The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1921-04-06

the same time, II is within the province
Of the Pres dent and wholly in keeping
with the spirit of our laws and insti-
tutions to pardon individuals Ike Mr.
Debs. John Spargo
Mr. Marlow's Reply.
Sir: | beg leave to answer the let
ter of John Spargo appearing in yes
terday's Tribune Mr.. Spargo asks that
Mr.. Debs be pardoned and makes sew
eral arguments in his favor. Mr..
Spargo says that Debs is mot a crimi-
nal, Thatiis an astounding statement,
for 1t virtually accuses our govern
ment of putting an innocent man in
prison. If Mr.. Debs is not a criminal,
what is he? What is ogme, Webster
thus defines it: AN omission of a
duty commanded, or the commission
|0f an act forbidden by public law"
And a criminal is defined thus; "Onei
Who has comm tied q crime, especially
one found guilty" Debts comes with
in the definition
Mr.. Spargo says that the sentence
imposed on Debs is "cruelly vindc-
tive excessive and out of all pro
portion to the offehs-. committed
What was that offense? Simply
this; The great American Republic
was in a death grapple with the most
efficient and at the same tine the
most barbarous autocracy in history
While the life OF our Republic-nay,
the life of free government every
| where was hanging in the balance,
what did Debs do? II would have
been objectionable for him to have
even remained neutral in such a strug.
gle, But Debs did more than remain
neutral. He actually did stab Uncle
Sam in the back!
The enormity of Debs offense
might befhetter understood if we
were to inquire what would have hap
pened if Debs had succeeded in his at
tempt to cripple our prosecution ofthe
war. Imagination would stagger at
the consequences! We would today
be paying tribute to the Hohenzollern
dynasty in Berlin! "The fundament
al ideals OF. America" which Mr.. Spar
go is so much concerned about, would
have been trampled under the Prus'
fsian heel if Mr., DebsF efforts had been
successful, and the millions of brave
men who laid down Their lives that
human freedom might live would have
died in vain if Mr. Debs had had hs
way.
Mr.. SDargo asks for the pardon OF
Debs. Now. pardon is pred Gated up.
on repentance. AT no time has Mr.
Debs indicated that he has repented
of his crime. On the contrary he has
asserted that he would do so again un
der the same circumstances. To the
Jury that convicted him he said: y
have been accused of 0bstrncting the
war | admit it. I'm Cleveland on
March 70. 1919, in his last public ad
dress before going to prison, after re
Eferr ne to Ienine and Trot2ky as the
b"foremost statesmen of the age" he
I characterized the judges OF the
pthftedl States Supreme Court as be
4 gowned, be&hiskered bepowdered old
fossils71 and expressed delight in hav
ing done what he did.
! This is the man, BY what law Of
4 morals is he entitled to be pardoned
No Mr.. Spargo, neither his conviction
nor his retention in PRISON is Hany
stain upon the fair name of Amori
can democracy" as YOU contend
y Rather d stain is being sought to be
put there by those who are asking US
TO pardon a man, not because he has
repented. not because he admits his
mistake. but apparently simply be
4 cause of the terrible conception that
5Ethose who sought to destroy the Re
stmlblic or whose acts, IL successful
llwere caleufatea 10 destroy it were
Neither not gtisltysof any crime at. all
Nor, at worst, guilty only pf q trivial
' offense that should be readily pardon
ed even without repentance
Richard Marl0We.