Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-09-12
BoSToN'S POLICE INFAMY
DEFINES THE GREAT ISSUE
In the Now CIean.cut Battle Between Ar.
rant B"olshevIsn and Civilized Oenoc-
racy No PalterIng Is Thinkable

rant BoIshevIsm and Civilized Oemoe-
racy No PaIterIns Is Thinkable
THE fact is hideous, but it will grow
4 uglier and fouler if it is not instantly
and fearlessly faced. Bolshevism in the
United States is no longer a specter.
Boston in chaos reveals its sinister sub
stance.
In their reckless defiance of the funda-
mentals Of morality, in their bullying
affrOnt to the structure of civilization,
wherein do the police of the New Eng
land metropolis differ from the mad mi
nority which overthrow kerensky and
ruined Russia? Only an arrant c~asuist,
a fatuous hair splitter can proclaim a
shade of contrast.
It is fatal to fool ourselves. This
revolutionary walkout is positive proof
that radicalism in America has lost its
head and its conscience. The penalty of
c~oddling is obvious.
ldealists, the President among them,
have hopefully p~rophesied bridging the
chasm between labor and capital. 1t is
a fair vision, prompted at bottom by
humanitarian instincts and a sense of
justice. Uuquestionably employers have
erred, are still erring. Unquestionably
employees have been unreasonable and
selfish. But the slate of neither side is
utterly black with sin. There is dis
tinct appeal in the supposed chance for a
fusion of compensating virtues. But it
can only prevail if the Boston outbreak
shall be stamped out and repudiated by
the people of all classes-union and non
union alike.
The Boston strike is a tragic climax.
1t is a revelation also since the Fedora
ton of Labor lays the cards upon the
table. Unless honorable elements in it
prevail and Boston's outrages are dis
avOwed, this organization is committed
to bolshevism and it is damned.
Organized labor pledged to anarchy is
intolerable in America. Samuel Com
pers official head of the federation, must
choose the path of decency or of shame.
In 4 sense, too, the nation is on trial.
Boston is a symbol. Compromising with
the loathsome forces in play there will
be nothing less than treason. The word
conveys a shuddcr. 1t is best, however,
not to misname it.
The Boston strike is treason, simply
and sickeningly that.
Strikes have been labor
legitimate in varying degrees, produe-
tive of good at times in spite Of waste
and oppression of the innocent b%ystander.
The police walkout is in no manner of
this stripe. Striking seamen are mutt
neers-a grim term. Striking soldiers or
navy men are partners in sedition. Pre-
cisely the same obliquity which attaches
to them attaches to municipal guardians
of law and order who have violated their
oath.
\ factory hand does not swear to pro-
tect the community, nor does ever a
quasi-public servant such as a railway
employee. But a policeman pledges his
word. He has no moral right to go on a
strike.
The police of Boston have deliberately
and shamelessly banded to overthrow the
government. In a way they have over
thrown it, for a government without
police protection is impotent. The dis
graceful scenes in Boston prove that.
Murders have been committed. Thieves
are rampant. Ieggmen, gamblers,
crooks and thugs hold high carnival.
Rioting imperils and befouls the city of
America which most consciously prides
itself upon its culture and its lofty
standards of civilization.
Unless the snake is crushed at once
the conceivable consequences are appall-
ing. The d~espicable l. w. W. blather-
sixties car impudently profit by the Bos-
ton precedent if there is the least shade
of victory in its outcome. Stern repres-
sion is the sole solvent for the blight.
Boston bungled at the beginning.
Amateur policemen and student vigi-
lantes are not of the stuff to stamp down
the outbreak, despite the worthiest in
tentions. The republic is in danger when
treason against it and reputation of its
most sacred principles are abroad.
Armed force is the only logical defense,
just as it was when Germany chal-
lenged us.
Out of what seems to have been an
unsavory local political mess. which gave
broad sweep to unrestrained lawlessness,
came at last a summons to the state
troops. Their welcome presence clearly
demonstrates, without further disguise
or subterfuge, that the war for law and
order is IN. On the part of the cham,
pions of right it must be sharp, swift
and determined battle, or else the nation
is poised on the brink of an abyss.
On the philosophic principle that
somehow good" may be extracted from
i'll, it is possible to give a c~ourageou:
sigh of relief at the Boston shambles
America now knows just where it stands
1t has beheld concessions and mollycod,
Jlino tanning the Inst for the auf,,