The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1923-10-06
What Do You Mean--Free Speech?
BY AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION

"EREE speech means your
L right 10 say anything sou
think. without fear OF interfer'
ence hy anybody. n means
equally tho right Of the other
fellow 20 speak hia mind just "a
freely II means that no man.
however much you may dislike
his ideas. should hc punished for
anything no says However
radical. blashemoua or rcyolu'
tionary his language no must
have the same right 10 express,
his lad idea an you have 10 e1'
press your good ones,
What man Is wise enough to
set himself mp az judge Of what
IDEAS arc good and what bad
Every good Idea We have now
was once thought had by the
people In power. Our country
wns built on iicas that looked
had 20 the English rulern Tho
right Of revolution and the right
Of free speech were two Of those
Ideas. The religious freedom We
enjoy was once though; a had
idea. and was won only after a
bitter struggle against those who
Insisted We should all worship
God tho Same way.
All history clearly shows tho
folly OF supprcasing a single
Idea. and the wisdom Of letting
al IDEAS be freely agita,cd. Tho
useful last. and tho had die with.
out supprcssinK them.
The issue Of free speech IL
raised only when there IL con.
fllct Of IDEAS when something
new OF unpopular - being said.
We hear Of u now chiefly from
radicals who are trying 10 bring
about the control Of industry and
Of the government BY the work.
ors. and 20 do away with the
present control OF Industry by pri
waite capitalists. The cry OF free
speech il raised Ia most con.
flicts between employers and en-.
ployoB- also by the advocates Of
birth control. and by others
whose Ideas are bitterly opposed
and frequently suppressed.
4 whole crop OF gag laws
has resulted In tho last few years
in an effort 10 suppress those
new ideas. Public officials. even
without law. have gotten the
habit OF interfering with speak.
ers they don't like. or those OF.
posed by local business interests.
The chief ideas which these laws
and officials aim at arc the
overthrow OF tho government
by force and violence" and 1.-THE
unlawful destruction OF prop.
erty." Such laws. under which
hundreds OF men and women
have been arrested. are against
the principle Of free speech. They
Violate our traditions OF a cen.
fury. In practice. these laws 10
far beyond their own language
and result in falling persons Just
because they are radicals. wheth.
or or not they advocate tho pro.
hititod ideas.
Tho prosecutions under these
laws mark the conflict between
two great ideas in the world 10.
day--one the present control OF
Industry by private capital, and
the other the proposed control
OF Industry by the organized
workers las represented by the
radical experiment in RUSSIA.
This new idea can't he killed Off
by locking up It's advocates. In.
stead. locking them up increases
the zeal Of their party. and en-.
larges the circle OF their friends
and sympathizcrs. But even
more surely, II encourages Sc.
cret conspiracies and under.
ground movements. Continued
with security over length OF
time, repression OF new force
has always brought on violence
and often revolution. History IL
plain on that point. We can SEQ
the lesson In small degree In the
conflict between capital and IA.
Dor here In the United States.
Therefore, IT il perfectly clear
that orderly progress can be
achieved only by unlimited free
speech. No man should ever be
locked up for what he says. Let
him advocate overthrowing tho
government by violence. Let him
advise the destruction of prom.
erty. Lot him spout any foolish.
ness he likes. The time TO pick
him up Is when he actually
starts 10 do something. III some.
one who icars him takes his ad.
vice and starts something, lock
them both tp. He who directly
advises a criminal act is equally
guilty with him who does IL, But
unless there is an act, done or at.
tempted, the uttorance should
not be punished. The only why
to Judge the effect OF words Is
by acts.
Drawing that line between
word and decd is our old historic
American UOAilion. n tvna IN.