The Washington times., 1920-05-25
lOHNSONH|TS
ATPROF|TEERS
Californian in New York Speech
Admits He Is Radical on
Excessive Earnings.

NEW YORK, May 25.-"lf It be
radical to he just American, then !
admit the charge and accept the chal-
lsnHe"
Facing tumultuously hurrahing
audience OF men and women who
packed Morris High School sudito
rum. Bronx. last night, senator Hi
. ram w. Johnson thus hurled defiance
at his opponents.
After admitting he is radical
N being just an American means
that. Senator Johnson accepted the
challenge thus:
.'If it. be radical to demand 100 per
cent service from public officials and
20 insist upon justice and decency and
righteousness in government:
III IL be, radical to preach that hu-
msnity have equal consideration with
property. and that both be equally
protected and conserved;
III IL be radical not only to guard
what man has acquired. but TO bring
wherever possible little OF Gods
sunlight into the lives of men and
women and children
, Accepts Radical Challenge.
IF IL be radical to demand and re-
quire that rich and poor, high and
low, big and little, alike obey the
law;.if II be radical to insist that
great corporations pay the same tax
as small merchants;
III II be radical to fight with all
that. is in you that, just common
folks may have the blessings OF
democracy as well as the powerful
interests:
'"If il be radical to scourge the In
visible government from govern
ment's temple and to make the state.
ral 10 xUa
all the people t,-
'Tf II be radical to preserve this
great nation from the wiles and
pitfalls OF European and Asiatic di-
plomacy;
IF it be radical to resist with all
your power, in fair and foul weather,
the impairment of the Republics
sovereignty, the destruction Of its
national policy, and perversion Of its
spirit"
"If it be radical to call such abuses
even justice then / accept the chal-
1enge. l must plead guilty.
Same Old Cry.
Continuing, the Senator said:
Legitimate lawful protest against
existing wrong or successful dishon-
esty, the kept press for time sup
pressed by shrieking 'pro-German or
'Bolshevik.' Now it is 'radicalism,'
dreadful vague unexpressed desire to
do; some awful undisclosed wrong in
some terrible unknown manner by
mysterious person hiding in a nebu-
lous mist of red. The clamor at this
particular time is the same old cry
of special privilege through it's same
old political agents and its same old
journalist funkeys.
"There are radicals in our country.
There are the few who preach the
overthrow of government by force
and violence, and whom we would
all make feel the heavy hand Of the
law. Every normal American would
drastically deal with these. t...
But there is another class OF radi-
calls, too, who breed the blatant ones
rnd who. because of their power and
their influence, their cunning and
their, entrcnched position, arc far
more dangerous.
Radicals Of Great Wealth.
"But, just as there are among
others the few who preach sedition,
30 in business are the few who by
their contempt of law and their def
iance of right, by their very radicalism
arouse the vindictive radicalism,
which they unctiousIy preach. i
would deal in like manner with both
classes. Not only would I employ the
power of the State against the ex
,remist of the soap box preaching
overthrow of government by force
and violence, but with equal vigor Id
endeavor to reach and suppress and
punish the radical of great wealth
and power. who endangers the repub-
tic by cunning and dishonest practices,
snd insidiously undermines society by
tlfegitimate exploitation
L.
corporations earned in net profits
over 100 per cent, 5,T2i showed net
,arofts of more than so per cent. and
&c, 600 earned from 20 to so per cent
Since the war industries engaged in
production of clothing. food, house
hold supplies and other staple neccs
,aries of life have made even
J:reater profits, so that the added toll
in absolute necessities since the
Trmistice reckoning in terms of net
profits over and above the extor-
tionate profits of the war years has
amounted in those industries for
which profit figures. Of 1919. are avail
able to 20 per cent.
These figures are simply appall-
ting 1t has been asserted that the
principal contributing cause has been
the increase in labor costs, This sub.
1sct has been the object of research
by Mr.. Lauck, an economic expert. He
Nas publicly responded, and I have
feen no denial of his statements that
the labor costs have had little to do
with the enormous increases.
"As a concrete example. he asserts
that In 1914, in the manufacture Of a
pair of shoes, labor absorbed ~ the
cost one-sixth. but this proportion in
1917 had fallen to one-ninth. The in
crease of s3.b0 a pair of standard