The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-05-28

ican people the utterly Illegal acts
 which have been committed by those
 charged with the highest duty of en-
 forcing the law-acts which have
 caused widespread suffering and un-
 rest. have struck at the foundation ot
 American free institutions and have
 brought the name of our country into
 disrepute."
 The office of the Attorney General.
 under guise of a campaign for sup
 pression of radical activities" the re-
 port says acting by it's local agents
 throughout the country and giving eX-
 press instructions from Washington,
 has committed continual illegal acts.
 Wholesale arrests both of aliens and
 citizens have been made without war
 rant or any process of law: men and
 women have been jailed and held in
 communicate without access of friends
 or. counsel: homes have been entered
 without search warrant and property
 seized and removed other property has , been wantonly destroyed; working men and working women suspected of
 radical views have been shamefully abused and maltreated. Agents of the
 department of justice have been in
 troduced into radical Orga anizations for the purpose of informing upon theiiy members or melting them to actiV-
 ities.
 AGENTS PLAN MEETINGS, These agents have been instructed from WashingsG to arrange meetings upon certain dates for the express ob- ject of facilitating wholesale raids and arrests.
 '1n support of the illegal acts, and to create sentiment in it's favor, the department of justice has also consti- tuted itself a propaganda bureau and has sent to newspapers atfd ma gazines
 of the country quantities of material designed to excite phblc opinion against radicals, all a ythe expense of
 the government and ontside the scope of the Attorney Generals duties."
 Appended to the report are more l than a score of "exhibits,' some of them photographic reproductions of documents connected with various cases under discussion, many affi- davits of individuals who were ar rested in the r3ids and also copies of what are stated to be confidential in structions sent by department officials | to it's agents AS to all of this mat | ter, the report says that it is "to the l best of cur knowledge and belief i (based upon careful Investigation l truthful Doth in substance and detail' and that it was drawn mainly from "the fcur corners of New York City, Boston, Mass; Detroit, Mich, and
 Hartford. Conn"
 TYPICAL OF CONDITIONS 1 "Me know them to De typical of con- diIions which have prevailed in many
 parts of the country" the report adds, | and continues:
 ! American institutions have not, in 1 fact, been protected by the Attorney | Generals ruthless suppression. On the
 contrary, those institutions have been seriously undermined and revolution i ary unrest vastly intensified. No or | ganizat1on of radicals acting through | propa ganda over the last six months | could have created as much revolution ary sentiment in America as has been l created by the acts-of the department
 of justice itself.'
 | Declaring a Red menace" existed, l the report says however, the Attorney 1 Generals campaign has been singu- 1 larly fruitless," since he had listed l 60, GOO suspects on November IA, 1919, | and had got rid of S10 alien suspects, 1 (which, on his own showing, leaves him at least 59,160 persons (aliens and l citizens) still to cope with.' Deportation proceeding warrants for l 1547 persons, the report says, have
 been cancelled "by Assistant Secretary l of Labor Louis F. Post, to whose cour- ageous re-establishment of American 1 constitutional law in deportation pro- ceedings are due the attacks that have 1 been made upon him."