The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-04-12
TWELVE WITNESSES
YINDICATE MAURER
OF INSULT TO FLAG
Special Committee Of School
Board Conducts Inquiry
Into Speech.
LABOR FORUM AFFAIR
TO BIZ DROPPED NOW

ESuoCotlOIb w.
yesterday afternoon into the published
report that James II. Maurer. president
Of the State Federation OF Labor OF
Pennsylvania. had said. ITO he'll with
the Stars and Stripes in an address
before the Labor Forum In Washington
Irving High School Sunday night. Twelve
witnesses we're examined and h writ
ten testimony Of two others was read.
The testimony was taken In private.
After the examination President Wilcox
said:
we wanted to ask those who were
n the meeting to tell separately what
they had heard because VIC thought we
could get a purer statement In that
way.
with the exception OF the testimony
Z one reporter we have found no cor
roboration Of the published statement
that Mr.. Maurer said To hell with the
Stars and Stripes or made any state
mcnt whatever insulting to the American
nag.
THE bulk Of the evidence-and il was
remarkably uniform-was that Mr..
Maurer told an incident Of a man who
had been IN the Spanish American war.
ana afterward had come back and had
died and was being buried under a
special permit with a procession that
was headed by the American flag.
"Oniccrs Of the Pennsylvania con-
stabuiary stopped the procession and
said that it could not go on, but when
the permit WAS shown one Of them said.
Go ahead. but to he'll with the American
Nag Some Of the witnesses quoted Mr..
Maurer az quoting the constabulary OFF,
Ger as saying. 'Furl the American nag
what Maurer Really Said.
"Then Mr.. Maurcr went on to say
that When the advocates OF prepared
ness talk TO me Of that sor; of patriot
ism n rub the American flag under
my nose l feel like telling them to 20
to hell"
President Wilcox said that the COM
q nittee felt convinced that the spirit Of
. Mr.. Maurers remarks had been mis-
/, represented in the published reports and
that as he did not seem to have said any
thing in the high school auditorium TO
which serious exception could be taken
. the matter would be dropped unless
more witnesses came forward.
The one newspaper man whose paper
the next morning printed a story quot
ing Maurer as saying ITO hell with the
Stars and Stripes stuck to his version
and insisted that the statement had not
been qualified or quoted by Mr.. Maurer
a. the words used by an officer OF the
Pennsylvania co~nstabulary. Both Of the
newspaper men who testified agreed In
the impression that Maurer had spoken
Of the flag and Of patriotism In tones Of
uumis'abable contempt. but this view
was not shared by n OF the other wit
nesses.
Mrs. Helen n. Greeley. secretary OF
the committee for a state police, who
was at the Labor Forum meeting Sunday
night, sent a telegram to the Board OF
Education. She said
Though opposed to Mr.. Maurer on the
State police question and his prcsen'a-
ton OF P~ennsylvania's experience. l cant
protest too vigorously against the gross
distortion Of his speech. My recollection
Of Mr.. Maurer's statements exactly ac-
cords with his statements published to-
day. file did not insult the flag. He
merely described the way in which he
said the Pennsylvania police insulted II.
Neither mteunde rstanding nor inaccuracy
by those whose business It is 10 be exact
should close the schools to the peoples
use
Another Favorable 20 Speaker.
Another, witness favorable to Mr..
Maurer was Caroline Pratt. head OF the
Play School. 206 West Thirteenth street.
She sent tier testimony by mail, II read (:
my impression Of the speech by Mr..
Maurer at the Labor Forum Sunday eve
ming was that he aid nothing incrimi-
Mating about the American flag.
~ am willing to say on oath II neces-
sary that Mr.. Maurer did not say To hell
with the nag"
Mr.. Beck issued a statement yesterday
giving what he and twenty-five persons
who had been present agreed Mr.. Maurer
had said.
Some Of the same interests which ex-
ploit us workers. said Mr.. Maurer. ac-
cording to this version. land then use
the c~onstabulary to club us into sub
mission when OIL strike are bowling for
preparedness and ask US workers to be
patriotic. When some OF these prepared
ness boosters come to me and ask about
my patriotism l feel like telling them
to 20 to hell. To show you how far
their patriotism really goes listen to
this little story from Turtle Creek, Pa.
During the MINERS strike there Ave
years ago "A miner by the name Of Camp
bell died. This man served Uncle Sam
during the Spanish American war and
for certain heroic services was awarded
a gold media. After the war he came
home, but broken in health. lie went
20 work in the mines. but in time had
20 quit. having contracted tuberculosis.
Then the strike came n a few months
later Private Campbell died.
Veterans At the Funeral.
The funeral was attended by mem
bers of Washington Camp No. 1853. p. O.
6. OF A., SON OF his comrades in the
Spanish American war. The striking
miners also received a court order to
attend the funeral. When within a few
squares OF the cemetery a detachment
Of mounted constabulary detailed to
strike duty stopped the funeral process
sion.
when shown by the marchers that
the court had granted permission to
march they ordered the Stars and Stripes
lowered and the nag furled. Thus was
OF Uncle .Sam's soldiers buried"
The witnesses heard yesterday were
Carl Beck, manager OF the Labor
Forum /; Mrs. Laura Elliott, Miss Gladys
Glassbell. william Watson. assistant TO
Nr. Book Edward T. James o: the
Brotherhood OF Painters Mr.. and Mrs.
Joseph ID. Cannon. Mr.. Cannon represent
Ing the Western Federation OF Miners /;
Or. Harry Ladder, secretary OF the In
te~rcolle&iatc Socialist Society: Miss
l.eonora O'Reilly OF the Women's Trade