The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-01-29
Liberal Viewpoint
-Bv DIR. HARRY ELMER BARNES

~ OO1x1Ncz Of matters rather externally and
l. specifically, there seems to be greater pup
lie freedom and civil liberty than at any Cliile
in the history of the United States since 1914:
While we should be very grateIul LOT ne
nresent happy state of affairs, We should De
aware that perhaps it is only strange inter-
hide presaging return Of preSsures, tensions
and bitterness when we come to the real SHOW
down on the new deal. Indeed, back OF the
sunny skies of today there are rumbAngs OF the
impending storm.
The latest issue of the quarterly of the
American Civil Liberties Union brings us back
To reality in this important realm Of American
life. It gives us cross-section of the state OF
civil liberty at the beginning OF 1884.
There are certain definite evidences OF prog
ress 1t has proved possible to have an adequate
newspaper code under the NF1A without placlng
in Jeopardy the freedom of the press. President
Roosevelt has restored to citizenship the pol1tl-
cal prisoners of the World war period. AthoS
Perzani was acquitted of murder after an at
tempted frame-up by a group OF American
FasciSts
The major losses for civil liberties noted are
the lamentable recent increase IN lyncnlng' the
conviction of two ScottSboro defendants IN the
latest trials and the failure to induce Mayor
John P OBrien to allow American Nazls to
hold public meeting unmolested
The efforts of the union in this latter episode
admirably prove its devotion to liberty rather
than to partisanship. No organization could
possibly abhor more deeply the principles for
which the Nah stand, but the union was sane
enough to recognize that "the way to protect
any single minority is to protect all minorit1es,
TIME most immediate work ahead of the
L union is described as vigorous support OF
the federal bill to outlaw lynching and TO pro-
vide for its proper detection and punishment;
aid in the further defense of the Scottsboro
bows: promotion of sensible administrative ana
legislative reforms to eliminate the third de-
gree without in any way diminishing the enec-
tiveness of the drive on crime; and support of
the right of radical unionists to have the same
power of organization and collective bargaining
as is possessed by the more conservative and
conventional unions.
The most interesting items in the quarter
ly" are those which warn OF the grave dangers
which NAV lie ahead when the tories must &C
tuallv reckon with the operation, Of the new deal
and its collective-bargaining clauses. The union
does well to point out that already the efforts
of the workers to secure their legal rights under
the NRA have led employers to resort to more
violence than has characterized the American
labor movement in recent years: THE record in
a few short months shows over fifteen strikers
killed two hundred injured, hundreds arrested,
and some forty or fifty injunetions Of sweeping
character. Troops have been called out in five
strike districts"
There is already evidence that, as the strug-
gle grows more tense the tories will revive the
old repressive ruseS to which they have resorted
in the past Already there have been arrests
for criminal syndicaliSm in a number of states
where farmers and laborers have been active in
promoting their cause.
There are some thirty-one states with red
flag" laws. waiting to be exploited by reaction
aries as soon as the industrial battle gets hot
enough.
We should be on our toes, and well prepared
for what may become the most serious struggle
to repress the rights of man which has taken
place in this country since the World war.