The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-11-04
RADICAL PAPERS
BLAMED FOR BIG
STRIKES CALLING
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
Especial Correspondent Of The Nswg
Selml1AF.l

Selmltar,)
WASHINGTON, Nov. l--Nothing has
| awakened such surprise here IN a Ions
! time As the fact that a coal strike y
actually IN progress In the United
/ States In the tface OF an 0verwheifa-
| Ing public sentiment to the contrary.
| The Impotence of public opinion as at
fectng At least 100000 men has been
so foroefully demonstrated that official
m mental sSasss Z tsssns My dS Sgs
men IN America defy Or ignore the
| wishes OF the whole country Do the
! miners read the daily newspapers and
| are they simply unresnohsiye to any
ntely Ignorant OF public oplniop, taking
| their doctrine from The lips Of radical
| leaders and HgltatOrs9
| INQUIRY at the department OF justice,
| where a sharp eye IL kept on radical
| publications, reveals the startling fact
| that during The war and since the ar
/ mistice at least 400 publications have
1 sprung up Of radical tendency, In
| Guiding about SEQ published In foreign
/ languages. Their combined circulation
| reaches many millions, not few OF
| whom are negroes.
When Il is considered that there are
l. w W, organs published IN German
and Russian and that they are preach
| Ing In their columns n disregard and
3 distrust Of the great bulk Of the
English language newspapsrs, and When
| II Is considered, too, that the cifcula.
| ton of these radical publications Is
i rapidly increasing some idea Of the
causes Of Industrial unrest In America
can be obtained, Just now the news
papers Of America are beginning 10 wer-
1 ~ about a possible shortage In white
print paper owners OF paper mills say
the demand Is groater than the sup
II ply. Usually the blanc Is placed on
tho increased size Of the Sunday news
papers, but Il would DO interesting TO
discover how much print paper goes 10
the radical publications that Circulate
Clandestinely. .v.
Suppression has again and again been
suggested but officials are not alto
gether sure that is the best way TO
cure the evil for Il is true that many
OF the radical newspapers which. wtEe
started during the war thrived On the
fact that they had been denied the
use Of the malls They began cir
cuatng secretly, parcels being sent by
express and In other roundabout way
Or distribution being made at radical
meetings and labor gatherings.
The difficulty IN reaching REASONABLE
publications by law is that the eEpion-
age act, under which use OF the mails
had been denied to many rebellious
sheets, will expire when the war Is Of.
Totally declared at an end Already
one large Socialist daily In New York
has filed suit against the postofflce de-
partment to recover the privileges Of
i second Glars mail matter on the as
sumption, doubtless, that the purposes
for which the denial was made have
now hssn s ,r bg the termination q
! plenty 81 talk about extending the es-
z pionaee act into times OF peace, but
4 officials do not seem impressed as vet
Y with the idea that the radical pubiea-
tone can be effectively checkmated
a that way,
The defenders OF the radical press are
q insisting that the lahoring masses have
8 lost faith in the daily newspapers and
q are turning to the other type OF publi'
q cation, Cnquestionahly, many laboi
n leaders have heen preaching such A dis
trust of the larger newspapers for many
ests have controlled and are CONTROL
ing the daily press In many elite;
81 where these charges are made ant
where radical newspapers have spruni
up, the effect has been TO give create
attention 70 lAe,Sr questions A .s l, !,
s newspapers by their treatment Of labo
Il news that the attitude Of the editors !
not pretudicial, but jNdiciai; In Dthe
n words, an effort IssAeing made 70 figh
II intellgently theSSadloai movement b
at the same time giving due AttentIo
70 what may be Inc iuEt grievances I
II the lahorins mhaaas IA III
A healthy growth 81 radical newsps
NJ pers IL observed incidentally In thoe
u places where the daily newspapers hav
taken an incorporating and uil
\ friendly attitude toward labor as /
a whole, whilst tho effect has been cor
"a respondingly bsnetirtHlAto the cause (
81 Cancellation ana adjustment In thos
81 centers whore publications have adopte
NJ a well balanced Arfd judicial attitude t.
" ward the prohieWs OF employers an
A distinction must be drawn betwee
- tho various kinds az radical public'
tions some are preaching what the
- believe TO be An advanced liberalism
Others are openly for rebellion, The
Ia no federal law today making II
crime for an individual to conspire#
times OF peace to overthrow the 80
eminent, though many bills of th
81 character are pending In congress
p, But the coal strike 10 n revelatio
iui' Many thousands read radical public
got lions, many thousands read no pub
,ur cations whatsoever, being guided 4
tirely by the inflarnmatory 1tteranc
OF agltators, ana q great many are U
to able to read .ENslish thot take tn
ure daily diet 81 information and guidat
M from newspspers puhfishkd in their o
do come under che ave o. the great IL
.rv jority Of the. editors OF English Ia
- guaRe papers and therefore are seld
re- brought TO thSsattentlon OF the Engl
alp speaking masses In America.
FPS (copyriSht, 1912, ~ aayId Lawrenc
our