The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1921-05-27
"VERBOTEN"

The Philosopher of the Seattle
Star, being in a meditative mood
last Friday, passed out to the pub
lie the following observations to a
listening public:
In the golden age before the war
| everybody remembers how free,
born American citizens, citizens who
regarded their house as their CASTLE
and policemen as peace officers and
not as moral guides-how free born
| citizens snickered at the verboten"
ridden Germans.
Living in a free country, where
the constitution gave citizens the
right of free speech, a free press,
free public assembly, and all such
rot, don't you know, Americans Won
dered how the Germans endured the
manifold and pestiferous exactions
and prohibitions and verbotens of
the kaiser, and each knew in his
heart that he would never submit
to such dictation, espionage or petty
persecution.
Then we went to war to make
Germany free, or something, and
promptly we caught the verboten
disease and turned over our family
affairs to volunteer spy associations:
| our right of free speech we threw
away; our right of peaceful assem-
bly, without nine cops and shorthand
stenogs being present, we abol-
ished, and as for a free press
there wasn't any "sich animile."
Then the war was won, or some
thing-anyhow we quit fighting
but with true American enthusiasm
we continued on the verboten road
and have continued, and are con-
tinuing, to this very hour.
We have abolished, either by law,
by public opinion or by police de-
cree. every ancient liberty we had
that separated us from Germany or
from Russia.
We are toddling along today with
spy system, with federal grand
juries holding continual session to
consider the horrenious cases of
farmers found with hard cider on
the premises. There is no American
city today that grants the right
Of public assembly to large portions
Of its citizens without a permit
from the police, and the majority
of American police chiefs today
admit that they will halt any speak
er, who, in their august opinion, is
making light Of what they regard
as 100 per cent Americanism,
whether he has violated any law or
not.
All the rag tag and bobtail petty
| office holders are considered sac
red, and he who would deride the
opinion of the most petty magis-
trate is bullshiviki.
Myriads of volunteer spies have
sprung up, spies that fatten from
graft on the one hand and that
clutter up our courts with silly ex-
else near-cases on the other.
All the brethren who of old sought
in vain for soft job with good
pay are happy, and are starting
new reforms" forcing every one
to go to church six times on Sun
day and to neither smoke, chew,
dance or say darn"
The lawmakers, always shaking
in their boots for their useless Jobs,
are so jumpy, and the professional.
loud-shouting, holier-than-t thou pro-
fessed reformers have them so well
in hand that it is useless to hope
for sanity in legislation until the
bespied and bedeviled, the fretted
and fused and frayed public rears
up on its hind legs, snorts its Just
wrath and puts an end to this era
of Stiffness.
America is making a holy show of
herself these days; she is reform"
crazy, and she is not reforming at
heart bit.
The great danger of all this mock
reform, this formal, outward right
eousness, this narrow, stupid, sense
less, unconstitutional meddling with
the private affairs, habits and opin-
ions of US all is that we are gen
orally coming to hold a profound
contempt for all laws, good and bad
alike.
The final result will be that this
country will in disgust swing sew
eral thousand leagues away from