The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-10-25
LABOR THREATENS
GENERAL STRIKE
Anti-Strike Legislation By
Either House Would
Precipitate Crisis
EARLY STRIKE VOTE
WOULD BE TAKEN
omclals OF American Federation of
Labor Issue the Statement - Evi-
dence of Reds Working In Starting
Steel Strike.

| WASHINGTON, Oct. 25.-Passage by
| either house of congress of the anti-strike
legislation contained in the pending rail-
| road bill would result in a general strike
vote throughout the country, officials of
the American federation of labor said to-
day.
| Direct connection between the mouth
ings of Lenine and Trotzky and the steel
strike at Gary was traced in startling
manner yesterday by Lieut.. Donald C.
Van Buren of the intelligence division of
the army when he appeared before the
senate committee an education and labor,
having made an investigation os the steel
strike
| Van Buren, told of confessions by
Reds of plans for a nationwide strike,
of their intent to take control of the
American federation of labor and to over.
throw the American government.
| Lieut.. Van Buren said that an inter
national communist gathering was held in
Moscow last March under direction of the
Bolshevik chiefs Lenine and Trotzky and
that from this gathering the movement
had spread directly to the United States
| he produced copy of little magazine
filled with Bolshevik propaganda which is
published by the Soviet Workers of
Philadelphia and circulated all over the
country. Then he presented red booklet
| containing proposal for the overthrow
| of capitalism and eapitalistic governments
throughout the world issued from Moscow
| last March. The names of Lenine and
1rotZky were on it.s4s.~ ,ssssssss ssas
This booklet has been made Lieut.. Van
| Buren said, the basis of the philosophy
and arguments for Bolshevik propaganda
in this country. Many copies of the book
| had been found by the intelligence service
in various radical headquarters and de-
| spite that s'many tons of the publication
I Rad been seized the country was still
/ flooded with it, 1t was usually found in
/, possession of alien workers.
/ Last May, said the witness, the Gary
police asked that army machine guns be
4 lent to them to enable them to meet
emergencies that might arise during a
| proposed anarchist parade. The witness
was sent there in October to investigate.
/ He supplied the names of the Red lead
ers to the department of justice and de-
! scrlbed their workings. So far as he
knew no action was taken or arrests
made by the department. He described
the discovery of four tons of gun cotton
near a plant outside Gary
When he left Gary at the beginning of
tins week, Lieut.. Van Buren, said, thanks
to the establishment of martial law there
| the place was perfectly quiet Since Gen.
| Leonard Wood took command there not a
| shot had been fred
Lieut. Van Buren named as two of the
~adlcal leaders men called De George and
| ldanhof, the former either an Austrian
or Russian. They. were allowed to get
away from the place, though their activ-
| ities had been reported to the depart
ment of justice The intelligence division
had recommended that citizenship papers
| of the radical leaders be revoked.