The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1920-02-21
By ARTHUR BRISBANE
(CopyriGht. isJe.)

/ BY Arthur BRISBANE
tcopyrisht. isssJ
Two or three million labor unien
men. or moro. will enter politics
as q body" II is said
And seven million farmers are
70 enter politics as q body"
Now organize five or ten million
clerks. let them form q political
body; then organize as many little
business men and their depend
onts In another political body. and
you will please professional poll
ucians perfectly.
Labor unions as a body, or farm
ers as q body. do not worry them.
They have learned that such dem
onstrations produce feeble results.
But when farmers, labor union
men, unorganized labor and clerks
get together. it will be different
story. They won't get together for
sometime, however. 1t takes q
good deal of education and much
disagreeable experience to make
the masses of the people combine
regardless of politics.
Mr.. Pedroni killed Mr.. Potrich.
shot him dead, in Hammond, In
diana. II seems that in an argu-
ment Mr.. Potrich said: ITO hell
with the United States" That was
the psychological moment chosen
by Mr.. Pedroni fCr the shooting.
The Jury acquitted Pedroni after
two minutes deliberation.
Z. This has the ring OF patriotism
and although law does not provide
for instant shooting of gentlemen
who say ito hell with the United
States" such men undoubtedly de-
serve to be shot for ipgratitude to
q fine country.
But isn't II unwise for jurors or
Judges to allow instant death to
be handed out in the midst Of a
political argument, as happened IN
this case! Might not the shooter
imagine that he had heard the six
words that justify killing?
The English company and the
Wall Street gentlemen, it seems,
are not to get the German ships at
a bargain after all, at least not
right away. They will have to con-
tent themselves with profiteering
via the ships they now control.
After the revelation by the Con-
Rressional committee that Wall
Street patriots profiteered and
sauandered to. the tune Of
thousand millions in the aircraft
program, and after all the other
hundreds or thousands of millions
profteering during the few
months of war, you would think
that financiers would know enough
to quiet down for a while and tf
the public catch it's breath.
Intelligent burglars rarely at
tack the same premises twice In
the same week. They give the
householder time to forget.
Mr.. Root has written a platform
for the Republicans, and one plank
reads: "Decentralize the execu-
tive powers which have made the
President more autocratic than
any sovereign in the civilized
world"
Decentralize democracy by all
means. But matter and force are
indestructible, as scientists will
prove to you. And autocracy is
the part Of force. If you take au-
tocratic power from the President,
as undoubtedly you should, since
the American people do not want
an autocrat, where are you going
to locate the power? You cannot
dissolve it in thin air. 1t will be
somewhere. Would it 20 back
where it used to reside, to the
Offices of corporation lawyers, rep
resenting' organized finance, once
more, nominate its puppets and
give them their orders, reserving
the profitable use of autocracy to
itself?
The Southern Pacific railroad
has 100000 acres of oil lands in
California, lands that should be-
long to the people Of the United
States.
The President Of the United
States is not well, and it is said
that nothing will be done to get
for the people these lands and the
oil lying under them, believed to
be wrongfully held by the railroad.
The lands are worth hundreds,
perhaps thousands, Of millions.
The oil, gasoline and kerosene
those lands would produce would
supply great public necessity;
they could be used to curb one of
the most powerful trusts.
It isn't hard to guess why moth
ing is done on the part of the
United States. When property is
worth hundreds Of millions, good,
strong American arguments can
be Offered not to take effective le-
gal action.
Tho nav naval ordnance plant