The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-12-30
BIZ WILLIAM E. pUNNE.

lshmen that their homes were
their castles. Not even the king, so
the legend ran, could enter the home
of an Englishman without permission
of the latter.
This rule may still hold good for
Englishmen who are members of the
capitalist and middle classes, but 1t
does not apply to workers any longer
The decay Of British capitalism and
the tremendous class conflict which
eliminated in the general strike and
the miners strike has changed many
things, and none more than the for
NAL application of democratic gov
eminent
| WORKERS who are strikers or
w strike sympathizers find that their
homes, if they have any, are entered
at will by representatives of his
majesty's government. All pretense
of respect for the "sanctity Of the
home" the subject of so much British
oratory, good, bad and Indifferent, has
been abandoned-if the home is in
habited by workers.
The International Class War Pris-
oners' Aid reports a typical incident
in its most recent bulletin to come to
hand:
On Sunday evening the sird-
field family were gathered together
in the front room Of their home for
a musical evening. After some
time they chose hymn Number 451,
which is one of the tunes to which
"The Red Flag" is sometimes sung.
The police were paradine the
streets one of the constabes
heard the tune and rushed into the
lobby of the house, where he was
accosted by SlrdHeId, Junior. The
constable struck the latter In the
face, splitting his lip.
At the court a doctor testified
that Slrdfield had received a hard
blow the constable said that
the SirdfleIds had tried to lntimi-
date two bIacklegs, and that he was
merely calling at the house to warn
them. The constable's evidence was
believed. He was discharged, and
the SirdfleIds were bound over for
six months in ten pounds, and were
ordered'to pay the costs.
THE extent to which the British
l. ruling class has junked democratic
pretenses is evidenced further by the
recent report of Sir Joynson- Hicks,
home secretary, who stated that in
the last month 511 prosecutions had
taken place under the emergency pow
ers act in addition to all other prose
cutions under the ordinary suppress
sive laws.
Sixty-six miners were sentenced
during this period to terms ranging
from one to nine months. Many 9TH
ers were heavily fined and with the
black poverty prevailing in the mining
fields this means prison sentences as
we'll.
THE British capitalist class, like
l. its kindred in other countries, is
for democracy" only as long as it
serves to strengthen its class SUI
premacy. The ruling class at times
must actually aid in developing the
forces which will overthrow it. AS
Engels pointed out, the franchise and
the other provisions of capitalist
democracy mark merely the maturity
Of the working class, the close ap-
proach of the period in which 1t chal-
lenges the power Of the exploiting and
ruling class.
This period has come in Great Brit
ain and altho the challenge has not as
yet been clearly formulated, the gen.
eral strike, the miners strike and the
rapid development OF the British Com
munist Party into a mass force, the
rise Of the national minority move
ment, all show the inevitability of
the coming struggle and the ruling
class is preparing for it by dis
mantling whatever of the democratic
superstructure interferes with the
rapid mobilization of its class agen.
cies.
british capitalism, even with the
- tribute It draws from colonial
slaves, is unable anv lonpar IN n1a