The Washington times., 1921-03-26
JOINS
ANNESTYPLEA
Federation, However, Will Not
F., Take Part in Demonstration
h. For Political Prisoners.
By NORMAN HAPGOOD.

by NOhMAN HAfGOOD.
The American Federation of La
Dor has decided to take no part in
the demonstrations of April 13 and
April ID in favor of the release of
all political prisoners.
1t is possible that circumstances
may arise in the next three weeks
to change this decision, but the Fed
Grafton will not act as long as there
is reason to believe that the admins
tration is giving bona fide study TO
the cases.
WORK FOR AMNESTY.
This is entirely apart from the ques-
tion of picketing the White House.
The decision against picketing was
made by Debs himself and ordinarily
agreed to by all the more careful Ia
Dor elements. But picketing the
White House was only one detail in
the general plan.
1t included also a procession. a
monster petition and a demonstra tion
at the Capitol
1t is this last point, the demonstra-
tion at the Capitol, that is now re-
jected by the Federation. In all
probability the decision of the FEEDER
alton will either end the demonstra-
tion or reduce 1t to minor proportions.
The most solid, unsensational part
6f the work, however, goes right
on. That is, the mailing and tele-
graphing bt labor unions all over
:he country of requests for amnesty.
not only in the case of Debs, but in
about 100 cases that are similar in
known, while the other victims arc
obscure.
CONSERVATIVE PLANS.
In other words, conservative labor
is taking a conservative method of
making known its views on con-
tinued harsh punishment of men and
women convicted in war time under
The most czaristic statute ever
passed in this country. not excepting
the alien and sedition acts, that
seemed popular at the moment they
were passed, but in a few years put
en- end to the party that passed
them.
An interesting aspect of the D'bs
Case Is that Debs himself had no
dcsiie whatever to opbose the war.
He does not believe in war, but his
Impulse was to keao Entirely I'ie'
abcLt it, as he never welcomes COO.
flict with the law. however much he
may disapprove of the law.
What finally drove him to make
chs expression thac landed him in
ali was sympathy with rs friends.
AS they were being shut Up. women
as well as men, he was too chiv-
alrous not to say openly that he
felt they were in the right. 1t was
for that loyalty that he went to the
penitentiary.
WARDEN ADMIREs DEBs.
A few days before Debs' sensa-
tional unattended trip to Washington
another figure in the drama visited
the Nations Capital. 1t was last
Sunday. and the visitor was Warden
Zerbst, of the Atlanta penitentiary.
Tou can put two and two together
and make as many as you want Uut
OF 1t.
Zerbst is a great admirer of Debs.
He loves him, as everybody docs
who comes in contact with him In
Atlanta, from time to time, Zerbst
has offered Debs privileges that
Debs has felt obliged to decline, on
the ground that they were not Of
fered to other political prisoners.
Zerbst for a long time has been
trying to make prison life more
human, less 6emoralizing. less saw
age and brutalizing. 1t is at best a
relic of outworn barbarism, and often
it draws to itself. as officials, men
OF violent and narrow outlook. Oc-
casionally it produces wardens who
take a modern, one might almost
venture to write a Christian point of
view, of punishment and reform. and
Zerbst is one of these.
RAPs LEDGER CRITIC.
Which reminds me of the cheap,
self-satisfled class savagery that /
described the other day in connection
with some fat and pompous lucubra-
tions let out by the Philadelphia Pub
lie Ledger. That decorous sheet
comes back to the subject again to-
day.
Can you imagine the thought that
it throws out for the enlightenment
of the twentieth century? 1t is that
prison terms are too short to suit the
comfortable gentleman who spills the
ledger's ink. He says:
I'VE cannot weep with Norman
Hapgood over the plight of 16O politi-
cal prisoners whom he describes az
'rotting in American jails.'
The suggestion that prisoners are
rotting in American jails finds us
stony and dry-eyed.
"a man would have a fat chance