The Commonwealth. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1911-1914, 1913-12-18

ed. IL was like limiting the farmers
of Dakota to one line of railroad
One act after another was passed
abolishing American manufacturing
industries. The iron industry, the
woollen industry, the hat industry
were ruined by acts of parliament
THE masters of the lash in America
we're frantic. Something had to be
done.
Something was done. For one thing
smuggling became an industry of re
spectacle proportions carried on un-
der the wink and nod of officials just
as prostitution is carried on today.
Even during the war with the French,
food and other supplies were shipped
clandestinely from sanity New Eng
| land ports to the French forts where
were offering up their lives at the call
of the very merchants that were thus
profiting because of their sacrifice.
/ We see old John Hancock, whose
lname graces the Declaration of In
dependence with bold defiance, a
smuggler who for years had undoubt-
edly violated the laws of his country.
AS if to make smuggling pay better
parliament put on duties. All that a
crooked policeman wants is a good
stiff law. against gambling or prostitu-
ton. The stiffer the law the greater
his graft in the way Of tips to keep
his mouth shut. The smuggler like
wise prays loudly for high tariff. The
little toy acts which school children
are told parliament passed to oppress
the colonies were just SO much wind
in the sails of American smuggling
ships.
The real trouble started when Eng
land began to enforce her laws The
colonial juries had habit of freeing
smugglers and others caught violat-
ing trade laws. England introduced
the admiralty court where juries were
not needed Great fleets of English
ships appeared to enforce the laws.
Troops appeared just as they appear
now during strikes-to serve their
masters. Search acts were passed and
= began to look. rs thq'gh the way
of the American transgressor was to
be hard indeed a.
| But the American transgressor was
quite an ingenious fellow. Unlike his
British brother he was not overly bur-
dened with that kind of freight called
respect for law" This respect for
| law might do for older lands and for
others, but your Uncle Sam in his
infancy was nourished on stronger
milk. He was a law unto himself.
The open and publically approved
lawlessness during the days of the
Stamp Act is but an incident. 1t was
all through the struggle with the
mother country the proper thing to be
law breaker. A small but militant
minority forced the revolution by di-
rect action and sabotage, driving the
British to desperation and foolish
acts of reprisal which only helped the
revolutionists.
Some time when you want to take
lessons in ancient methods of direct
action and sabotage get your optics
on Fishers True History of the Re-
volution or his story of the struggle,
or get either Coman's or Bogart's In
dustrial History of the United States.
We find the boycott, tar and feathers,
riding on the rail, burning houses,
cropping off ears, the destruction OF
several hundred dollars worth Of tea,
etc, recorded of these patriotic fore
fathers of ours whose patriotic de-
cendants are so loud in their cry for
law and order at any price. Bless
them their dear little crooked hearts,
they had better quit referring to those
dads some of these days else we, too,
might adopt direct methods in some
black West Virginian midnight hour
of distress.
There was one sweet little act of
parliament, the enforcement of which
was very rude in that it interfered
with the trade in rum and slaves.
Down in Jamaica way they grew SUI
gar and sold sugar and molasses out
of which sanity New Englanders
made rum. This rum, judiciously
mingled with spring water was traded
for slaves on the far-off Guinea coast
by prayerful New England sea cap
tains. Then came the sugar act OF
1854. The enforcement Of this act
transferred this whole slave trade to
British merchants. About that time
Sam Adams got busy with his Com
mittee OF Correspondence" told OF in
school histories as being things OF
great virtue. Adams used these com
mittees to prevent enforcement OF
this act Smuggling was one way Of