The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-02-08
g.
IIy ANNE JORDAN

 toons of Alexander II to play paper dolls with Even as a child Emma was good at reciting. She could deliver the most ieonoclastic lectures by the time she was 9. One evening the Grand Camel of the Anarchist School of Perpetual Emotion patted her under the chin, and told her she was promising little squaoovitch. Emma slapped his face, and he was go pleased with this militant demonstration that he resolved to send her to Germany to inhale some Kultur. She studied III
 Konigsberg, Prussia, and heard every where the beautiful philosophy of treio- rich Nietzsche, so that by the time she was 13 she was fired with desire 10 smash all the cosmic chinaware anu teach all future generations to believe in nothing. absolutely nothing.
 Emma was so good at this sort or tning that they decided to send her to America, referred to by the Grand Gamer as lhe Free and Easy"
 IT was in 1886 that Emma passed the national board of censorship at Ellis Island. But she didn't stop at New York She went to Chicago because she thought she could work better from the inside of the country looking out. She hadn t been there long before some of her friends were executed for participating in the Haymarket street riot It was pain full disiliusionment for Emma. She had been taught that they never did anything to you for a little affair like that. She decided that Chicago was too quick on the trigger and packed her clean clothes up in her pocket handkerchief and moved to New York.
 Here is where she became convert to Iher own teachings of free love. She hadn't taken her own theories very se- riously to heart until she met and mar ried Jacob Kersner in 1887. Marriage convinced here that free love was less trouble. Jacob took a trip to the well and Emma went to ca1l on John G. Most Johan was the head radical in those days. though he was pale pink compared to some of his successors. He immediately saw possibilities in Emma, though she couldn't speak English without a strong vodka accent.
 T know little Tchoopsky flower" en- deared John, you speak but three lan- guageS-Russian, German and profane-- but l want you to run down to Dead mans alley and Croakem street and ad- dress the crowd there. I'll serve the drinks, and it won't matter whether they understand or not. Wave your hands, tap<your bean now and then and yell like thunder, and they'll fall for those hyp- notic eyes and swear to every word you say"
 Even so, the crowd went away from Emma's speech, declaring it was the most sensible lecture they ever heard. They could tell by the way she rolled her eyes she must be right.
 Then she met Alexander Berkman. Alexander didn't have and rag-time band, but he was all brokes out with elo- cution. When Emma was arrested by a vengeful capitalist cop for talking too loud from water plug in Union Square, Alexander went to see her in jail, and brought her dainty gifts of limburger cheese and wienies all garnished with garlic That won her heart completely. She couldn't ask for a better Free Sill yer Lover than Alex, who didn't care a tinker's darn about how many dimes he spent on her
 Not long after, Emma was saddened by the news that Alex had been arrested for target practice, Henry c. Prick being the alleged target.
 For a While, Emma was careful with her propaganda. She stuck rather closely to her side line, which was trained nursing, and had the good luck tc l be called upon to nurse soignee lady with ! Fifth avenue on her cards. She served resolution with the nourishment that the doctor ordered for her patient, and soor
 became fad among the upper ten ladies | who were bored to death with Airedaie l cocktails and Sazerac terriers. Emma was almost as necessary as Grand Opera | to the idle rich. It was so original, you know, to have real live revolutlonist address one's club, instead of some stupid interpreter of Browning. Emma's books on free love and such began to be