The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-08-02
THE HANGING At BUTTE.

Responsibility for the death by
hanging of Frank Little at Butte yes
tcrday must be placed sauarely up to
the government at Washington.
II the federal officers had followed
n plain line Of duty, Little would have
been imprisoned two weeks ago.
On July 80. the following editorial
comment appeared i'll these columns of
The Muscular under the heading:
How Much More Of This"
AT a meeting at Butte Friday
night attended by 5000 men. Frank
II. Little. member OF the execu-
tive board of the Industrial Work.
ers of the world, made these re-
marks:
WITH $4,000 WORKERS IN
THE AGRICULTURAL FIELDS
DEMANDING THEIR RIGHTS.
WITH 10000 MEN IN THE Log
CLING AND LUMBER CAMPS ON
STRIKE AND WITH THOU
SANDS, OF MEN In THE COP
FER MINING CAMPS Of THE
UNITED STATES OUT, WE
WILL GIVE THE SOLDIERS OF
THE UNITED STATES SO
MUCH TO DO AT HOME IN
THE NEAT FEW MONTHS
THAT THEY WILL HAVE NO
CHANCE TO GO 70 FRANCE
.nnns a
many .a'1ula do with Mr.. Little
unde| like circumstances?
Does anyone doubt what Eng
land would do"
Does any reasonable man doubt
what should be done?
What will the government OF
the United States dot anything
and how long before it will be
done?"
The government of the United
States did nothing. This preacher OF
treason who referred to United States
soldiers as II nciet Sans scabs in uni
FORM was removed from his lodging
house by band of masked men and
hanged from a railroad trestlc. On /.
placard attached to his clothing were
the historic symbols OF warning
'3-1.71.'
We hope that President Wilson viii
not send a telegram to the city an
iaori:i.s of Butte. as he did to III,
authorities of Bisbec. at the time of tn,
deportation of !. w. w. asitators. de.
ploring the affair as one establishing
a dangerous precedent"
The dangerous precedent lies il
the failure of the United States gov
eminent to deal with traitors and an,
archists who are permitted to go about
apenly preaching treason when the ma
ton is at war. If the government hat
done its duty, Little would be alive
and. like Ecrkman and Emma Gold
man, be behind bars where after j.;
sufficient period for reflection h,
might by chance learn the error o
his ways.
II Is passing strange that this CON
dition of affairs should continue. TIL.
federal authorities at New York ant
Chicago have suppressed editor:
OF periodicals that tingcd of dis
loyalty and recently they ARRESTED
George Koop, former Socialist candi
date for mayor of Chicago Tor circu
lating literature designed to discour
age enlistment.
The offcnscs of these editors ant
OF kucp were mild as compared will
those of the |. w. w. revolutionarie!
in Butte and clsewhcre ii the north
west.
It is not to be inferred from tn,
hanging of Little that Butte is :
community of lawlcss people or tina
human life is not safe there. Lttl,
would have been as safe in Butte as il
Washington, d. g., il he had confine,
his efforts to the strike. Public anse
was directed against him when II be
came plain from his utterances that h
was an open and avo"ed enemy of tn
of the United States.
Patriotism in Butte runs high. TIN
purchase of Liberty bonds and the Re,
Cross subscriptions are evidence 0
that. The people OF that great indus
trial city are in the main loyal. red
blooded American citizens, and if
group of them took the law into thei
pwn hands as the phrase goes. j
was because . dangerous situation ha'
p,isen from sthe failure of the fedora
~ Sompel obedience t
Law. 49, saF
We do not anticipate riotous out
breaks NJ q result Of the affair o
-Sf-sss1An.sssn>~S-.sss-sI.