The labor world., 1899-07-15
FREE ST PE;ECH.
Honest Criticism and Honest Objection I,
Be Suppressed, |

VK 7 RITING of the Imprisonment
WV of Editor Stewart Of the
e. Mullen (Idaho) Mirror and
the suppression of his paper on the
charge of treason and sedition, J. ..
Noll says in, the Peoples Paper: 81
His criticism was an honest objec--
tion, honestly expressed, to Gen. Mer-
RAMS shutting men up in box cars
and cattle pens, and imposing such
indignities and s1fferings on them
that four Of them died outright and
number are on the verge of the
grave. Is this governor and this gen
eral made of such stuff that one may.
not voice an objection to their meth
|ods of treating human beings. Can it
be! that "a uniform and a majority
vote converts ordinary mortals into
gods? s.:5
Here is some Of the treason and Sc
dition uttered by Editor Stewart:
s...The authorities s'are declaring that
they are handling the affair at Ward
ner as expedi ditiously as possible. That
may be true. They say that the men
are being examined as fast as they.
can be reached That may be trus.
But what compensation will he made
Il : Ft-l
to. the hundreds OF men who have
been falsely Imprisoned in box e ears q q
and a vile filthy barn for. from five
days to four week ks herded like sheep
in3za pen taken from their work il
1.-The mines and mills with no schance
| to- change their wet, heavy mine and
mill garments for dry ones e How
will the; state mpensate these + men n y
|arrested at the bayonet point, while
in the peaceful pursuit. Of their daily
toll, given no. chance to show whether
| or not there was any reason why they
should be arrested at alllle q What ex-; y;
cuse 5or comp pensa ii on will the state
lmake to those men are released
Iafter subj weeks 10 7tEo
indignities, insults and abuses such
as are said to- be accorded political
prisoners in Russian Siberia. & y
But why were they imprisoned at
iall? and why treated as convicts be-
fore they were given q hearing2 The
governor may be a hero in the dollar
blinded eyes Of the Spokane Review,
and in American official life heroes
are scarce, but heroes of the Review
stripe are. easily procurable for mon
ey-and the Standard Oil company
has lots Of money. steunenburg has As
acted the spaltroon in.the matter from
| the start. He sent fool to spy out
the situation and bind the state to the
oil company and hasn't the courage
to break the fetters that bind him. VI Il
He closes. his article by referring to
reports in the daily press of a ban
quet'' given the unjnstly imprisoned
lstrikers on the completion of a new
bull pen for their benefit. The reports
mention the sumptious fare furnished,
lbut fail to mention the four murdered
men; not word about their death
beds of filth or brutal preparations
for burial; not one word about the
men who were not fortunate enough
| to die; nor how one, with the hand of
death on him, was allowed to lie un-
conscious on the platform at Wallace.
Not word was said about the bru-
ltalities practiced on the prisoners by
the officers and '.men' of Company
NJ. Not a word about the cocaine
using coroner's threat to keep the
men penned up until their hair turned
grey and to feed them on bread and
water unless they tell something that
will incriminate some one. Not a
word has been said about the prison
ers being denied council; ;'and this is
treason and sedition! The editor
states facts, his statements carry obs
jections, and he is imprisoned and his
paper suppressed. s5s.g
Since Milton thundered forth his
Areopagitica, that famous cry for
freedom of speech, there was never a
time in the English speaking world
when another such warning to des-
pots was required as now.
FIFTY MILLION COFFEE DRINKERS
IN AMERICA.