The Daily Missoulian., 1913-07-06

grounds, but near enough to the joy
| Gus crowd to extinguish any chance
bomb, should one be thrown.
This incident Of the detective is but
one of many which alarm any one
| who has the cause Of freedom at heart
| 1t shows whittier we, as a nation, are
| rapidly drifting. This spy system
honeycombs our society, and is the
direct outgrowth of capitalism which
disturbs all social relations and causes
'everlasting uncertainty and agita-
| ton"
| Our country sweet land of liberty"
| is becoming Russianized with the re-
| suit that liberty is taking prolonged
| vacation under more congenial skies
| She would be asphyxiated in this at
mosphere we are forced to breathe.
| Does anyone still believe that this is
a free country? If SO, let him read a
reliable account of conditions where
| any workers are on strike and his eyes
| will be opened to the painful truth
Freedom of speech is no more, and
freedom of the press is inferred with
it. Justice is become byWord, and
|
of the people. To one conversant with
history, these are ominous signs. What
do they presage? "A terrible-and we
| fear, a bloody struggle such as the:
world has never seen, to end in des-
! potism, or a true democracy. This
war is already begun although so far
| it has manifested itself in preliminary
| skirmishes
\ John Reed, a newspaper reporter.
gives a vivid description in THE
Masses of what he witnessed in
Paterson, N. j., where the silk work
ers have been out on strike for three
months, to secure better wages and
working conditions. OF the situation
there Mr.. Reed says:
There's war in Paterson, But it's
| a curious kind of war. All the violence
| is the work of one side-the mill own
ers. Their servants, the police, club
| unresisting men and women, and ride
down law abiding crowds on, horse
back Their paid mercenaries, the
armed detectives, shoot and kill inno-
cent people. Their newspapers, the
| Paterson Press and the Paterson Call,
| publish incendiary and crime-inciting
| appeals to mob violence against the
/ strike leaders. Their tool, Recorder
| Carroll, deals out heavy sentences to
peaceful pickets that the police-net
! gathers up They control, absolutely,
the police, the press, the courts.
"Opposing them are about $4,000
striking silk workers, of whom perhaps
10000 are active, and their Weopon is
the picket line. Let me tell you what
| saw in Paterson and then you will
say which side of the struggle is
anarchists and contrary to Ameri-
can ideals
Then follows an account of his ar
| rival in Paterson and of the quiet
groups of strikers he saw on the streets
with gesticulating hands and quiet
conversation. They looked often
toward the corners of side streets.
Suddenly appeared a policeman.
swinging his club. "Ah-h-h!" said
the crowd softly
The policeman ordered the strikers
to go home. They gave way in silence,
drifting back again when he turned
away. Other policemen materialized,
hustling, cursing, brutal, Intellectual,
No one answered back. little further
along the street woman striker Is
confronted bN policeman.
What the. HI are YOU doing here?"
he rOared. Cd d-n you, go home!"
and he jammed his club against her
mouth. Then the reporter had his
own experience, being about to take
shelter on the steps of a house with
the owners permission. He was or
dered off the street with a great deal
of unnecessary profanity. and on his
refusal to obey was placed under ar
rest. He was treated to abuse and
obscenity on the way. to headquarters,
other officers supplying fresh epithets.
Il soon found they We're repeating
themselves, however, and told them SO.
! had to come all the way to Paterson