The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-01-06
ANARCHY AND FREE SPEECH.

One Mowbray, an English Anarchist.
escaped the immigration authorities in
disguise and landed in New York. After
secreting himself for a time he began
to preach the malignant heresies of the
Anarchists. Not much attention was
given to him in New York. This caused
him to leave that city and go to Phil
adelDha. where. in the most vehement
manner, he proclaimed the necessity of
war upon existing governments and in
situations. If those who listened to him
had taken his advice Philadelphia would
have been the scene of pillage and,
bloodshed in a. few hours. The police
arrested Mowbray for seditious speech.
and. upon examination. he was bound
over in $1,000 to appear before "a higher
court. BY latest accounts. tor use the
form OF speech employed by those who
are always indignant at any act of au-
thority by the officers of the law, Now
bray now "languishes in a bastile."
which means that he Is in a comforta-
BILE jail because no person having $1,000
worth of property will risk the losing
of 1t BY giving bond for his appearance
in the upper court.
There seems no wrong about this.
What the man said was clearly sedi-
tious. and the reason that he did not
arouse sedition is because there was no
considerable number OF persons in his
audience who desired to show their
hatred for law and order by pillaging
warehouses and dynamiting dwelling
houses as a vocation. Doubtless there
were those Of disordered intellects pres
ent. who received his words as orders
and his heresies as truths, and who
went out of the meeting thoroughly con-
WINGED that, when occasion offered. they
would assail the order of society by
committing murder or throwing
dynamite bomb. If we hear within
short time of any fiendish attempts upon
persons in authority in that vicinity, 1T
is not unfair to assume that the perpe-
traitor is a pupil Of Mowbray and is
practicing the lesson he learned from
that foe OF orderly society.
But now come the sympathizers with
every rascal who violates the law, and
in their organs and addresses denounce
the arrest of this apostle of sedition as
IAN outrage upon the right of free
speech" The more imaginative behold
the dreadful man on horseback In the
arrest of this unwelcome foreigner. II
there should be Populist mass meet
ing one Of it's resolutions. redundant in
epithet, would be devoted to denuncia-
ton of the arrest of Mowbray.
= The freedom of speech stops long
way short of the preaching of sedition.
That is not free speech which fills dis
ordered minds with the impulse of MUIR
der. That is not free speech in which
men are told that society as it now eX-
lists must be broken up by bloodshed
and pillage. 1t is Indictment to whole
sale crime and to war on law and or
der. 1t is not free speech; it is the man
date to commit murder. Any speech
which incites violence. lawlessness and
murder is a crime, and to commit crime
is in no sense the right of any person.
There are even closer limitations to the
exercise of speech than the advocacy OF
sedition. The man who assails the rep
utation of the individual or does injury
to his property in public print, or even
by word Of mouth. may be taken into
court. under the criminal laws, and. II
found guilty, may be punished by hne
ard Imprisonment, or such offender may
be sued in the civil courts and made to
pay heavy damages. Do those who de-
nounce the silencing of such wretches
as Mowbray object to the restriction of
free speech so that the individual may
not be injured, and yet demand free ut
terance for a man who, by inflammatory
language incites the ignorant to deeds
of violence? A long sentence should be
l~D+ Of ir1S
Mowbray is guilty.