Evening star., 1927-09-22
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

One Of the prominent officials of the
Government AYERS that the persistent
| agitation of Communists in.connection
with the Sacco-Vanzetti sentence is
not. primarily. led by aliens, but by
American Communists and other ma.
tive radicals. Many Americans are
| demanding drastic deportation of all
aliens on the ground that they have
been tolerated subject to good be-
| havior, but their radicals have now
become a menace to the peace and
order of the United States.
The greater per cent of Italians Who
come to America become law-abiding
citizens. 1t is not, therefore, their
Italian blood, but the anarchistic
| spirit Of the guilty few, which be-
| comes Americas S menace.
1875 * X y
Our Constitution forbds Congress
| from enacting any legislation restrict.
| ing speech or the press, though it
| does not make any guaranty of sedi-
tious or iibelous license of speech.
| The subject is left to the States.
Massachusetts provides:
article XVI. The liberty of the
press is essential to the security of
! freedom in a State; it ought, there
fore. to be restrained in this Common
wealth. -
article XIX. The people have a
| right. in an orderly and peaceable
manner, to assemble and consult upon
the common good; to give instructions
to their representatives and to request
of the legislative body, by way of
addresses. petitions and remonstrances,
|
grievances they suffer-"
That being the guaranty of the
State Of Massachusetts,, the question
arises as to the legality of the police
in forbidding public meetings, not
only in the recent Sacco-VanZetti
agitations, but in previous instances
in that Commonwealth.
| About q year ago the mayor Of
Boston forbade the holding Of radical
meetings in any licensed hall. In de-
| fiance of that order, a group of radi-
| Gals assembled in the Old South Meet
| ing House. Two of the speakers were
arrested, one of them being Har-
| ward professor. The meeting was
broken up. not because Of free speech,
but because the whole incident was
| tending to disturb the peace.
II have always thought" said Dis
he imposed sentence on the offenders,
that we had reasonable amount of
| liberty in this country. / find that
we have much more here than they
have abroad"
There is no other country which is
| so lenient as our own or which so
! freely tolerates disturbing agitation.
| There is no other country where free
dom of speech is so broadly permitted
| under the law and custom.
The Irish Free State, the most mod
ern of republics. says nothing about
| free speech or free press in its con-
| stitution.
The constitution Of Jugoslavia IAN
other postwar nation) provides in
Article XIII: "The press shall be
| free, except that publications can be
seized if they defame the sovereign
or members of his family, or heads Of
| foreign states, or direct appeals TO
change the constitution by force
The Polish Republic provides In
Article CIV: Every citizen (aliens
are not citizens) has the right to eX-
press his ideas and opinions freely,
| provided that in doing SO he does not
violate the law" Free speech is thus
| limited by law. and the legal limita-
tions are left until after the offense is
| committed, thus differing from our
| Constitution, which prohibits any sex
| post facto law"
An article headed 1.-THE Reign Of the
Bludgeon," by Gaetano Salvmini,
published in the Survey of New York
| outlines the various steps taken under
Mussolini's government by official sig
| nature Of the King:
'Italy-that is, the italian Foreign
Off1ce-has always viewed with jeal-
| Gus eyes the loss Of man-and-money
power represented by the annual ex-
patriation of some 100000 Italian
souls, and one of the constant princi-
pies of Italian propaganda abroad has
been to retain the loyalty of the sons
Of Italy by any possible means.
| Fascist propaganda has modified these
| tactics. Recognizing the growth of
| American sentiment among Italo-
Americans, it favors 'Americaniza-
| ton of the immigrant, on the theory
| that as a participant in the political
| life of the new country he will be bet
ter able to defend the interests and
Ideals Of his real country Gtaaly'. N
at. 80 4S.4ssrS