The Sisseton weekly standard. (Sisseton, Roberts County, S.D.) 1892-1929, 1921-07-15
American Civil
Liberties Union
Asks Legion to
Declare Attitude

OCCldIC AlIlluuC
In letter sent yesterday to the ma
tional office of the American Legion
at Indianapolis, the American Civil
Liberties Union of New York sum-
marizes the outstanding attacks ON
free speech and assemblage by posts
OF the Legion throughout the coun-
+, try in the Legion's national cam
paign to uphold and defend the
Constitution" and calls upon the
present Legion officials to declare
their attitude.
The memorandum prepared by the
Civil Liberties Union is entitled
''The Lawless American Legion and
contains detailed record OF fifty in.
cidents in the past year and half
| in which members or posts of the
American Legion have figured in at
tacks on radical or labor speakers
or meetings. The summary lists 1n
cases of mob violence, % cases of
breaking up or interfering with
meetings, 10 cases of attacks on rad
ical or liberal speakers, and few
instances Of strike-breaking and
anti-German activities.
The instances cited concern activ-
tiles chiefly against the l. w. W.. the
Nonpartisan League in the west, and
against radical labor leaders in the
east. Most of the instances listed are
in middle-western and western
states.
In introducing the summary, the
Civil Liberties Union says: $50 far
as we can learn, no occurrences, ex-
cept the mobbing of Nonpartisan
League leaders at Great Bend, Kan
sas, and the attempted interference
with the national convention of the
Committee of As at St. Louis, have
been disavowed by responsible Le~
gion officials, although in many
cases they have stated that the action
taken in the Legions name was net
formally authorized.
s'The evidence frequently indicates
that private commercial interests
have used the Legion's members and
the Legion's name for their own
ends. But the exhibit faithfully re-
fleets the spirit which dominates .ae
American Legion as a whole"
The ten cases of mob violence. all
of which occurred between Novem-
ber. 1919, and May. 1921, were a.
Oakland, Los Angeles and Carpente-
ria. Calf, Great Bend, Kansas, Mis-
souri, Valley, Iowa; Bayonne, N. j..
Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio; and
Lancaster, Pa. The % cases of in
terference or attempted interference
with meetings, were fairly evenly
distributed throughout the country.
with four cases in Pennsylvania. two
in Iowa, and single instances in CAL
ifornia, Kansas, Kentucky, Massa-
chusetts. Michigan, Minnesota. Mis-
souri,, Montana, New Jersey, New
York, North Dakota. Ohio, Oregon,
Rhode Island, Washington and Vir-
ginia.
Among the ten attacks on individ-
ual radicals and liberals are three in
Kansas, two in Ohio and other cases
in Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota and
Washington.
Strike-breaking activities were re-
ported chiefly during the outlaw
switchmen's strike in 1920. Inter-
ference with the distribution Of labor
and radical papers were reported
from New Jersey and Washington.
Fritz Kreisler's concerts were stop
ped at Louisville, Cincinnati and
Lynn, Mass, by action Of the Ameri-
can Legion, and local post at
tempted to prevent Kreisler con-
cert at Cornell University.
The Civil Liberties Union states
that the record submitted is by no
means complete, but that 1t covers
the most significant cases. The let
ter to American Legion oficials was
sent by Albert Desilver. director.
Mrs. O. T. Axness was sick With
bronchitis the latter part Of the
week.