The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1911-12-22
MURDER IS MuRpERn
Roosevelt Writes Editorial on the
Mcnamara Case

lating to the Mcnamara case, EMIT
led Murder is Murder" The article
says:
Not only laboring men, but bust
ness men, capitalists, have at times
shown the worst form of class con
sciousness-that of sinister and bru-
tai selfishness in standing by crimi-
nails simply because they were of
their own class. This has been done
by capitalists in the case of capital
lists who have been guilty of brazen
corruption, and by laborers in the
case of labor leaders who have been
guilty of murderous violence. The
two offenses stand on par from the
standpoint of damage to the commun-
ity. In San Francisco In one munic-
ipal contest the capitalists who de-
sired to be free from all check on
corruption and the labor leaders who
desired to be free from all check on
lawless violence struck hands and
elected their ticket; and this proved
in the end to be a lasting misfortune
to San Francisco, to the cause of hon
est business and to the cause of hon
est labor
Since the startling outcome Of the
Mcnamara trial certain apologists of
these men have made themselves
conspicuous by asserting that these
deprayed criminals who have on their
scared souls the murder of so many
innocent persons-all of them labor.
ing people, by the way-are victims
or at worst fanatics who should re-
ceive sympathy because they were
acting in what they regarded as a
war on behalf Of their class. The
plea is monstrous in its folly and its
wickedness. 1t is precisely the kind
OF plea sometimes advanced on be-
half of crooked man of great wealth
caught bribing a legislature-that he
has to do ii to protect his business.
We are not here dealing with any OF
the kinds of ofilenses incidental to
the sudden and sweeping changes
brought about by modern Industrial
conditions in which capitalists or
labor men are sometimes drawn
without any very great conscious
moral turpitude on their part. We
are dealing with crimes as old as the
lawgiying from Sinai, with crimes
murder and theft-that have been
prohibited ever since the decalogue
was formulated
THE murders committed by men
like the McNamaras, although nomi-
nally in the interests of organized
labor, differ not one whit in moral
culpability from those committed by
the Black Hand, or by any band Of
mere cut-throats, and are fraught
with an infinitely heavier menace to
society. Yet, great though thet men
ace is to the community, the menace
to the cause of honest organized la.
Dor is still greater, and no duty is
more imperatively laid on the leaders
OF labor than the duty of affirmative
~ freeing themselves and their fol.
lowers from the faint OF responsib-
ility for such criminals and such
crimes. The labor leaders who by
their loud championship OF the Nc
Namaras-as previously. OF Mover
and Haywood-have succeeded in
Identifying them with the cause of
labor In the eyes Of the public, have
rendered an evil service to that
cause. Mr. Debs and the extremists
OF his type among the so-called poll
teal Socialists say so-caled be
cause Debs and his followers OF the
Emma Goldman kind are not Social
lists at all in any true sense of the
word, but mere meters to murder
, and preachers OF applied anarchy
and the labor leaders affiliated with
them have always boosted OF the
: part they played in the trial OF Moy
er and Haywood; and in this case
they repeated their familiar tactics
and held mass meetings. and scatter
ed broadcast papers and addresses In
| which they furiously denounced the
effort to bring wrong-doers to Justice
and sought 10 arouse every evil class
| instinct against all who upheld the
cause OF law or sought to put stoI
TO assassination ana murderous vic
| lence. II Is worth noting that since
Mcnamara confessed his guilt Mr.
Meyer. the head Of what purports L
be a labor organization, is reported
IN the press as commenting upon IL
| not by denouncing Mcnamara fol
| having committed the murder. but b,
| denouncing him for having confesse,
~ Such denunciation is significant
Murder is murder. and the foolisl
senumentalists or sinister wrong
doors who try to apologize for II a
an incident of labor warfare are no
only morally oulpable but are enc
mics OF the American people. and
above all, are enemies OF American
wageworkers In honorable cor
trast to these men stand the varlou
labor leaders who have never aske
for more than a fair trial for the NJ
Namaras, whose purpose has onl
= been to get justice. and who no,
= sternly demand that murder shall b
= punished when committed In the M
! minal interest OF labor precisely q
under any other circumstances.
believe with all my heart In the An
erican workingman; believe wi,
all my heart in organized labor: (,
labor must be organized In order
protect and secure it's rights; nm
therefore with all my strength | urf
my fellow citizens the American me
and women who earn their livellhos
as wago.workers. to see that the
leaders stand for honesty. and ODE
fence TO the law, and to set their I
ces like flint against any effort
I. H..