Voice of action. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1933-1936, 1935-03-08
By DAWN LovELAcE

On the afternoon OF July "a,
1884, a group of men met in the
office of the Citizens Emergency
League. They had been called to-
gether by NJ. r. Bacon, red-squad
spy and member of the law and
order" league, who had joined
that organization. according to
his own testimony, because his
and their ideas were much alike
and because he wanted to make
it easy for cooperation between
the police and this patriotic
organization.
These men had with them a
leaflet issued by the Portland
Section of the Communist Party,
calling on workers and workers
friends to attend n public, mass
protest rally-tO express mass in
dignation against the shooting in
cold blood of four longshOremen
on the picket line and the brutal
raids on working class headquar-
tiers and homes.
Employers Tremble
The marine strike had been
militant and solid for months.
San Francisco employers felt the
impact of labOr's fist in the gen.
eral strike, and union after I'M
ion in Portland hal taken up the
cry: General strike in support
of the longshOremen and sea-
men!" The shipOwners were in a
frenzy, and their allies in exploit
atiOn-the rest OF the employers
and bankers - trembled with
them.
The group of men who gather
ed in the "Citizers Emergency
League" office had been organic
ed as strike breaking body by
the Portland Chamber of Com
merce. Colonel William Arid, re-
serve army officer and racketeer-
ing adventurer, was the com
IldIluilS OlliNCi'
He was thanked by an imposing
array of "aides"--captains, ma
jors, lieutenants. For days he
made violent radio speeches
speeches designed to provoke
war against the strikers to in
flame the merchants and other
middle class people against la
Dor.
Oregon's Richest
On the executive board of the
Gel sat the same well-ted fig
ures of industry and commerce
who were high up in the Cham
Der of Commerce: Henry Failing
Cabell, heir of OregOn's richest
estate; Robert Sabin, corporation
LAWYER; Kenneth Cooper, insur-
ance man, former manager OF the
u. s. Veterans bureau at Port
land-ousted from that job be-
cause of shady work and also be-
cause of the resentment OF war
veterans. These arc few exam
ples of the hackers of the Gel.
1t was the Chamber of Com
merce which financed Ards radio
addresses, paid for the literature
of the organization and kept It's
office. Much of the membership
was drawn from tho reserve Ottlc-
ers-men whose aVOcatlOn Is
slaughter.
The organization had not been
formed very long when this little
meeting took place. 1t had not
much more than time to issue
membership application blanks
These blanks asked prospective
members the following, among
other, questions: DO you own
any firearms? What kind? List
your military experience. Do you
own an automobile? How many
messengers? Have you had ex-
Derience in use of gas bOmbsE
Law and order"
At first publicity loudly de-
elared that the Gel stood only
for law and order"-a body OF
brave men, holding themselves
ready to assist the regular law
enforcement bodies at the call OF
the governor, the mayor, the
sheriff. But neither OF these Of
ficials called that meeting on
July q. M. r. Bacon-"radlcal
activity" expert-ealled it, and
the Others came willingly, to
study a leaflet and plan to arrest
workers for advocating criminal
syndicalism and sabotage! In
short, that group, including, be-
sides Bacon, Earl Rulings, Rob
ert Smith (who had an applica.
ton in for a job on the police
force), and others, framed the
arrest. Rulings, Smith and Mont
gomery are also members OF the
Reserve Officers Association
the national militalist espionage
society.
War Mongers Inpolved
Just a word more about the