The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-12-24
AS WE SEE
BY r. J. o'FLAHERTY

bowers HAPGooD, relative of
= Norman Hapgood, is returning to
the United States after practically
digging his way across Europe and
Asia. Hapgood is member of the
United Mine Workers of America and
a rather promising type, for product
Of what is known In the labor move
ment as Greenwich Village" He has
dug coal in Pennsylvania, Wales, Eng
land, Germany, France, Poland and
Russia. Tho Russia is yet no Utopia,
HApgood testifles that even now l
think conditions here-standards of
living, etc.-compare favorably with
those in the coal fields of other coun-
tries whore / have worked"
FTlMS information and much more
4 was contained in letter from Hap
good to Mr.. Roger Baldwin, head of
the Civil Liberties Bureau. Baldwin
is friend of Russia, after the fashion
OF the gentleman who loved Cynara.
Perhaps an experience similar to that
OF the youthful coal digger, Hapgood,
would enable others to think less of
the counter-reyolutionist now in So
Wet prisons and more of the great
task of reconstructing new order of
society.
THE New York World, recently car
4 ried dispatch from Moscow to
the effect that President Kalinin has
offered to exchange counter-revolu-
tionary prisoners for labor prisoners
held by surrounding nations. There
are about 10000 working class prison
ers In Germany alone, yet strange to
relate those who make such loud
Org for the release of the compare
lively few prisoners in Soviet jails
have not a word to say about the
thousands Of revolutionary workers
who are lodged in the dungeons Of
capitalist Germany, Hungary, Rou-
mania, Bulgaria, Italy and other coun-
tries.
IF the struggle for emancipation of
the workers from capitalism means
anything at all, it surely cannot be a
hid glove affair. The workers who
are incarcerated in capitalist iails are
there because the capitalists believe
their presence among the workers is
danger to the security of their
state. The Soviet government puts
covnter-revolutionist in Jail for pre-
cisely the same reason. Then, you
may ask what is the difference be-
tween the government Of the workers
and that of the capitalists? Both put
their opponents in jail The differ
enee Is that the capitalists are rob-
Der class and have no right either to
rob the workers of the product of their
labor or put them in Jail for seeking
relief from such robbery.
ON the other hand, the workers, be-
" ing the robbed class and also the
Overwhelming majority of society, are
justified in using any effective means
to get rid of the robber system. That
is the point II the workers are justi-
fed at all in trying to free themselves
the Marquis of Queensbury rules are
OFF, Necessity knows no law and the
revolution does not stand on any
code of etiquette. For the Russian
workers to have jeopardized the revo-
luton. which emancipated 160,000,00O
workers and peasants from slavery,
lest they might hurt the feelings of
pacihsts, would be to betray their
trust and they would be deseryedly
cursed by countless generations UNI
born.
TT is futile to talk Of justice under
class rule. Every ruling group
builds up its own legal system and its
own moral code in order to protect
itself. This is so obvious that it
should be unnecessary to restate 1t.
Capitalism is based on the exploitation
of labor and subject peoples. 1t rules
by force. II cannot exit otherwise.
Gradually the workers are organizing
their forces. They have already con-
quered power in Russia. Before long,
they will hoist the banner Of freedom
In all countries. Only then will the
human race be able to begin the task
OF abolshing injustice" by abolishing
class rule But this will be process
lit cannot be accomplished at one
fell swoop. In the meantime there
will be imprisonments and perhaps
worse on both sides.
M1E do not believe that the capital
w lists can be convinced by pacifist
preachers that II is better to turn
class war prisoners. loose than to
CONTINUED on page 81