The New York herald., 1922-12-31

indicted more than twenty OF them, of
whom several were convicted.
The character OF the offenses COM
mitted during tho shopmens strike
covers wide range of destructive un-
dertakings. These offenses included
dynamiting Of property, the slaughter
of thousands Of sheep and cattle on
ranges contiguous to railways In
northwestern States by adherents of
the I. w. w. and other lawless bands
not directly connected with the strik-
ing railway men.
Direct attacks upon the functions Of
the Government itself showed an
alarming increase For instance. the
number of crimes committed against
the postal service exceeded 2,400. Many
OF these crimes were committed by
bands Of gunmen who held up rail-
way trains or mail wagons. or robbed
post offices. One bureau Of the De-
partment Of Justice was compelled to
devote its entire time to crimes Of this
character. More than 600 persons
were indicted and convicted for par
ticipation in these assaults on the In
tegrity Of the mail service.
In June last q situation existed at
Herrin. ILL.,, which closely approx
mated civil war. One of the most
shocking outrages against orderly gov
ernmerit occurred there as result Of
the coal strike, which continued in
Illinois and other States throughout
| the summer. A band OF striking union
miners besieged the collieries which
were being operated by non-union
employees. A bloody battle resulted
in the death Of several of the nom
union workers and wounded many
others. The local authorities shielded
the perpetrators Of this act.
1t was not until the Federal Gov
ernment compelled action that some
Of the leaders In the affair were ar
rested, indicted and put on trial. The
trials OF these men were in progress a
few days ago. Trades union leaders
declared that the outrages were per-
petrated by I. w. w.. Bolsheviks and
Reds. and not by union miners. For
several weeks 1t looked as II the law
would be defiantly fiouted and tho
Federal Government forced to estab-
lish martial law In the Illinois mining
district. State officials were finally
compelled to take the matter In hand
| and bring the instigators and perpe-
traitors of the revolutionary ventures
to trial.
| Groups of Reds composed OF lawless
and unclassifed workers of the Boil
shevist, l. w. w. and Soviet type have
been, and still are, under the esplon-
age of the Department Of Justice. One
such gathering raided at BridgemaIr,
Mich. resulted In the arrest Of twen-
ty-seven radicals of the most extreme
revolutionary type. who are charged
with plotting for the overthrow of the
Government. Documentary evidence
of the activities of these men, most
OF whom were foreigners largely Rus
sian. proved conclusively the existence
OF an aggressive organization with
branches In several parts of the coun-
try who are seeking the destruction Of
American institutions. THE New
YORK HERALD recently published a
comprehensive survey Of the activi-
ties of these groups. Government Sc
cret agents are still continuing their
investigations to head off threatened
revolutionary undertakings.
|
The agitation for the release Of more
than fifty so-called political prison.
ers" from Federal penitentiaries has
also come in for attention at the hands
Of the Government. It Is quite probable
that most of these political prison.
ers" would have been released long ago
IL Eugene v. Debs the recognized So
cialist leader of this country, had dis
played more appreciation for the COM
mutation Of his own sentence on the
ground of Ill health. When Debs was
pardoned by President Harding on
Christmas Eve. 1921. the Government
had reason to believe he would cease
| his attacks upon the Government. IL
he had done so there Is little doubt
that his deluded followers who still re-
main In Jail would have been released.
Debs signalized his release by resum-
ing his immoderate denunciation OF
| the Government shortly after his par
don.
Adherents OF both organized and un-
organized labor-particularly the lat
tcr--are conducting a national propa-
ganda to induce the President to e1er-
else clemency in the case Of persons
who plotted against the Government
during the war. Big Bill Hayward,
recognized az one OF the most danger
Gus of the I. w. w. gang. evadcd i'm
prisonment by fleeing to Russia, where
he has become a shining light In the
Government OF that unfortunate coun-
try. The agitation for the release of
political prisoners" has been we'll sup
ported and aggressively staged. The
White House has been picketed, Con-
grcssmen and Government officials de-
luged with demands for the Immediate
pardon Of political prisoners still In
jail and mass meetings held In various
parts of the country to work UP senti-
ment in favor of II.
Sympathizers with the Irish repub-
lie have also brought their grievances
to the United States In an effort to OBJ
tain support of their scheme for over
throwing the Free State Government
which resulted from negotiations be-