The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-11-03
By Upton Sinclair

of Harding was a conspiracy to loot
the oil reserves of the United States
navy, as carefully planned and as
definitely criminal as any pirate raid.
Harding was the chief of the "Ohio
gang" and he was put in TO let that
gang loot the nation, as previously
he had let it loot Ohio. The oil men
put up the money to carry the Re-
publican convention; upon the under
standing that they would get the
cabinet positions necessary for the
stealing of the naval reserves. To
elect their chosen one, the plutocracy
contributed the biggest campaign
fund ever known in our history; and
this money was spent according to the
new arts Of propaganda learned in
the war days. You remember the
Vigilantes and their patriotic fervor?
Well, here was another time to rally
the writers and artists, the furnish
ers of ideas and inspirations, to per-
suade the American voters to turn
over their government to a pirate
band.
So, on Saturday afternoon, the
18th of April, 1920, behold special
train of five parlor cars proceeding
to Atlantic City, loaded with George
AIDE, Rex Beach, Porter Emerson
Browne, Edna Ferber, Jesse L. Lasky,
Mary Roberts Rinehart, Booth Tark-
ington, Charles Hanson Towne, Will
liam Allen White-if that train had
run off the track, American culture
would never have recovered! They
had a banquet at the most expensive
of hotels, and next morning the New
York Times reported as follows:
1.-THE mystery surrounding the iden-
tity of the hackers of the weekend
party of authors, movie managers,
magazine writer's, publicity agents,
cartoonists and artists who arrived
here tonight to hear prominent Re-
publicans discourse on the ideals and
policies of their party was partly dis
PEELED when it was explained that the
expenses of the junket were paid by
Richard Washburn Child, one of its
originators, with special republican
subscription from the republican ma
tional committee"
Now, would the big chief of the
Ohio gang fail to be grateful for a
service of such distinction? The big
chief would no more overlook it than
he would fail to name the right cabi-
net members, so that the oil men
might have their loot. Do not be
surprised, therefore, to find that a
couple of months after the Inaugural
ton, Mr.. Richard Washburn Child is
named Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary to Italy.
He goes; and there falls to him the
most thrilling adventure ever
dreamed by a literary red-hunter.
While he is in Rome-knee breaches,
court receptions, and all the glories-
che Italian workers rise and take pos
session of the factories in Russian
style. But they have walked into a
trap, because Italy has no coal, and
the British fleet controls the sea, and
The American bankers control all the
credit in the world, and the would-be
Bolsheviks of Italy cannot turn a
wheel. While they are debating, in
some confusion, what to do next, a
renegade Italian Socialist comes to
Mr.. Child; they are the ones to hire,
you understand, because they know
the movement they are going to
wreck, and have a special bitterness
against it---look at my ex-Comrade
Joe Patterson!
Mussolini's proposition is the sim
plest possible. He will raise slogan,
and gather band of young assassins
and seize Italy for the bankers; only
he must have money for the job, and
will the Americans give him loan?
The Americans are just then in the