The Republican journal., 1922-07-13
WHAT NEXT?

:. eased to be headlned in the metropolitan
daily papers, the dead are buried and the
avid and thoughtless are awaiting new
thrill. But those of us who are law
abiding citizens, who wish this country
4o maintain its good name, at home and
abroad, and who desire that the United
States shall continue to be what 1t has
been in the past, the best government In
the world, should not, now or ever, close
cur minds to the portentous meaning OF
ultimate intent of radicalism, as shown
at Herrin. The time has come when we
should seriously consider the national
danger of which this outrage is CHASTITY
omen.
The first dispatches telling of the trage-
DIV seemed to be unbelievable, but the
truth is now known. Men were shot,
men were tied together and thrown ito
pond to drown, men were hanged. these
victims had committed no unlawful act
Tney had a right to work in the mines
and were entitled to work there undls-
r.urbed. The union miners had no right
to kill them or 10 modest them in any
way. When they took their lives, theirs
was the work of cowardly assassins. Ihls
disgraceful affair did not take place In
remote mountain district. 1t occurred IN
Herrin, a city having IL 900 inha bitants;
city having a city marshal and police
force sworn to maintain law and order;
city having schools and churches; city
in the great State Of Illinois, which has
population of 6, 500, 600 inhabitants, next
10 New York and to Pennsylvania in size.
The officers of the law made no attempt
to put a stop to the orgy OF savagery'
worse than that, after it was over, they
condoned it and made no arrests for this
flaorant violation of Divine and human
law. The good people of Herrin, if there
are any, have not condemned the actor
of the murderers; perhaps they dare not
The State of Illinois has done nothing
and seems to be unaware that any laws
of the State have been broken.
Mr.. Gompers is now and has been fol
xssany years at the head of the American
Federation of Labor. Hssis its director
and its apostle. A few months ago,
when testifying before a legislative in
v vestigating committee in the State Of
Ne York, after admitting that wrongs
had been committed by union lator. he
positively asserted that the law could nc
and should not intervene to protect the
victims from the wrongs committed.
The mob, the officials and the people of
Herrin have endorsed and emphasized
this doctrine of bolshevism as promul-
uated by Mr.. Gompers. Bolshevists have
their disciples all over this country, dis
! seminatina vicious propaganda and in
fractions of law. The affair at Herrin
gave hope and courage to every enemy of
good government 1t has given an i'm
petus to the already rapid growth of rad
uicaiism which is hoping and planning to
ule or ruin, and is 'lining up" to make
a desperate fight. Radicalism will win
unless conservatism 'lines up" strongly
against it. 1t seems to US that new polit-
ical sllianments are inevitable and that,
within very few years our political and
economic battles will be fought by Con-
VS.. r adicals, the former being
snade up of the better Democrats and Re-
spublicans and the latter of the worst ele-
sments of both old parties.