New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-08-02
Atrocities in y. S.
Exceed Gerrnany's,
PaciGsts Charge
Negro Lynchings, Enslave-
ment of Labor and Liberty
of Postofice Denounced

Statements that American citizens in
the lynching Of regroes "have COM
mitted more atrocities than the Ger
MANS" that the |. ". W. deportations
in the Southwest "were worse than the
deportations from Belgium" and that
the only liberty IN this country in
wartime was that enjoyed by the Post
Office Department" were wildly cheered
by 1900 persons at pacirist mass
meeting held at Madison Square Gar
den last night b. the Workmen's Coun-
Gil for the Maintenance Of Labor's
Rights and the Peoples Council.
Samuel Gompers was booed and
Kissed for mis- actions as a member OF
the Committee on National Defence,
which were declared to be antagonlstic
to the interests of organized labor, and
Representative jeanette Rankin was
vociferously cheered because, it was
said, she had discovered that girls
without extra pay had worked fourteen
and fifteen hours a day in the Bureau
of Engraving and Printing "to manu-
facture Liberty Bonds"
Changed TO Peace Plea
The meeting was called expressly 10
protest against the Postoffice Depart
ment's denial of the use of the mails 70
certain radical publications, but it had
not been long under way before II de-
veloped into an avowed peace meeting.
When Jacob Panken, the chairman,
pulled of his coat. rolled up his sleeves
| and, shaking his clenched fists, vigor-
ously declared, I'VE want to maintain
the freedom of the press so that We
can give voice to our wish for an i'm
mediate peace" people stood on chairs
and yelled approvingly. Demands for
the repeal of the Consumption law pro-
voked q like demonstration.
Mr. Panken launched into a denuncia-
ton of Mr.. Gompers and Ernest Bchm,
secretary of the Central Federated
Union, both of whom started an in
vestigation 20 determine whether there
is German influence behind the Work
mems Council.
I'VE have no quarrel with the Amer
| lean Federation of Labor" shouted
I Mr.. Panken. THE bodies that compose
| the Workmen's Council are affiliate
with the federation and to quarrel with
/ the latter would be TO quarrel with
; ourselves. But we do assert that in
this time OF war the heads Of the labor
movement have not expressed the sen
timents of their followers.
Say Gompers Overstepped
I'VE did not authorize Mr. Gompcrs
as q member of the Committee on Ma
every legislature in the Union suggest
ing that all labor laws safeguarding
/ the lives and limbs Of workers anC
protecting their hours of labor be
suspended.
"As for our all being German spies
/ Of course Mr. Bohm is not pro-Ger
man, nor has he a German name. Mr.
! Bohm never took German money in 2
p he testified in the Lamar case, for cir
culars and like expenses"
Every time the labor leaders names
were mentioned the audience broke
/ into chorus of booes.
/ delivered a speech bristling with cpl
grams anC each epigram aroused sp
/ plause. Among his assertions were:
"The only liberties that | have beer
acutely conscious of in the last TIVE
months are the liberties the eNw Yorl
/ PostofTice has taken with my private
mail. The only people who are free t
/ say all the foolish things they want L
are the officials of the government ant
Hudson Maxim"
/ More Atrocities Here
eve bloody handed Americans are 90
/ ing out on a virtuous crusade 20 ri,
! the world of German atrocities. TIL
United States has 4 more eXtende,
! record of atrocities to her credit thai
/ any other country in the civilized world
The average number Of negroes lynchet
or otherwise murdered or mutilated I,
> death | nthis country since 1885 is on
: IN every four days"
/ Just while we are setting out Il
our Righteousness, 70 avenge the Bel
gan deportations upon the German
Kaiser, our own kaiser. acting in tn
l person of the Phelps Dodge Corpora
ton, rounds up $50 free citizens of tn
Republic in corral, and, silencing thei
4 protests with club, herds them int
train of cattle cars and ships then
into the middle of the desert. Gu
army has TO go and rescue its owl
citizens from its own kaisers and Or,
10 find something else TO do with then
besides send them home clothed il
their rights. which is the one thini
| il daros not do"
Daniel Kiefer, chairman of the Eel
Fund Commission. denounced the sup
preston of radical newspapers as 9Th
work o. some little buresucrat in tn
| Postotfce Department"
James p. Warbssse and "a church
man" each gave $1,000 to q fund Z
be used in legal contests with tn
] Postoffice Department.