Evening star., 1918-08-18
The Chicago I. W. W. Verdict.

AUe CHlcdSO !. w. w. VSAoASs.
Conviction of the 101 members of
the Industrial Workers of the World
at Chicago, after a trial lasting four
and half months. is step toward
the maintenance of law in this coun-
try, the benefcent consequences of
which cannot be fully measured. These
men were charged with violation of
the espionage act and for the crime of
which they are now found guilty they
may be sentenced to Imprisonment for
thirty-one years and fined as high as
$4,000 each. 1t is, of course, to be
expected that they will appeal from
the verdict rendered yesterday, and
the case may be protracted in court
for some time. But the good effect of
this conviction stands despite all de-
lays in the final application of the
law.
Raids conducted upon the headquar-
fers of the I. W. W. in Chicago and
other cities yielded proof that the or
ganization was engaged in a work un-
patriotic and distinctly harmful to the
national interests 1t was no less than
an adjunct to the German propaganda
in this country, the members of the
organization seeking te thwart the war
efforts of the United States and to dis
courage the war work of the people.
1t was as directly in behalf of the ma
tional enemy as though the members
of the body were engaged in active
hostilities.
Of the 165 men and one woman in
dicted in Chicago last September some
forty fled the country or hid and es-
capped arrest. Some were granted sep
arate trials and the charges against
others were dismissed. One hundred
and one were finally. in April last, put
on trial in body and the case drag
ged out its weary length for weeks.
iGreat difficulty was encountered in se-
curing a jury. The first panel was
dismissed on account of scandals re-
garding alleged efforts to tamper with
the veniremen. Not until the latter
part of July did the prosecution COM
plete its presentation of the case.
The greatest leniency was manifest
ed by the court in the conduct of the
case. The defendants were permitted
the fullest freedom of speech and
statement. some of them taking advan,
tage of this opportunity to deliver ha-
rangues from the floor of the court
room in characteristic I. W. ". style.
Perhaps the best evidence of the dis
loyal nature of the organization and
its members was furnished by these
talks, which showed the dangerous de-
gree to which the individuals on trial
had gone toward anarchism and trea-
son.
The I. ". ". has for years been sus-
peeted of being a menace to the indus
trial peace of the country. Its doc
trines were utterly subversive of law
and conducive to the most radical
form of anti-social propaganda The
interests of the honest, law-abiding
workingmen of the country were pref
udiced by these enemies of property
scantily masked as friends of labor.
So protraeted has been the trial, SO
volumincus the evidence, that the peo-
pie have not had the opportunity to
Judge of the outrageous character of
the organization and the dangers to
the republic which it threatened. In
the conviction of the defendants at
Chicago, however, there will be very
general acquiescence, and there is rea-
son for rejoicing in this finding of the
jury which has sat so long and lis
tened with such patience to the testi-
mony.
This verdict should mark the end of
radical syndicalism in the United
States. 1t will be welcomed by every
lsw-abiding citizen, worker and en-
ployer alike, as a stroke of justice and
as marking the passing of an evil
thing.