The Washington times., 1920-05-28
LAWYERSFLAY
JUSTICE DEPT.
Representatives Of Popular Gov
ernment League Charge
"Czarism" in Methods.

Startling charges OF the employ
ment OF provocative agents, arrests
and seizures of property without war
rant, illegal detention OF persons ar
rested. and their cruel treatment Dy
officials and agents of the Depart :
ment of Justice in connection with
tho departments antiradical activities
are contained in a pamphlet Just Is
sued by the National Popular Govern
ment League.
This pamphlet, which is entitled
"Report Upon the Illegal Practices Oh
the United States Department OF JUS
tice," was compiled and is signed by
twelve prominent attorneys or Vafl-
GUS sections of the country, including
jackson III. Ralston, OF Washington
and Andrew S. Niles, of Baltimore.
A letter. which Is being mailed by
Judson King, executive secretary or
the league, to all the members of Con-
gress, the clergy of the nation, heads
of colleges and universities. govern
ors of States, political science teacn-
ers, a select list of eminent lawyers.
and the 5000 members OF the league
charges the Department of Justice
with instituting Russian Czarism IN
America" The letter declares:
.Americnnism at stake"
at Is against the lawless practices
Of officers sworn TO uphold the law
that we protest. We submit that IL
the American people, under a hysteria
of propaganda directed by the At
torney General himself, can be led to
condone such offenses against the
letter and spirit of our institutions,
then the soul of America will be lost.
and the Prussianism we set out to
conquer will have conquered us.
"Our sole purpose in making this
report is the defense of American In
stitutions. AS former Justice Charles
T.. Hughes said of the Albany affair,
it is not socialism, but Americanism,
that is at stake. Americans do not
hang men first and try them after
wards"
Besides Mr.. Ralston and Mr.. Niles,
the signers of the report are r. c..
Brown, Memphis, Tenn, member Ten
nessee Bar Associations: Zacharriah
Chaffee, jr, Cambridge, Mass, profess
sor in the Harvard Law School: Felix
Frankfurter, Cambridge, Mass, pro-
fessor of law Harvard Law Schools
Ernst Frcund Chicago, professor of
Jurisprudence and public law. Univer-
sity of Chicago; Swinburne Hale. New
York city, late captain, military intel
ligencc division; Francis Fisher Kane,
bNflildCelDnld, loTIHtF DHitfu
district attorney; Roscoe Pound. dean
OF the law school, Harvard Univer-
sity: David Wallerstein, Philadelphia.
member American Bar Association: !:
Frank p. Walsh, Kansas City and
New York. former joint chairman Of
tho National War Labor Board !;
Tyrrcll Williams, St. Louis, acting dean
law school of Washington University;
In summing up their conclusions
after submitting a mass of evidence
in the shape of alleged instructions
and reports in connection with the
arrests of alleged Reds and photo
graphs of scenes and victims of raids,
the signers of the report declare:
"Even were one to admit that there
existed any serious Red menace be-
fore the Attorney General started his
'unflinching war against it his cam
paign has been singularly fruitless."
, It'is cited that out of the more than
10000 persons he suspected" only
2s1 actually have been deported. with
529 more ordered deported and war
rants for 1,547 cancelled by the De-
partment of Labor.
The charges in the report include:
Maintenance by the department of
agents provocateur throughout the
country for the purpose of joining
ganizations and melting their mem
bers, to criminal activities.
Forgery Is One Charge.
Forgery by agents of the depart
ment to make cases against innocent
persons caught in illegal raids;
Criminal thefts of money, watches,
tewelry and other personal property
from victims of raids by agents of
the department;
Cruel and unusual punishments Wis
tied upon prisoners taken into GUS
tody with and without warrants in
violation of the Constitution;
Use of Government funds in viola
tion of law to spread newspaper
propaganda favorable to campaign of
repression.
! Compulsion OF prisoners to be wit
nesses against themselves in viola
tion of the Constitution.
Brutal and indecent treatment of
women taken in raids.
The report embraces copies of Sc
cret instructions to special agents by
William j. Flynn, chief of the Bu-
reau of Investigation. and Frank
Burke, assistant director and chief
In the secret orders issued for the
nationwide raids of January ., 1920,
, it is declared Burke ordered all di-
vision chiefs to instruct the secret
agents provocateur to cause meetings
of the Communist and Communist
Labor parties to be held on that even
ing in order TO bring the number of
prisoners up to the highest possible
point. These secret orders show that