The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1913-10-22
MORAL %TuRpITUDE.

lleIl IlCI VSIl JASSNSSS OhS Va IhN
attorneys for Mrs. I'%ankllurst, adj
dressed the Immigration commissions
er i'm her behalf the other day he
called attention to the testimony Civ
CIT by Mrs. Pankhurst before the in
spcctors at ellis Island, and conclud-
ed his address thus:
From that testimony it is respect
FULLY submitted that at the time of the
commission of the acts complained OF
there was all uprising, or revolt, on
the part Of the women of England,
that this uprising or revolt was of u
political nature and that any crimes
committed hy Mrs. Pankhurst. it any
were committed by her. were crimes
purely OF :. political nature and not
such as T." Involve moral turpitudc.
Tho mere delivery Of lectures or
speeches urging woInen to strive for
what she believed to he their legal
aud political rights is certainly an act
intended to forward and help 4 poll
must I've deemed. IL an offeIsc at all.
. political offerse. Nor can it be
claimed nor successfully asccrtained
that tho mere urging Of her hearers
to- destroy property. if necessary to
bring about tho desired result. is an
oct involving moral turpitudc."
Tho women Of England. VIC arc told,
were in a state of revolution, demand
ting certain political rights, or certain
concessions which they claimed as
rights. therefore. if their leader ad-
vise.l her followers to destroy proper
~ AS n means of furtherins their de-
ma,ds. that act involved no moral
t%urpitude. but was merely 4 political
offcnse.
Incidentally the attorney drew ON
his ima gination. when he described
the insignificant fraction who 90
vomen of England. as freely as tho
ONE o fEngland. as freely as the
three tailors of Tooley street drew
on theirs when they headed their fa-
nous petition, We. the people Of
England"
But now let us take a parallel case.
A lot of people. dissatisfied with things
as they are. hand themselves togeth-
er. perhaps under the title "lndustrial
Workers OF tho World" or possibly
under solne other name which suits
them better. They are certain that
the government, as it is. dprivcs them
of their rights. and they determine to
set matters to rights. Purely as a
war measure, and for the purpose of
securing the political reforms which
they demand. in addition to quitting
work. which is their undoubted right,
they assault others who do not wish
to quit. They break machinery. They
introduce soap into boilers. They
dynamite buildings. killing a few peo-
pie. They place monkey wrenchcs
and spikes in sheaves of grain. in or
der to wreck threshing machines.
They commit every that
perverted imagination and devilish in
'.enuity can devise III order to make
tho life or the community intolerable
until their demands are granted. Is
there any moral turpitude in this?
Not according to Mr.. Reeves. All
these acts arc political in their na-
turc. and should lie So treated.
This is dangerous doctrine. and it is
somewhat disquieting that. according
to the press dispatches. the president
holds that tho quality of the acts for
which Mrs. Pankhurst has beer tried
n convicted and sentenced is at
least debatable. II is not long since
a similar plea was made by misguided
special writer's on behalf Of the men
who executed the dynamite outrage
at Los Angeles. On Of those men had
been following a career of crime for
years. For a stated price per job he
had carried ON his work Of destruc-
ton and between crimes he had spent
his ill-sotten earnings in low sroggcr-
les and ba~dy houses, And vet a
slckly sentimentalism had touted this
thug, this scum of humanity, as a
martyr to a great cause. a soldier in
a holy war for the rights Of human
ity. Ye gods!