New-York tribune., 1920-02-19
ment he brushed aside as an infantile
concention


conception.
"The charge is made" added Hillquit,
that the Soviet Republic Of Russia ia
not republic at, all, but despotism
of a few men, VII the implication that
the Socialist party in pledging- it's sup
port to the Soviet government thereby
expressed sympathy for a non-repub.
!ican, despotic government. The So
cialist conception Of the Soviet gov
ernment is not that it is a despotism
at all.
"The regime in Russia may be de-
scribed as limited democracy. The
representatives Of the Soviet govern
ment do not consider the present sys-
nent one or as an ideal one. They con-
slider it merely as a transitory one, and
one imposed by necessity. The present
state of limited democracy will pass
and will be superseded by an absolute
and complete democracy.
ITO say that the Soviet form of GOV
ernment is good for all countries. in
Guiding the United States, or that the
Socialist movement here or elsewhere
outside of Russia is committed to the
Soviet form of government as part of
the program-we dissent from it very
emphatically.
He 1dCL lHAI IL mas occurred IN
Russia does not mean to our minds
States, where the conditions are en-
tirely different, where we have coun-
try highly developed industrially,
where we have country with no peas
ant population, our farming population
essentially different in character from
the peasant population in Russia,
where we have country accustomed to
parliamentary political methods from
its infancy, country that has fought
out all of its battles in the past in the
political arena, a country with q popu-
lations whose minds have been nodded
into political channels for all sorts of
action-then to say that in a country
like this soviet form Of government
would be proper would be. to our
minds. infantile."
At the afternoon session the de-
Tense turned over the witness to the
Martin Conboy assumed the task. He
began by getting the witness to admit
that he helped frame the anti-war
manifesto of the Socialist party in
May, 1915, just after the sinking of
the Lusitania. In this manifesto the
Socialists pictured Wall Street as try
ing TO plunge the country into war,
and appealed to the workingnen not
to lift their arms "for the staying of a
fellow worker in another country"
Calls Manifesto Legal
Hillquit replied that the manifesto
was adopted before the war and that it
was perfectly legal and proper
Con5oy then showed that his mani
festo, together with other like docu-
ments, was published in booklet en-
titled "The Socialist Party and the
War; and was disseminated after the
United States entered the war.
Hillquit, who wrote the preface, said
the booklet was sold by the Rand
School, and John Block said that it
was originally issued year before the
United States entered the war.
Conboy next brought out that the
war program was adopted subsequent
to this country's entry into the war.
Then he read this sentence from it:
owe therefore call upon the workers
of all countries to refuse support to
their governments in their wars"
Hillquit said that after the amend
ment to the espionage act two planks
in the Socialist platform, one directing
resistance to conscription and the
other opposing Liberty bonds, which
were in violation of the act, and $4,000
copies of it were destroyed by the
Socialists
eve bowed to the law" said Hill
quit "(Jrder prOteSt of course" "