the  American  Railway  Union  in  Chicago.  This 
was  an  industrial  union  having  many  of  the  character- 
istics of  syndicalism.  Within  a  short  time  Debs  led 
the  Pullman  strikers  to  defeat,  after  tying  up  most  of 
the  railroads  of  the  country  and  bringing  many  cities 
to  the  verge  of  starvation. 

Debs,  at  this  time,  was  a  magnetic  personality.  Tall, 
angular,  of  dauntless  courage  and  determination,  he 
stood  head  and  shoulders  above  his  associates.  He  was 
a  real  orator  and  always  meant  what  he  said.  As  a  boy, 
I  had  the  good  fortune  to  listen  to  many  of  the 
great  orators  of  my  time,  but  Debs  always  affected  me 
most.  He  could  always  make  my  heart  beat  faster, 
and  cause  my  blood  to  leap  and  pulse  through  my  veins. 
His  appearance,  his  sincerity,  his  simple  life,  his  willing- 
ness to  sacrifice,  the  indescribable  timbre  and  vibration 
of  his  voice,  held  me  spellbound. 

At  the  time  of  the  Pullman  strike  Debs  was  not  very 
well  read.  He  had  been  a  railroad  engineer,  and  his 
opportunities  had  been  scant,  but  upon  being  placed 
in  the  Woodstock,  111.,  jail,  he  began  to  read  and  study 
socialism,  and  he  soon  became  not  only  a  political 
socialist  but  a  direct-action  revolutionist.  Until  late 
years,  however,  red  hate  did  not  enter  his  soul. 
He  was  as  gentle  and  kind  as  Eugene  Field  and  loved 
humanity  and  all  men.  He  never  had  a  dollar  in  his 
life  that  you  or  I  could  not,  for  the  asking,  get  half  or 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    199 

all  of.  And  one  did  not  have  to  ask;  if  he  saw  you 
needed  the  dollar,  it  was  yours.  In  private  life,  gentle 
and  kind;  on  the  firing  line,  he  was  as  brave,  resource- 
ful, firm,  and  unrelenting  as  Grant. 

He  never  deserted  his  colours,  but,  as  the  years 
went  on,  the  colours  took  on  a  deeper  crimson.  He 
lacked  poise,  balance,  and  logical  sequence  of  thought, 
but  was  not  like  unto  the  cowards  who  lead  the  Reds 
of  to-day.  He  took  his  whiskey  straight  and  never 
asked  the  bartender  for  water.  He  was  wrong,  mis- 
taken, had  little  idea  of  the  true  meaning  of  history, 
refused  to  learn  from  experience,  but  was  brave  always. 
It  is  too  bad  that  Debs  never  could  understand  evolu- 
tion and  hence  always  believed  in  revolution. 

Debs,  through  his  teachings  and  agitation,  has  been 
very  influential  in  forming  the  thought  of  the  present- 
day  syndicalists.  The  Western  Federation  of  Miners 
carried  on  an  I.  W.  W.  propaganda  for  years,  but  it 
was  not  until  1905  that  the  Industrial  Workers  of  the 
World  was  organized. 

In  November,  1904,  WilHam  Trautmann,  editor  of  the 
Brauer  Zeitungy  ofiicial  organ  of  the  United  Brewery 
Workmen;  George  Estes,  president  of  the  United 
Brotherhood  of  Railway  Employees;  W.  L.  Hall, 
secretary  of  the  same  organization;  Isaac  Cowen, 
American  representative  of  the  Amalgamated  Society 
of  Engineers  in  Great  Britain;  Clarence  Smith,  and 
Thomas  J.  Hagerty,  a  Catholic  priest,  met  in  Chicago 
and  with  the  cooperation  and  support  of  Debs,  issued  a 
letter  calling  for  a  larger  meeting  in  January,  1905.  In 
this  letter  the  fathers  of  the  American  I.  W.  W.  said: 


200   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

We  have  absolute  confidence  In  the  ability  of  the  working  class 

to  take  possession  of  and  opfraU  successfully  the    .    .    .    the  industries 
of  the  country. 

In  January,  the  secret  conference  was  held,  twenty- 
three  people  being  present,  including  Chas.  H.  Meyer, 
president  of  the  Western  Federation  of  Miners;  A.  M. 
Simons,  well-known  socialist  writer;  Frank  Bohn,  or- 
ganizer of  the  Socialist  Labour  Party,  and  "Mother" 
Mary  Jones. 

This  group  issued  a  manifesto  demanding  equal  pay 
for  all  work  and  criticizing  the  craft  union,  saying  of  it: 
*'It  generates  a  system  of  organized  scabbery"  and  leads 
"union  men  to  scab  on  each  other."  This  manifesto 
declared  that  the  teachings  of  the  American  Federation 
of  Labour  resulted  in  ignorance  and  trade  monopolies 
and  fostered  the  idea  of  harmony  between  the  employer 
and  employee. 

President  Gompers  of  the  American  Federation  of  La- 
bour probably  said :  "Just  another  crowd  of  socialists  who 
want  to  destroy  the  American  trade-union  movement." 
He  probably  did  not  foresee  the  bitter  struggle  which  is 
now  taking  place  within  his  own  organization,  between 
the  I.  W.W.  element  and  the  progressive,  loyal  majority. 

In  June,  1905,  two  hundred  men  met  in  Chicago,  and 
organized  the  Industrial  Workers  of  the  World.  Daniel 
DeLeon,  Eugene  V.  Debs,  Haywood  Moyer,  "Priest" 
Hagerty,  D.  C.  Coates,  and  Simons  were  the  dominat- 
ing factors.  Hagerty,  the  priest,  framed  the  preamble 
of  the  I.  W.  W.  Coates  later  organized  the  non- 
partisan forces  in  North  Dakota. 

From  that  day  to  this  there  has  been  a  continual 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    201 

battle  between  the  forces  of  trade  unionism  and  the  sup- 
porters of  the  I.  W.  W.  programme,  and  this  battle  will 
not  end  until  one  of  the  two  contending  factions  de- 
stroys the  other.  It  is  usually,  but  not  invariably,  the 
case,  that  those  who  contend  for  the  most,  demand  and 
promise  the  impossible,  and  preach  "hurry,"  win  over 
those  more  moderate  and  sensible  souls  who  really 
understand  how  slow  all  lasting  progress  must  neces- 
sarily be. 

So  many  people  seem  to  be  of  the  opinion  that  the 
I.  W.  W.  is  simply  a  radical  national  labour  union.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  I.  W.  W.  is  primarily  and  fundamen- 
tally an  international,  revolutionary  society  formed  for 
the  purpose  of  overthrowing  all  present  governments, 
and  all  present  systems  (except,  of  course,  the  I.  W.  W. 
Grovernment  of  Russia),  and  inaugurating  class  rule 
by  the  dictator  who,  by  taking  thought,  can  change  the 
physical  formation  of  the  earth  remodel  human  na- 
ture, reconstruct  everything,  abolish  God  and  good, 
parachute  humanity  over  all  the  rough  edges  of  life, 
and  bring  about  happiness  forever  after! 

But  let  us  quote  from  the  preamble  of  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  I.  W.  W.  itself: 

The  working  class  and  the  employing  class  have  nothing  in  c«m- 
mon.     There  can  be  no  peace.    .     .     . 

You  have  no  difficulty  in  recognizing  the  class-hatred 
teachings  of  Prince  Bakounin  in  the  very  first  sentence, 
and  the  very  first  sentence  is  untrue. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  men  who  work  have  a  common 
interest  with  the  men  they  work  for  and  with.     Each 


202   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

has  his  separate  duty  to  perform  in  order  that  industry 
may  progress  and  function.  The  employer  surely  per- 
forms a  necessary  duty  by  first  planning  in  his  mind 
and  then  establishing  in  actuality  the  factory;  the 
thought  almost  invariably  is  his  thought;  the  capital 
to  operate  on  is  his;  the  first  investment  is  his;  the  fail- 
ure of  the  undertaking  causes  him  loss,  ofttimes  irre- 
mediable, while  the  failure  as  far  as  the  worker  is 
concerned  very,  very  seldom  causes  him  to  lose  even  a 
day's  pay;  for  Labour  gets  its  money  even  though  other 
creditors  suffer.  Sometimes,  however,  the  failure  of  a 
particular  industry  in  a  particular  place  means  change 
of  residence  as  well  as  unemployment  for  the  worker. 

The  interests  of  employer  and  employee  are  identical 
in  several  ways:  first,  a  successful  enterprise,  say  in 
Puyallup,  Washington,  means  steady  employment  for 
the  workers,  means  the  establishment  of  homes  and 
local  ties,  means  steady  schooling  for  the  children, 
means  social  life  and  happiness  for  all.  Success  means 
food,  clothing,  education,  and  stability  of  employment 
and  mode  of  life;  the  ability  on  the  part  of  the  worker  to 
plan  ahead;  to  vision,  in  a  measure,  his  family's  future; 
to  feel  safe  in  buying  an  acre  of  land,  building  a  home, 
and  paying  for  it  gradually. 

Success  in  this  Puyallup  undertaking  means,  for  the 
employer,  profitable  use  of  his  capital,  stability  for  his 
investment.  A  successful  enterprise  is  the  only  one 
that  can  grant  to  the  worker  continuous  employment  at 
a  decent  and  living  wage.  The  ability  to  furnish  con- 
tinuous and  profitable  employment  to  the  worker 
gathers  around  the  factory  steady,  thrifty  men  whose 


AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    203 

output  grows  in  productiveness  and  value  because  of 
their  experience  and  settled  condition.  This  enables 
the  enterprise  to  pay  more  to  the  employer  and  more 
to  the  worker  than  if  it  be  unprofitable  and  temporary. 
If  the  American  owner  does  his  share  of  the  work,  if 
sufficient  capital  is  invested,  if  Labour  does  its  work,  if 
employer,  employee,  and  administrative  heads  all  do 
their  work,  American-made  goods  can  compete  with 
the  foreign-made  product,  and  steady  employment  is 
the  result;  but  if  the  enterprise  fail  in  any  one  of  these 
particulars,  it  must  close  down.  The  employer,  if  he  has 
any  capital  left,  seeks  new  fields;  the  worker  must  find 
a  new  place,  must  probably  move,  while  the  far-away 
competitor  produces  the  goods  and  is  the  only  gainer. 

It  is  not  true  that  dissension  between  employer  and 
employees  brings  good.  It  brings  evil.  It  is  bad. 
The  better  they  work  together,  the  more  goods  are 
produced  and  the  more  surplus  there  is  left  to  divide 
between  the  creative  members  of  the  enterprise.  And 
let  me  say  right  here  that  the  man  in  overalls  is  not  the 
only  worker.  The  man  with  the  white  collar  and  un- 
soiled  hands  very  often  works  harder  than  the  man  who 
labours  only  with  his  hands.  My  experience  has 
proven  to  me  that  men  taken  as  a  whole  earn  what  they 
get  regardless  of  their  position  in  life!  Certainly  there  are 
exceptions,  many  of  them,  but  the  rule  holds  good. 

It  is  also  true  that  men  usually  find  the  niche  they 
are  best  fitted  for  in  the  walks  of  life.  Despite  contrary 
statements,  I  have  found  that  there  usually  is  a  mani- 
fest reason  for  the  one's  success  and  the  other's  failure, 
and  that  reason  is  ofttimes  the  fact  that  some  men  will 


204   AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

do  without  for  a  time  in  order  to  have  more  at  the  end, 
while  others  want  theirs  every  day  in  rest,  in  amusement, 
in  idleness,  in  clothes,  etc.  I  have  no  fault  to  find  with 
either  crowd,  but  I  deny  the  right  of  the  man  who 
spends  his  dollar  to  come  around  after  a  time  and  de- 
mand half  of  my  saved  dollar.  That  gives  him  $1.50 
out  of  the  $2.00  and  it  does  not  seem  to  me  to  be  fair. 
One  cannot  eat  one's  ice  cream  and  have  it,  too! 
Further  on  the  I.  W.  W.  preamble  says: 

Instead  of  the  conservative  motto  of  "A  fair  day's  wages  for  a 
fair  day's  work,"  we  must  inscribe  on  our  banner  the  Revolutionary 
watchword:  "Abolition  of  the  wage  system  !'* 

Now  we  have  the  crux  of  their  doctrine.  They  are 
not  interested  in  securing  their  share  of  what  is  produced. 
They  want  it  all.     In  the  very  next  sentence  they  say: 

It  is  the  historic  mission  of  the  working  class  to  do  away  with 
capitalism. 

All  right!  We  agree  that  capitalism  has  its  faults; 
grave  faults  and  many  of  them.  We  agree  that  the 
problem  of  scientifically  dividing  the  product  of  labour, 
capital,  energy,  and  brains,  as  applied  to  natural  re- 
sources, has  not  been  fair  and  equitable.  We  agree 
that  the  millennium  has  not  been  reached.  We  agree 
that  human  nature  operates  on  both  sides,  and  each  side 
strives  to  secure  more  than  its  appropriate  and  just 
share  and  frequently  does  secure  it.  The  Red  employer 
and  Red  employee  have  one  thing  in  common :  they  are 
both  fundamentally  thieves.     But  with  what  system  shall 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    205 

we  supplant  capitalism?  Has  a  better  system  been  dis- 
covered? Has  any  other  plan,  taken  "by  and  large" 
as  Sam  Blythe  says,  ever  functioned  with  one  tenth  the 
success  of  capitalism?     If  so,  show  me! 

It  is  indeed  unfortunate  for  the  revolutionists  that 
daily  papers  and  magazines  have  told  the  story  of  Rus- 
sia and  syndicalism.  It  is  unfortunate  that  history 
persists  in  telling  the  truth  in  relation  to  the  Utopian 
schemes  of  past  centuries  and  their  progress-destroy- 
ing failures.  Otherwise,  we  might  wonder  what  the 
result  would  be;  now  we  know  what  it  must  he.  We  are 
not  in  the  dark.  The  child  who  falls  against  the  hot 
stove  feels  the  burn  and  remembers;  the  great  majority 
of  the  people  will  take  the  child's  word  that  the  stove 
was  hot,  and  that  when  he  fell  against  it  he  was  injured. 
The  fellow  standing  in  the  doorway  may  talk  his  lungs 
out  and  argue  that  falling  against  the  stove  would  not 
bum  if  the  child  fell  on  his  other  side,  or  if  he  fell  with 
courage,  or  if  he  did  not  jump  away  so  quickly,  but  the 
child's  burns,  as  you  apply  the  sweet  oil,  always  convince 
everyone  hut  the  weak  minded  or  the  fanatic.  The  man 
in  the  doorway  says  after  every  failure:  "If  we  all  fall 
on  the  stove  at  the  same  time,  it  will  not  burn."  He 
forgets  that  heat  is  a  condition  of  temperature,  not  of 
opinion. 

The  world  in  its  final  analysis  is  ruled  by  old  exper- 
ience. Capitalism  thus  far  has  been  found  to  be  the 
best  and  most  scientific  method  yet  devised  or  tried  for 
human  happiness.  Turning  the  clock  back  to  com- 
munism, or  anarchy,  has  the  same  chance  of  permanent 
success  as  we  would  have  in  running  an  ox  cart  in  com- 


2o6   AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

petition  with  a  motor  car.  Progress  consists  in  going 
forward  and  not  backward! 

Before  we  proceed  further  we  must  clearly  under- 
stand the  three  cardinal  principles  of  the  I.  W.  W. 

First,  they  demand  the  destruction  of  the  American 
Federation  of  Labour  and  all  kindred  organizations. 
They  call  the  trade  unionist  a  traitor  to  the  cause  of 
revolution.  Labour-union  leaders  they  call  *^  cadets f* 
** labour  parasites y"  " labour  fakirsy**  "the  agents  of  capi- 
talisniy"  "aristocrats  of  labour y'^  and  accuse  them  in 
their  constitution  of  misleading  Labour  and  supporting 
the  employer. 

Second,  they  plan  and  demand  the  overthrow  of  all 
orderly  government,  and  denounce  unsparingly  all  po- 
litical action  or  legal  means  of  changing  the  prevailing 
laws.  They  want  overthrow  of  law  and  order  by  force 
and  at  once.     Now  is  always  the  accepted  time! 

Third,  they  demand,  after  the  overthrow,  that  a  few 
untrained  agitators  be  placed  in  positions  of  dictators, 
and  that  everyone  who  does  not  agree  be  either  exterminated 
or  forced  to  join  their  ranks! 

As  to  the  necessity  of  continuing  production^  they 
speak  only  in  general  terms,  much  as  a  boy  of  six  does 
when  asked;  "What  will  you  do  when  you  grow  up?'* 
They  apparently  have  just  as  definite  and  certain  plans 
as  to  what  should  be  done  after  Der  Tag  as  the  boy  has 
regarding  his  future.  The  answer  you  get  from  the 
boy  is  certainly  more  definite  and  more  likely  to  come 
to  pass  than  the  answer  one  receives  on  reading  their 
literature  or  talking  with  their  evangelists. 

In  the  beginning,  the  American  Federation  of  Labour 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    207 

ridiculed  the  I.  W.  W.'s  as  a  crowd  of  disappointed 
office  seekers,  the  Federationist  calling  them  "the  most 
stupendous  impossibles  the  world  has  yet  seen." 

All  the  officers  elected  at  their  constitutional  conven- 
tion were  socialists,  but  the  Socialist  Party  did  not  in- 
dorse their  programme.  Haywood  carried  the  fight  to 
the  American  Federation  of  Labour,  saying:  "The  ideas 
of  Mr.  Gompers  are  hoary,  aged,  moss-covered  relics  of 
the  days  of  the  ox  team  and  pony  express." 

The  battle  was  on  between  the  craft-union  idea  and 
the  one  big  union.  That  battle  has  been  carried  on  up 
to  the  present  day,  but  the  I.  W.  W.'s  have  usually 
failed  to  get  and  hold  the  skilled  worker,  nor  have  they 
been  able  to  convince  the  thinkers  in  the  ranks.  One 
of  the  great  troubles  faced  by  the  I.  W.  W.  organization 
everywhere  is  the  fact  that  the  demoralization  of  its 
own  members  makes  them  untrustworthy  and  dis- 
honest. I.  W.  W.  organizers  and  petty  treasurers 
continually  abscond  with  the  funds.  Brissenden,  in 
"The  I.  W.  W.:  A  Study  of  American  Syndicalism," 
says: 

The  dearth  of  ability  and  especially  want  of  honesty  in  its  man- 
aging personnel  were  to  become  all  too  evident  ...  as  was 
also  its  practically  bankrupt  condition. 

In  the  words  of  Hajrwood,  "Industrial  unionists 
should  abrogate  all  agreements."  Contracts,  morality, 
and  right  are  as  nothing  to  them.  The  organization 
has  reaped  the  fruit  of  its  own  teachings.  You  cannot 
tell  a  man  to  steal  for  you  and  expect  him  never  to  steal  from 


2o8    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

you.     There  is  no  honour  among  thieves  and  never  has 
been! 

Their  second  convention  was  held  in  1906.  The  dis- 
honest teachings  were  already  bearing  fruit.  The 
auditing  committee  found  that  "President  Sherman's 
report  shows  extravagance  and  strong  evidence  of 
corruption.*'  Speakers  at  the  convention  charged 
"corruption,  graft,  and  fakirization  which  would  put 
to  shame  the  worst  of  the  American  Federation  of 
Labour."     Brissenden   says  in  his  book  just  quoted: 

The  preaching  of  the  overthrow  of  all  government  took,  and 
the  Reds  abolished  the  office  of  President,  and  according  to  Presi- 
dent Sherman,  "violated  the  constitution." 

Unable  even  to  rule  themselves  in  a  small  con- 
vention of  ninety-three  of  the  leaders  it  would 
seem  quite  proper  to  remark  that  they  probably  would 
fail  if  given  control  of  the  earth  and  the  riches 
thereof. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  I.  W.  W.  split  into  two 
bodies,  one  known  as  the  Detroit  I.  W.  W.  and  the 
other  as  the  Chicago  I.  W.  W.  The  Detroit  I.  W.  W. 
preaches  political  action;  the  Chicago  I.  W.  W.,  with 
whose  aflPairs  we  will  deal  exclusively,  disdains  any  poli- 
tical action  whatever,  deeming  **  force,  direct  action, 
sabotage,  strike,  and  revolution,  as  the  only  proper 
means  of  procedure."  The  Detroit  branch  changed 
their  name  **in  order,"  said  they,  "to  escape  from  the 
smell  of  the  *bummery'  of  the  Chicago  name."  They 
call  themselves  the  W.  I.  I.  U.,  the  Workers'  Interna- 
tional Industrial  Union. 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    209 

As  already  stated,  those  who  promise  the  greatest 
and  most  immediate  results  usually  win  the  greatest 
number  of  supporters  and  converts.  This  happened 
with  the  tw^o  factions;  the  Chicago  I.  W.  W.  gaining 
the  most  members  and  exerting  the  most  power.  We 
are  not  particularly  concerned  with  the  civil  war 
between  the  two  bodies.  A  man  whose  house  is  about 
to  be  robbed  cares  little  about  the  quarrel  between  the 
burglars.  He  gains  time,  however,  to  call  the  police 
while  they  argue  whether  it  is  best  to  dynamite  the 
basement  door  or  use  a  jimmy  on  the  bedroom  window 
in  the  second  story. 

For  many  years  the  I.  W.  W.  had  a  wandering,  un- 
organized existence,  being  always  strongest  in  the  Far 
West  and  weakest  in  the  states  where  industry  was 
highly  developed  and  home  life  more  stable. 

The  so-called  free-speech  fights  carried  on  at  intervals 
were  not  fights  for  free  speech  and  were  not  intended 
to  be.  They  were  simply  petty  quarrels  picked  by  the 
organization  for  the  purpose  of  bill-boarding  their  sup- 
posed importance.  In  Los  Angeles  in  191 1,  however, 
when  the  Times  Building  was  blown  up  by  dynamite 
and  several  people  killed,  the  organization  really  prac- 
tised its  theories. 

All  my  readers  will  recall  the  great  effort  made  to 
gain  organized  Labour's  support  for  the  McNamaras; 
parades  were  held,  funds  were  collected,  the  innocence 
of  the  murderers  was  emblazoned  on  banners,  and  a 
general  strike  was  to  be  called  to  terrify  the  law-enforc- 
ing officials,  and  then  the  McNamaras  confessed  to  the 
crime,  and  Labour  once  more,  after  "flirting  with  an- 


2IO   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

archists,"  received  a  black  eye,  and  was  made  to  appear 
ridiculous. 

Some  day  honest  Labour  will  learn  that  it  is  forced 
to  carry  the  water  and  cut  the  wood  for  these  an- 
archists, and  is  always  blamed  if  failure  comes,  but 
never  gets  the  credit  if  success  is  attained.  The  I.  W. 
W.  cry  loudly  for  help  when  in  trouble,  and  just  as  soon 
as  Labour  has  helped  them  out,  they  "bite  the  hand 
that  fed  them." 

The  McNamaras'  crime  was  but  one  of  a  long  series 
carried  out  by  them  and  their  fellows;  they  operated 
everywhere  and  dealt  openly  in  murder  and  theft.  I 
was  greatly  complimented  when  McNamara,  in  prison, 
gave  out  an  interview  attacking  my  acts  during  the 
general  strike.  It  is  fine  to  know  that  such  men  are 
against  you.  It  makes  you  feel  good  and  convinces 
honest  men  you  were  lOO  per  cent,  right. 

From  191 1  on  the  I.  W.  W.  became  more  and  more 
openly  hostile  to  government.  In  all  their  publica- 
tions they  demanded  direct  action,  until  to-day  direct 
action  with  its  sabotage,  strike,  and  destructive  tactics 
generally,  constitutes  all  their  methods. 

In  191 2  they  took  entire  charge  of  the  Lawrence, 
Mass.,  textile  strike.  Joseph  Ettor  and  Wm.  D.  Hay- 
wood led  this  strike,  which  developed  every  phase  of 
revolutionary  syndicalism.  For  instance,  the  Survey 
quotes  a  Lawrence  resident  as  describing  as  follows  the 
way  the  I.  W.  W.  operated: 

The  addresses  of  the  men  working  are  given  to  a  committee.  They 
are  visited  after  nine  o'clock  at  night  by  strangers,  generally 
Poles. 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    211 

"Working  to-day?"  (The  man  speaking  has  a  sharp  knife  and 
is  whittling  a  stick.) 

"Yah." 

"Work  to-morrow?" 

"Id' no." 

"If  you  work  to-morrow,  I  cut  your  throat." 

"No,  no,  I  no  work." 

**  Shake,"  and  they  shake  hands. 

Wm.  D.  Haywood  tried  to  bring  about  a  general  strike  in 
Lawrence,  saying:  "We  will  tie  up  the  railroads,  put  the  city  in 
darkness  and  starve  the  soldiers  out." 

When  Ettor  and  Giovannitti,  I.  W.  W.  orators,  were 
placed  in  jail,  the  Seventh  National  Convention  of  the 
organization  was  being  held.  They  demanded  im- 
mediate release  and  acquittal  of  these  two  men  no  matter 
what  the  facts  were  and  threatened  that  the  industries  of  the 
country  would  suffer  a  general  strike  unless  their  demands 
were  obeyed.  In  other  words,  in  open  convention  the 
I.W.  W.,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1912,  openly  advo- 
cated and  threatened  the  general  strike  unless  the 
judge  and  jury  who  were  to  try  accused  individuals, 
who  happened  to  be  members  of  their  order,  let  the  ac- 
cused go  free. 

The  I.  W.  W.  propaganda  sheets  openly  demanded 
sabotage.  "They  demanded  a  boycott  on  Lawrence, 
asked  railroad  men  to  lose  their  cars,  telegraphers 
to  lose  their  messages,  etc,"  said  Brissenden  in  his  book 
already  quoted. 

The  merits  or  demerits  of  the  strike  is  not  the  ques- 
tion. The  outstanding  accomplishment  of  the  strike 
was  that  a  body  of  syndicalists  in  America  were  allowed 
to  preach  and  practise  violence  and  sabotage  and  ^^get 
away  with  it.*' 


212    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 
A  banner  carried  in  a  strikers'  parade  read : 


ARISE!!!  SLAVES  OF  THE  WORLD!!!! 
NO  GOD!!  NO  MASTER!!! 


The  tenets  and  practices  of  the  syndicahsts  of  long  ago 
were  adopted  from  cocktails  to  small  blacks.  The 
leaders  gained  in  courage  and  vituperative  violence. 
They  had  dared  the  Government  and  won.  They  had 
broken  the  plain  law  and  escaped.  They  had  both 
preached  and  practised  and  were  not  punished.  They 
nozv  spread  all  over  the  United  States. 

In  September,  191 4,  they  held  another  convention. 
They  said:  "Don't  parade  and  ask  help  from  politicians. 
Go  where  there  is  plenty  of  food  and  clothing  and  help 
yourselves." 

As  reported  in  the  Chicago  Daily  News  of  September 
22,  1914,  Haywood  said: 

Take  what  you  need  where  you  find  it.  It  is  yours.  Take  food, 
clothing,  shelter.  Take  over  machinery.  Use  it  for  yourselves. 
It  is  yours. 

Frank  Little,  who  was  afterward  hanged  in  Butte, 
said:  "Wherever  I  go  I  inaugurate  sabotage  among  the 
workers." 

The  convention  went  on  record  "as  refusing  to  fight 
for  any  purpose  except  industrial  freedom." 

The  great  war  in  Europe  was  in  its  initial  stages.  The 
fight  between  the  American  Federation  of  Labour  and 
the  I.  W.  W.  grew  more  bitter  daily.     The  Federation- 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    213 

ists  charged  that  the  I.  W.  W/s  "scabbed  on  the  job"  in 
order  to  destroy  the  Federation.  The  I.  W.  W.  would 
inaugurate  a  strike.  The  A.  F.  of  L.  would  have  agree- 
ments between  the  employers  and  the  engineers  who 
were  not  on  strike,  and  yet  the  industry  could  not  be 
tied  up  without  the  engineers  repudiating  their  agree- 
ment with  the  employers.  Many  times  the  A.  F.  of  L. 
men  would  stay  on  the  job.  Then  the  I.  W.  W.  called 
them  scabs.  Many  I.  W.  W's  had,  against  the  rules 
of  their  order,  joined  the  A.  F.  of  L.  unions  in  order  to 
secure  work,  but  night  and  day  they  tried  to  disunionize 
their  associates. 

Many  I.  W.  W.*s  and  their  sympathizers  openly  de- 
nounced the  war  in  Europe  and  just  as  openly,  later  on, 
denounced  our  entrance  into  the  war,  when  our  Govern- 
ment became  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  such  action. 
Following  in  their  wake  were  the  pacifists  and  all  that 
mongrel  breed  who  would  partake  of  all  the  good  that 
comes  from  our  form  of  government,  while  refusing  to 
defend  it.  They  were  everywhere.  The  draft  law  or 
conscription  act  was  their  especial  target.  Caring 
neither  for  the  future  of  the  world  nor  for  giving  a  fair 
chance  to  our  own  boys  in  the  trenches,  they  made 
every  effort  to  check  our  war  preparations,  cause  the 
failure  of  the  Liberty  Loans,  etc.  The  I.  W.  W. 
element,  left  unchecked  and  unpunished  in  time  of  peace, 
came  back  to  plague  our  nation  in  time  of  war. 

Many  of  the  I.  W.  W.'s  were  arrested  during  the  war 
and  some^ere  punished.  The  Government  started,  stop- 
ped, started  again,  conciliated,  pandered,  and  generally 
pursued  a  skim-milk  policy.     Argument  was  tried,  kind- 


214   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

ness,  public  statements  appealing  to  patriotism,  and  this 
to  a  class  of  men  who  know  but  one  argument, /ore*?;  who 
think  kindness  is  weakness,  and  who  have  no  patriotism! 

It  might  be  well  in  order  that  the  reader  may  under- 
stand the  activities  of  the  I.  W.  W.  to  go  more  fully 
into  the  spoken  and  written  tenets,  beliefs,  methods,  and 
practices  of  this  organization.  So  many  people  look 
upon  the  violence  as  sporadic,  incidental,  individual, 
instead  of  the  work  of  the  organization  itself. 

Any  honest  man  who  investigates  the  I.  W.  W.  must 
come  to  the  following  conclusions: 

First,  the  I.  W.  W.  is  an  international  revolutionary 
society  and  not  a  labour  union. 

Second,  it  is  against  all  labour  unions,  against  all 
government,  and  aims  at  the  overthrow  of  all  organized 
society. 

Third,  it  teaches  class  hatred,  direct  action,  use  of 
force  and  violence,  sabotage  on  the  job;  brings  on  strike 
after  strike  for  no  other  reason  than  to  cause  the  workers 
to  hate  the  employers  and  the  Government. 

Fourth,  it  believes  and  teaches  that  after  strike 
after  strike  has  been  called,  the  worker  will  grow  to  hate 
the  employer  and  will  hate  the  Government  whose  function 
it  is  to  preserve  order.  This  prepares  the  worker  for  revo- 
lution. 

Fifth,  it  believes  revolution  must  be  brought  about 
by  means  of  the  general  strike  which  shall  paralyze 
industry  and  deprive  the  people  of  the  necessities  of  life. 

Sixth,  it  is  against  any  preparedness  programme  which 
would  give  the  Government  an  armed  force  to  protect 
itself  when  Der  Tag  comes. 


AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    215 

Seventh,  it  is  against  all  religion  and  all  morality. 
The  I.  W.  W.  has  found  it  necessary  to  destroy  all 
established  modes  of  thought  and  conduct  in  order  to 
prepare  the  worker's  mind  for  violence,  theft,  arson, 
murder,  the  Red  Terror,  and  free  love. 

Eighth,  the  I.  W.  W.  members  not  only  believe  In 
the  above  programme,  not  only  teach  it,  but  each  and 
everyone  puts  into  practice  these  beliefs  as  far  as  his 
opportunities  and  courage  permit  him  so  to  do! 

Ninth,  all  cooperation  and  peace  are  abhorrent  to  the 
I.  W.  W.  as  well  as  all  orderly  legal  means  of  action. 
Force  is  the  only  method  they  will  consider. 

Tenth,  the  I.  W.  W.  believes  the  majority  is  unfit  to 
control  its  affairs,  but  that  a  minority  composed  of 
I.  W.  W.  members  should  rule  and  control  all  things 
and  all  men. 

I  hereby  submit  proofs  which  I  believe  sufficient  to 
convince  any  reasonable  man  of  the  truth  of  these 
assertions. 

In  every  town  and  city  during  my  trip  for  the  Victory 
Loan  through  the  East  I  found  this  organization  preach- 
ing its  doctrines,  fomenting  class  strife,  and  denouncing 
all  governments  alike.  In  conversation  with  some  of 
the  leading  men  of  the  nation  I  found  an  appalling 
ignorance  as  to  this  organization — The  Industrial 
Workers  of  the  World — its  aims,  its  methods,  and  its  doc- 
trines. Many  seemed  to  believe  it  was  simply  a  radical 
labour  union  with  no  fundamental  beliefs  except  to 
make  conditions  better  for  the  men  who  toil.  It  is 
time  the  people  of  this  country,  my  country,  learn  the 
truth. 


2i6    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

I  have  been  unable  to  find  a  more  terrific  indictment 
of  I.  W.  W.'ism  than  its  own  authoritative  records; 
its  own  principles  enunciated  in  its  own  Constitution. 
Every  statement  I  have  made  is  substantiated  by  the 
organization's  own  printed  matter.  I  have  made  no 
effort  to  convict  the  organization  of  anything  to  which 
it  has  not  pleaded  guilty.  This  is  simply  a  gathering 
together  and  restatement  of  what  it  has,  times  without 
number,  admitted  itself. 

One  of  the  strangest  phenomena  observable  at  all 
times  is  the  inclination  of  large  numbers  of  people  to 
believe  that  some  new  panacea  has  been  discovered  to 
solve  the  ills  to  which  humanity  is  heir.  Time  and 
again  I  have  talked  with  I.  W.  W.  propagandists  and 
they  seldom  knew  that  their  doctrines  had  been  agi- 
tated, and  in  several  instances  given  a  complete  trial, 
nearly  a  century  ago.  They  all  apparently  believe  that 
their  teachings  come  from  the  *' proletariat'* ;  that  they 
are  the  discovery  of  the  Workers  of  the  World  and  would, 
if  applied,  emancipate  all. 

The  faith  of  the  followers  of  I.  W.  W.'ism  is  only 
exceeded  by  the  colossal  conceit  of  its  leaders. 
I.  W.  W.'ism,  holshevism,  and  revolutionary  syndicalism 
are  one  and  the  same  thing.  Long  before  Lenin  or 
Trotsky  or  Haywood  were  born,  the  creed  was  fully  de- 
veloped and  had  failed  in  practice. 

The  plans  of  syndicalism  or  I.  W.  W.'ism,  briefly 
stated,  are  as  follows:  to  secure  the  support  of  a  militant 
minority;  refuse  universal  suffrage  to  the  people;  preach 
continuous  and  never-ending  class  war;  disfranchise 
everyone  but  the  poorest  shop  workers;  allow  only  the 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    217 

** proletariat"  to  vote;  cast  out  even  their  votes  unless 
they  stand  four-square  with  syndicalism;  join  existing 
labour  organizations;  gain  control  of  these  bodies;  bring 
on  strike  after  strike  for  the  purpose  of  fomenting  dis- 
content and  encouraging  resentment  among  the  workers 
against  their  employers.  After  each  strike  is  lost, 
sabotage  is  to  be  used  on  every  possible  occasion,  and 
when  the  time  is  ripe,  this  militant  minority  is  to  strike 
down  the  existing  government  through  the  means  of  a  gen- 
eral strike;  take  possession  of  the  reins  of  government, 
allowing  only  those  who  agree  with  them  a  voice  in 
the  control  of  affairs;  force  all  other  classes  to  starve  or 
join  the  *' proletariat" ;  confiscate  all  property;  wipe  out 
of  existence  by  blood  all  opposition,  and  then  sail  away 
on  a  rainbow  of  dreams  to  a  blessed  land! 

I  repeat  the  I.  W.  W.  is  not  a  labour  organization,  is  not 
an  American  organization,  but  is  an  international  revo- 
lutionary society  whose  aim  is  the  overthrow  of  all  gov- 
ernments, and  the  inauguration  of  a  minority  rule. or 
the  dictatorship  of  the  *' proletariat  "  In  every  printed 
article  since  its  inception  every  leader  has  openly 
denounced  and  despised  the  majority.  They  say  in  all 
their  documents  that  the  majority  do  not  know  what  is 
good  for  them  but  that  "e^^,  the  self -chosen  leaders  of 
the  minority,  do  know,  and  the  only  way  to  bring 
about  universal  happiness  is  to  place  us  in  charge  of  all 
things." 

This  programme  was  the  exact  procedure  which  took 
place  in  Russia  when  the  Kerensky  Government  was 
overthrown.  In  the  preamble  the  bolshevists  (the  Rus- 
sian I.  W.  W.'s)  naively  state: 


2i8   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

In  order  to  cure  all  the  ills  of  humanity,  we  adopt  this  consti- 
tution    ....     etc. 

The  I.  W.  W.  teach  word  for  word,  and  sentence  for 
sentence,  the  same  doctrines  as  the  French  syndicalists 
and  the  bolshevists.  The  methods  of  the  I.  W.  W. 
and  its  teachings  are  exactly  the  same:  class  war; 
strike  after  strike;  sabotage;  finally  the  Great  Day;  and 
then  Happiness  forever.  The  I.  W.  W.  Constitution 
says: 

There  is  but  one  bargain  that  the  I.  W.  W.  will  make  with  the 
employing  class — complete  control  of  industry  to  the  organized 
toorkers  [the  I.  W.  W.'s]. 

And  again: 

As  a  revolutionary  organization  the  I.  W.  W.  aims  to  use  any  and 
all  tactics  that  will  get  the  results  sought.  .  .  .  The  tactics 
used  are  determined  solely  by  the  power  of  the  organization  to  make 
good  in  their  use. 

They  also  say: 

No  terms  are  final  with  the  employer;  all  peace  is  but  an  armed 
truce.  .  .  .  No  part  of  the  organization  is  allowed  to  enter 
into  time  contracts  with  the  employers.  .  .  .  The  I.  W.  W. 
seek  no  agreements  with  their  employers;  they  claim  no  concession  ex- 
cept that  which  we  have  the  power  to  take  and  to  hold  by  the 
strength  of  our  organization.  Failing  to  force  concessions  from  the 
employers  by  the  strike,  work  is  resumed  and  sabotage  is  used  to 
force  the  employers  to  concede  to  the  demands  of  the  workers. 

If  the  employers  do  not  accede  to  their  demands, 
they  go  back  on  the  job,  practise  sabotage;  in  other 
words,  strike  on  the  job  by  burning  buildings,  putting 
spikes  in  logs,  emery  dust  in  machinery,  missending 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    219 

trains,  spoiling  food,  causing  industrial  accidents,  and 
hampering  in  every  manner,  by  secrecy  and  stealth, 
the  successful  conduct  of  enterprise.  The  I.  W.  W. 
teachings,  without  any  equivocations  or  attempted 
excuses,  state  plainly  that  anything  that  is  done  which 
harms  industry  or  government  is  right. 

The  teaching  and  advocacy  of  sabotage,  force, 
violence,  theft,  and  arson,  has  blunted  and  ofttimes 
destroyed  the  moral  sense  of  the  organization's  mem- 
bers. They  teach  non-observance  of  all  law,  ridicule 
morality,  advocate  godlessness,  and  are  made  to  believe 
that  everything  done  by  them  is  right.  They  also  are 
taught  to  commit  all  crimes  by  secrecy  and  stealth,  but 
cautioned  to  take  care  of  and  protect  their  worthless  lives. 

For  fear  that  many  readers  may  think  that  only  a 
few  members  believe  and  practise  law-breaking  as  a 
duty,  I  will  quote  from  some  of  their  own  literature 
and  from  their  writers,  speakers,  and  leaders,  to  prove 
that  every  I.  W.  W.  is  a  revolutionist,  per  j^,  who  is  taught 
to  commit  crime  as  a  duty,  to  hate  all  government,  to 
destroy  all  orderly  society,  and  does  commit  just  the 
number  of  crimes  that  his  courage,  opportunity,  and  ability 
permit. 

Wm.  D.  Haywood — ^who,  thank  God,  wa^  convicted 
by  that  most  sensible  and  loyal  jury  in  the  city  of 
Chicago,  in  the  second  of  his  pamphlets,  called  "The 
General  Strike,"  published  by  the  I.  W.  W.  Publishing 
Bureau  of  Chicago^says: 

Forty  years  ago  to-day  there  began  the  greatest  general  strike 
known  in  modem  history,  the  French  Commune. 


220   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

Later  he  adds : 

There  are  three  phases  of  a  general  strike.     They  are: 
A  general  strike  in  an  industry; 
A  general  strike  in  a  community; 
A  general  national  strike. 

And  again  he  says: 

The  American  Federation  of  Labour  couldn't  have  a  general  strike 
if  they  wanted  to.  They  are  not  organized  for  a  general  strike. 
They  have  27,000  different  agreements  that  expire  27,000  different 
minutes  of  the  year.  They  will  either  have  to  break  all  those 
sacred  contracts  or  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  general  strike  in  that 
so-called  "Labour  organization."  I  said  "so-called";  I  say  so  advis- 
edly. It  is  not  a  Labour  organization;  it  is  simply  a  combination 
of  job  trusts. 

He  continues: 

If  the  workers  can  organize  so  that  they  can  stand  idle  they  will 
then  be  strong  enough  so  that  they  can  take  the  factories.  Then 
we  lock  the  bosses  out  and  run  the  factories  to  suit  ourselves.  That 
is  our  programme.  We  will  do  it.  You  must  not  be  content  to 
come  to  the  ballot  box  on  the  first  Tuesday  after  the  first  Monday 
in  November — the  ballot  box  erected  by  the  capitalist  class,  guarded 
by  capitalist  henchmen — and  deposit  your  ballot  to  be  counted  by 
black-handed  thugs,  and  say;  "That  is  political  action."  I  believe 
that  the  American  Federation  of  Labour  won't  take  in  the  working 
class.  They  don't  want  the  working  class.  It  isn't  a  working-class 
organization.  A  strike  is  an  incipient  revolution.  Many  large 
revolutions  have  grown  out  of  a  small  strike.  If  I  didn't  think  that 
the  general  strike  was  leading  on  to  the  great  revolution,  I  wouldn't 
be  here. 

Later,  in  speaking  of  Mexico,  he  says : 

Incidentally,  the  revolutionists,  Magon,  Villareal,  Sarabia,  and 
Rivera,  and  their  followers,  have  something  to  do  with  it,  and  also 
the  local  unions  of  the  Industrial  Workers  of  the  World,  there  now 
being  at  this  time  three  locals  whose  entire  membership  have  gone 
across  the  line  and  joined  the  insurgents,  and  Berthold,  one  of  the 
commandants,  is  an  officer  in  the  I.  W.  W.  at  Holtville,  Cal. 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    221 

A.  E.  Woodruff,  in  "Evolution  of  Industrial  Democ- 
racy/* says: 

The  Industrial  Workers  of  the  World  not  only  martials  the 
workers  properly  upon  the  economic  field  but  drills  and  disciplines 
them  for  the  final  test  of  their  strength  and  solidarity,  the  social  gen- 
eral strike f  which  is  regarded  as  the  culmination  of  the  class  struggle. 

Not  only  is  the  I.  W.  W.  against  the  Government,  and 
its  fundamental  principles  revolutionary,  but  it  is  also 
the  bitter  foe  of  all  organized  labour.  The  I.  W.  W. 
holds  that  all  labour  organizations  which  do  not  sub- 
scribe to  and  follow  the  principles  enumerated  by  them 
are  capitalist  unions  even  though  their  members  are 
workers. 

Vincent  St.  John,  in  "The  I.  W.  W.,"  says: 

The  craft  form  of  union,  with  its  principle  of  trade  autonomy  and 
harmony  of  interest  with  the  boss,  has  also  proven  a  failure.  They 
have  become  allies  of  the  employers  to  keep  in  subjection  the  vast 
majority  of  the  workers.  The  I.  W.  W.  denies  that  the  craft-union 
movement  is  a  labour  movement.  We  deny  that  it  can  or  will  be- 
come a  labour  movement.  In  short,  the  I.  W.  W.  advocates  the 
use  of  militant  "direct-action"  tactics  to  the,  full  extent  of  our 
power  to  make  good.  The  future  belongs  to  the  I.  W.  W.  The  day 
of  the  skilled  worker  is  past. 

In  speaking  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labour, 
Vincent  St.  John  says: 

This  worn-out  and  corrupt  system  offers  no  promise  of  improve- 
ment and  adaptation.     Union  men  scab  upon  union  men. 

T.Glynn,  of  the  I.W.W.  Publishing  Co.,  in  "Industrial 
Efficiency  and  Its  Antidote,"  tells  how  efficient  the 
industrial  system  has  become  and  then  carefully  ex- 


222    AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

plains  how  to  make  it  less  efficient.  He  also  attacks 
trades  unionism  as  the  workers'  main  foe,  and  ends  his 
article  by  stating: 

The  vacillating  and  compromising  policy  of  Trade  Unionism  will 
no  longer  suffice.  A  virile  organization,  knowing  no  law  but  that  of 
expediency  f  ready  at  all  times  to  advance  the  interests  oj  the  working 
class,  is  an  absolute  necessity. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  GRADUAL  PENETRATION  OF  THE  AMERICAN  FEDERA- 
TION  OF  LABOUR  BY  THE  INDUSTRIAL  WORKERS  OF 
THE  WORLD 

Until  a  short  time  ago  there  was  a  continuous 
battle  going  on  between  the  I.  W.  W.'s  and  the  A.  F.  of 
L.  unions  of  the  West.  The  I.  W.  W/s  refused  to  be- 
come members  of  the  unions  affiliated  with  the  Ameri- 
can Federation  of  Labour.  In  time  of  strike  they 
"scabbed"  on  the  Federation  workers,  but  after  we 
entered  the  war  they  changed  their  tactics  and  are  now 
"boring  from  within"  and  are  becoming  members  of 
the  American  Federation  of  Labour  unions  all  over  the 
United  States,  and  using  their  assemblies  and  conven- 
tions as  a  means  of  spreading  their  propaganda.  They 
hate  Samuel  Gompers  and  men  of  his  kind  a  great  deal 
worse  than  they  hate  any  other  class  of  men.  They 
call  them  labour  fakirs,  labour  parasites,  representatives 
of  the  capitalist  class,  and  claim  that  they  are  misleading 
the  workers  of  the  nation. 

In  Seattle,  the  Red  or  the  I.  W.  W.  faction  has 
secured  control  of  many  labour  unions.  The  average 
worker  has  a  home,  a  wife,  a  garden.  He  pays  his 
dues  to  his  union,  but  spends  his  spare  time  the  same 
as  you  and  I  do — at  home,  at  the  theatre,  at  church, 

223 


224   AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

in  the  garden,  and  with  his  family.  The  I.  W.  W. 
member  seldom  has  a  family,  more  seldom  a  home! 
Still  more  seldom  is  he  a  member  of  any  religious 
body,  as  the  organization  is  anti-Christ;  he  usually 
lives  in  lodging  houses,  seldom  has  a  vote  (75  per 
cent,  at  least  being  unnaturalized),  so  he  has  plenty 
of  time  to  attend  meetings,  and  through  agitation,  or- 
ganization, and  playing  politics,  very  often  is  able  to 
elect  brother  I.  W.  W.'s  to  the  different  union  offices. 
From  that  time  on  all  dissenters  are  howled  down,  re- 
fused the  right  to  free  speech,  insulted  and  threatened, 
until  the  decent  body  of  peace-loving  workers  allow 
the  militant  revolutionary  minority  to  control  their 
affairs.  This  has  happened  so  often  in  recent  labour 
history  that  it  was  with  great  pleasure  that  I  read  of 
the  Annual  Convention  of  the  American  Federation 
of  Labour  held  at  Atlantic  City,  disowning  and  ridicul- 
ing the  I.  W.  W.  propositions  and  resolutions  which 
were  offered  from  the  floor. 

We  read  in  all  works  of  the  Industrial  Workers  of  the 
World,  even  in  their  official  song  books,  of  sabotage. 
Mr.  Webster,  in  his  dictionary,  fails  to  define  it,  but 
we  learn  from  Webster  that  a  sabot  is  a  wooden  shoe 
used  by  the  French  peasants.  The  wooden  shoe  is  used 
as  the  symbol  or  emblem  of  the  Industrial  Workers 
everywhere.  All  I.  W.  W.'s  preach  sabotage.  Every 
I.  W.  W.  that  can  do  so  practises  sabotage!  It  is  a 
universal  and  fundamental  part  of  their  creed.  No 
I.  W.  W.,  except  when  on  trials  has  ever  denied  that  he 
believed  in  and  practised  sabotage. 

I   hereby  submit   several   quotations  from  a  book 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    225 

entitled  "Sabotage,"  by  Elizabeth  Gurley  Flynn,  one  of 
the  most  noted  I.  W.  W.  agitators,  published  by  the 
I.  W.  W.  Publishing  Bureau  at  112  Hamilton  Ave., 
Cleveland,  Ohio.  In  the  opening  paragraph  of  her  book 
she  says: 

I  am  not  going  to  attempt  to  justify  sabotage  on  any  moral 
ground.  If  the  workers  consider  that  sabotage  is  necessary,  thai 
in  itself  makes  sabotage  moral. 

Mrs.  Flynn  later  says: 

Sabotage  is  to  this  class  struggle  what  the  guerrilla  warfare  is  to 
the  battle.  The  strike  is  the  open  battle  of  the  class  struggle, 
sabotage  is  the  guerrilla  warfare,  the  day-by-day  warfare  between 
two  opposing  classes.  Sabotage  means  primarily:  The  withdrawal 
of  efficiency.  Sabotage  means  either  to  slacken  up  and  interfere 
with  the  quantity,  or  to  botch  in  your  skill  and  interfere  with  the 
quality  of  capitalist  production  or  to  give  poor  service. 

In  describing  how  sabotage  works  in  the  dyeing  of 
silks,  she  says: 

So  whenever  they  were  supposed  to  be  mixing  green  we  saw  to 
it  that  they  put  in  red,  and  when  they  were  supposed  to  be  mixing 
blue  we  saw  to  it  that  they  put  in  green. 

And  she  further  explains: 

We  will  let  the  kegs  of  wine  go  over  the  docks.  We  will  have 
great  boxes  of  fragile  articles  drop  in  the  midst  of  the  pier. 

She  gives  still  another  illustration,  as  follows: 

Suppose  he  went  into  a  restaurant  and  ordered  a  lobster  salad, 
and  he  said  to  the  spick-and-span  waiter  standing  behind  the  chair, 
"Is  the  lobster  salad  good?"  "Oh,  yes,  sir,"  said  the  waiter,  "it 
is  the  very  best  in  the  city."    That  would  be  acting  the  good  wage 


226   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

slave  and  looking  out  for  the  employer's  interest.  But  if  the  waiter 
should  say,  "No,  sir,  it's  rotten  lobster  salad.  It's  made  from  the 
pieces  that  have  been  gathered  together  here  for  the  last  six  weeks," 
that  would  be  the  waiter  who  believed  in  sabotage,  that  would  be 
the  waiter  who  had  no  interest  in  his  boss's  profits,  the  waiter  who 
didn't  give  a  continental  whether  the  boss  sold  lobster  salad  or  not. 

No  comment  is  necessary.  These  are  the  basic 
principles  and  ideals  upon  which  this  organization  is 
founded.  They  start  out  with  the  proposition  that 
whatever  they  do  is  right  and  that  the  moral  law  is 
abrogated;  that  the  employee  is  justified  in  saying  any- 
thing or  doing  anything  as  long  as  it  injures  society. 

Mrs.  Flynn  thus  closes  her  comments  on  sabotage: 

I  have  not  given  you  a  rigidly  defined  thesis  on  sabotage  because 
sabotage  is  in  the  process  of  making.  Sabotage  itself  is  not  clearly 
defined.  Sabotage  is  as  broad  and  changing  as  industry,  as  flexible 
as  the  imagination  and  passions  of  humanity.  Every  day  work- 
ing men  and  women  are  discovering  new  forms  of  sabotage,  and  the 
stronger  their  rebellious  imagination  is,  the  more  sabotage  they  are 
going  to  invent,  the  more  sabotage  they  are  going  to  develop. 

Elizabeth  Gurley  Flynn  is  but  one  of  the  many 
I.  W.  W.  writers  who  justify  criminality  on  the  part  of 
the  I.  W.  W.  members. 

John  Graham  Brooks  is  one  of  the  latest  authorities 
on  sabotage.  In  a  chapter  entitled  **  Sabotage  "  in  one 
of  his  books  he  says: 

From  the  wooden  shoe  of  the  peasant,  sabot,  it  has  acquired  all 
its  mischievous  significance.  A  French  syndicalist  says  it  became 
popular  after  striking  weavers,  in  1834,  in  Lyons,  had  smashed  both 
glass  and  machines  with  their  heavy  footgear. 

Arthur  D.  Lewis  in  his  book,  "Syndicalism  and  the 
General  Strike,"  says: 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    227 

There  are  other  useful  forms  of  "direct-action"  sabotage,  or  the 
destruction  of  property,  intimidation  of  the  masters,  sitting  in  fac- 
tories with  folded  arms,  etc. 

John  Spargo  (socialist),  in  speaking  of  sabotage,  says: 

It  is  all  the  more  remarkable  because  the  syndicalists  themselves 
have  recognized  the  primitive  nature  of  the  weapon.  To  the  social- 
ists, sabotage  is  a  form  of  class  warfare  to  be  shunned,  principally 
because  it  destroys  the  morale  of  the  working  class  and  unfits  it  for 
the  proletarian  struggle. 

Later,  Spargo  tells  us: 

Cutting  telegraph  wires,  driving  spikes  in  logs  in  the  lumber- 
camps  in  the  hope  that  they  will  later  destroy  the  saws  in  the  mills, 
putting  cement  in  the  railway  switches  and  dropping  monkey 
wrenches  into  machinery,  are  unfortunately  common  incidents  in 
the  industrial  struggle. 

In  commenting  further  on  sabotage  he  says: 

Sabotage  is  not  an  eflScient  weapon  of  class  warfare.  It  destroys 
the  moral  fibre  of  the  man  who  practises  it.  .  .  .  Everywhere 
the  organized  socialist  movement  combats  the  syndicalist  advocacy 
of  sabotage  as  a  weapon  of  class  warfare. 

Walker  C.  Smith,  who  has  enjoyed  the  hospitality 
of  our  Seattle  jail  several  times,  and  is  a  well-known 
I.  W.  W.,  says,  in  the  foreword  of  a  pamphlet  called 
"Sabotage": 

The  object  of  this  work  is  to  awaken  the  producers  to  a  conscious- 
ness of  their  industrial  power.  It  is  dedicated  not  to  those  who  ad- 
vocate but  to  those  who  use  sabotage. 

He  says  also: 

Sabotage  may  mean  the  damaging  of  raw  materials,  spoiling  of 
a  finished  product,  displacements  of  parts  of  machinery,  working 


228    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

slow,  giving  overweight  to  customers,  poor  work,  missending  pack- 
ages, telling  of  trade  secrets,  etc.  Due  to  effective,  widespread,  sys- 
tematic sabotage,  the  brick  masons  in  England  lay,  as  a  day's  work, 
less  than  one  third  the  number  of  bricks  required  from  their  brother 
craftsmen  in  America.  Sabotage  is  a  direct  application  of  the 
idea  that  property  has  no  rights  that  its  creators  are  bound  to  respect. 
The  question  is  not:  Is  sabotage  immoral?  but:  Does  sabotage  get 
the  goods?  The  militia  can  be  made  useless  by  the  extension  of  the 
use  of  sabotage.  When  a  trainload  of  soldiers  is  dispatched  the 
train  can  be  sabotaged.  A  bar  of  soap  in  the  boiler  would  keep  the 
soldiers  at  home.  Sabotage  will  put  a  stop  to  war.  If  workers  are 
imported,  cannot  saboteurs  get  on  the  job  in  the  guise  of  scabs? 
Armed  with  the  knowledge  of  sabotage  the  workers  return  to  their 
tasks  more  terrible  in  defeat  than  in  victory.  Sabotage  may  mean 
the  direct  destruction  of  property. 

Should  the  victory  of  the  workers  be  forestalled  by  state  socialism,  or 
governmental  ownership,  it  would  be  a  signal  for  an  increased  use  of 
sabotage  on  the  part  of  the  industrialists.  The  postal  employees  need 
run  no  risk  of  being  courtmartialed  or  even  dismissed  from  the 
service.  In  mass  sabotage  they  have  a  weapon  which  may  be  used 
in  an  entirely  legal  but  none  the  less  effective  manner.  Will  you 
arise  in  your  outraged  manhood  and  take  a  stand  for  sabotage? 

Creatures  like  Walker  C.  Smith  publish  such  doc- 
trines, teach  them  upon  every  occasion,  brag  of  their 
defiance  of  law  and  order,  and  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment apparently  can  find  no  law  to  send  them  where  they 
belong,  to  the  Federal  penitentiaries. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  the  reader  to  know  that  put- 
ting spikes  in  logs,  thus  endangering  fellow  workers' 
lives,  destroying  machinery,  turning  logging  engines 
loose  to  run  wild  down  the  mountain  sides,  putting 
rodents  in  food,  burning  down  mills,  etc.,  have  been  in 
general  practice  in  the  lumber  woods  of  the  Pacific 
Coast.  When  the  war  broke  out  it  was  found  necessary 
to  organize  the  Loyal  Legion  of  Loggers  and  Lumber- 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    229 

men  in  order  to  produce  the  spruce  for  airplanes  necessary 
to  win  the  war.  The  I.  W.  W.  used  every  imaginable 
device  to  stop  production  necessary  to  give  our  boys 
an  equal  chance  on  the  battle  fronts  of  Europe.  They 
fought  against  our  war  programme  every  day  and 
every  minute. 

There  has  never  been  a  single  pamphlet  issued,  a 
speech  made,  or  propaganda  campaign  conducted  by 
the  I.  W.  W.  where  sabotage  was  not  advocated!  There 
is  not  a  factory  or  logging  camp  in  the  world  that  em- 
ploys I.  W.  W.'s  where  sabotage  is  not  practised.  All 
through  their  pamphlets  and  song  books  tales  are  told 
of  sabotage  being  committed,  and  suggestions  are  made 
as  to  new  methods  of  destruction. 

This  continuous  and  never-ending  propaganda  has 
brought  forth  fruit  and  I  could,  if  desired,  fill  every 
page  of  this  book  with  authentic  records  of  sabotage 
practised  in  the  lumber  camps  of  Washington  and 
Oregon  alone.  Beginning  in  the  fall  of  1916  and  contin- 
uing to  the  present  day  there  has  been  a  persistent 
effort  to  destroy  this  great  industry  and  make  its  con- 
tinuance unprofitable.  No  camp  has  been  immune 
from  the  syndicalist. 

The  Industrial  Worker  of  Seattle  was  the  propaganda 
medium  for  a  long  time.  In  its  issue  of  October  20, 
1916,  it  published  a  notice  requesting  the  workers  to 
organize  to  control  industry.  At  the  end  of  the  notice 
these  words  appeared: 


Send  in  your  name  and  $2.00.     Secrecy  will  be  observed.     We 
use  plain  envelopes  to  fool  the  boss. 


230   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

In  Idaho,  Montana,  Oregon,  and  Washington  agita- 
tion for  strike  after  strike  has  never  ceased.  After  a 
series  of  strikes  has  tested  the  "worker's  mettle"  and 
made  him  "hate  the  boss,"  sabotage  on  the  job  is  al- 
ways practised  extensively.  At  the  plant  of  the  North 
Bend  Lumber  Company,  North  Bend,  Ore.,  in  May, 
191 8,  three  large  saws  were  broken  in  a  few  days  by 
spikes  which  had  been  driven  into  the  logs.  These 
were  always  driven  through  the  bark  so  they  could  not 
be  detected  by  inspection.  This  not  only  delayed  work 
after  the  breaking  of  the  saws,  but  was  very  danger- 
ous to  human  life.  The  Industrial  Worker  of  May  26th 
comments   as  follows  on  the  North   Bend   sabotage: 

The  first  one  [spike]  did  not  occasion  much  talk,  but  the  subse- 
quent two  did. 

The  Industrial  Worker  of  July  28,  1917,  states: 

A  general  strike  was  openly  advocated  at  Dreamland  Rink,  in 
Seattle,  in  July,  1917.  Kate  Sadler,  Red  Doran,  T.  F.  H.  Dough- 
erty, and  other  I.  W.  W.'s  spoke  for  the  strike. 

Sam  Sadler  was  afterward  convicted  of  sedition  as 
already  mentioned  and  Red  Doran  was  one  of  the 
I.  W.  W.'s  convicted  at  the  Chicago  trial. 

On  July  24th  there  were  only  two  small  camps  work- 
ing near  Aberdeen,  Wash.  Camps  in  Oregon  and 
Washington  were  completely  closed  by  the  I.  W.  W. 
agitation  in  August.  The  great  majority  of  the  camps 
in  other  states  were  either  running  on  part  time  or 
were  closed  down.     There  was  a  great  reduction  in  out- 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    231 

put  and  this  hindered  the  Government  in  getting  spruce 
for  airplanes.  Just  before  the  general  lumber  strike, 
which  occurred  in  191 7,  after  war  was  declared,  an 
I.  W.  W.  leader  was  arrested  at  Spokane.  Although  his 
arrest  put  a  damper  on  the  strike,  sabotage  was  ordered 
on  every  job. 

As   said   the   Industrial   Worker  of  July    14,    1917: 

Sabotage  at  Aberdeen  took  the  form  of  slowing  up  at  Schaefer's 
Camp;  a  full  crew  cut  only  nineteen  logs  in  a  day.  They  were  or- 
dered to  speed  up  by  the  boss,  but  all  quit  and  went  to  town.  The 
same  thing  occurred  at  Saginaw  Camp  No.  5. 

At  Hoquiam,  Wash.,  a  paper  commented  on  March 
17th  that  "many  saws  had  been  broken  by  spikes 
driven  in  the  logs." 

Said  the  Seattle  Timesy  July  14, 1917: 

By  the  middle  of  June  thirteen  camps  had  been  shut  down  near 
Hoquiam. 

George  F.  Russell,  former  postmaster  of  Seattle,  said : 

I  found  a  solid  piece  of  railroad  steel,  nearly  a  foot  long,  in  a  log. 
The  bark  had  been  taken  off  and  the  rail  had  been  put  in  and  the 
bark  nailed  on  again. 

The  Seattle  Times  of  July  15,  1917,  said: 

On  July  14th  fire  broke  out  in  the  Lester  Logging  Camp  east  of 
Montesanom,  Wash.,  and  spread  to  other  camps.  This  was  caused 
by  the  I.  W.  W. 

The  same  paper  reported : 

On  July  1 8th  timber  fire  was  started  in  the  West  Fork  Lumber 
Company's  holdings.     This  was  attributed  to  the  I.  W.  W. 


232    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

And  again : 

On  July  2ist  W.  M.  Emery,  chairman  of  the  State  Forestry  Board, 
wired  Fred  E.  Pape,  State  Fire  Warden,  that  "he  believed  the  I. 
W.  W.'s  were  setting  fires  to  the  timber  of  the  Black  Diamond  Log- 
ging Company." 

The  Post  Intelligencer  of  July  25, 1917,  said: 

On  July  24th  three  I.  W.  W.'s,  Tom  Nolan,  E.  A.  Matson,  and 
Robert  Solem,  the  latter  an  alien,  were  arrested  by  the  forest 
rangers  for  interfering  with  the  fire  fighters  who  were  fighting  forest 
fires  near  Port  Angeles,  Wash. 

The  Seattle  Times  of  August  i6,  191 7,  reported: 

On  August  i6th  fire  destroyed  200,000  feet  of  lumber  in  the  plant 
of  W.  J.  Lunn  at  Auburn,  Wash.,  credited  to  I.  W.  W. 

R.  E.  Forbes,  of  the  Forbes  Timber  Company,  gave 
out  the  following  interview  September  10,  1919.  He 
said: 

The  most  effective  manner  of  sabotage  has  been  by  restricting  the 
output.  This  is  the  main  cause  for  the  high  prices  of  lumber.  For 
instance,  one  high  lead  side  has  a  capacity  of  yarding  and  loading 
ten  cars  per  eight-hour  day.  Thirty-five  men  are  needed  as  a 
working  force.  It  happened  that  the  head  logger  in  our  camp  was 
the  chief  wobbley  [I.  W.  W.].  He  was  boss  of  the  gang.  The  hook 
tender,  who  is  in  charge  of  the  men,  handled  the  rigging  and  thus 
regulated  the  amount  of  work  done.  The  head  logger  told  the 
hook  tender  to  cut  the  output  to  five  carloads  per  day.  This  was 
done  and  the  result  was  that  the  men  received  eight  hours'  pay  but 
did  only  four  hours'  actual  work,  yet  the  average  wage  per  day  is 
$6.00  to  $7.50,  the  head  logger  receiving  from  $7.50  to  ^9.00  per  day. 
He  ordered  the  hook  tender  to  cut  the  output.  The  hook  tender 
was  blamed  for  the  delay.  In  this  camp  the  cost  of  labour  is  80 
per  cent.;  cost  of  material,  20  per  cent.  By  this  sabotage  the  cost 
of  producing  lumber  was  all  but  doubled. 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    233 
Mr.  Forbes  also  said: 

The  most  common  practice  is  driving  the  railroad  spike  or  bridge 
spike  through  the  bark  so  it  cannot  be  seen.  This  practice  has 
occurred  many  times.  It  injures  the  machinery,  as  the  band  saw 
in  the  saw  mills  runs  into  the  spike;  it  tears  the  teeth  out  and 
breaks  the  saw;  oftentimes  the  tail  sawyer  is  seriousjy  injured  or 
killed. 

I  may  say  in  passing  that  the  sawyer  is  seldom  an 
I.  W.  W,  when  this  accident  occurs. 

V.  R.  Lewis,  of  the  Clear  Lake  Lumber  Company, 
Clear  Lake,  Wash.,  made  the  following  statement: 

Wherever  I.  W.  W.'s  work  they  practise  sabotage.  At  our  plant 
at  Clear  Lake  a  Russian  I.  W.  W.  pulled  the  cotter  pin  out  of  the 
machine.  This  loosened  the  machinery,  which  was  thrown  with 
speed  and  force  into  the  lake.  The  men  jumped  off  barely  in  time 
to  save  their  lives. 

Another  wobbley  who  arrived  at  the  mill  filled  the  waste  we 
were  burning  for  fuel  with  sand  during  the  night.  On  the  next  day 
when  the  mill  began  operating  the  sand  burned  out  the  fire  box. 
This  held  up  the  work  until  a  new  box  could  be  secured. 

Mr.  Lewis  says  that  he  handles  the  labour  situation  in 
this  manner:  He  gets  20  per  cent,  of  married  men  in 
their  organization;  he  pays  them  well  and  they  live 
near  the  plant.  They  are  the  controlling  factor,  and 
when  the  I.  W.  W.  agitators  start  to  practise  their 
teachings,  the  20  per  cent,  take  care  of  the  I.  W.  W.'s, 
sometimes  tarring  and  feathering  them  and  driving  thera 
out  of  the  camp.     He  adds: 

The  only  way  we<can  control  the  I.  W.  W.'s  is  by  means  of  force. 
I  have  established  social-welfare  work  and  have  tried  to  improve  the 
environment  of  the  men  at  my  camp.  I  have  a  club  house,  a  the- 
atre, and  a  rooming  house  where  clean  beds  can  be  obtained  for  one 


234   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

dollar  per  week.  We  have  a  baseball  field  where  the  men  can  play, 
and  everything  is  done  to  provide  wholesome,  athletic,  and  clean 
amusement.  This  has  increased  the  efficiency  of  the  men,  but  has 
had  no  effect  whatever  on  the  agitators  of  the  I.  W.  W. 

Mr.  Houston,  of  the  Kent  Lumber  Company,  said : 

Our  camp  is  not  more  than  30  miles  from  Seattle,  and  is  near  the 
city  water  shed.  An  I.  W.  W.  named  Miller  was  brakeman  on  our 
train,  hauling  lumber  down  a  steep  grade.  Mr.  Clark  went  with 
Miller  on  a  few  trips  and  cautioned  him  to  be  careful.  When  Miller 
went  alone  he  did  not  set  the  brakes,  but  jumped  off  the  car  and  let 
the  carload  of  timber  run  downhill  uncontrolled.  This  destroyed 
four  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  property.  Miller  skipped  the 
country  without  his  clothes  or  suitcase.  In  searching  through  his 
belongings,  full  I.  W.  W.  instructions  were  found  in  his  suitcase, 
explaining  exactly  how  to  practise  sabotage  in  the  lumber  camps. 

Mr.  Houston  told  of  another  instance.     He  said : 

One  crew  of  I.  W.  W.'s  determined  to  strike,  but  before  doing  so 
hid  away  fifty  boxes  of  our  powder  in  one  day.  Soon  a  new  crew 
started  work  and  in  felling  a  tree,  it  dropped  on  top  of  some  of  the 
powder,  which  exploded.     Fortunately,  no  one  was  injured. 

In  the  same  connection  Robert  Allen,  secretary  of 
the  Lumbermen's  Association,  said : 

In  all  camps  there  is  a  fight  over  open  and  closed  shops.  Some 
plants  insist  on  men  joining  the  Loyal  Legion  of  Loggers  &  Lum- 
bermen, an  association  composed  of  employers  and  employees. 
Since  the  war  many  companies  are  trying  to  run  an  open  shop  and 
speed  up  output,  but  the  wobbleys  restrict  the  normal  output 
to  one  half  by  their  various  methods  of  sabotage  and  agitation. 
The  actual  practice  of  sabotage,  involving  loss  of  life  and  property, 
has  not  been  so  prevalent  the  last  year  as  it  was  in  1917  and  the  last 
of  1918  in  the  Northwest.  This  is  because  the  employers  and  loyal 
working  men  use  force  when  necessary  to  preserve  the  industry  and 
protect  property. 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    235 

Following  is  an  interview  with  George  F.  Russell, 
former  postmaster  of  Seattle,  now  a  member  of  the 
Employers'  Association  of  Washington.     He  says: 

The  I.  W.  W.  strike  in  the  lumber  industry  in  1917,  which  ham- 
pered the  securing  of  spruce  for  war  needs,  is  the  outstanding  strike 
in  that  industry  in  the  Northwest.  Putting  spikes  in  logs  and  tack- 
ing bark  over  same  is  a  common  practice  of  the  I.  W.  W.  Fires 
are  started  by  placing  phosphorus  in  wet  papers  and  when  it  dries 
it  sets  fire  to  the  timber  by  spontaneous  combustion.  Another  way 
is  to  fill  the  ditch  adjoining  the  railroad  with  small  limbs  of  trees, 
covered  with  pitch,  and  as  the  train  approaches  they  set  fire  to  the 
dried  brush  and  limbs  and  jump  the  train,  and  away  they  go.  An- 
other means  of  sabotage  that  has  been  used  a  great  deal  is  putting 
emery  dust  or  lemon  juice  in  the  ball  bearings  of  saw-milling  ma- 
chinery. This  destroys  it  in  a  few  hours.  In  the  fruit  districts 
the  I.  W.  W.'s  put  tacks  in  the  trees;  this  stops  the  trees  from  bear- 
ing, and  eventually  kills  them! 

However,  as  there  is  no  denial  of  the  teaching  and 
practice  of  sabotage  by  the  I.W.W.,  the  foregoing  state- 
ments are  sufficient  to  establish  beyond  a  doubt  the  fact 
that  it  is  used. 

The  I.  W.  W.  publish  and  sing  songs  filled  with 
sacrilege  and  hatred,  songs  reeking  of  the  mire,  glorify- 
ing crime,  encouraging  revolt,  debauching  the  hearer, 
and  ridiculing  God  and  good,  and  all  that  is  sweet  and 
dear  to  true  men  and  women  everywhere. 

In  the  I.  W.  W.  Song  Book  published  in  Spokane 
is  found  the  following  advice: 

You  starving  member  of  the  unemployed:  Why  starve?  We 
have  produced  enough.  The  warehouses  are  overflowing  with  the 
things  we  need.     fVhy  starve  ? 

In  other  words,  break  into  the  warehouses!  Take 
what  you  want! 


236   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 
Another  motto  runs: 
Labour  is  entitled  to  all  it  can  take. 

Another  shining  motto  of  the  Song  Book  reads: 

Make  it  too  expensive  for  the  boss  to  take  the  lives  and  liberty  of 
the  workers.  Stop  the  endless  court  trial  by  using  the  Wooden 
Shoe  [Sabotage]  on  the  job. 

EXTRACTS  FROM  I.  W.  W.  SONG  BOOK 

HARVEST  WAR  SONG 

Chorus : 

It's  a  long  way,  now  understand  me;  it's  a  long  way  to  town; 
It's  a  long  way  across  the  prairie,  and  to  Hell  with  Farmer  John. 
Up  goes  machine  or  wages,  and  the  hours  must  come  down; 
For  we're  out  for  a  winter's  stake  this  summer,  and  we  want  no 
scabs  around. 

CHRISTIANS  AT  WAR 

Onward,  Christian  soldiers!     Duty's  way  is  plain: 
Slay  your  Christian  neighbours,  or  by  them  be  slain. 
Pulpiteers  are  spouting  effervescent  swill. 
God  above  is  calling  you  to  rob  and  rape  and  kill, 
All  your  acts  are  sanctified  by  the  Lamb  on  high; 
If  you  love  the  Holy  Ghost,  go  murder,  pray  and  die. 

Onward,  Christian  soldiers!  Eat  and  drink  your  fill! 

Rob  with  bloody  fingers,  Christ  O.K.'s  the  bill. 

Steal  the  farmers'  savings,  take  their  grain  and  meat; 

Even  though  the  children  starve,  the  Saviour's  bums  must  eat. 

Bum  the  peasants'  cottages,  orphans  leave  bereft; 

In  Jehovah's  holy  name,  wreak  ruin  right  and  left. 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    237 

Onward,  Christian  soldiers!  Drench  the  land  with  gore; 

Mercy  is  a  weakness  all  the  gods  abhor. 

Bayonet  the  babies,  jab  the  mothers,  too; 

Hoist  the  cross  of  Calvary  to  hallow  all  you  do. 

File  your  bullets'  noses  flat,  poison  every  well; 

God  decrees  yout  enemies  must  all  go  plumb  to  Hell. 

Onward,  Christian  soldiers!     Blighting  all  you  meet. 

Trampling  human  freedom  under  pious  feet. 

Praise  the  Lord  whose  dollar  sign  dupes  his  favourite  race! 

Make  the  foreign  trash  respect  your  bullion  brand  of  grace. 

Trust  in  mock  salvation,  serve  as  pirates'  tools; 

History  will  say  of  you:  "That  pack  of  God-damn  fools." 

Our  country?    The  country  of  millions  of  hunted,  homeless, 
hungry  slaves!    It  is  not  OUR  country. 


THE   PREACHER  AND  THE   SLAVE 

Long-haired  preachers  come  out  every  night, 
Try  to  tell  you  what's  wrong  and  what's  right; 
But  when  asked  'bout  something  to  eat 
They  answer  with  voices  so  sweet! 

Chorus: 

You  will  eat,  bye  and  bye, 

In  that  glorious  land  above  the  sky; 

Work  and  pray,  live  on  hay, 

You'll  get  pie  in  the  sky  when  you  die. 

And  the  starvation  army  may  play. 
And  they  sing  and  they  clap  and  they  pray. 
Till  they  get  all  your  coin  on  the  drum. 
Then  they'll  tell  you  when  you're  on  the  bum. 


The  I.  W.  W.  hate  all  countries,  but  our  country,  being 
the  freest  country  of  all,  is  more  hated  and  despised 


238   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

by  them  than  all  others  combined.  The  I.  W.  W. 
ridicule  the  Divine  law  as  well  as  human  law.  They 
believe  it  necessary  and  right  to  destroy  all  existing 
things.  Their  doctrine  is  that  whatever  is,  is  wrong. 
By  a  minority  rule,  founded  on  terrorism,  they  would 
change  natural  law,  upset  all  man-made  law,  and — filled 
and  obsessed  by  their  ignorance — ^would  teach  the  re- 
generation of  society  by  upsetting  everything  that  cen- 
turies of  experience  have  taught  us. 

These  men  ridicule  life  and  laugh  at  the  earnest 
efforts  of  men  whose  life-time  toil  has  resulted  in  con- 
tinuous, permanent  advancement  of  the  human  race. 
They  believe  in  the  achievement  of  Paradise  in  a  day — 
yes,  in  an  hour!  Force,  violence,  uproar — a  continu- 
ous Donnybrook  Fair — is  their  idea  of  progress!  They 
are  the  hurry-up,  get-it-over-quick  boys,  who  have 
retarded  the  progress  of  the  human  race  more  than  all 
the  oppressors  of  the  centuries ! 

They  are  against  all  government.  They  are  against 
all  morality.  They  are  against  all  progress.  They 
are  against  all  decency.  They  preach  no  doctrine 
of  construction  and  their  policy  of  destruction  is  futile, 
weak,  ignorantly  vicious  and  ineffective.  From  Bak- 
ounin  to  Haywood  they  have  taught  every  vile  act, 
every  despicable  deed,  to  be  right  if  it  is  done  by  one 
of  their  members. 

Poisoning  canned  food  by  placing  rodents  in  the  cans, 
destroying  vineyards,  placing  spikes  in  logs,  burning 
mills,  causing  industrial  accidents,  forging  checks — as 
they  did  in  France;  issuing  false  copies  of  the  currency 
of  different  countries — as  they  do  in  Russia;  all  these 


AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    239 

things  are  holy  in  their  sight!  They  look  upon  the 
government  (the  State)  as  an  exhaustless  mine  from 
which  each  one  may  draw  according  to  his  desires. 

Just  what  they  expect  to  do  after  they  secure  control 
is  a  very-much-unknown,  very-much-disagreed-upon, 
nebulous  theory.  They  do  know,  however,  that  they 
want  to  use  force,  murder,  violence,  in  order  to  over- 
throw society.  They  do  agree  that  even  though  nine 
tenths  of  the  people  disagree  with  them,  still  they  must, 
by  might,  establish  an  autocracy,  and  rule,  or  destroy 
the  people  themselves.  They  plan  to  estabUsh  a  rule  of 
the  unfit,  of  the  untrained,  of  the  ignorant,  of  the  unable, 
of  the  cruel,  of  the  disappointed,  and  of  the  failures. 

Of  course,  they  talk  only  of  proper  distribution  of  the 
accumulated  labour  of  the  centuries  now  called  wealth. 
They  never  talk  of  the  production  of  any  wealth  by 
themselves,  for  themselves !  That  would  mean  work,  toil, 
continued  effort,  brains,  ability,  honour,  honesty,  order. 
They  look  upon  wealth  as  a  static  thing,  as  something 
already  in  existence,  only  needing  proper  division  to 
bring  about  universal  prosperity.  Of  course,  they  never 
consider  that  wealth  is  a  constantly  changing  entity. 

The  stark  truth  stands  out  in  all  history  that  people 
do  learn  from  experience,  but  only  from  their  own  ex- 
perience. Those  responsible  for  the  momentous  fail- 
ures suffered  by  the  workers  always  tell  plain  lies 
in  order  to  excuse  themselves.  No  better  illustration 
of  this  can  be  had  than  the  fake  stories  told  and  written 
by  the  I.  W.  W.'s  and  their  sympathizers  after  every 
defeat  while  their  real  story  is  an  unbroken  record  of 
mistakes  and  failures. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

BOLSHEVISM   IN   AMERICA;   ITS    CAUSES   AND   SOME 
REMEDIES 

In  the  preceding  chapters  I  have  told  the  story  of 
syndicalism  or  I.  W.  W.'ism  from  its  inception  to  the 
present  day.  It  was  entirely  possible  to  have  written 
several  chapters  on  the  Coeur  d'Alene  troubles,  the 
Governor  Steunenberg  murder,  the  activities  of  the 
Western  Federation  of  Miners,  the  San  Francisco  pre- 
paredness-parade horror,  the  Mooney  case,  and  the 
Winnipeg  general  strike.  This  last  general  strike  was 
simply  a  repetition  of  the  Seattle  strike.  Our  friend, 
James  Duncan  of  Seattle,  visited  the  Canadian  cities 
and  talked  his  plan  of  **on^  big  union"  before  the  Winni- 
peg strike  occurred  and  after  the  attempted  revolution 
in  Seattle  had  failed.  The  Winnipeg  strike  lasted  longer, 
but  the  end,  as  always,  was  a  disastrous  failure.  Change 
the  names,  dates,  etc.,  and  the  Winnipeg  and  Seattle 
affairs  are  almost  identical.  Let  us  now  consider,  in 
brief,  the  cause,  effect,  and  possible  means  of  cure  of 
this  great  evil. 

Our  country  to-day  is  confronted  by  a  situation 
which  threatens  to  destroy  the  very  foundations  of  our 
goremment.  It  is  not  a  time  to  **let  things  drift"  or 
f  hide  our  heads  in  the  sand  and  say  ** all's  well."     In 

Z40 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    241 

my  judgment,  American  institutions  are  in  greater 
danger  to-day  than  at  any  previous  time.  The  great 
World  War  called  on  us  for  men  and  goods,  but  in  the 
main,  our  people,  under  the  heat  of  conflict,  stood  to- 
gether, worked  together,  fought  together.  Continued, 
persistent,  and  measurably  successful  efforts  have  been 
made,  and  are  being  made,  to  divide  us  on  class  lines. 
Sensible  men  can  do  naught  else  than  consider  the  fun- 
damental causes  of  the  partial  acceptance  of  this  false 
gospel,  and  after  finding  the  causes,  consider  the  effects, 
search  for  the  proper  remedies,  and  if  convinced  that 
a  cure  has  been  found,  unite  as  one  and  see  to  it  that 
our  institutions  and  our  ideals  do  not  perish  from  the 
earth. 

If  in  the  preceding  chapters  I  have  been  able  to  con- 
vince the  reader  of  our  danger,  I  hope  that  in  those 
which  follow  I  shall  be  able  to  centre  his  best  thought 
on  solving  the  problems  which  must  be  solved,  if  we 
are  to  continue  as  in  the  past,  a  free,  self-governing  na- 
tion. With  the  fervent  wish  that  this  book  may  awaken 
the  thinkers  of  the  nation  to  a  frank,  free,  and  effective 
discussion  of  the  questions  involved  which  may  result  in 
their  solution,  I  offer  what  are  my  beliefs  in  relation  to 
them,  realizing  that  there  are  thousands  of  men  bet- 
ter fitted  to  perform  the  task  set  before  me,  and  yet 
feeling  that  it  is  my  duty  as  an  American  citizen  to  write 
what  is  in  me. 

When  our  Government  was  formed  and  our  Consti- 
tution adopted,  the  plan  was  that  the  people  of  this 
country  should  rule  this  country;  that  no  class,  or  clan, 
or  organization  of  any  kind  should  ever  seize  control 


242   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

and  make  of  the  United  States  of  America  any  kind  of 
government  other  than  a  government  of,  for,  and  by  the 
people. 

As  time  has  swept  on  in  its  endless  flight,  the  people 
of  this  nation,  in  legal  and  orderly  manner,  havechanged 
the  Constitution,  and  by  amendment  added  to  the 
fundamental  law  of  the  land  those  things  which  they, 
in  their  combined  wisdom,  considered  necessary  im- 
provements. To  this  plan  of  continuous  and  never- 
ending  improvement  all  American  citizens  worthy  of 
the  name,  and  worthy  of  citizenship,  have  in  the  past 
and  must  in  the  future  give  undivided  and  unstinted 
support.  But  now,  everywhere  in  this  country,  thou- 
sands refuse  to  abide  by  the  orderly  and  legal  procedure, 
time-honoured  and  century-tried,  and  advocate  a  reign 
of  lawlessness  and  the  overthrow  of  that  government 
which  to  this  date  has  functioned  more  successfully 
for  all  the  people  than  any  other  yet  devised  and  tried. 
We  all  realize  that  thousands  are  against  our  Govern- 
ment, but  few  of  us  have  stopped  to  analyze  the  reasons 
why  this  is  so. 

Why,  for  instance,  should  a  former  slave  from  Rus- 
sia, where  poverty  and  oppression  were  his  portion,  de- 
sire to  overthrow  our  Government,  where  he  can,  by 
simply  complying  with  our  naturalization  laws,  become 
one  of  the  rulers  himself,  with  no  one  else  having  a 
greater  power  than  is  vested  in  him  through  the  sacred 
ballot? 

Why  should  an  American-bom  ridicule  our  Grovern- 
ment,  advocate  its  destruction,  and  work  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  "dictatorship"  of  any  class  whatever? 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    243 

Why  are  so  many  educators  more  or  less  revolution- 
ary in  their  beliefs  ? 

What  are  the  causes  ? 

It  is  very  easy  to  understand  how  the  syndicalists 
of  France  in  1848  gained  power.  The  Government 
repressed  the  workers  and  France  was  not  a  free,  self- 
governed  republic. 

It  is  also  easy,  knowing  of  the  previous  centuries  of 
misrule  and  tyranny  in  Russia,  to  understand  the  revo- 
lution there. 

But  the  reasons  for  bolshevism  in  the  United  States 
are  more  complex  and  not  so  easy  to  define  and  under- 
stand. In  my  best  judgment,  the  following  are  the 
major  causes  of  this  unrest  and  anarchy  in  our  own 
country : 

1st.  Unassimilated  aliens. 
2nd.  Ignorant  Americans. 
3rd.  Increased  cost  of  living. 
4th.  Red  employers. 
5th.  Unthinking   and  dishonest  adventurers  and 

Red  misleaders  of  labour, 
6th.  Oppression  of  governmental  employees. 
7th.  Sickly  sentimentalists. 
8th.  Discontented  failures  and  delinquents. 

It  has  been  our  proud  boast  that  the  United  States 
holds  wide  open  the  portal  to  all  who  would  live  be- 
neath our  flag.  With  our  enormous  natural  resources 
it  has  been  repeatedly  argued  that  no  danger  lurked 
in  the  easy  admittance  of  the  millions  from  foreign 
lands.     To-day,  however,  men  who  give  the  subject  of 


244   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

immigration  even  a  cursory  study  must  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  zvay  has  been  made  too  easy,  the  path 
too  broady  and  the  portal  has  been  held  too  widely  open 
for  successful  assimilation  and  digestion  of  the  incoming 
alien.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  loose  talk  tending  to  go 
to  the  opposite  extreme  and  close  the  door  so  that  no  one 
may  enter.  Either  extreme,  in  my  judgment,  is  just  as 
wrong  and  dangerous  as  the  other.  To  close  the  door 
entirely  would  bring  manifold  dangers  and  in  time  of 
need  deprive  this  great  nation  of  very  valuable  citizens. 
There  are  times  when  we  need  immigrants,  and  surely 
no  American  would  want  to  close  the  door  to  those 
aspiring  souls  who  want  to  escape  from  the  thraldom 
and  poverty  of  the  Old  World  and  become  citizens  and 
upbuilders  in  the  New. 

The  time  may  come  when  our  country  will  be  fully 
developed,  and  when  we  shall  have  reached  the  point 
of  saturation  when  no  immigrants  should  be  admitted, 
but  that  time  is  not  yet  here  and  will  not  come  in  your 
lifetime  or  mine.  Is  there  no  way  that  immigrants  may 
be  allowed  to  come  when  we  need  them  and  stopped 
when  we  do  not  need  them  ?  Is  there  no  way  that  we 
can  choose  our  future  citizens  from  among  the  many 
applicants  ?  Is  there  no  way  that  these  immigrants  can 
be  made  real  Americans  and  immediately  apply  for  cit- 
izenship or  be  refused  entrance? 

I  think  there  is,  but  it  may  be  well,  before  I  tell  of  my 
plan,  to  quote  a  few  figures  which  are  illuminating  in 
relation  to  immigration.  Since  1820  alone  we  have 
welcomed  to  our  land  more  than  thirty-four  million  im- 
migrants and  they  came  from  the  following  countries: 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    245 

5,5cx),cxx)  from  Germany             or  15%  of  total  immigration 
4,000,000  from  Italy                      "  12%  "     "  " 
4,000,000  from  Austria-Hungary  "  12%  "     "  " 
3,300,000  from  Russia                   "    9%  "     "  " 
2, 1 3  0,000  from  Scandinavia          "    6%  "     "  " 
8,200,000  from  United  Kingdom  "  24%  "     "  " 
775,000  from  Canada                 "    3%  "     "  " 
525,000  from  France                  "    2%  "     "  " 
352,000  from  Greece                  "    1%  "     "  ** 
5,3 10,000  from  all  other  coun- 
tries                           "  16%  of  total  immigration 

Total  34,092,000  100% 

The  immigrants  from  the  United  Kingdom  were 
divided  as  follows:  60  per  cent,  came  from  Ireland,  33 
per  cent,  from  England,  and  the  balance,  or  7  per  cent., 
from  Scotland.  The  influence  of  the  Scotch  on  our  na- 
tion is  far  in  excess  of  the  relative  percentage  of  im- 
migration. One  is  amazed  that  so  few  could  do  so 
much,  but  the  Scotch  have  always  been  famous  for 
making  a  little  go  a  long  way. 

It  is  of  great  interest  to  the  student  to  know  that  our 
immigration  in  the  main  during  and  up  to  1898  came 
from  northwestern  Europe  and  that  our  immigration 
since  1898  has  come  chiefly  Jrom  southern  Europe  and 
Russia, 

The  following  table  illustrates  the  partial  stoppage  of 
the  tide  of  immigration  from  northern  Europe  during 
the  last  few  years  and  the  increase  in  immigration  from 
southern  Europe  during  the  same  period : 

Austria-Hungary  from  1861  to  1898  (37  years)  1,170,000 
Austria-Hungary  from  1898  to  1914  (16  years)  2,875,000 
Italy  from  1820  to  1898  (78  years)     700,000 


246   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

Italy  from  1898  to  1914  (16  years)  3,300,000 

Russia  from  1820  to  1898  (78  years)     645,000 

Russia  from  1898  to  1914  (16  years)  2,610,000 

Now  let  US  see  how  we  fared  with  immigrants  from 
northern  Europe  during  this  period : 

Scandinavia  from  1820  to  1898  (78  years)  1,370,000 

Scandinavia  from  1898  to  1914  (16  years)     700,000 

United  Kingdom  from  1820  to  1898  (78  years)  6,700,000 
United  Kingdom  from  1898  to  1914  (16  years)  1,418,000 

You  will  note  the  enormous  increase  in  immigration 
from  Russia,  Italy,  and  Austria-Hungary  since  1898 
and  will  probably  view  with  alarm  the  decrease  in  the 
numbers  from  Great  Britain  and  Scandinavia. 

Another  noticeable  feature  of  our  immigration  is 
the  fact  that  of  all  the  millions  who  came  between 
and  including  the  years  1900  and  191 2,  seventy 
out  of  every  hundred  were  males.  For  every  fe- 
male, therefore,  came  more  than  twice  as  many  males. 
This  apparently  definitely  establishes  the  fact  that 
only  a  small  percentage  of  family  immigration  has 
taken  place  since  the  year  1900.  In  searching  the  im- 
migration reports,  one  finds  that  the  percentage  of  fe- 
males coming  to  this  country  prior  to  1900  was  very 
much  greater  than  since  that  time.  Therefore,  we  may 
say  that  immigration  has  increased  from  southern 
Europe  and  Russia,  and  decreased  from  northern 
Europe,  and  that  male  immigration  has  increased  and 
female  immigration  decreased  in  proportion  as  the 
source  has  changed. 

In  the  years  immediately  following  the  Civil  War 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    247 

whole  families  emigrated  from  Europe,  mostly  from 
northern  Europe,  while  to-day  very  few  families  come  to 
the  United  States  in  comparison.  We  are  to-day  wel- 
coming, principally  from  Russia  and  southern  Europe, 
single  men,  and  not  families.  In  the  years  following 
the  Civil  War  the  foreign  born  were  rapidly  assimilated 
because  of  their  comparative  fewness  in  each  com- 
munity; because  the  alien*s  family  came  with  him; 
because  the  children  of  the  alien  were  always  a  great 
factor  in  inculcating  our  American  ideals  in  their 
parents;  and  because  he  usually  went  out  on  the  land  and 
tilled  the  soily  established  a  family,  took  out  his  citizen- 
ship papers,  acquired  a  farm,  and  became  a  real  Amer- 
ican. To-day,  as  a  general  thing,  he  does  not  go  out 
on  the  land;  he  does  not  have  a  family;  he  does  not 
establish  a  home,  but  herds  in  congested,  foreign 
colonies  in  our  great  cities;  an^  hence  does  not  become 
Americanized  as  readily  or  as  rapidly.  Ofttimes  he 
becomes  an  itinerant  and  wanders  from  place  to  place. 
These  are  facts  which  must  be  considered  in  solving  the 
immigration  problem  which  is  part  and  parcel  of  our 
bolshevik  menace. 

The  irreconcilable  agitating  alien,  bolshevik  or  an- 
archist, should  not  be  allowed  to  remain  one  hour 
longer  than  is  necessary  to  go  through  the  proper  legal 
forms  to  send  him  back  to  the  land  from  which  he  came. 
He  is  an  ever-increasing  danger,  is  no  good  to  himself 
or  any  one  else,  is  a  trouble  breeder,  a  teacher  of  false- 
hood and  sedition,  and  musty  and  shall,  be  sent  out  of  this 
land  of  the  free. 

The  American  people  want  no  further  trifling  with 


248   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

these  men.  If  there  are  not  sufficient  laws  quickly  and 
inexpensively  to  deport  these  people,  Congress  should 
enact  them,  and  any  president  who  would  veto  such 
necessary  and  just  measures  would  and  should  be  im- 
peached. This  matter  could  easily  be  handled  and  no 
further  comment  is  necessary.  The  alien  who  has  not 
taken  any  steps  to  become  a  citizen  should  at  once 
be  asked  what  his  intentions  are,  and  if  he  shows  no 
disposition  to  Americanize  himself,  he  also  should  be 
sent  back.    Let  them  either  become  Americans  or  go  home. 

Every  facility  should  be  provided  to  enable  the  aliens 
already  here  to  assimilate  our  ideals.  In  every  portion 
of  our  land  community  centres  should  be  established 
and  aliens  compelled  to  attend  them  until  they  have 
learned  our  language  and  understand,  at  least  in  some 
measure,  the  meaning  of  our  institutions.  The  school 
houses  should  be  used  every  evening  for  classes  of 
prospective  citizens.  The  state  can  well  afford  to  fur- 
nish teachers  for  our  future  citizens.  In  the  hotel-  and 
lodging-house  districts  schools  and  libraries  should  be 
established,  if  necessary  with  sawdust  on  the  floor, 
where  entertainments,  moving-picture  shows,  instruc- 
tive lectures,  etc.,  depicting  American  history,  can  be 
given. 

One  of  the  great  troubles  in  our  cities  in  the  West, 
where  the  saloon  has  gone  out,  is  that  there  absolutely 
is  no  social  centre  for  itinerant  workers.  When  the 
saloons  were  closed  a  great  I.  W.  W.  hall  was  opened 
in  Seattle,  where  the  workmen  were  made  to  feel  at 
home  and  many  became  converts.  It  is  all  right  to 
close  the  saloon,  but  it  is  not  all  right  to  fail  to  replace 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    249 

the  saloon,  which  had  one  merit:  it  provided  a  loafing 
and  lounging  place  where  men  could  meet  their  fellows. 
Why  not  open  up  places  where  men  can  pay  for  what 
they  gety  hut  enjoy  themselves  in  their  own  way  as  long  as 
they  keep  the  peace?  In  some  places  religious  people 
have  opened  missions,  but  the  religious  atmosphere 
drives  many  men  away.  The  average  man  wants 
leisure  to  do  as  he  wishes,  not  as  someone  tells  him. 
Recreational,  social,  and  educational  features  could 
easily  be  coordinated  and  provided. 

The  lodging-house  districts  of  most  cities  ought  to 
be  burned  to  the  ground  and  rebuilt  with  new,  modem, 
sanitary  buildings,  having  in  them  pool  rooms,  billiard 
halls,  bowling  alleys,  libraries,  baths,  etc.  Some  day 
when  you  have  time,  dear  reader,  visit  your  own  lodging- 
house  district  and  see  for  yourself  if  I  am  not  right.  The 
peculiar  part  of  this  proposition  is  that  any  such  build- 
ings will  be  self-sustaining  and  show  a  good  interest 
on  the  investment.  Build  a  few  clean,  sanitary  places 
in  which  men  may  live,  sleep,  learn,  and  enjoy  life. 
Every  possible  effort  must  be  made  to  train  the  alien  in 
his  new  duties  as  well  as  his  new  privileges.  Almost 
everyone  knows  what  their  rights  are,  but  few  realize 
that  without  duties  well  performed  our  rights  would 
soon  cease  to  be. 

One  of  the  greatest  hindrances  to  the  Americaniza- 
tion of  aliens  is  the  fact  that  during  the  past  years 
so  many  thousands  have  herded  together  and  estab- 
lished foreign  centres  or  colonies  in  our  great  cities.  I 
have  visited  these  foreign  settlements,  and  conditions 
are  unspeakable.    One  would  not  believe  how  many 


250   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

of  these  people  live,  herded  together  in  crowded  tene- 
ments, with  only  the  pavement  for  playgrounds  for 
their  children,  with  the  foreign-language  press  read 
almost  exclusively,  and  with  foreign  modes  of  life 
and  foreign  methods  of  thinking  prevailing  almost  ex- 
clusively. Not  only  are  these  districts  a  menace  to  our 
Government,  but  they  are  immensely  harmful  to  the 
immigrants  themselves.  The  tendency  to  herd  together 
in  the  great  cities  often  deprives  our  country  of  the  bene- 
fit of  the  training  of  generations  across  the  sea.  Many, 
many  thousands  of  these  folk  are  farmers  from  the 
country  districts  of  Europe.  Under  our  present  system 
or  lack  of  system  we  allow  them  to  gather  in  the  slum 
districts  of  our  cities  and  we  make  poor  sweat-shop 
tailors,  etc.,  of  men  who  know  how  to  raise  food  and 
would,  if  given  the  opportunity,  continue  the  work  with 
which  they  are  familiar.  It  is  probably  the  most  fool- 
ish thing  we  could  do  with  this  human  material.  Is 
there  a  constructive,  common-sense  method  of  solving 
the  problems  of  Americanization  and  immigration  ?  I 
think  there  is,  and  submit  that  selective  immigration 
and  scientific  distribution  of  aliens  can  be  worked  out 
without  any  particular  shock  and  without  any  particu- 
lar effort  or  expense,  to  the  lasting  benefit  of  the  im- 
migrant as  well  as  to  our  country. 

In  days  gone  by  we  have  admitted,  in  the  main, 
those  who  had  the  fare  to  get  here  and  wanted  to  come. 
It  seems  to  me  that  in  the  future  we  should  admit  only 
those  who  want  to  come  to  this  country  and  become 
real  American  citizens,  and,  of  these,  those  only  that  we 
have  need  jor. 


AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    251 

In  other  words,  let  us  select  our  future  citizens.  How 
can  this  be  done?  Very  easily.  In  every  country 
across  the  sea  we  have  representatives.  Let  the  in- 
tending emigrant  call  upon  one  of  our  agents  in 
Europe  and  make  application  for  entrance;  let  him 
deposit  with  our  representative  $25  or  ^50  or  what- 
ever is  necessary;  let  the  aspirant  be  at  once  physically 
and  mentally  examined;  let  him  fill  out  a  question- 
naire somewhat  similar  to  the  one  our  boys  filled  out  for 
the  army,  giving  his  previous  occupation,  training,  and 
history.  Upon  the  examination  being  completed  and 
the  investigation  made,  our  representative  should  send 
full  particulars  to  a  board  of  immigration  in  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.  This  board  would  then  become  a  clearing 
house  for  immigrants,  and  its  main  duty  would  be  to 
select  only  those  who  are  fit  to  partake  of  our  privileges 
and  fit  and  willing  to  perform  the  duties  of  citizenship. 
The  applicant  should  also  be  asked  to  signify  his  desire 
in  relation  to  his  destination  or  future  home. 

These  applications  and  reports  would  come  to  our 
national  clearing  house  for  prospective  citizens  and  the 
board  should  have  final  and  complete  authority  as  to  the 
destination  of  the  alien.  Many  good  farmers  would, 
no  doubt,  signify  their  desire  to  remain  in  New  York. 
This  should  not  be  allowed.  The  farmer  should  go  to 
that  part  of  the  United  States  where  his  particular 
ability  can  be  best  used  and  where  men  of  his  training 
are  needed.  No  one,  under  any  circumstance,  should 
be  admitted  who  is  not  willing  to  work.  The  board 
could  very  easily  prevent  the  formation  or  future 
gr«wth  of  foreign  colonies  by  simply  refusing  to  allow 


252   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

the  alien  to  go  to  that  district  where  his  unassimilated 
brethren  live.  Until  the  immigrant  has  become  an 
American  citizen,  he  should  not  be  allowed  to  go  to 
or  live  in  any  part  of  the  country  he  desires;  he  should 
to  a  greater  or  less  degree  be  under  the  supervision  and 
direction  of  our  authorities;  he  should  be  registered 
and  kept  track  of  and  aided  during  his  five-year  period 
of  probation  before  he  becomes  a  citizen. 

This  board  of  immigration  would  of  necessity  have 
to  have  a  definite  and  reasonably  accurate  knowledge 
of  the  need  of  men  in  the  diflPerent  parts  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  immigrants  should  be  sent  to  fill 
those  needs  and  for  no  other  reason.  There  would  be 
years,  perhaps,  when  not  one  single  mechanic  was 
needed.  During  those  years  mechanics  would  not  be 
selected. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  greatest  problem  of  our  coun- 
try is  to  get  people  on  the  land  and  stop,  in  a  measure, 
the  overgrowth  of  our  cities.  We  have  become  a  great 
industrial  nation,  but  our  farming  development  is  not 
keeping  pace  with  our  industrial  growth.  Why  not 
select  men  who  are  farmers,  preferably  men  with  fami- 
lies, and  send  them  to  that  part  of  the  country  in  need 
of  farmers?  By  doing  so  we  increase  our  supply  of 
food,  clothing,  etc.,  and  reduce  the  cost  of  living  for  all, 
including  the  folks  in  the  great  cities.  Manufactur- 
ing, etc.,  can  only  become  established  on  a  firm  basis 
when  we  produce  sufficient  of  the  necessities  of  life 
to  take  care  of  the  men  engaged  in  industry.  It  is  not 
lack  of  land  that  stops  our  agricultural  production.  It 
is  lack  of  sufficient  and  efficient  man  power.     We  have 


AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM   253 

two  billion  acres  of  land  and  only  one  in  seven  is  under 
cultivation.  All  over  the  West  and  South  millions  of 
arable  acres  lie  idle,  awaiting  only  the  hand  of  the  hus- 
bandman to  make  them  "blossom  like  the  rose."  Ir- 
rigation of  arid  lands  in  our  country  is  as  yet  in  its  in- 
fancy. There  are  millions  of  acres  of  land  that  need 
diking,  draining,  and  clearing.  We  also  have  a  great 
many  millions  of  acres  already  prepared  that  are  only 
partially  cultivated  because  of  lack  of  farm  help.  It 
does  seem  to  me  that  we  need,  more  than  anything  else, 
the  immigrant  farmer,  who  wants  to  become  a  citizen 
and  knows  how  to  farm.  This  selective  system,  with 
proper  distribution,  it  seems  to  me  would  solve  the  prob- 
lem of  the  immigrant.  It  would  make  it  better  for  us 
and  better  for  him.  He  would  go  into  a  farming  com- 
munity that  needs  him;  he  would  find  useful  remunera- 
tive employment;  he  would  become  Americanized  in  a 
short  time,  and  he  would  help  feed  us  all.  The  man  who 
raises  food  is  seldom  a  bolshevist. 

While  the  alien  has  given  us  a  great  deal  of  trouble, 
he  is  not  the  only  trouble-maker  in  our  country.  The 
American  born  who  does  not  understand  the  principles 
of  our  Government  has,  ofttimes,  joined  the  alien 
agitator  in  trying  to  destroy  our  nation,  and  in  my 
judgment  a  good  deal  of  this  unrest  has  been  our  own 
fault.  We  have,  in  the  main,  neglected  the  Amer- 
icanization of  Americans.  While  our  census  report 
shows  a  comparatively  small  percentage  of  illiteracy, 
the  army  reports,  compiled  after  men  were  selected  for 
service,  tell  a  very  different  story.  In  the  census  report 
men  and  women  were  marked  "Literate"  if  they  were 


254   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

able  to  write  their  names.  Thousands  had  learned 
to  write  their  names  who  were  unable  to  read  and 
understand  the  ordinary  articles  appearing  in  the  daily 
press.  This  condition  was  a  revelation  to  many  of  us, 
who  fatuously  believed  the  story  told  by  the  census. 
The  laws  for  the  compulsory  education  of  children 
should  and  must  be  rigidly  enforced.  The  most  ignoble 
work  of  man  is  an  uneducated  child.  The  lack  of 
proper  preparation  in  youth  not  only  injures  the  child, 
but  weakens  our  whole  national  fabric.  No  chain  is 
stronger  than  its  weakest  link,  and  a  great  country 
must  have  a  great  people  behind  it.  Someone  said: 
"You  cannot  make  an  Ai  army  out  of  C4  men."  This 
is  as  true  of  every  other  walk  in  life. 

By  "education"  I  do  not  mean  "schooling"  only — I 
mean  training  in  useful  and  needed  occupations.  The 
high-school  graduate  cannot  claim  to  be  "educated," 
even  though  he  stood  at  the  head  of  his  class,  if  he  is 
unable  to  do  useful,  necessary  work  in  the  world.  No  man 
can  say  he  is  an  educated  man  if  he  is  not  familiar  with 
the  ordinary  common-sense  laws  of  keeping  well,  of 
sanitation,  of  hygiene,  etc.  Certainly  no  man  can  con- 
sider himself  "  fit "  unless  he  knows  how  to  do  at  least 
one  thing  for  which  the  world  will  pay  enough  to  give 
him  a  living. 

We  must  properly  train  our  children  in  the  homes 
first,  and  then  see  to  it  that  the  necessary  things  of  life 
are  taught  in  our  schools.  Men  must  be  able  to  con- 
tribute something  useful  to  society  in  order  to  be  an 
asset  instead  of  a  liability.  Without  proper  home  and 
school  training  many  men  become  leaners  instead  of 


AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    255 

lifters.  Without  proper  knowledge  of  the  fundamentals 
of  our  Government,  many  men  live  their  lives  out  with- 
out really  appreciating  what  a  great,  self-governing,  free 
country  America  is. 

I  believe  it  is  as  important  to  have  a  Department  of 
Education  established  and  its  head  given  a  place  in  the 
President's  Cabinet  as  it  is  to  have  an  Agricultural  or  a 
War  Department.  I  know  of  no  reason  why  a  De- 
partment of  Public  Health  also  should  not  be  created. 
Health  and  education  are  certainly  primary  requisites 
for  a  people  such  as  ours.  The  monetary  expense 
involved  would  be  returned  a  thousand  fold  in  a  better 
and  more  fit  citizenship. 

Americanism  should  be  a  regular  course  in  all  schools, 
just  the  same  as  arithmetic  and  grammar.  It  is  the 
very  warp  and  woof  of  our  civilization.  Surely  it  is 
important — essential.  I  would  rather  have  my  chil- 
dren understand  the  history  and  ideals  of  our  country 
than  that  they  learn  Latin  or  Greek.  I  contend  that  no 
unbiased,  unprejudiced  person  can  sincerely  advocate 
the  overthrow  of  this  Government  if  he  understands 
just  what  kind  of  a  government  it  is.  There  are  so 
many  false  teachers  of  soap-bubble  Utopias  that  it  is 
well  that,  right  at  the  start,  the  children  should  be 
taught  Americanism  and  also  be  shown  the  fallacy  and 
successive  and  universal  failure  of  the  quack  cure-alls 
that  are  ever  and  anon  offered  to  the  gullible. 

During  the  past  few  years  there  has  been  a  seemingly 
never-ending  increase  in  the  cost  of  the  necessities  of 
life.  According  to  Bradstreet,  the  increase  in  cost  of 
living  from  1914  to  1918  was  119  per  cent.,  the  United 


256   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

States  Bureau  of  Labour  makes  it  103  per  cent.,  and  Dun 
94  per  cent.  From  carefully  prepared  data  we  found 
in  fixing  the  salaries  of  city  employees  that  the  increase 
from  July  i,  1918,  to  July  i,  1919,  was  12^  per  cent. 

While  this  increase  has  been  followed  by  increased 
wage  scales,  it  is  unquestionably  a  fact  that  the  increase 
in  wages  has  not  in  a  great  many  instances  kept  pace 
with  the  increased  cost  of  living.  Restricted  produc- 
tion has,  in  many  instances,  increased  the  cost  of  pro- 
duction and  thus  has  increased  the  cost  of  living.  From 
personal  observation  and  from  accurate  first-hand 
knowledge  I  can  say  that  in  the  lumber  industry  the 
same  crew  of  men  in  Washington  do  not  produce  more 
than  60  to  65  per  cent,  as  much  in  the  same  length  of 
time  as  did  those  same  workers  a  few  years  ago,  and 
yet  the  wages  measured  in  food,  clothing,  etc.,  of  the 
men  have  been  increased,  in  many  instances  nearly 
doubled. 

The  fact  that  all  who  would  work  could  find  work, 
that  there  was  a  shortage  of  men,  that  employers  had  to 
keep  those  they  had  or  get  at  least  as  bad  a  crew,  or 
possibly  worse,  has  militated  against  efficiency  amongst 
the  workers.  The  sabotage  and  restricted  output  were 
never  more  apparent  than  at  the  present  time.  When 
enterprises  are  confronted  with  a  steadily  increasing 
wage  scale  and  at  the  same  time  with  a  continuous  de- 
crease in  production,  it  naturally  becomes  more  and 
more  difficult  to  conduct  them  successfully. 

However,  the  complaint  of  high  costs  has  just  grounds 
and  the  profiteer  has  raised  many  articles  of  daily  need 
to  unconscionable  heights.     The  dissatisfaction  caused 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    257 

thereby  has  made  many  otherwise  perfectly  normal 
people  place  the  entire  blame  upon  our  Government. 
The  fact  that  the  World  War  and  its  needs  called  from 
productive  enterprises  millions  of  men  and  consumed 
billions  of  days  of  labour  is  given  small  thought.  The 
great  taxes  made  necessary  by  the  war  have  simply 
caused  the  dealer  and  manufacturer  to  transfer  this 
extra  cost  to  his  goods;  and  when  wages  are  increased, 
he  tries  as  far  as  possible  to  do  the  same  thing. 

The  arrest  and  punishment  of  the  profiteers  seems 
to  me  to  be  only  scratching  the  surface.  To  me  it 
seems  that  the  fundamental  and  sensible  way  to  stop 
the  ever-increasing  cost  is  to  deflate  the  currency  and 
increase  the  production  of  goods.  On  July  i,  1914, 
we  had  $33.96  per  capita  circulating  medium.  On 
July  I,  191 8,  we  had  $54.28  per  capita  circulating 
medium. 

The  following  statement  taken  from  that  very  valu- 
ble  farm  paper,  Capper's  Weekly,  of  September  13, 1919, 
is  certainly  interesting: 


MONEY  AND  CREDFF  AS   A   CAUSE    OF   HIGH    PRICES:  OUR   CURRENCY 
INFLATION  ABOUT  6o  PER  CENT. 

Inflation  of  currency  and  credit  is  held  to  be  chiefly  responsible 
for  high  prices  by  economists.  A  subscriber  of  the  National  Re- 
publican  discovers  that  the  stocks  of  money  in  the  United  States 
have  increased  two  thirds  in  the  last  five  years.  In  other  words, 
currency  has  increased  about  60  per  cent,  or  from  $33.96  to  $54.28 
per  capita  while  living  has  risen  70  to  94  per  cent. 

The  statement  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  issued  July  ist, 


258    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

gives  a  summary  of  the  amount  of  money  in  circulation  in  the  United 
States  on  July  i,  1914*  and  July  i,  1919.    It  is  as  follows: 


KIND   OF  MONEY 

1914 

1919 

Gold  Coin  (inc.  Bullion  in  Treas.) 

Gold  Certificates 

Standard  Silver  Dollars    . 

Silver  Certificates 

Subsidiary  Silver 

Treasury  Notes  of  1890    . 
United  States  Notes  (Greenbacks) 
National  Bank  Notes. 
Federal  Reserve  Bank  Notes.     . 
Federal  Reserve  Notes 

$   614,321,674 

1,035,454,129 

70,314,176 

479,452,376 

160,263,67s 

2,427,038 

338,839,637 
718,085,637 

^51,172,953,529 
542,214,728 

81,576,350 
169,939,003 
232,147,836 
1,745,230 
332,938,544 
659*83 1,150 
163,682,696 
2,493,902,462 

Totals 

Amount  per  capita      .... 

^3,419,158,342 
33-96 

^5,850,931,528 
54.28 

It  will  be  seen  that  while  the  stock  of  gold  coin  and  bullion  in- 
creased $558,631,855,  the  amount  of  gold  certificates  (based  on 
gold  in  the  Treasury  not  included  in  above)  decreased  $493,232,401, 
leaving  a  net  increase  of  only  $65,399,454,  in  spite  of  the  large  im- 
portations of  gold  from  Europe  in  the  early  part  of  the  war — before 
we  entered  it. 

The  stock  of  silver  decreased  $126,367,038. 

Greenbacks  decreased  $5,901,099,  and  national  bank  notes, 
$68,254,487,  as  both  these  issues  are  being  gradually  retired. 

The  Federal  Reserve  and  Federal  Reserve  Bank  notes — all 
Issued  since  1914 — amount  to  $2,582,629,572,  making  a  net  increase 
of  money  in  circulation  during  the  five  years  of  $2,461,858,214. 

But  the  paper  money  increased  $2,582,629,572,  while  the  metal 
money  decreased  $120,771,358.  The  per  capita  increased  from 
$33.96  to  $54.28,  or  $20.32,  being  about  60  per  cent. 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    259 

It  seems  to  me,  however,  that  the  above  statement 
but  partially  covers  our  inflation.  The  diflferent  series 
of  bonds  issued  for  war  purposes  amounted  to 
$i9,o86,ooo,cxx).  To  a  greater  or  less  degree  these 
bonds,  especially  in  the  smaller  denominations,  are 
being  used  as  currency.  Go  to  a  ladies'  suit  emporium 
and  sit  in  the  salesroom  for  a  couple  of  hours,  and  I  am 
sure  you  will  find  that  the  bonds  are  being  traded  for 
merchandise  at  their  market  value  in  many  instances. 
I  have  known  of  several  large  real-estate  transactions, 
and  dozens  of  small  ones,  where  bonds  were  used  as 
currency;  ^19,086,000,000  of  bonds  were  issued.  Now 
let  us  suppose  that  20  per  cent,  of  the  bonds  issued  are 
used  for  such  purposes  and  circulate  as  money.  That 
means  that  instead  of  the  total  of  $5,841,026,582  of 
circulating  medium  we  have  an  increased  amount  of 
$3,817,200,000  to  add  to  it,  making  a  grand  total  of 
$9,658,226,582,  or  a  per-capita  circulating  medium 
of  nearly  $90.  It  may  be  that  only  10  per  cent,  of 
bonds  are  used  as  currency;  if  so,  the  per-capita  circu- 
lation would  be  more  than  $70.  Gradual  deflation  of  the 
currency  will  gradually  decrease  the  price  of  goods, 
and  gradually  reduce  the  cost  of  living.  During  the 
readjustment  period  many  business  bubbles  will  be 
pricked,  but  honest  enterprise  and  industry  will  be 
benefited. 

Unless  there  be  a  gradual  and  continuous  deflation 
of  the  currency  by  the  powers  that  be,  it  does  seem  that 
one  of  these  days  the  top  will  blow  off^  the  tea  kettle 
and  bring  immediate  and  disastrous  results.  I  am  con- 
vinced that  the  American  people  do  not  want  an  em- 


26o   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

bargoorrestrictionof  outputplaced  on  goods  going  across 
the  sea  to  people  who  are  really  working  and  trying  to 
adjust  themselves.  I  am  just  as  firmly  convinced, 
however,  that  the  American  people  strenuously  object 
to  going  without  themselves  or  paying  exorbitant  prices 
for  needful  things,  if  these  articles  are  to  go  to  people 
who  refuse  to  work  and  do  for  themselves.  We  are 
perfectly  willing  to  be  a  Christmas  tree,  but  we  want 
the  presents  to  go  to  those  who  are  trying  and  not  to 
those  who  are  loafing.  Prompt  and  effectual  action 
in  relation  to  these  matters  will  make  the  ground  less 
receptive  for  the  planting  of  bolshevism,  as  well  as 
other  isms. 

One  of  the  fruitful  causes  of  hatred  and  discontent 
is  the  Red  employer  of  labour.  He  is  as  dangerous  to 
the  employers  as  to  the  rest  of  the  national  fabric. 
Red  employers  are  a  constant  menace,  and  upon  their 
deeds  and  their  words  many  an  agitator  has  hung  a 
convincing  sermon.  You  know  some  of  them  and  so 
do  I.  We  should  be  very  thankful  that  every  day  they 
become  less  and  soon  will  be  an  inconsequential  minor- 
ity in  the  land.  These  men  are  cave  dwellers,  as  far  as 
modem  industry  is  concerned.  Some  of  them  still  look 
upon  the  workers  as  merely  machines  to  be  used,  and 
then  scrapped.  In  many  places  workers  are  compelled 
to  toil  in  unsanitary  factories  with  defective  lighting 
and  ventilation  systems,  and  every  improvement  of 
their  lot  comes  only  after  a  hard  struggle,  occasioning 
loss  to  all  society.  I  am  thankful  to  say  that  Red  em- 
ployers are  few  in  number  and  that  during  the  Victory 
Loan  trip  I  made  throughout  the  country,  I  found  that 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    261 

progressive,  decent  employers  of  labour  condemned 
their  actions  as  vigorously  as  did  the  workers  themselves. 
The  factories  universally  must  be  places  where  men 
and  women  can  do  their  work  without  loss  of  health 
and  vigour.  The  worker's  capital  is  his  health,  his 
eyesight,  his  physical  and  mental  fitness.  Living 
conditions  must  be  such  that  the  worker  can  go  to  his 
work  singing,  "My  Country  'Tis  of  Thee,  Sweet  Land  of 
Liberty,"  and  mean  it.  Light,  healthful  surroundings 
cut  down  industrial  accidents  and  increase  production. 
Such  conditions  are  not  only  morally  right,  but  from 
the  standpoint  of  efficiency,  essential.  I  have  carefully 
read  the  reports  of  production  of  the  same  men  in  the 
same  factories  under  bad  conditions  and  good  condi- 
tions, and  these  reports  were  a  revelation  to  me.  Men 
produce  more  goods  and  better  goods  when  conditions 
are  right.  These  are  proven  facts,  and  easily  demon- 
strable. It  gave  me  a  great  deal  of  confidence  in  the 
honest  intention  of  the  great  majority  of  employers 
to  listen  for  hours  to  reports  and  surveys  of  the  condi- 
tions of  their  employees.  It  also  made  one  feel  he  was 
in  America  when  he  saw  careless  employers  called  up 
on  the  carpet  by  fellow  employers  and  practically  com- 
manded to  install  certain  badly  needed  improvements. 
All  this  cannot  be  done  in  a  day,  but  it  can  and  must 
be  done.  The  people  who  can  get  it  done  the  quickest 
are  the  men  engaged  in  similar  undertakings.  The 
facts  properly  presented  will  cause  any  one  but  a  feeble- 
minded employer  to  remedy  such  conditions.  It 
cannot  be  too  often  emphasized  that  it  does  not  pay, 
even  in  a  financial  way,  to  have  anything  but  the  best 


262   AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

living  conditions  in  one's  factory.  It  is  true  that  laws 
are  on  the  books  and  ofttimes  enforced,  but  there  should 
be  no  need  of  calling  on  the  law  to  compel  the  employer  to 
make  the  necessary  and  righteous  improvements  about 
his  plant.  The  real  man  does  right  cheerfully  and  will- 
ingly as  soon  as  the  faults  are  called  to  his  attention. 
The  other  kind  of  a  man  should  be  compelled  to  do 
likewise. 

In  every  organization,  large  or  small,  be  it  church, 
lodge,  labour  union,  or  otherwise,  there  is  always  a 
small  minority  who  look  at  all  things  from  a  purely  sel- 
fish standpoint.  Whenever  an  organization  is  started, 
the  pay-roll  parasite  is  always  present.  The  profes- 
sional agitator  is  usually  as  dishonest  as  the  Devil, 
and  just  as  unscrupulous.  He  gets  his  salary  every 
week,  strike  or  no  strike,  trouble  or  peace.  He  is 
always  trying  to  figure  out  some  way  of  bringing  about 
friction  between  the  employer  and  the  employees. 
The  louder  he  talks,  the  less  he  does;  the  more  he  prom- 
ises, the  more  likely  he  is  to  be  followed  and  believed. 
I  have  had  a  great  deal  of  experience  with  this  breed 
who  never  do  any  work  themselves,  but  work  the  work- 
ers. They  plan  trouble  and  ofttimes  bring  it  about. 
They  preach  class  hatred,  antagonism,  and  destruction 
all  the  time.  They  have  cost  the  workers  of  this  coun- 
try more  than  all  the  Red  employers  in  Christendom. 
They  care  not  what  happens  to  the  workmen  or  to  the 
employer  as  long  as  they  sit  tight  in  their  places  of 
power.  They  are  not  leaders — they  are  misleaders. 
They  do  not  want  better  conditions  or  better  wages, 
but  continually  preach  taking  control  of  all  things. 


AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    263 

Sometimes  an  employer  is  in  the  midst  of  his  busiest 
season;  he  must  get  out  his  product  in  order  to  pay  his 
obligations  and  exist.  The  workers  are  receiving  a  fair 
day's  wage  for  a  fair  day's  work.  This  is  such  a  man's 
opportunity.  He  gradually  insinuates  the  idea  into 
the  minds  of  the  men  that  if  they  strike  right  then  the 
employer  can  he  held  up  and  made  to  pay  a  greater  wage 
than  his  competitor;  that  he  will  go  bankrupt  if  his  doors 
close.  Sometimes  the  men  strike  and  win,  ofttimes 
they  strike  and  lose,  but  in  the  end,  they  always  lose 
when  engaged  in  such  undertakings. 

The  labour  question  is  not  a  one-sided  affair.  The 
Red  employer  is  bad,  but  the  Red  employee  is  just  as 
despicable.  As  I  have  said  before  in  this  book,  they 
are  interchangeable  anarchists.  Labour  must  purge 
itself  of  these  Red  leaders,  even  as  the  employers  must 
cleanse  themselves  of  their  Red  associates;  otherwise — 
no  peace,  no  progress.  The  Red  labour  leaders  make 
the  workmen  believe  that  Utopia  is  just  a  week  ahead. 
The  progressive  and  constructive  labour  leader  preaches 
steady  and  never-ceasing  progress.  He  knows  that  prog- 
ress comes  by  evolution  and  not  by  revolution.  He 
plays  the  game,  is  true  to  his  fellows,  but  does  not 
impoverish  his  followers  by  advising  them  to  make 
impossible  and  unjust  demands.  In  the  long  run,  he 
leads  Labour  to  greater  heights,  better  conditions,  and 
more  prosperity.  The  Red  misleader  befools  the  workers 
for  a  while,  but  some  day  they  throw  him  out,  bag  and 
baggage.  He  then  changes  his  location  and  starts  the 
same  thing  over  again.  Progressive  employers  should 
blacklist  the  Reds  among  them,  and  decent  Labour 


264   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

should  drive  them  out  of  their  unions  as  they  will  cer- 
tainly destroy  their  organizations  if  allowed  to  remain. 

I  want  to  impress  this  thought  upon  the  reader,  be 
he  employer  or  employee.  In  enterprise  there  are  but 
four  elements  essential  to  success: 

First:  Well-paid  labour. 

Second :  Equally  well-paid  administration. 

Third :  Equally  well-paid  capital. 

Fourth:  Consideration  and  justice  for  the  ultimate 
consumer. 
Capital  must  receive  a  reasonable  reward  or  it  shrinks 
into  hiding.  Administrative  heads  must  be  well  paid 
or  they  lose  interest,  initiative,  and  efficiency.  Labour 
must  be  satisfied,  must  have  good  living  conditions,  and 
must  receive  the  highest  possible  remuneration.  The 
dark,  noisome  factories  must  he  torn  down  and  replaced 
by  new  buildings  where  the  sunlight  of  heaven  pours 
in  on  the  workers.  The  worker's  precious  eyesight 
must  be  saved.  His  fingers,  his  legs,  his  life  must  be 
protected  from  injury  by  every  possible  safety  device. 
His  food  and  housing  conditions  must  be  excellent. 
His  children  must  be  well  fed  and  well  clothed  and  well 
educated.  The  administrative  heads  must  not  only 
be  careful  that  Capital  receives  dividends,  but  must  be 
careful  to  see  to  it  that  Labour  receives  its  just  reward, 
and  the  shareholders  must  not  only  take  interest  in  their 
annual  dividends y  but  in  the  workmen  and  the  plant  itself. 

The  workmen  must  take  an  interest  in  their  work  and 
in  the  success  of  the  enterprise.  They  must  do  a  full 
day's  work  for  a  full  day's  pay.  They  must  be  fair  with 
their  employer,  and  their  organization  must  either  play 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    265 

square  and  keep  its  contracts  or  it  will  be  destroyed.  No 
wrong  thing  can  long  stand !  Any  organization  advocat- 
ing wrong  must  pass  away.  The  only  manner  in  which 
Labour  can  win,  hold  lasting  respect,  and  maintain  itself, 
is  by  being  respectable  and  keeping  its  word.  Coopera- 
tion in  industry  is  absolutely  essential.  The  thing 
which  hurts  the  enterprise  hurts  all  engaged  in  that 
enterprise.  The  burning  down  of  a  mill  in  the  forests 
of  Washington  makes  everyone  in  the  world  just  that 
much  poorer.  The  slowing  up  of  one  man  adds  to  the 
poverty  of  the  whole. 

The  agitation  of  unthinking  and  dishonest  adven- 
turers in  all  walks  of  Hfe  will  probably  always  go  on  in  a 
greater  or  lesser  degree.  Without  the  fibre  to  be  suc- 
cessful themselves,  they  hate  all  success.  With  nothing 
at  stake,  they  try  to  disafFect  those  who  have  everything 
at  stake.  Without  the  power  of  thought,  many  of  them 
have  good  memories  and  are  ofttimes  able  to  recite  the 
catch  words  and  phrases  in  common  use.  They  have  no 
desire  for  progress  or  plan  for  its  achievement.  They  are 
simply  passengers  who  refuse  to  shovel  coal  under  the 
boilers,  refuse  to  do  the  work  they  can  do,  and  are  inca- 
pable of  doing  the  more  important  things  necessary  to 
the  successful  voyage.  They  are  passengers  who  pay  no 
fare.  They  eat,  are  clothed  and  cared  for,  but  do  not 
pay  for  what  they  eat,  wear,  or  enjoy.  Purely  parasitic 
and  entirely  selfish,  they  make  a  certain  amount  of 
trouble  for  all  decent  people.  They  may  be  called  the 
camp-followers  that  follow  the  army  but  neither  fight 
at  the  front  nor  work  in  the  rear.  Many  of  them  are 
vagrants,  pure  and  simple,  although  some  of  them  are 


266   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

well  dressed.  However,  their  loose  words  fall  on  barren 
soil  if  the  workers,  employees  and  employers,  cooperate 
and  work  together,  and  unless  all  do  work  together  for 
the  common  good,  industrial  success  and  progress  must 
cease  to  be.     The  sooner  we  all  realize  this,  the  better. 

For  a  long  time  past  the  interests  of  the  employee 
and  the  employer  have  been  the  only  ones  considered. 
The  employer  says:  "I  must  have  so  much,"  and  the 
employee  says:  "I  must  have  so  much."  Seldom  does 
either  take  into  consideration  the  ultimate  consumer 
upon  whom  they  both  live.  The  other  party — the 
public  in  general — should  be  taken  into  consideration. 
Time  after  time  I  have  seen  labour  troubles  settled 
between  the  employer  and  the  employees  without  any 
consideration  whatsoever  given  to  the  public.  For  in- 
stance, the  coal  miners  decide  that  they  want  ^i.oo  more 
per  day.  Their  employer  assents  and  promptly  adds 
the  dollar,  or  more,  to  the  cost  of  coal  that  we — you  and 
I — use  in  our  homes.  When  the  great  middle  class  in 
this  country  are  awakened  to  the  fact  that  their  rights 
are  not  protected,  they  will,  as  they  should,  have  a  part 
and  a  voice  in  the  settlement  of  all  future  disputes. 

Many  of  us  seem  to  believe  that  poor  pay  and  bad 
working  conditions  are  the  result  of  private  business 
enterprise  run  for  profit.  In  all  the  arguments  for 
municipal  and  governmental  ownership  the  first  premise 
is  that  the  workers  will  toil  under  ideal  conditions 
and  receive  absolutely  fair  and  square  treatment  and 
just  recompense.  Government-owned  and  government- 
conducted  enterprises  are  nm  for  service  and  not  for 
profit.     Belonging  to  all  of  us,  it  is  ridiculous  that  all 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    267 

should  be  overcharged  in  order  to  show  a  great  profit, 
which  would  be  returned  in  some  form  to  us  all. 
Therefore,  it  has  been  argued  that  there  is  no  incentive 
for  underpaying  the  employee  in  such  enterprises. 
There  being  no  incentive  to  make  profit  out  of  the  work 
of  the  workers,  in  the  nature  of  things  the  workmen 
will  be  better  cared  for  and  his  rights  more  fully  pro- 
tected than  in  industries  under  private  ownership  and 
control. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  it  has  not  worked  out  that 
way  in  all  instances.  I  desire  to  state  that  it  is  my 
belief  that  a  private  employer  would  be  tarred  and 
feathered  and  driven  from  the  community  in  which  he 
lived  if  he  underpaid  so  persistently  any  class  of  men 
and  women  in  his  employ  as  do  our  school  boards,  for 
instance,  the  teachers,  or  our  colleges  their  professors. 
We  have  seen  how  the  great  hatred  that  the  workmen 
first  felt  for  the  machine  that  they  believed  would  de- 
prive them  of  the  right  to  work  was  transferred  within 
a  short  time  to  the  owner  of  the  machine,  the  employer. 
The  employer  who  does  not  treat  his  men  right  is  sure 
to  reap  eventually  his  just  reward.  There  can  be  no 
escape  from  this  condition.  Men  who  are  robbed 
and  oppressed  will  feel  resentment  and  use  every  artifice 
to  **  get  back  "  at  the  employer  who  is  responsible.  When 
a  governmental  body  mistreats  or  underpays  its  em- 
ployees, the  employees  turn  their  resentment  against 
the  responsible  body,  which,  in  this  instance,  is  the 
State  itself.  In  other  words,  if  the  Government  does 
not  do  right  by  those  whom  it  employs,  they  grow  to 
feel  that  the  Government  is  a  bad  government  and 


268    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

should  he  changed.  If  this  is  true,  we  should  expect  to 
find  upon  investigation  that  many  of  our  Government's 
underpaid  workers  would  adopt  some  ism  or  other  in 
the  hope  of  a  change  and  a  consequent  improvement 
in  their  lot.  This  seems  reasonable,  does  it  not?  It 
is  natural,  is  it  not?  Let  us  consider  the  actual  situ- 
ation for  a  moment. 

The  teaching  class  in  this  country  numbers  more  than 
750,000  men  and  women,  principally  women.  They  are 
recruited  from  all  walks  of  life,  but  come  principally 
from  that  great  middle  class  which,  in  the  final  analysis, 
directs  the  destinies  of  our  nation.  The  teaching  class 
has,  in  times  past,  been  recognized  by  all  thoughtful 
people  as  the  mainstay,  as  the  bulwark  of  our  nation. 
Thousands  of  speeches  have  been  made,  and  thousands 
of  chapters  have  been  written,  painting  the  glory  of 
the  "little  red  school  house  on  the  hill."  Of  course 
the  school  house  is  but  a  building  of  lath  and  boards 
and  brick  and  plaster.  The  spirit  of  the  school  house 
is  the  teacher.  Without  the  teacher,  the  school  house 
is  a  dead  thing.  The  teacher  is  IT,  not  the  building. 
All  right,  what  have  we  done  with  and  for  our  school 
teacher? 

Last  fall  twenty-five  million  big  and  little  children 
packed  up  their  books  and  slates  and  pencils  and  filled 
the  thousands  of  school  houses  throughout  the  land. 
They  were  your  children  and  my  children.  We  had 
done  our  best  at  home  to  inculcate  decency,  patriotism, 
and  love  of  country  in  their  hearts  and  minds,  but 
when  school  started,  with  no  misgivings  we  turned 
these  twenty-five  million  boys  and  girls  over  to  the 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    269 

teachers.  They  were  to  mould  their  opinions,  their 
ideas,  their  Hves.  They  were  to  teach  the  good  and 
see  to  it  that  the  bad  entered  not  into  the  young 
minds. 

Roosevelt  said: 

You  teachers  make  the  whole  world  your  debtor;  and  of  you  it 
can  be  said  if  you  did  not  do  your  work  well,  this  Republic  would 
not  outlast  the  span  of  a  generation. 

We  have  all  repeated  time  and  again  :**  Knowledge 
is  Power."  We  have,  in  a  desultory  way,  spoken  well 
of  the  school  teacher,  who  lays  the  first  foundation  for 
knowledge  and  right  thinking.  We  all  realize  the  grav- 
ity, the  supreme  importance  of  the  teacher's  duty.  The 
teacher's  personality,  training,  and  professional  habits 
are  and  always  have  been  typical  of  our  best  middle- 
class  Americans.  The  teacher's  place  is  not  only  use- 
ful, it  is  necessary,  of  supreme  and  vital  importance. 
Again  I  ask  you  fellow  American  citizens:  "How  have 
you  treated  the  teachers  ?"  We  admit  our  very  existence 
depends  upon  them;  that  our  children  are  turned  over 
to  them  for  character  building,  and  that  on  the  nature 
of  their  work  rests,  very  largely,  the  nature  of  the 
pupil's  usefulness  in  after  Hfe.  One  great  organization 
has  said: 

Give  us  the  child  in  the  formative  period  of  life  and  we  defy  you 
to  shake  our  teachings  in  the  years  thereafter. 

Being  such  an  important  part  of  our  civilization,  of 
course  we  have  seen  to  it  that  the  school  teachers  are 
respected,  happy,  and  well  paid,  and  that  teaching  offers 


270   AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

to  the  youth  a  career  in  life  second  to  none.  Of  course 
we  would  not  oppress  or  underpay  such  valuable  mem- 
bers of  society.  We — you  and  I — have,  of  course,  seen 
to  it  that  our  educators  are  so  well  treated  that  they 
radiate  love  of  country  and  patriotism  and  feel  that 
this  Government — their  Government — our  Govern- 
ment— is  treating  them  as  they  should  be  treated. 
Of  course,  we  have  done  no  such  thing!  As  a  rule, 
they  leave  the  classroom  as  students,  only  to  re- 
enter as  teachers.  Their  cloistered  life  tends  to  pre- 
serve unsullied  the  high  and  conservative  principles 
of  thought,  character,  and  action  which  they  pass  on 
to  the  children  in  their  charge.  Their  birth,  breeding, 
and  daily  habits  naturally  make  them  the  conservative 
exponents  of  the  established  order  of  things  in  govern- 
ment, society,  and  industrial  comity.  They  should 
be  consistent  upholders  of  American  law,  order,  and 
ideals,  the  strongest  bulwark  of  the  nation  against 
radicalism  and  unrest.  They  should  be  apostles  of 
evolutionary  progress  instead  of  revolutionary  destruc- 
tion. They  should  be  the  democratic  servants  of  us 
all  in  the  making  of  our  future  American  citizenry. 

The  American  of  to-morrow — perhaps  the  world  of  to-morrow — 
will  be  the  product  of  the  American  teachers  of  to-day. 

How  have  we,  you  and  I,  cared  for  our  teachers  and 
educators  ? 

It  is  time  to  answer — time  to  confess. 

The  average  daily  wage  of  the  American  teacher  in 
1918  was  $1.48  per  day.  The  average  daily  wage  of 
the  American  school  teacher  in   191 9  was  $1.63  per 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM   271 

day.  The  National  Educational  Association  shows 
that  our  best-paid  teachers  in  320  of  our  largest  Ameri- 
can cities  in  191 8  received  the  following  magnificent 
annual  salaries: 

Median    salary   for   59,020   teachers,   elementary 

city  schools,  $818.19 
Median   salary   for  3,779  teachers,   intermediate 

city  schools,  $899.42 
Median  salary  for  13,976  teachers,  high  schools, 

$1,249.50 

There  are  19,017  teachers,  including  338  high  school 
teachers,  in  city  schools,  who  receive  less  than  $700 
per  year. 

There  are  2,931,  including  33  high  school  teachers,  in 
city  schools,  who  receive  less  than  500  dollars  per  year. 

No,  these  are  not  statistics  from  the  year  1818,  but 
are  figures  gathered  for  the  year  1918! 

The  Railway  Wage  Commission  in  1919  urged  that 
the  lowest-paid  railroad  man  should  receive  at  least 
$1,400. 

The  U.  S.  Navy  Yard  blacksmith  received  in  191 8 
$2,396;  electricians,  $2,321;  labourers,  $1,297;  ^^^  char- 
tvomeriy  $873. 

The  Johnson-Nolan  Act  provided  that  the  minimum 
wage  of  all  civil-service  employees  of  the  United  States, 
including  watchmeriy  janitors,  and  scrub  women  should 
be  raised  to  $1,080  a  year. 

Director-General  McAdoo  authorized  increases  to 
railway  employees  amounting  to  300  million  or  more 


272    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

per  year  and  said  a  man  could  not  maintain  efficiency 
on  an  income  of  less  than  $1,400  per  year. 

Other  Government  employees  within  the  past  few 
years  have  been  raised  40  to  60  per  cent. 

Teachers  have  been  raised  in  the  same  period  from 
10  to  12  per  cent. 

In  IlHnois  in  191 8,  when  300  teachers  received  less 
than  $400  per  year,  the  average  monthly  salary  of 
15  miners  was  $217.78.  The  average  monthly  salary 
of  15  teachers  was  $55. 

An  Austrian  alien  miner  was  paid  more  than  $2,700 
in  wages  for  the  year  191 8,  while  the  principal  of  the 
high  school  in  the  same  town,  an  American  woman, 
with  a  university  degree,  received  only  $765. 

*^ Knowledge  is  Power." 

In  Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  there  appeared  in  the 
News  and  Observer  of  January  13,  1919,  two  want  ads. 
One  was  for  a  coloured  barber  at  $25  per  week  with  a 
possible  increase  to  $35.     The  other  read: 

Wanted: — Teacher  of  Latin  for  the  Lumberton  High  School. 
Salary  $70  a  month. 

"Knowledge  is  Power.'* 

In  Washington,  D.  C,  the  Senate  succeeded  in  the 
last  session  in  raising  the  minimum  salary  of  teachers 
in  the  District  of  Columbia  to  the  level  of  the  dog 
catchers.  It  had  been  $500,  but  was  raised  to  $750 
with  an  established  maximum  of  $1,300  to  be  reached 
after  twenty-five  years  of  service. 

In  our  national  capital  and  the  seat  of  the  Federal 
Bureau  of  Education  one  third  of  the  teachers  receive 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM   273 

less  than  $1,000  per  year.  Many  millions  are  spent 
at  our  national  capital,  and  rightly  so,  to  study  methods 
to  improve  the  breed  of  swine,  horses,  and  cattle,  but 
the  school  teachers  must  teach  twenty-five  years  in  order 
to  get  less  money  than  the  street  labourer,  less  money 
than  the  Greek  waiter  at  the  hotel,  less  than  the  boot- 
black or  porter  in  the  barber  shop. 

In  New  York  the  teacher's  pay  is  less  than  that  of 
the  street  sweeper  while  in  Baltimore  the  teachers  have 
earnestly  pleaded  that  their  recompense  be  made  equal 
to  that  of  the  keeper  of  the  monkey  house  in  the  Zo- 
ological Gardens. 

In  Pennsylvania  the  teachers  petitioned  the  Legisla- 
ture to  raise  their  minimum  group  to  $60  per  month, 
those  with  normal-school  certificates  to  $75,  the  next 
group  to  $85,  and  the  highest  group,  including  prin- 
cipals and  superintendents,  to  a  level  of  from  10  to  20 
per  cent,  more  than  they  have  been  receiving. 

While  this  campaign  was  going  on,  the  following  ad. 
was   appearing  in   Philadelphia  papers: 

Pile  drivers  and  carpenters  wanted.  Pay  85  cents  per  hour; 
double  pay  for  overtime  and  triple  pay  for  Sunday. 

In  one  western  city  the  school  teachers  ran  in  debt 
to  a  local  bank  in  order  to  purchase  Liberty  Bonds. 
When  they  asked  for  an  increase  in  their  wage,  they 
were  told: 

You  don't  need  an  increase.  You  were  able  to  buy  Liberty 
Bonds. 

Once  again  I  want  to  call  the  reader's  attention  to 
the  fact  that  the  increased  cost  of  living  during  the  past 


274   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

few  years  was,  according  to  Bradstreet,  119  per  cent.; 
Dun,  94  per  cent.;  and  the  United  States  Department 
of  Labour,  103  per  cent. 

The  increased  cost  of  Hving  has  cut  the  teachers*  wages 
more  than  60  per  cent.,  since  1914,  up  to  July  i,  1918, 
and  12^  per  cent,  since  that  time  and  up  to  this  writing. 

The  wages  for  teachers  before  the  war  were  disgrace- 
ful. The  average  for  the  nation  at  large  was  but 
$543.31,  while  in  twenty-three  states  the  average  was 
even  less. 

The  percentage  of  men  teachers  in  the  schools  has 
declined  from  42.8  per  cent,  in  1880  to  19.6  per  cent, 
in  1914,  and  the  percentage  is  much  less  now. 

During  the  World  War  doctors,  dentists,  and  engineers 
were  given  commissions.  Teachers  were  allowed  to  serve 
in  reconstruction  and  educational  work  but  only  as  privates. 

Is  Knowledge  Power? 

I  think  the  above  proves  that  we  have  been  degrad- 
ing and  robbing  the  educators  of  this  nation.  Let 
the  United  States  Steel  Company  treat  their  em- 
ployees as  badly,  and  there  would  be  a  Congressional 
investigation,  and  someone  would  either  leave  the 
country  or  go  to  jail.  I  think  it  clear  that  the  teachers 
feel  a  just  and  righteous  resentment  because  of  their 
treatment.  They  feel  their  employers  have  not  treated 
them  fairly.  They  don't  guess  about  it,  they  know; 
and  you  and  I  know  that  it  is  a  damnable,  inexcusable 
outrage.  We  have  paid  them  so  little  that  many  who 
could  leave  the  profession  have  left  it.  There  is  no 
career,  present  or  future,  for  the  educators  of  our  chil- 
dren.    Their  resentment  is  growing  daily. 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM   275 

A  person  takes  his  station  in  life  very  largely  on  an 
economic  basis.  The  school  teacher  who  receives  such 
a  pittance  cannot  associate  with  her  equals  in  training, 
inteUigence,  or  breeding,  she  is  more  or  less  of  an  out- 
cast. While  the  carpenter  takes  his  car  and  goes  for  a 
drive  on  Sunday  she  takes  long  hikes  through  the  coun- 
try, but  of  late  she  has  not  even  been  able  to  do  this — 
shoe  leather  costs  too  much. 

The  employer  of  the  school  teacher  is,  in  the  great 
majority  of  cases,  a  governmental  body.  The  school 
teachers*  resentment  has  been  and  is  directed  at  the 
employer.  Many  men  have  wondered:  "Why  is  it  that 
so  many  teachers  and  educators  believe  in  this  or  that 
ism?  Why  are  so  many  of  them  antagonistic  to  existing 
government?"  The  manner  in  which  we  have  treated 
them  is  the  answer,  and  this  resentment^  sometimes  un- 
consciously ^  is  being  passed  on  to  the  children  and  youth  of 
this  nation  every  day  in  every  state  in  this  land. 

Forget,  if  you  will,  the  750,000  teachers,  but  remem- 
ber the  twenty-five  million  children  and  remember  our 
national  ideals.  Can  they  continue  if  the  teaching  body 
becomes  more  and  more  resentful  and  instills  more  and 
more  of  the  virus  of  unrest  into  the  growing  minds  of 
our  little  ones?  Either  the  teachers  are  entitled  to 
enough  to  live  on  in  decency  and  comfort  or  they  are 
unfit  to  use  our  magnificent  school  buildings  and  have 
charge  of  the  training  of  our  youth.  Either  their  pay 
must  be  increased  to  meet  at  least  their  pre-war  earnings, 
which  were  far  too  low,  or  we  are  criminal  exploiters 
of  labour — the  worst  kind  of  Red  employers. 

Forget  the  pay-envelope  end  of  the  question  for  a 


276   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

moment,  and  let  us  consider  the  effect  on  the  children. 
We  teach  the  children  that  ^^ Knowledge  is  Power ,'* 
and  yet  the  disseminators  of  knowledge  get  less  than 
the  bootblack  who  poHshes  their  shoes,  a  good  deal  less 
than  the  street-car  man  who  collects  their  nickel,  and 
less  than  the  newsboy  who  has  a  stand  on  the  corner! 

The  dissatisfied  educator  is  the  most  dangerous 
individual  in  our  midst.  Let  us  see  to  it,  you  and  me, 
at  once,  that  the  educators  in  our  locality  get  their  just 
dues.  Let  us  treat  them  in  such  a  manner  that  they 
will  have  reason  to  love  our  country  and  teach  its 
beneficent  doctrines.  Let  us  be  fair  and  square,  and 
if  our  present  school  board  is  still  pre-Adamite,  get  rid 
of  it.  Run  yourself  if  necessary  and  make  the  teach- 
er's pay  the  issue,  and  I  am  sure  the  people  will  rally 
to  your  support.  Treat  the  educator  as  he  should  be 
treated,  as  an  honoured,  necessary  servant  of  the  whole 
people,  doing  incalculable  good  and  intrusted  with  the 
future  destinies  of  this  Republic.  If  you  paid  your 
chauffeur  who  cares  for  your  car  as  little  as  you  pay  the 
educator  forcaringforyour  children,  what  would  happen.? 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  discuss  in  detail,  or  at  great 
length,  the  inadequate  and  insufficient  wages  received 
by  many  of  our  government  employees,  but  I  desire  in 
brief  to  call  the  attention  of  the  reader  to  the  past  and 
present  condition  of  the  postal  employees  of  the  United 
States.  In  19 13  the  following  was  the  wage  scale 
paid  by  the  United  States  Government: 

$800.00  to  $1,200.00  per  year  for  clerks  and  carriers. 
Since  that  time  their  pay  has  been  slightly  in- 
creased, and  is  now; 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM   277 

$i,cxx).oo  per  year  on  entering  the  service  with  a 
maximum,  to  be  reached  after  six  years'  service,  of 
$1,500.00. 

But  even  now  it  is  entirely  too  low  when  compared 
with  the  cost  of  living,  the  newer  employees  receiving  a 
wage  less  than  the  Director-General  of  Railroads  said 
was  necessary  to  maintain  efficiency.  These  workers 
perform  an  essential  and  important  task,  and  yet  their 
pay  does  not  now  average  as  much  as  the  pay  of  the 
day  labourer  throughout  the  United  States.  It  were 
better  for  us  to  pay  a  little  more  postage,  if  necessary, 
than  to  underpay  the  employees  of  this  Department. 

An  evening  paper  lies  before  me  and  I  find  a  report 
stating  that  the  "morale"  of  the  Pacific  Fleet  is  at  avery 
low  ebb;  that  a  great  many  officers  have  resigned,  and 
that  a  great  many  more  are  trying  to  have  their  resigna- 
tions accepted  in  order  that  they  may  return  to  private 
life  and  enter  into  some  employment  where  they  can 
support  their  families.  Secretary  of  the  Navy  Jose- 
phus  Daniels,  is  reported  as  saying  that  some  of  the  best 
men  in  the  United  States  Navy  have  pleaded  and 
begged  with  the  Department  for  their  release.  Surely 
we  cannot  afford  to  pay  our  soldiers  and  sailors  less 
than  an  adequate  wage,  and  an  adequate  wage  should 
be  paid  to  all  government  employees,  whether  they 
be  privates  in  the  army  or  admirals  of  a  fleet.  For 
the  Government  to  save  money  by  oppressing  its 
employees  is  a  crime  not  only  against  the  employees, 
but  against  all  decent  American  citizens. 

Of  the  sickly  sentimentalists  who  support  every  cause 
where    they  are  free  to   shed   tears   I  have  little  to 


278    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

say.  They  remind  me  of  the  strange  crowd  that 
gathers  at  funerals.  They  do  not  know  the  deceased 
nor  the  family,  but  they  derive  a  kind  of  salty  delight 
in  crowding  into  the  church  and  weeping.  They  go 
home  and  report  they  had  a  perfectly  delightful  time, 
and  "didn't  the  corpse  look  lovely!"  I  know  of  no 
cure  for  these  people.  Perhaps  a  brain  specialist  might 
be  able  to  suggest  one,  provided  he  was  able  to  find  any 
brain  to  apply  his  remedy  to. 

The  internationalist  is  also  one  who  sympathizes 
with  the  bolshevistic  tendencies  of  the  times.  He  has 
a  love  affair  with  every  country  but  his  own.  He  loves 
all  nations,  but  is  loyal  to  no  nation.  He  is  the  inter- 
national roue.  He  certainly  professed  undying  affection 
for  the  countries  across  the  sea,  but  during  the  late 
war  he  went  to  the  military  prisons  rather  than  fight 
to  save  them!  He  obstructed  in  every  manner  possible 
every  act  of  our  Government.  He  refused  to  assist  the 
boys  across  the  sea.  He  spread  lying  tales  about  all 
in  positions  of  authority.  He  is  absolutely,  com- 
pletely, and  unequivocally  no  good. 

Roosevelt  covered  his  case  very  succinctly  and  prop- 
erly when  he  said : 

The  professed  internationalist  usually  sn'"^'<;  at  nationalism,  at 
patriotism,  and  at  what  we  call  Americanism.  He  bids  us  forswear 
our  love  of  country  in  the  name  of  love  of  the  world  at  large.  We 
nationalists  answer  that  he  has  begun  at  the  wrong  end;  we  say  that, 
as  the  world  now  is,  it  is  only  the  man  who  ardently  loves  his  country 
first  who  in  actual  practice  can  help  any  other  country  at  all.     .     .    . 

The  best  world-citizen  is  the  man  who  first  and  foremost  is  a  good 
citizen  of  his  own  country.  Within  our  national  limits  I  distrust 
any  man  who  is  as  fond  of  a  stranger  as  he  is  of  his  own  family,  and 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM   279 

in  international  matters  I  even  more  keenly  distrust  the  man  who 
cares  for  other  nations  as  much  as  for  his  own.  I  do  not  trust 
persons  whose  affections  are  so  diffuse.  There  are  men  who  look 
upon  their  wives  or  mothers  or  countries  and  upon  other  women  and 
other  countries  with  the  same  tepid  equality  of  emotion.  I  do  not 
regard  these  men  as  noble  or  broad-minded.   I  regard  them  as  rotten. 

An  American  who  does  not  love  his  country  more  than 
any  other  country  is  not  a  good  American.  He  is  not  a 
patriot.  He  is  not  an  asset  to  our  nation.  He  is  a 
positive  detriment.  He  is  a  great  weeper,  but  a  poor 
worker.  He  sympathizes,  but  never  helps.  Emerson 
said:  "Love  afar  is  spite  at  home."  He  is  like  unto  the 
man  who  leaves  an  oasis  in  the  desert  to  follow  a  mirage. 
His  internationalism  is  polygamatic.  The  only  citizen 
we  can  trust  is  the  citizen  who  trusts  his  country.  For 
one,  I  am  not  willing  to  allow  the  water  in  our  national 
pool  to  be  lowered  to  the  level  of  the  pool  of  other  na- 
tions. We  must  not  lower  our  national  standard  by 
chasing  the  will  o'  the  wisp  of  internationalism.  Our 
country  should  be  run  primarily  for  the  benefit  of  the 
people  of  our  country.  We  will  in  the  future,  as  we 
have  in  the  past,  stand  ready  to  relieve  those  in  distress, 
but  only  by  building  up  a  strong  nationalism  will  we  ever 
be  able  to  help  any  one.  The  good  farmer  does  not 
benefit  his  poor  neighbour  farmer  by  allowing  his  fields 
also  to  grow  up  with  weeds.  I  do  not  believe  in  water- 
ing our  national  stock  and  increasing  the  figures  on  the 
faces  of  the  stock  certificates,  and  pretending  to  our- 
selves that  we  have  gained  thereby.  As  a  nation,  we 
can  and  will  enter  into  certain  definite  agreements  and 
treaties  with  other  governments,  but  we  must  preserve 
OUT  nationalism  inviolate. 


28o   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

Another  cause  of  unrest  and  bolshevism  is  the  pres- 
ence here  and  there  of  discontented  failures  and  de- 
linquents. Many  men  become  angry  and  resentful  if 
the  world  does  not  take  them  at  their  own  valuation. 
They  then  try  to  spread  their  discontent.  Constitu- 
tionally and  temperamentally  unfit  for  success,  they  try 
to  capitalize  their  failure.  Until  the  formula  is  dis- 
covered that  will  make  men  and  women  uniform  in 
ability  they  will  have  to  go  on  their  discontented  way 
to  the  end.  The  doctrines  of  syndicalism  have  appar- 
ently a  peculiar  attraction  for  delinquents.  The  moron 
and  the  mattoid  nearly  always  support  such  doctrines. 
Whenever  any  large  number  of  I.  W.  W.'s  were  arrested 
for  disturbing  the  peace,  it  was  but  necessary  to  look  at 
them  to  realize  that  many  of  them  were  not  only  de- 
linquents, but  were  physically  and  mentally  unfit  to 
battle  with  life.  What  to  do  with  these  mental  and 
physical  weaklings  is  one  of  the  quandaries  that  con- 
front all  governments.  They  are,  of  course,  easy  prey 
for  the  mouthy  talkers  who,  unable  even  to  produce 
enough  to  buy  a  suit  of  clothes,  talk  learnedly  of  con- 
ducting the  affairs  of  great  nations. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

BOLSHEVISM    CONTRASTED    WITH   AMERICANISM 

All  history  points  to  the  fact  that  our  country  came 
into  being,  destined  to  be  the  place  where  the  problems 
of  working  out  a  perfect  freedom  and  liberty  for  all 
mankind  should  be  solved  through  orderly  evolution. 
I  cannot  believe  that  our  country,  with  a  past  so  full  of 
splendid  achievement;  with  its  soil  drenched  with  the 
blood  of  its  heroic  dead;  with  its  ideals  living,  breathing, 
and  pulsing  in  the  hearts  of  millions,  has  at  last  reached 
the  point  on  its  short  but  momentous  journey  where 
its  ideals  and  institutions,  which  have  been  created 
through  travail,  suffering,  and  sacrifice,  shall  cease  to 
exist  and  be  supplanted  by  an  autocratic  dictatorship 
of  any  class  whatsoever.  And  yet,  the  events  of  the 
past  few  years  must  cause  the  student  of  life  and  history 
to  consider  well  the  real  conditions  of  the  United  States 
of  America  and  the  effect  of  the  propaganda  of  dis- 
content and  lawlessness. 

When  the  thirteen  little  colonies  declared  their  in- 
dependence and  defied  Great  Britain,  we  were  in  dan- 
ger; again  in  1812,  when  war  came  once  more  to  curse 
the  land,  we  faced  disaster;  in  the  6o's,  when  our  na- 
tion divided  and  fought  itself  nigh  unto  death,  we  were 
sorely  stricken,  and  when  we  embarked  upon  the  great 

28X 


282   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

adventure  and  declared  war  against  the  foes  of  civiliza- 
tion, liberty,  and  freedom,  we  cast  our  birthright  into 
the  balance,  unafraid.  To-day,  all  that  we  strove  for 
in  the  past — all  the  privileges — ^all  the  freedom — all  the 
liberty  and  all  the  self-government  which  our  heroes  won 
by  their  sacrifice,  stands  in  manifest  and  almost  im- 
mediate jeopardy. 

Every  good  man  must  abhor,  every  wise  man  con- 
demn, any  government  which  does  not  grant  equal 
justice  to  all  its  citizens.  A  government  founded  on 
injustice  may  well  be  likened  to  a  sea  without  water — 
a  world  without  light — a  home  without  love.  Justice, 
freedom,  and  liberty  are  living  things  and  not  resounding 
words.  Justice  cannot  exist  where  there  is  class  govern- 
ment; justice  cannot  exist  where  all  men  are  not  equal 
before  the  law;  justice  cannot  exist  under  minority  rule; 
justice  cannot  exist  where  people  are  not  self-governed. 
The  attacks  made  by  syndicalism,  etc.,  are  simply  mass 
attacks  against  the  very  fabric  of  our  civilization. 

Let  us  pause  for  a  moment  and  consider  our  Govern- 
ment, our  ideals,  and  our  institutions,  and  contrast  them 
with  the  doctrines  and  practices  which  the  befooled 
and  the  knave  would  substitute. 

The  real  American  believes  in  putting  more  into  the 
Government  than  he  takes  out  of  it; 

The  bolshevist  wants  to  take  more  out  than  he  puts 
in. 

Americanism  stands  for  liberty; 

Bolshevism  is  premeditated  slavery. 

Americanism  is  a  synonym  of  self-government; 

Bolshevism  believes  in  a  dictatorship  of  tyrants. 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM   283 

Americanism  means  equality; 

Bolshevism  stands  for  class  division  and  class  rule. 

Americanism  is  democracy; 

Bolshevism  is  autocracy. 

Americanism  stands  for  orderly,  continuous,  never- 
ending  progress; 

Bolshevism  stands  for  retrograding  to  barbaric  gov- 
ernment. 

Americanism  stands  for  law; 

Bolshevism  disdains  law. 

Americanism  means  love  of  your  fellow  man; 

Bolshevism  teaches  and  practises  hatred  and  envy. 

Americanism  stands  for  hope; 

Bolshevism  stands  for  despair. 

One  is  the  philosophy  of  optimism; 

The  other,  the  practice  and  belief  of  pessimism. 

Americanism  is  founded  on  family  love  and  family 
life; 

Bolshevism  is  against  family  life. 

Americanism  stands  for  one  wife  and  one  country; 

Bolshevism  stands  for  free  love  and  no  country. 

Americanism  means  increased  production  and  in- 
creased prosperity  for  all; 

Bolshevism  stands  for  destruction,  restriction  of  out- 
put, and  compulsory  poverty. 

An  American  believes  in  a  strong  national  govern- 
ment; he  is  patriotic  and  loyal; 

Bolshevists  believe  in  destruction  of  nationalism, 
loyalty,  and  patriotism  and  the  adoption  of  a  senti- 
mental, sickly,  unworkable,  skim-milk  internationalism. 
Loving  no  country,  they  excuse  themselves  by  saying 


284   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

they  love  all  countries  alike.     Polygamous  men  have 
ever  used  the  same  excuse. 

Americanism  stands  for  the  protection  of  private 
rights  and  property; 

Bolshevism  stands  for  the  destruction  of  all  private 
rights  and  the  confiscation  of  all  property. 

Americanism  believes  in  strength; 

Bolshevism  teaches  premeditated  weakness  and  in- 
efficiency. 

Americanism  stands  for  preparedness  and  universal 
training; 

Bolshevism  would  disarm   and   Chinafy  our  great 
people. 

Americanism  has  taught  and  Americans  have  prac- 
tised morality; 

Bolshevism  teaches  and  its  votaries  practise  immoral- 
ity, indecency,  cruelty,  rape,  murder,  theft,  arson. 

Americanism  stands  for  God  and  good; 

Bolshevism  is  against  both  God  and  good. 

Americanism  thrives  on  truth; 

Truth  destroys  bolshevism.  * 

Americanism  conquers  by  reason; 

Bolshevism  cannot  stand  the  light  of  reason. 

Americanism  has  proven  true  by  experience; 

All  experience  has  proven  bolshevism  false. 

Americanism  is  success; 

Bolshevism  is  failure. 

Under  our  Government  we  have  prospered,  grown, 
become  and  remained  free; 

Under    bolshevism,    wherever    tried,    people    have 
starved,  suffered,  become  and  remained  slaves. 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM   285 

Every  man  and  most  women  can  vote  in  our  country 
and  every  individual  has  one  vote  and  one  only; 

Under  bolshevism,  many  people  cannot  vote  at  all 
while  others  have  but  one  vote  to  another  man's  8<X). 

Americanism  rewards  individual  effort  and  toil; 

Bolshevism  rewards  the  loafer  and  robs  the  producer. 

Americanism  is  great  enough  to  be  just  and  just 
enough  to  be  great; 

Bolshevism  is  always  unjust  and  in  its  injustice  only 
is  great. 

Americanism  grants  full  and  equal  justice  to  all; 

Bolshevism  gives  special  privileges  to  some  but  jus- 
tice to  none. 

Our  countryside  rings  with  happy  song  and  laughter; 

Russia,  the  bolshevists'  paradise,  knows  neither  hap- 
piness nor  song. 

Americanism  means  education,  universal  and  free; 

Bolshevism  tends  to  static  and  degrading  ignorance. 

American  institutions  are  founded  on  the  solid  rock  of 
human  rights; 

Bolshevism  softens  its  people  into  a  pulp — a  pulp 
without  wrinkles,  but  also  without  a  backbone. 

The  men  who  created  and  led  America  were  believers 
in  liberty  and  freedom  and  were  willing  to  die  for 
America. 

The  men  who  lead  the  bolsheviki  are  trying  to  re- 
vitalize the  shifting  shadows  of  an  outgrown  past  and 
by  coating  the  disastrous  record  with  an  enamel  of  lies, 
are  trying  to  befool  the  people  of  the  world. 

Americanism  is  a  substantial,  Hving,  breathing,  func- 
tioning, successful  ideal; 


286   AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

Bolshevism  is  as  full  of  holes  as  a  sponge,  and  has  no 
ideals. 

In  spite  of  the  failure  of  its  practices  wherever  tried, 
the  teachings  and  practices  of  Bolshevism  have  per- 
meated the  very  fibre  of  great  numbers  of  people.  I 
cannot  too  often  emphasize  that  bolshevism  has  always 
failed  completely  and  overwhelmingly  whenever  tried. 
We  have  seen  how  it  failed  in  France,  and  after  a  care- 
ful study  of  conditions  in  Russia  we  find  that  Russia  is 
not  free,  is  not  prosperous,  but  is  oppressed  and  poverty- 
stricken,  and  suffering  from  autocratic  tyranny. 

If  bolshevism  could  succeed  anywhere,  it  would  have 
succeeded  in  Russia  where  industry  and  life  are  primi- 
tive; where  the  complex  problems  that  confront  a 
developed  and  civilized  people  are  absent.  Nearly 
every  community  in  Russia  was  self-sustaining;  85  per 
cent,  of  the  people  where  land  tillers;  there  was  but 
little  industrial  enterprise  or  commerce,  and  yet,  even 
under  these  primitive  conditions,  it  has  failed.  How 
much  greater,  more  complete  and  disastrous  the  fail- 
ure would  be  in  this  country  can  well  be  imagined. 
In  the  United  States  our  development  and  interde- 
pendence is  so  complex  that  the  stoppage  of  the  rail- 
roads for  a  few  days  would  bring  untold  suffering  to 
our  people.  All  the  cogs  of  our  enterprise  must  be  in 
place  or  the  machine  will  stop.  We  have  ceased  to  be 
primitive.  Our  civilization  may  be  compared  to  a  fine 
chronometer — Russia's  to  a  lumber  wagon.  If  bolshe- 
vism cannot  successfully  run  a  lumber  wagon,  what 
likelihood  that  it  could  run  a  chronometer.? 

Bolshevism  in  Russia  has  survived  after  a  fashion 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM   287 

for  some  time.  Bolshevism  in  America  could  not  in 
the  nature  of  things  function  with  any  degree  of  success 
for  thirty  days.  And  yet,  bolshevism,  I.  W.  W.'ism, 
One  Big  Unionism,  etc.,  have  had  a  marked  detrimental 
effect  on  our  people. 

Bolshevism  has  made  revolutionists  of  loyal  men  and 
women; 

It  has  destroyed  love  of  country  in  the  hearts  and 
minds  of  thousands; 

It  has  made  many  efficient,  contented,  and  well-paid 
workers  inefficient,  complaining  fault  finders; 

It  has  gained  converts  and  supporters  in  every  state 
of  the  Union; 

It  has  caused  industrious  men  to  become  loafers  on 
the  job;  it  has  fanned  the  flames  of  hatred  and  envy; 

It  has  invaded  the  loyal  organizations  and  assemblages  of 
labour  and  is  fast  destroying  the  morale  of  many  of  our 
workers. 

It  is  destroying  the  old  progressive  labour  organiza- 
tions. The  American  Federation  of  Labour  and  I,  W. 
W.'ism  are  fighting  to  the  death,  while  unrest,  strikes, 
and  sabotage  exist  as  never  before. 

Following  is  the  number  of  strikes  that  occurred  in  this 
country  during  each  month  of  1919  up  to  September: 
January,  105;  February,  no;  March,  102;  April,  134; 
May,  219;  June,  245;  July,  364;  August,  308. 

The  strikes  in  July  and  August  were  twice  as  many 
as  in  July  and  August,  191 8.  Officials  of  the  Ameri- 
can Federation  of  Labour  estimate  that  there  are  at 
this  writing  2,000  strike  situations,  meaning  strikes  going 
on  or  imminent. 


288   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

The  above  figures  were  taken  from  Stanley  Frost's 
article  in  the  New  York  Tribune  of  September  15,  1919. 
He  agrees  with  my  statement  that  there  has  been  a 
"progressive  and  pronounced  decline  in  the  actual 
quantity  of  goods  produced." 

One  of  the  causes  of  these  strikes  is  the  spread  of  the 
Bolshevist  beliefs,  and  the  consequent  practices 
thereof. 

These  teachings  have  destroyed  in  the  minds  of  thou- 
sands the  desire  to  work  and  produce.  They  have 
made  infidels  of  the  God-fearing;  they  have  made 
criminals  of  the  law-abiding.  Bolshevik  leaders  have 
planned  the  destruction  not  only  of  government,  law  and 
order,  but  also  the  destruction  of  the  lives  and  reputa- 
tions of  all  who  oppose  them.  Bolshevism  preaches 
violence,  hatred,  and  revolution  instead  of  peace,  prog- 
ress, and  evolution.  Lies,  crimes,  and  force  are  the 
tools  used. 

Under  one  name  or  another  it  has  impregnated  the 
minds  of  a  great  number  of  the  workers  of  our  country 
with  its  doctrines  of  sabotage; 

It  has  taught  the  false  doctrine  that  the  less  you  do 
the  more  you  should  have; 

It  has  restricted  production  in  many  instances  50 
per  cent. ; 

It  has  taught  men  to  loaf  on  the  job  and  defraud 
not  only  their  employer,  but  civilization  and  themselves, 
and  it  is  my  belief  that  it  will  put  to  the  test  our  pres- 
ent form  of  government. 

All  this,  and  much  more,  has  taken  place  in  a  few 
years  in  a  country  where  the  people  themselves  govern. 


AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM   289 

and  where  the  majority  are  able,  by  the  exercise  of  their 
political  rights,  to  do  as  they  wish. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  crime  of  all  that  it  has  com- 
mitted is  the  teaching  of  the  false  doctrine  that  re- 
stricted production  means  more  wealth,  whereas  the 
most  elementary  student  must  realize  that  restricted 
production  is  premeditated  poverty  for  all. 

Our  country  has  the  greatest  natural  resources  of  any 
country  on  the  globe,  and  yet  we  are  growing  poorer 
daily.  Let  us  forget  the  dollar  and  instead  of  saying 
that  so  many  dollars'  worth  of  this  and  that  has  been 
produced,  let  us  measure  our  wealth  in  tons,  in  yards,  and 
with  such  real  measures. 

With  practically  our  entire  population  at  work,  we 
are  producing  less  per  capita  than  at  any  time  since 
modern  machinery  came  to  aid  the  toiler.  In  the  ship- 
yards of  the  Northwest,  and  in  the  factories,  stickers 
are  posted  everywhere  telling  the  men  to  do  but  six 
hours'  work  in  an  eight-hour  day.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
thousands  are  doing  but  four  hours'  work  in  an  eight- 
hour  day,  and  could  practically  double  their  production 
in  many  instances  if  they  desired.  I  have  no  doubt  that 
this  slowing  up  of  production,  to  a  greater  or  less  de- 
gree, is  true  all  over  the  United  States.  The  employer  of 
labour  simply  adds  to  the  selling  price  of  his  product 
the  extra  cost  of  production,  and  it  is  passed  on  to  the 
ultimate  consumer,  and  finally  reaches  the  worker  who 
slacked  on  the  job. 

In  our  lumber  camps  barely  60  per  cent,  as  much 
lumber  is  produced  by  a  given  crew  as  was  produced 
several  years  ago,  under  very  much  poorer  working 


290   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

conditions,  and  all  the  time  the  syndicalist  fatuously 
and  ignorantly  believes  that  by  this  slacking  and 
loafing  he  is  accomplishing  good  for  himself.  Of 
course,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  if  a  workman  cuts  his  pro- 
duction in  half,  either  the  price  of  his  half  must  be 
doubled  or  his  wages  must  be  cut  in  two.  If  it  requires 
two  men  to  do  the  work  that  one  man  previously  per- 
formed, in  the  final  analysis  the  two  men  will  only 
receive  the  sum  previously  received  by  the  one  who  did 
the  same  work. 

If  I  cultivate  i6o  acres  of  land  and  reap  20  bushels 
of  wheat  to  the  acre,  3,200  bushels  of  wheat  are  pro- 
duced. If  I  cultivate  but  80  acres  of  land,  which 
produces  20  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre,  only  1,600 
bushels  of  wheat  have  been  produced,  and  the  world  is 
1,600  bushels  of  wheat  poorer  regardless  of  the  price 
I  receive  for  the  wheat.  Nobody  can  subsist  on  the 
dollar  mark,  but  the  extra  1,600  bushels  of  wheat  would 
feed  a  number  of  people  for  a  long  time. 

There  never  was  a  time  in  the  history  of  the  world 
when  production  was  more  greatly  needed  than  at  pres- 
ent. The  boxes  and  barrels  and  bins  of  the  warehouses 
are  practically  empty.  The  amount  of  deposits  in  the 
banks  does  not  measure  prosperity.  The  amount  of 
food,  clothing,  homes,  etc.,  is  the  true  measure.  Slug- 
gards, drones,  shirks,  and  slackers  become  really  crim- 
inals in  the  face  of  the  needs  of  humanity.  The  only 
things  that  will  bring  prosperity,  peace,  and  general 
well-being,  are  work  and  thrift.  Without  work,  with- 
out production,  chaos  and  anarchy  must  result.  All 
the  resolutions  adopted,  and  all  the  laws  passed,  will  not 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    291 

raise  one  bushel  of  grain.  Idleness,  at  the  present  time, 
is  a  national  crime.  Semi-idleness  is  almost  as  bad. 
The  world  must  either  go  to  work,  or  starve  and  freeze — 
mere  words  will  not  feed  or  clothe  the  children. 
Dreams  are  sometimes  pleasant,  but  no  one  could  ever 
dream  strong  enough  or  long  enough  to  produce  a 
bushel  of  potatoes.  He  who  makes  two  blades  of  grass 
grow  where  but  one  grew  before  is  a  benefactor  to 
humanity.  He  who  makes  one  blade  of  grass  grow 
where  two  grew  before  is  society's  enemy. 

Steeped  in  sophistry,  men  are  striving  to  find  some 
way  of  having  and  enjoying  without  working  and  pro- 
ducing. Time,  the  great  logician,  goes  relentlessly  on 
its  way  and  proves  over  and  over  again  that  there  is 
only  one  way.  History,  the  great  expounder,  proves 
that  there  has  never  been  but  one  way.  Common  sense 
tells  us  all,  rich  and  poor,  employer  and  employee,  that 
there  is  but  one  way.  We  must  produce  more — not  less — 
in  order  to  have  more.  The  division  of  the  product  may 
be  a  just  subject  for  dispute,  but  the  necessity  for  more 
production  cannot  be  disputed.  Every  nation,  every 
man,  must  realize  this  fundamental.  Wealth  is  not  a 
static  thing.  Food,  clothing,  and  all  wealth  are  produced 
by  work  applied  to  natural  resources.  It  never  has  been 
and  never  can  be  produced  otherwise.  The  more  work 
that  is  applied  to  natural  resources,  the  more  wealth — 
the  less  work,  the  less  wealth.  I  care  not  what  the 
dollar  value  of  production  shows.  It  means  nothing. 
I  do  care,  however,  what  the  bushel  measure  demon- 
strates. When  we  work  50  per  cent,  we  become  a  50- 
per-cent.  people.     Let  all  production  stop  and  in  just  a 


292   AMERICANISM  VERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

short  time  the  saved-up  wealth  of  the  centuries  fades 
away  and  disappears. 

Wealth  is  an  ever  and  constantly  changing  entity. 
It  grows  larger  or  smaller  according  to  production.  In 
all  ism  philosophy,  work  is  looked  upon  as  an  evil 
while  it  is  in  fact  the  greatest  blessing  ever  conferred 
on  man.  A  people  impregnated  by  the  habit  of  work 
is  irresistible.  The  greatest  joy  in  life  is  creative  work. 
Loafers  are  neither  healthy,  useful,  nor  happy.  All 
cessation  of  work,  whether  by  lockout  or  strike,  is  pre- 
meditated poverty. 

How  have  the  bolsheviki  accomplished  this  destruc- 
tive effect.'' 

By  the  constant,  everlasting  advertisement  of  their 
false  ideas  through  agitation. 

By  the  spoken  and  written  word. 

By  fanatical  willingness  to  spend  time  and  money 
promulgating  their  doctrines. 

What  have  we  done.''  What  are  we  doing.?  What 
shall  we  do? 

Shall  we  sit  idly  by  and  see  things  get  worse? 

Shall  we  "pass  the  buck"? 

Shall  we  loll  and  dream  and  then  have  a  terrific 
awakening? — or  shall  we  play  the  man's  part  and  adopt 
measures  of  cure? 

I  must  again  speak  of  the  value  of  advertising  truth. 

I  must  again  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  a 
propaganda  of  Hes  will  stand  unless  it  is  answered  by 
truths  plainly  and  bluntly  told. 

They  have  their  propaganda  and  are  using  it;  it  is 
everywhere,  in  the  farmhouse  and  in  the  mill;  in  the 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM   293 

forest  and  in  the  factory;  in  the  mouths  of  their  voluble 
leaders,  on  the  front  pages  of  their  papers  and 
pamphlets. 

Our  propaganda,  our  truths,  are  hidden  away  in  our 
hearts  and  minds.  We  must  tell  the  truth  to  remain 
free.  We  must  issue  pamphlets.  We  must  use  the 
city  press,  country  press,  and  the  magazines.  We  must 
send  speakers  over  the  land.  We  must  make  the  fight, 
and  despite  your  complacent  belief,  dear  reader,  it  is 
a  real  and  not  a  sham  fight.  It  is  a  fight  for  freedom 
an!  peace  and  home  and  law  and  order  and  all  that  we 
hola  dear. 

W,X  you  help  ?  Will  you  do  your  share  ?  Will  you 
assist  in  every  way  possible.''  Will  you  forget  the 
^^profits"  for  a  while  and  help  save  your  country?  If  so, 
all  will  be  well  and  we  will  win.  If  we  shirk,  if  we  slack, 
if  we  trim,  if  we  compromise,  vje  will  lose,  every  last 
mother's  son  and  daughter  of  us  in  this  great  land  of 
ours,  and  the  greatest  losers  will  be  the  very  men  who  are 
being  misled  hy  the  Red  liars. 

Again  I  say,  deport  the  anarchist,  the  bolshevist, 
the  alien  agitator.  Americanize  the  alien;  spend  time 
and  money  and  effort.  We  can  do  it — let's  "go  to  it!" 
Deflate  the  currency,  gradually  and  carefully.  It 
will  decrease  the  cost  of  living.  Red  employers  must 
be  disciplined.  They  must  be  made  to  do  right.  Red 
employees  also  must  be  punished.  Both  kinds  of  Reds 
must  do  right  or  starve.  Pay  all  governmental  and 
semi-governmental  employees  a  living  wage.  If  pres- 
ent officials  won't  do  it,  change  them.  It's  our 
money,   not  theirs.     Advertise  the  truth  about  govern- 


294   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

mfnt  everywhere  and  all  the  time.  Let  us  educate 
ourselves  as  well  as  everybody  in  this  land.  Refuse 
to  admit  any  more  immigrants  except  as  we  select  them 
and  need  them,  and  admit  no  man  for  a  permanent  stay 
who  is  not  able,  or  does  not  wish,  to  become  a  citizen. 

Let  us  run  the  United  States  for  the  people  of  the 
United  States! 

It  were  well,  at  this  time,  to  consider  our  assets  and 
liabilities.  At  the  year's  close  a  wise  business  man 
takes  an  inventory.     Let  us  do  so. 

We  are  all  shareholders  in  that  great  enterprise,  the 
United  States  of  America.  Let  us  hold  a  shareholders' 
meeting  wherein  we  will  discuss  freely  and  frankly  our 
balance  sheet. 

What  are  the  assets  of  our  country  ? 

We  have  nearly  two  billion  acres  of  land,  of  which 
only  one  acre  in  seven  is  under  cultivation,  and  of  which 
there  are  still  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  million 
acres  in  the  hands  of  the  Government,  as  well  as  many 
more  fertile  millions  undeveloped  and  non-producing 
in  the  hands  of  private  individuals. 

We  have  265,000  miles  of  railroads,  of  which  260,000 
miles  are  reasonably  good  roads.  In  other  words, 
private  capital  has  built,  for  profit,  this  vast  extent  of 
public  highways.  The  railroads  of  the  United  States 
would  go  around  the  world  ten  times,  and  then  there 
would  be  enough  remaining  to  more  than  traverse  our 
entire  boundary  line. 

We  have  four  thousand  two  hundred  and  thirty-one 
billions  of  tons  of  unmined  coal  in  the  United  States 
and  Alaska.     Canada  comes  second  with  one  thousand 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM    295 

three  hundred  and  sixty-one  billion  tons,  and  China 
third,  but  the  unmined  coal  in  all  the  countries  of  the 
world  outside  our  own  amounts  to  but  three  thousand 
six  hundred  and  fifty-two  billion  tons.  We  have  over 
five  hundred  billion  more  tons  of  unmined  coal  than 
all  the  rest  of  the  world. 

In  1 8 10,  we  produced  fifty  thousand  tons  of  pig  iron; 
in  1850,  half  a  million  tons;  in  1900,  twenty-four  mil- 
lion tons,  and  in  191 5,  thirty  million  tons.  The  total 
production  of  pig  iron  for  the  world  in  1910  was  sixty- 
five  and  a  half  million  tons,  while  in  191 5,  the  total 
production  was  three  million  tons  less,  or  sixty-two 
million.  Under  normal  conditions,  we  produce  more 
than  45  per  cent,  of  this  great  basic  mineral. 

In  i8cx),  we  had  one  hundred  and  twenty-three  thou- 
sand manufacturing  establishments;  in  1850,  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand;  in  1900,  the  progress  of 
consolidation  had  reduced  this  number  to  two  hundred 
and  seven  thousand,  and  to-day,  we  have  but  two  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  thousand  such  establishments, 
or  about  the  same  number  that  we  had  forty  years  ago. 

I  speak  of  the  land,  as  in  the  final  analysis,  food 
is  our  prime  necessity  and  properly  developed  our 
lands  can  and  will  support  many  times  our  present 
population.  Our  farming  has,  to  a  large  extent,  been 
simply  soil-mining,  until  the  impoverished  soil  has  re- 
sulted in  a  small  crop,  or  no  crop;  nothing  having  been 
put  back  onto  the  land  to  feed  it,  despite  all  that  was 
taken  from  it. 

I  speak  of  our  railroads,  because  the  distribution  of 
commodities  becomes  more  and  more  complex,  necessary, 


296   AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

and  important.  I  speak  of  our  unmined  coal  as  a  great 
resource,  because  this  stored-up  sunshine  of  the  ages 
means  that  we  should  take  the  lead  in  all  manufacturing 
industries  in  time  to  come.  Coal  means  heat,  life,  ac- 
tion. 

Our  undeveloped  waterpower  cannot  be  too  highly 
appreciated.  The  time  will  surely  come  when  the 
water  that  runs  from  the  mountains  to  the  seas  will, 
in  constantly  increasing  ratio,  turn  the  busy  wheels  of 
industry  and  give  out  light,  heat,  and  warmth  to  our 
people. 

Our  pools  of  petroleum  hidden  away  through  all  the 
'centuries,  hundreds  of  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
become  more  and  more  needed  as  the  development  of  the 
gas  engine  takes  the  place  of  older  methods  of  producing 
power. 

And  our  iron.  Think  of  the  vast  stores  of  iron  still 
concealed  amidst  the  rocks  and  clay  of  our  sub-soils! 
We  have  reached  the  age  of  iron  and  without  it  no  na- 
tion can  become  either  very  prosperous  or  powerful. 

But  we  have  one  huge  asset  not  heretofore  men- 
tioned, and  that  is,  one  hundred  and  ten  milHons  of 
free,  progressive,  productive  people — people  who  have 
in  the  past,  and  will  I  trust  continue  in  the  future,  to 
produce  more  per  capita  than  any  other  people  on  the 
face  of  the  earth. 

We  suffered  much  during  the  late  war,  and  yet  but 
little  in  comparison  with  the  warring  countries  of 
Europe.  An  Italian  statistician  has  carefully  compiled 
the  losses  resulting  from  the  great  conflict  and  he  states 
that  it  will  take,  under  normal  conditions,  ten  years  for 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM   297 

England  to  regain  her  lost  man  power;  fifteen  years  for 
Germany;  thirty-three  years  for  Italy,  and  sixty-six 
years  for  beautiful  France. 

We  have  the  most  efficient  and  best  labour  power  on 
earth.  The  leaders  of  thought,  of  industry,  of  action 
and  progress  of  every  kind  in  Europe,  the  graduates  of 
the  great  universities,  lie  dead  on  Flanders  fields — 
but  the  loss  of  our  thinkers,  our  planners,  and  our  cap- 
tains, while  they  did  their  share,  and  their  full  share, 
during  our  part  in  the  war,  was  very  small  in  compari- 
son with  that  of  the  other  countries.  Our  workers  are 
alive.  Millions  of  the  workers  of  the  other  countries, 
whether  allies  or  enemies,  are  dead.  Our  leaders,  too, 
are  alive,  while  their  leaders  are  dead.  We  have  the 
men  and  the  brains,  as  well  as  the  largest  aggregation 
of  capital  of  any  country  in  the  world  to-day.  The  fu- 
ture belongs  to  us. 

We  have  but  one  possible  liability  confronting  us, 
and  that  is  industrial  and  civil  strife.  We  need  fear 
no  foreign  competition.  Not  only  were  millions  of  the 
men  of  Europe  wiped  out  by  war  or  disease,  but  millions 
more  have  adopted  and  put  into  practice  syndicalism 
and  sabotage,  with  consequent  restriction  of  production, 
making  it  impossible  for  these  great  nations  to  compete 
on  equal  terms  with  us  with  all  our  natural  resources 
and,  I  trust,  the  incentive  to  produce. 

The  coal  miners  of  Great  Britain  refuse  to  mine  coal 
and  we  ship  millions  of  tons  to  Italy,  Switzerland,  and 
other  countries.  The  peasants  of  Russia  are  not  rais- 
ing sufficient  food  for  themselves;  hence  our  markets 
for  food  products  are  world-wide.     We  can  sell  bicycles 


298    AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM 

in  London  across  the  street  from  the  factory  located 
there,  and  undersell  the  local  factory.  We  can,  if  we 
will,  control  the  foreign  trade  of  the  world. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  war  we  had  few  or  no 
ships  of  our  own  to  carry  our  produce.  To-day  we  have 
many  ships,  and  are  building  more  and  more. 

We  have  a  government  truly  representative  of  the 
people  themselves — a  government  under  which  all 
have  an  equal  opportunity.  If  we,  the  people  of  this 
great  country,  founded  on  the  principles  of  freedom  and 
liberty,  will  unite,  will  go  to  work,  will  cooperate,  will 
preach  and  practise  the  doctrine  of  thrift  and  work, 
we  may  embark  upon  the  greatest  era  of  prosperity 
any  country  has  ever  known  in  all  history. 

If  we  will  but  cooperate  and  settle  our  disputes  by 
agreement,  instead  of  by  force  and  violence,  all  may 
receive  the  greatest  blessings.  This  is  my  country,  it 
is  your  country.  Its  government  is  our  Government, 
and  we  must  fight  to  the  last  against  the  domination 
of  our  Government  and  our  country  by  any  one  class. 

Whenever  the  majority  of  our  people  desire  to  change 
or  amend  any  part  of  our  structure,  they  can  do  it. 
Our  Government  is  a  government  by  majorities.  No 
minority  must  ever  be  allowed  to  control  its  affairs. 
No  class,  whether  bankers  or  plumbers,  must  have  a 
greater  voice  in  its  affairs  than  the  Constitution  and 
laws  grant  them.  We  must  cooperate  and  conquer 
ignorance,  poverty,  and  injustice.  We  must  build  on 
the  foundations  laid  down  by  our  ancestral  fathers. 
Our  great  experiment  in  government  must  not  be  al- 
lowed to  fail.     Our  flag  must  not  be  stained  red.     Our 


AMERICANISM  FERSUS  BOLSHEVISM   299 

children  must  be  taught  the  truth,  at  home  and  in  the 
schools.  Our  grown  men  and  women  must  be  made  to 
reahze  the  beauty,  the  utiUty,  the  superiority  of  our 
Government.  In  the  near  future — perhaps  sooner  than 
many  of  us  believe — our  solidarity,  our  loyalty,  and  our 
unity  will  be  tested.  When  that  time  comes,  God 
grant  that  you  and  I,  and  all  of  us,  may  have  fulfilled 
our  duty  to  our  country  and  to  one  another. 

We  must  know  the  truth — and  carry  it  to  every  man, 
woman,  and  child  in  our  land.  With  the  truth  in  the 
hearts  and  souls  of  all  of  us  we  need  have  no  fear,  for 
truth  is  mighty  and  will  prevail.  The  man  of  truth  will 
dissipate  the  mists  of  falsehood  and  the  right,  the  fair, 
the  square,  and  the  loyal  wmII  be  successful.  To  believe 
otherwise  would  be  to  doubt  God  and  good  and  to  ques- 
tion the  ultimate  happiness  and  peace  of  humanity. 

Again  I  say:  This  is  our  country  and  our  Government. 
Let  us  cherish  its  institutions  and  ideals — let  us  stand 
by  its  laws;  let  us  work  for  it,  live  for  it,  and — if  neces- 
sary— die  for  it. 

Sail  on,  O  Ship  of  State! 

Sail  on,  O  Union,  strong  and  great! 
Humanity  with  all  its  fears, 
With  all  the  hopes  of  future  years, 

Is  hanging  breathless  on  thy  fate! 

THE     END 


THE  COU>rrRY  LIFE  PRESS 
GARDEN  CITY.  N.  Y 


f 


HX 
61 
H36 


•7'3'^7 


Hanson,    Ole,    1874- 

Araericanisni   versus 
bolshevism, 

Doulleday,    Page 
and  Co.       ( 1920) 


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