The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-10-24
Liberals and Tyranny

We print below two editorials of capitalist
papers, excellent illustrations of the func-
ton of liberal" journalism. One is from the
New York Evening Telegram, and reads as
follows:
1T is not necessary to believe in the princi-
Piles of the Workers Party to disapprove of
the action of the police in number of
munities in breaking up and forbidding meet
ings of the party.
'The American Civil Liberties Union reports
that election meetings have been either broken
up or otherwise prevented by the police in
Kansas, New Jersey, New York. Ohio, Penn
sylyania and West Virginia
"In Philadelphia repeated arrests have been
made and three speakers still held
charge of sedition'
Scott Nearing, who for years was pro-
fessor of economics at the University of Penn
sylvania, has been several times dragged from
the platform and locked up in cell.
I'm many instances permits for meetings
have been refused by the police and in half
dozen states meetings have been broken up
by the police without arrests
"Such happenings are entirely out of place
1t is the boast of those who believe in a re-
public as form of government that the citi-
has his say through the vote. If he does
not like one party he can go out and organize
a party OF MS own ana put his ticket the
ballot.
This year the Workers Party will be on the
ballot in thirty-two states against fourteen
states four years ago. In three states efforts .
were made to exclude the party from the ballot
= and in Washington state the Supreme Court
finally ruled that this could not be done.
What the Workers Party members believe is
not They may believe in revou-
ton They may believe in Communism They
may believe in Sovetism. The point is they are
expressing themselves through the peaceful
methods of the ballot, and that is what sane
people want them to do. Their arguments are
in that case addressed to the reason and can
be met with other arguments The thing
not to do is to answer words with violence That
is tyranny. Also, it is bad tactics"
The other editorial is from the weekly
organ of liberalism The Nation. 1t reads:
Communists not entitled to the protec-
ton of the Constitution in the opinion of vari-
Gus local police officers in Kansas New Jersey,
New York. Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Vir-
gnia where election meetings of the Workers
(CommunisD Party have been broken up or
prohibited. In Nebraska the American Legion
is trying to keep the Communist candidates off
the ballot in Pennsylvania many Workers
Party leaders have been arrested and charged
with violation of the sedtion act. The most
dsgraceful destruction of civil liberties has oc-
Cured in New Bedford, Massachusetts, where
police authorities decided to suppress the Com
munist remnant of the great textile strike by
sheer force of riot sticks. After the conserva-
tive unionists had returned to work, Police
Chief Samuel ID. Mcleod instituted what he de-
scribed as "a cleaning and sweeping up process
by arresting twenty seven left-wing strikers
on charges of vagrancy and rioting We ar
rested persons he said, who we know have
not worked since April Is Cthe date when the
=f~sIro l.
as to their visible means of support Since
when must an American worker on strike have
visible means of support? The Communists
have called off their part of the New Bedford
strike and the reign of terror is over, but the
action of Chief Mcleod and the acceptance of
his policy by the city will leave permanent
stain upon the record of New Bedford Justice"
1t is clear that these organs-one g
"iberaP' supporter of the candidate of CAPT
tahsty reaction, Herbert Hoover, and the
other a."liberal" supporter of the other can.
didate of capitalist reaction, Al Smith-are
both arguing against the campaign of police
terror and suppression of the Communist
election activities. Needless to say, we dc
not complain of this. On the contrary we
consider that any protest against the CAPT.
talist fightfulness tends to the advantage t.
the working class provided that it is really q
protest and not mere means of binding the
working class to the fact that the capitalist
government is a capitalist dictatorship. While
welcoming any effort, even in words alone
against the naked tyranny of our demo
cratic" American government, it is necessary
always to explain the protests of liberal
capitalism against the ruthlessntss of con
sentative" capitalism.
How is it possible that organs of the CAPT
taiist system can protest against methods o.
brutal tyranny which every capitalist stat,