New-York tribune., 1918-03-12
Distorted Facts,
General View oG|
Hillquit Tau
Attack on Patriotic 81
cieties Resented j,
Leading Men
His Stand Ridicul,]
Socialists Against War, D.]
spite Statements to
Contrary
His Stand Ridic,,.,

1t was not SO much indignat;o,
grave concern that was marifs...s's
loyal citizens and organizations !; :.
city yesterday as they read IN. = !, !
Socialist pronunciament5 emhod;.s S .
Morris Hillquit in his defence ..,l
tor l.. Berger and the other pron;,
Socialist officials now unde, @ ;s
ment in Chicago. -''
Il Will not go SO far said 6 :.
wood Menken, head of the M.
Security League, -as to char. AVA u
Hillquit with insincerity in his w.. =
ence for the class war over - N''
that Is now being waged by this ,o,,
try and the Allies against Co., WV
But, sincere or not, the obviors +
is that the class war is what Nv H. ~
quit would himself have rs pra....
he is interested in. In other r.s,
he is working TO disturb natioro, ~.
at time when we need absolut. us'
as never before"
Says He Has Retarded Wa,
~Hillquit, said Ralph NJ r..
chairman OF the executive coun,1
the National Civic Federation N:.i NJ
ways full of fair protestation, u. = =
ever he is driven into = cow 'ns'
pose the war? Do anything IN ,.,. y
its vigorous prosecution9 Dea, 'sIs' I.sl
no! That is always his attinda' We we
ne is forced to a statement. But !
the while he is retarding the war r..
II his ingenious explanations WV WV
true, that would not alter the fa,, W.. ~.
his actions and his words a. ..a ~
stage have in fact hampered NJ, \:
country" Wy
Loyalty is loyalty" affirmed cs,.
ter M. Wright, of the American '.Is N
ance for Labor and Democracy ~, ~,
disloyalty is disloyalty. Hilloni. ~
rot any longer ride two horses -'I Ess s'
ne stands by his partys declarates- -s :
he does not. He has been twisting i,
trail ever since the St. Louis Sae,Ts /
convention denounced the war. Sos.
as he does not repudiate that nlsti'..
the people are justified in beheyiugs
stands for it without reservation
Finally, William English Walling ii
Socialist. speaking for the Ieanss u
National Unity, epitomized it ali VI
he said: VS.
1.-The Socialist party today !, 4,
country has become simply the MI
of discomfort. It's game is to capitsIs
all forms of unrest and dissatisfacts
to It's own ends. 1t seizes upon ev-
suggestion of government weakness !
bolster up it's own pitiful. totteru
un-American cause. That is Mr., HS
quits present game. Everything Nd
sayors of discomfort is grist for b
mill. He did not run for MayOr \
New York last autumn as a SocisIs
He ran as pacifist. The Social
party has repeatedly repudiated Wiz
1T has termed 'bourgeosie pscihH'
But Hillqult made his fight on ja
that. And when he says to-day ts'
he does not stand for German pesa5'
that he does not stand for peaa i
any price, but does stand for an Is.
mediate peafe,' will you kindly teHr.
what essential difference he presii
to find between an immediate peacena
peace at any price ?"
Charged Attack on Socialists
In his statement published in II
Tribune yesterday, Hillquit denouna
the recent indictment of his colleagua
as a political attack on the Socisa
party-an attack without parallel
any other country, 'even GermanI'
He asserted that the Socialists stsl.
squarely behind the war policy Of Y
President, "as he announced it on Fti
ruary H." and he added that on y
basis. if any one in this country shoI.
be prosecuted for disloyalty it was 2
members Of the active patriotic Z
cieties, who, he contended, have efs
cised the government more herta|
than Socialists have ever dared TO-
In response to which, Mr.. MenIsl
yesterday pointed out that the y
tional Security League has specltiae
discountenanced irresponsible crlildcl
of the government or the Admlnl'n'I
tion in its printed publications y
has itself scrupulously refralned i''1
any such practice.