The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-03-19
SEATTLE IO|LERS
HEAR DISCUSSION
ON 'EREE SPEECH
When 1t Works and
When 1t Doesn't
Especial to Tho Daily Worker

SEATTLE, Wash, March 17-John
G. Kennedy, director Of the Seattle
labor college, lecturing at regular Sun
day night forum in Labor Temple, on
the subject "Heresy and Heresy Hunt
ing" gave historical review of fights
for ideas and opinion and drawing a
moral from the lessons of history,
showed that wherever organizations
or institutions have instituted po-
groms against minority opinion said
organization or institution has al
ways suffered violent reaction from
such tactics.
Aids Spread Of Ideas.
In fact said he, such activities on
ly succeed in spreading further the
ideas which are attacked and conse-
quent disorganization and chaos have
obtained as a result of all persecu-
ton Of opinion.
This liberalistic bourgeois concep-
ton of free speech" in the abstract,
was, however, pointeS out as mis-
take, by members of the Workers
(Communist) Party. This misconcep-
ton of the role of pure abstraction in
the field of class struggle, is seriously
wide of the truth.
For, it was pointed out the forces
Of ascending capitalist society very
effectively suppressed the sacred"
and even the divine" rights of feudal-
ism, and the ascending proletarian
power in Soviet Russia has quite sue
cessfully and frankly suppressed the
bourgeois opinion" OF the capitalist
minority.
The matter of the effectiveness of
the suppression hinges not at all on
it's moral aspect, but upon whether
the class which is attempting to sup
press another is historically rising or
degenerating in its control Of the fore
es of production. If it is rising, as
capitalism was doing UP to the time of
the war, it is quite able to and ac-
tually did succeed in suppressing all
opposing classes.
Working Class Is Rising.
But with the apex of capitalism
past, and with the capitalist class no
longer able to control the forces of
production which it itself has general
ed, the historically rising class is the
proletariat, whose power cannot be
suppressed by the capitalist class, and
which, as in Soviet Russia, becomes
dominant and very SUCCESSFULLY sup
presses the decadent bourgeoisie, opin-
ions and all. The mattexof free speech
within workers organization is quite
another matter and should always be
upheld. *
In discussion from the floor, many
present voiced surprise and regret
that the labor council at Seattle was
apparently prepared at this time to
censure delegates for political opin-
ion, and questioned the right of the
council to pass upon the fitness of
local union representatives, maintain
ing that this was question for the
local union alone to decide which
gives the delegates their mandate.
The Rev. Sydney Strong stated that
new precedent was being created in
the labor movement by introducing
the same methods that had driven
many sincere people from the
church and he further stated that such
tactics, if pursued, wound make honest
workers ashamed of their labor move
ment.
Commemorate the Commune.
Announcement was made that a
great gathering organized by united
council of radical workers organiza-
tions would commemorate the Paris
Commune next Saturday night, Mar.
81, to be held in new Finnish hall,
Twelfth and Washington streets, John
c. Kennedy and Norman H. Tallen-
tire to be speakers with dancing af-
ter the program.
1t is also proposed to run a mon
ster demonstration here on Sunday,
April 5, where John G. Kennedy, Anna
Louise Strong, George F. Vanderveer,
James Duncan and Stanley ]. Clark
of Texas, are expected to speak. Pro-
ceeds of both the affairs will be sent
to Labor Defense Council for the
benefit of Michigan defense,