The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-12-15
Lincoln Steffens
Tells the Story
OF Confessions
Well Known Writer, Who Acted as Mediator at Los
Angeles, Says Labor Is Guilty of Crime and
Capital Of Inciting to Crine.--Asserts
Acts of McNamaras Were Out
come of Class War

for the world to know that there was
a group of labor which not only blew
up buildings, but killed human beings.
And something was said about this
fact being an indictment against So
ciety.
Force and Violence as Weapons
Mr.. Scripps read a letter he had in
his possession which was a complete
statement of the philosophy of direct
action. I shall write something about
/ this phase in later letter. All the
readers need to know at the present
is that it covers the belief that force
| and violence are the only weapons
labor has to fight with We could all
see that if this case could be tried
so as to develop that theory as
defense, this terrible, true fact could
be brought out into the light and dealt
with
Some one else suggested that an
other way to accomplish the same
end was to settle the Mcnamara cases
on the basis of plea of guilty. Such
plea would give us all a chance to
assume that a part of organized labor
had actually adopted the policy of
force. | am not clear as to the next
! drift of the conversation, but | remem-
Der that barrow said that the case,
especially against Jim" Mcnamara.
! was dead cinch." He thought we
would have not only conviction to
base our assumption on, but that the
boy would be hanged"
Steffens Sees Business Men.
This idea worke in my mind and
the next day, on Monday, | decided to
see if any men on the capitalist side
! in Los Angeles would consider a set
! Element of the cases. called first
on Meyer Lissner, who is one of the
progressive republican party. He
| looked astonished at the suggestion,
but | went on to remind him of the
class line and the wound left in San
Francisco by the prosecution of the
, business criminals up there. Then re-
| fered to the condition of European
cities, where the c'ass line has been
drawn so hard and sharp that class
war is the principal thing in the life
of the people.
You have it here" | said you
have socialists and labor men lined
iup against the other class; you have
hate all through your system. That's
! bad. 1t may be that the class fight
! is never to be ended, but why not try
some other way than fighting it out?"
And we talked about the rare OPP
portunity he and his friends had of
taking the first step in Los Angeles.
They could begin with an act of gen
( crosby toward two heroes of labor
who were in trouble, with all men
I looking on and watching Why not
let them go?
Harry Chandler Converted.
| The next step was to see the men
who were in position either to help
or hinder Mr.. Lissner suggested call
| ing on Thomas +. Gibbon. Mr.. Gibbon
baked, like everybody else at first,
but he saw it and, seeing it,, thought
he could make anybody see it, He
went out and he saw, first, l believe,
Harry Chandler, who first said we
were all crazy, but then he changed
his mind and went crazy himself, SO
to speak, and / want to say right
here that in all the interviews with
all the men we all saw there was not
one that took a small or a narrow
view Of it. 1t was the big idea of
getting the class war out of their city
that appealed to them all Mr. Chan
dler, for example, declared at first
that he could not help us because of
the special interest of the Times in
the matter.
1--WE would be misunderstood" he
said, and would do more harm than
good" but the next he knew he was
out on the job and from that time on
he worked day and night,
Put Up to Clarence S. barrow.
When it appeared that the men on
the other side were willing to make
concessions l went to barrow The
question put to him was whether he
Continued on page eIeven.)