The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1920-02-04
WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY A. 1920.
THE ALBANY SOCIALISTS


state of New York on the case OF tn
five Socialists held up frcm taking
their sea s In the legislature are too
much tinged by partisanship to be
wholly free from prejudice.
Whatever their crimes or evil pur
pose they shou not be punished un
til after hearing and conviction II
is clear that the assembly took -hc
wrong course in ousting them wlthou
hearing. After they have been proved
guilty of conspiring to foment REBEL
ion and to stir up anarchy and muir
der is the proper lime to pronounce
sentence.
y country paper up in Vermont, the
Randolph Herald and News, has ccm-
mented on the case more sanely and
intell:gently than most of the metro
politan journals. The Herald and
News says:
When the new : chosen New York
Assembly, corresponding to the Yer
mont House o. Representatives, re.
fused five members-elect their seats
last week and indefinitely suspended
them, pending ar invest cation o.
charges affec ing their right to sit in
that body, 1t surely started some.
thing. The action quickly taken, with
practically the unanimous vote of
both partie1 supporting 1t, probably
didn't get the full consideration it de-
served, and is one of these cases
where undue haste resulted in error.
These five members-elect were Soc
ialists, duly elected and with no flaw
TO their title except their politica'
belief and their connection wi tho
Socialist party 1t is claimed that the
Socialist party as at present constitut.
ed, both according 20 its platform and
its practices, is openly hostile to the
present form OF our government and
working openly % overthrow It. On
this ground and because these men
supposedly yied allegiance to ii, they
are deprived OF he seats In the legis-
lature to which they We're chosen.
True, they are merely suspended and
their cases will be heard and judged
later. but ii Is not common or rlghe
to put challenged members out even
temporarily until he question at issue
is settled and the burden OF proof
is upon the challenger
Opinion outside the Assembly is
that the question should have come up
in due course. If raised at all. The
issue involved is very fine enc in
deed, one that is troubling other gov
ernments than ours. Conceding that
these men represent political party
which wants to substitute an uI,o.
gether different ru e than the present
one, radical in the extreme, and even
the use of force to accomplish its
ends. should hey when legally elect
ed tc the legislature be ousted on that
account. II has heretofore been
agreed that men duly elected should
be entitled to heir seats un' ess they
were personally disqualified by req
son of crimes or offences establish
ed against them. Thus Victor Ber-
ger, Socialist, several times elected
to Congress from Milwaukee. has
been refused seat not because he
was a Sccialis. but for seditious ut
terances and acts during the war per
iod for which a heavy jail sentence
hangs over him.
There is at present q great deal of
resentment against the Socialists.
Communists and the like. natural
enough under conditions known to
exist. Out OF it grows prosecution
which IS proper, and persecution,
which is neither proper nor wise. In
taking due heed of the real danger
and forefending It as much as pos
sible. there is ano her danger, no less
rea,, that the movement will go to
excess, producing harmful reaction.
One Of the surest ways to prove Ike an
explosion when the pot is boiling is
to 81. on the lid.
These people have an inheren'
right to express their views through
is, by agitation, organization an6
election, on any subject relating to
government, oven the complete
change of its form-always providing
that they work through these means
and not by force or violence. If
the time should ever come when they
were able to command majority IL
the government. hey would thus br
able to accomplish their purpose
peaceably, as they ought, of course
this being a rule by majority.
But they cannot escape persona re
sronsibility for their conduct, and e
they transgress the law they shou'"
answer for it as we'll as forfe,tnf
their right to sit in any assemb age o.
lawmakers. The law is very clea'
and precise in respect to the exten
that individuals may arraign the gov
ernment. either In form or operation
1t is likely to be strengthened scor
But there must always be in a democ
racy the right of the people TO
heard and represented according {
ccusf 'tuerc'es, whatever odd crotch
cts these may take
In practice, the best way out
these temporary orazes is to allo'
them to blew themse yes out so Ion
as they follow safe channels
M II ~