New-York tribune., 1920-01-09
Socialists Unite
To Fight Custer

Group of Lawyers to Con-
duct Legal Battle of
Party against Assembly
Ruling; Mass Meeting
Organization Of all Socialist and
liberal groups to employ legal aid in
lighting the action Of the Assembly
IN suspending the FIVE Socialist As
semblymen was decided on at the
party's state headquarters last night.
IL was announced that q group of law
yers, probably headed by Morris Hill
quit, would contest the legality of the
Assembly's action.
AT the same time a mass meeting
was called to be held next Monday
night at Z East Fifteenth Street. The
meeting is to be held under the aus
plces of the American Labor party. the
Committee of Forty-eight, which was
appointed at St. Louis, various unions
OF the Central Federated Union, the
United Hebrew Trades and the Anal
gamated Clothing Workers of America.
~ Will Appeal to Voters
- we nn are gong to put squarely up
w ene Vo.erS tne question whether
abandoned in this country" said s
John Block, a member of the Socialist
National Executive Committee. "The
Assembly's Kaiser-like and Czar-like
action opens the way for Democratic
minority to be swept out by Re-
publican majority, or for Republican
minority to be swept out by q Demo
cratic maj jority. Native born Ameri-
cans surely will not stand for this.
Aulttocracy of this kind sooner or later
Will bring about anarchy"
August Claessens, representing the
18th Assembly District of Manhattan,
who was suspended, said: clad we re-
manned In the Legislature we would
nave been an insignificant minority.
PROBABLY once in a while, due to the
oversight of some reporters, we might
have been heard Of in the press. Now
we find we have accomplished more
tnan we could in five years, if twenty
of US had been elected"
Louis Waldman, Of the 9th Assembly
District, Manhattan, said: II was as
much Socialist two years ago, when
l, served at Albany, as 1 am to-day.
The reason for our suspension is that
Speaker Sweet is millionaire pulp
and paper manufacturer and Simon
Adler Is a clothing manufacturer Of
Rochester. The only danger they saw
IN us was danger to their own inter-
ests."
Victor L. Berger, twice within a
year elected to Congress by the So
cialists of the Fifth Wisconsin District
and as many times denied his seat, yes
terday protested against the Assembly's
action.
This is one more evidence of the
criminal insanity thai is possessing
our capitalistic politicians" he said.
"Once again they arc resorting to ex-
tremes in an effort to prove of serv-
ice to the profiteering class. Such
persecution never has been known in
Russia, and, if it continues, the prof.
teering politicians will get the same
results as the Gear got.
There is only one way to make a
peaceful revolution possible, and that
is to allow the idea that the. masses
have to assert itself. / speak not only
for the Socialists, but for every party,
when say the best idea Will win. If
Mr.. Palmer cannot win out by any
other argument than the club, the
prison or the blasting of regulations,
then he deserves to lose.
IF l, as Socialist, cannot convince
the people that I am right, then I de-
serve to lose. The ousting of these
Assemblymen was as unfair as it was
drastic. Such q condition in a free
country cannot make for constructive
and representative ends"
Applebaum's Protest
Speaking before the Humanitarian
League. Misha Applebaum, its presi-
dent. last night said: Having spent
the last year and half fighting Boil
shevlsm, l now equally protest against
the action of the Assembly in oustine
five members on the ground that they
are Socialists.
eve do not need additional laws.
We need enforcement of laws and a
higher grade of individuals to repre-
sent u.s. 1t seems to me that construc-
tive policy on the part of the state and
nation In reducing the high cost of
living and a we'll defined fixed policy
as to the relations between capital and
labor, wherein both would have to COM
ply with the letter of the law, will
more than anything else settle the in
dustrial unrest and prevent our present
policy Of national suicide.
"The failing Of few hundred prof.
teers will disarm the agitator. Agita-
tors and revolutionary leaders usually
fail to arouse fairly contented set of
people. 1t might be we'll for politicians
to heed the voice Of the people on their
immediate needs, rather than engage in
un-American practices with an eye
toward political Offices"
Mclaughlin Explains
]. Fairfax Mclaughlin, of the Bronx.
one of the two Assemblymen who re-
fused to vote for the suspension of the
Socialists, last night issued state
ment explaining his position. He said:
"My vote in the assembly on the
opening day of the session in opposi-
ton to snap judgment in unseating
five Socialist members and providing
for subsequent hearing was cast as
matter of fair play and common
justice.
II do not believe in hanging a man
first and trying him afterwards.
Under our system of American justice,
every man is presumed to be innocent
until proved guilty. To hold other
wise. is to substitute mob rule and
lynch law for square deal for all.
"lf it is possible to stampede men
into condeming others by wild hyster-
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