The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1920-03-25

Muscatine Journal: The March
issue Of the Iowa magazine con-
tinues the good work which that
publication is doing in showing
up the Committee of AZ" that
infant political entity which is
seeking through the Non-Partisan
league to gain converts in the
rural sections of Iowa and ad-
joining states.
THE Committee OF As" is a
cleverly planned scheme to drive
the opening wedge of radicalism
into the heart of America" says
this publication. and then pro-
ceeds TO give history of those
who were prominent in calling
the st. Louis convention last De
cember.
The groundwork for the st.
Louis gathering was laid by the
intercollegiate Socialist society
at meeting held at Highland,
n. Y, in June. OF this meeting
Mr.. Clum writes:
The purpose was to effect a
combination of .'free-tninking lib
erals in America, upon some
basis that would appear to have
sufficient political responsibility
to attract some support from
few loyal Americans and at the
same time gather the backing OF
all the radicals. Speakers at this
meeting frankly agreed that
America could not be made to
swallow the soviet form of gov
eminent in one gulp. 1t was de-
cided to make two or three doses
of it-and the Committee of 4S
is the first dose.
Zone word that hobs up every
five minutes in a socialist meet
ing was quite popular at that
Highland. n. y, conference.-the
word 'ultimates.' You remember,
probably, in that remarkable let
ter Professor Calhoun wrote to
Professor Zeuch, calhoun said:
Il am less interested in the
yerbiage of the left wing (coul-
munist labor party, than in the
idea of keeping ultimates ever
lastingly in the center of atten-
tion, to the exclusion of mere
puttering reforms Well, this
group of Highland agreed that
the radical organizations would
keep agitating for the 'ulti-
mates but that the new party
would go out for mere puttering
reforms as the opening wedge"
The personnel OF the organ
izers included Albert Rhys Will
liams, who was made chairman
of the special committee to draft
the plan of action. Other mem
bers OF the committee were Laj-
pat Raj, Albert De Silva, Anna
Strunsky and Swinburne Hale.
All of these have been leaders in
radical thought and all are shown
to have actively espoused COM
munism, not for Russia, but for
America. Every man interested
in the social welfare of this and
neighborign states should read
the record of these founders Of
the new party. A second confer
ence was held at the headquarters
of the National Civil Liberties
bureau in New York in August.
The list of those present is re-
liable Who's Who" of American
radicals. James NJ Pierce or
Des Moines was named as the
Iowa member of the executive
council by the committee named
at this meeting to select the rep
resentatives from the. various
states.
The spotlight thrown upon this
second conference reveals some
interesting specimens of citizen
ship. OF them, Mr.. Clum writes:
Elizabeth Gurley Flynn is the
Joan dare of the L. w W. She
is closely associated with Big
Bill Haywood and goes with him
whenever he speaks to foreigners
who do not understand our Ian
guage. She translates Haywood's
speeches makes w. w.
speeches of her own, and writes
books to prove that the pleasant