The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram., 1911-12-15
He Denounces "Apologists"
of McNamaras as Mere In
citers to Murder" in the
Strongest Terms.
PROCLAIMS BELIEF
IN UNION WORKMEN
Urges Wage-workers to See
That Their Leaders Stand
for Honesty and Obedience
to the Laws.
(Nattonas News Associatian)

tNationa. News Association)
NEW YORK. Dec. 15.-Denounc-
ing the "apologists" Of the McNa-
maras as mere meters to murder
and preachers of applied anarchy"
Former President Theadore Roose-
welt, in an editorial published in tho
current issue of The Outlook. de-
clared: The murders committed
by men like the McNamaras, al
though nominally in the interest of
organized labor. differ not one whit
in moral culpability from those COM
mitted by the Black Hand. or by any
tand of mere cutthroats, and are
fraught with infinitely heavier men,
ace to society,""
The editorial is under the head
ing Murder Is Murder" In it the
ex-President declares that all crimf-
nails, whether capitalists or laborers,
should be punished as their crimes
demand. and that their associates
fellow capitalists or fellow laborers
should not attempt to justify the
acts"
Advice to Workmen.
Colonel Roosevelt, in the editorial.
proclaims his belief in the American
workingman and In organized labor,
but he urges the wageworkers to see
that their leaders stand for honesty
and obedience to the law, and to set
their faces like flint against any ef-
fort to identify the cause of organ
lied labor. directly or Indirectly.
with any movement which In any
shape or way benefits by commission
or crimes of lawless and murderous
violence
The article. which is brief but
forceful, follows:
In May last, when the McNama-
ras had just been arrested. and
when, | regret to say, many men
who posed either as leaders in the
Socialist party or as especial cham
pions and representatives OF the
cause of labor were frantically de-
nouncing the arrest and were en-
deavoring to cloud the issue Of right
and wrong by an appeal to class pre-
judice, l wrote in The Outlook an
article entitled Murder Is Muir
der" In that article set forth
what certainly seems the sufficient
ly obvious doctrine that heinous
crime should be treated purely as
crime. without regard to the politi-
cal. social or business affiliations OF
the criminal; a doctrine which. how
ever, obvious in theory, our country
sorely needs to have put into active
practice.
Glass Seifishness.
"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 class selfishness in standing by
| criminals simply because they were
of their own class. This has been
done by capitalists in the case Of
capitalists who have been guilty Of
brazen corruption. and by laborers
| ir the case of labor leaders who have
been guilty of murderous violence.
i The two offenses stand on a par from
the standpoint Of damage to the CON-
munity. In San Francisco in one mu-
nicipal contest the capitalists who de-
sired 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 apollo
gists of these men have made them
selves conspicuous by asserting that
these depraved criminals, who have
on their scared souls the murder OF
SO many innocent persons-A1l OF
them laboring people. by the way
are victims" CT at worst fanatics"
who should receive sympathy be-
cause 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 10
| precisely the kind OF a plea some
times advanced on behalf Of q crook
! ed man of great wealth caught brib-
! ing a egislature-that he has to do
/ it to protect his business.
| Dealing With Crimes.
/ I'VE are not here dealing with
| any Of the kinds Of offenses incident
al to the sudden and sweeping chang
| es brought about by modern Indus
/ trial conditions into which capital
! lists or labor men are sometimes
/ drawn without any very great con-
(Continned q PsSe Tsnl