Evening star., 1928-05-26

The death In Russia OF Big Bill
Haywood, fugitive from justice 10 es-
cape q prison term under the American
war time espionage law, moves the press
to recall and draw lessons from the
stormy career OF this radical agitator
who possessed extraordinary though
crude and misdirected powers OF leader
ship.
His warped life proves The soundness
OF American institutions" says the
Albany Evening News. with the added
comment: "Ah the terrorism that
warped minds may try cannot prevail In
America. Haywood found that out.
Now ne is dead. and few will mourn
him. Probably he regretted In his last
days that he had not been good
American"
The Kansas City Star analyses his
failure "Baffied In his attempt 10 in
duce the American people To swallow
his pill, he retreated TO Russia, where
he had a chance to use 1t under the
most favorable conditions. But IL only
gave violent indigestion to the conn
munity he tried IL on. So Big Bill
passes In the procession OF pill makers
whose tragic fate 1t Is never to learn
from the experience OF the race or the
failures of Others"
Most OF his followers knew little OF
The doctrines and philosophy of syn
dicaliSm. but they understood the crude
gospel os class war, hate. strikes and
sabotage as preached by Haywood, "
AYERS the Chicago Daily News The
Cleveland Plain Dealer remarks that
1t is sufficient comment OH the high
quality OF his vocal power that. though
he had been absent from otlr midst Tor
10 long years. the memory OF him Is
still green, and his passing commands
extended notice In the newspapers "
"In an unguarded moment" records
the New York Sun. Big Bill boaSted
thai he could draw a. large as Bar
MINIS circus There was a shadow ot
truth in the remark There was also
clue 10 the man. II was Daniel DE Leon
the MARKHAM scholar, who drew the Dl0ee
prints for the organization OF the /. w
w. I'm 1905. but IL was Haywood'a Vio~
lent and magnetic personality that drove
the membership " beyond 10000 JUST
before the war Since the day
he Jumped his bail and fied 10 Russia
to escape serving a 20year sentence Tor
violation OF the war time espionage act
Big Bill cannot have been happy Ills
violent speech was The common tongue
In Soviet Russia. and there were ADLER
men 10 run things. He was no bar
NUNS circus there"
lie had not found, even In Russia
his long sought Utopia" says the New
ark Evening News, and that paper de
scribes the man: Hug, In bulk, he
had magnetism tremendous vitality, uu~
questioned courage. His Sympathies
were with the under dog but with all
his mental alertness he lacked the edu~
cation and training needed TO help
them wisely
The Altoona Mirror refers 10 the lie
history OF Haywood as IAN eXemplifica~
ton of an energetic and active character
gone wrong" The Toledo Blade com"
ments: HE had the elements OF leader
ship. hut he headed his procession the
wrong way. His methods were not pop.
ular In IA nation OF orderly minds. lie
chose TO escape the country rather than
stay and pay the price OF his failure
and In going he harmed the organika
ton he represented more than he had
aided 1t In It's years OF turmoil "
80 he passes 10 the shades, man
who. with his initiative and saner
background might have made history,
comedies the Detroit News, which also
observes that "Hill IS not thinker
he was u man % passionate feeling, and
Il was This which gave him hts power
that he was articulate In the express
sion Of this feeling
The Buffalo Evening News recognizes
Ia Haywood "the typical parader who Is
convinced unalterably that everybody Ii
out OF step except himself" F." The Okla"
h0ma CITY Times says lie went to
Russia 10 escape penal servitude, Rus
aia became somewhat the sort of eoun>
Try hs sought Ia make uf this Yet
Russia lives muGn IN poverty and 10
never far from famine. In the America
he left nost OF the workmen motor to
their tasks Perhaps ~ his later years
Big Hilp observed the contrast"
Tie COCA out al life In tle 0pinion
of the Utica Observer Dispatch. prob
ably without adding one thrnb 10 The
general slim Of human happiness
throughout his stormy and temnesul0us
career" And the Racine journal News