The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-09-19

AZ S"S tAAtS9 states tAan IN any other
country bar Russia To the Russian.
Pole, German, Hungarian aud Italian,
America may be very free country.
Yet England is practically the one
country in the world where everything
from trade to speech is free. We have
had little trouble during the last TWEEN
~ years from agitators. Arrests have
been few though probably more numer-
Gus than the public is aware. We don't
publish the fact every time we conduct
an anarchist or some alien troublemaker
to a steamship. The suffragettes and
unemployed' Oh, yes, they have Of
late given the authorities some bother.
But, mind you. the arrest of the suf-
fragettes and of Jack Williams and
few of his unemployed pals has not
been for any other reason than that
they refused to move along for the
public good The duties of the police
on such occasions are to prevent crime,
to keep the peace and to see that all
the public 5 rights are preserved. So
long as the corns of the public are not
trodden on, and this includes such
things as the undue stoppage Of traffic,
then the police 10 not act Our system
has worked successfully in this country
for twenty years or more. How have
other countries faredPn
There are many more anarchists in
England today than there have been in
past years. The strict police regula-
tions of other countries have driven
them here. But while they are not in
terfered with in England so long as
they behave themselves, their identity,
address. mode of life and plans are
known to the detectives who form the
Especial branch. In London there are
many groups. which are divided up
into three districts of the big city.
There is the East end district, Soho,
and Tottenham court road district 1t
is in the latter district that the most
important group is established IT is
called the Freedom group from the
monthly paper of that name which it
publishes. In Soho are to be found the
French, italian, Spanish and Portu-
guese groups. In the East end the
Russian and Jewish groups live. The
total anarchist membership in London
is more than 1000 There are also
groups in the larger of the provincial
towns and cities, such as Liverpool,
Manchester. Birmingham, Sheffield,
Leeds, Edinburgh.
The police know them all and the
country police have special men who
work in conjunction with the special
; branch at Scotland Yard. The arrange
ments are most elaborate. They have
the assistance of all other countries
and when an anarchist starts travelling
the police at his destination are in
formed and the man is at the port Of
entry or at the railroad depot identified
and Swallowed. So exhaustive has been
the work in this connection that / am
told semiofieially and with much con
dence that there is not a single group
of anarchists in this country which does
not number in its membership one or
more police informants.
Hyde park is the "spouters Z" para
disc, and Sunday is the day of days.
Anarchism takes its place with the
dozens of other "isms." The morning
''spouters " begin as early as 10 o clock
and continue as long as a crowd will
hear them. But it is the afternoon
'spouter" wbo, with Sunday dinner
under his belt, can below the loudest.
There may be but 90, there may be so
or more of these people. They are all
over the grassland, wherever they can
gather a crowd This is not hard to
do, as there passes through Hyde park
on Sunday. from Marble Arch to
Hyde Park corner, matter of 100000
people. Out of this half million more
than half are willing to hear what is
said from the "spouters - stands.
Each speaker brings with him or her
la stool or chair or soap box or some
sort of improvised platform. have,
in fact, seen a platform composed Of
soap boxes which actually had room
for half dozen speakers, and also pos
sessed a railing. As to a topic, you can
take your choice. Here is woman
who is talking on female suffrage, and
she can give an answer and quip with
telling effect against the raw youths or
burly laboring men who are trying to
, break a lance with her. Next to her
| is a stout lady who is trying to interest
handful of people on the subject Of
cruelty to animals. She is particularly
severe on the arstocracy who will not
do away with the bearing rein. Her
! little audience is not listening, but 7
specializing on how soon the legs Of
her chair will fall and provide them
sight, for the lady is very stout. The