The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-09-09
THE SUPPRESSION or ANARCHIsM.

The attempted assassination Of President
Mckinley and the fact that the would-be
assassin is an avowed Anarchist makes it
necessary TO inquire what and ought
to be done to suppress anarchism in the
United States. Czolgocz admits that he is
an Anarchist and says his mind was fired
TO kill the President by the teachings of the
noted woman Anarchist, Emma Goldman.
Nobody knows how many Anarchists there
are in the country but the police of differ
ent cities know of several groups or coteries
of them. 1t is probable that many persons
who call themselves Socialists are really
Anarchists, though many Socialists are
very far from harboring murderous designs.
| That there is a considerable number OF
Anarchist sympathizers throughout the
country is shown by the individual express
sions in different localities, which, in every
case, have brought swift punishment from
| bystanders. But the seed has been sown
and there is danger that the plant will grow
and spread. The open-door policy which
the United States has pursued toward for
| eign immigrants and the leniency with
which political refugees and criminals have
| been treated have made this country
paradise for political plotters and dissent
majors of anarchistic views. The lack Of
| legislation on the subject and the difficulty
OF dealing arbitrarily with offenders of this
class without trenching on the freedom of
speech and liberty of the press have added
to their immunity. Only a few years ago
| Governor Altgeld of Illinois, pardoned
several notorious Anarchists from a State
prison sentence, thus virtually notifying
others that they were in little danger of
punishment. But the time has come when
something must be done either to rid the
country Of these vermin entirely at least
to put a stop to the dissemination of their
views.
| Perhaps the first question that will be
raised by narrow constructionists of the
| Constitution will be as to the right of Con-
| gress or the States to legislate against the
holding disseminating of abstract views.
On this point there can be no doubt. Self
| defense and self-preservation are among
the inherent rights of every government.
| They are an attribute of sovereignty above
even the Constitution. Society has the
4
enemies that an individual has to destroy
| poisonous reptile. Anarchists aim at the
destruction of all rulers and the overthrow
| of all governments. This is universal trea-
son and may be treated as such by all gov
| ernments without reference to their form
or constitutional grant of power. 1t is
| crime punishable under the higher law. If
/ ba is
| treason the plotting of it's overthrow by
! assassination is the most odious form of
treason and one against which governments
have a right To adopt the most severe and
punitive measures.
What ought to be done is not clear
as the right of government to do whatever
| is necessary To suppress anarchlsm. They
cannot well be deported because no other
| country would permit them to enter Among
the thousand Islands of the Philippines
there may be one barren and inhospitable
! enough to become prison home for them
and public opinion would probably approve
of sending them there. but if that is i'm
practicable they should at least be brought
under police supervision and punished as
| conspirators Illinois has fairly good law
on the subject and every State should have
one equally as stringent or more so. The
| Illinois law was the outgrowth of the Chi
cago Anarchist riots and provides as fol-
! lows
| If any person shall, by speaking to any
| public or private assemblage of people or
| in any public place. shall by writing
| printing, or publishing, or by causing to be
| written, printed, published or circulated
| any written or printed matter. advise, en-
| courage, aid, abet or incite local revolu-
! ton, or the overthrOwing or destruction of
| the existing order of society by force or
| violence, or the resistance to and destruc-
| ton of the lawful power and authority Of
| the legal authorities of this State, or of any
| of the towns, cities or counties of this
! State, or by any of the means aforesaid
| shall advise, abet, encourage or incite the
| disturbance of the public peace and by
| or destruction of public order or resistance
| to such authorities shall therefore ensue
! and human life is taken or any person is
| injured, or property destroyed, every per-
| son so aiding, etc, shall be deemed as
| having conspired with the person or per-
| sons who actually commit the crime, and
4 shall be deemed principal in the perpetra-
ton OF the same. and shall be punished ac-
| cordingly, and il shall not be necessary for
| the prosecution to show that the speaking
| was heard or the written or printed matter
| was read or communicated to the person or
| persons actually committing the crime if
| such speaking, writing, printing or publish
| ing is shown to have been done in a public
| manner.
Another section provides that if two or
more persons conspire 10 overthrow the
existing order of society by force and vio-
lenee, and any person is killed in pursuance
of the plan. all the cOnspirators shall be
deemed guilty OF the crime, "notwithstand-
ing the time and place for the bringing
about such revolution had not been definite
~ agreed upon by such conspirators, but
was left to the exigencies of the time or the
judgment of co-conspirators or some one
or more Of them" With such law as that
in every State. fortified by an act of Con-
gress providing a special penalty for the
assassination or attempted assassination of
the President anarchism could be pretty
effectually stamped out. Another year
should not be permitted to pass without
national and State legislation on the sub
ject.
THE Equal OF ANY PREDECESSOR.
Not long ago Secretary Long, in an ad-
dress in Massachusetts. asserted that Pres