Milford chronicle., 1939-11-10
PLANS COMPLETE HERE
FOR ARMISTICE DAY
CONTINUED from First Page

kNoAeAAte0 AAoA tA9t Eabc(
the World of four members of The
American Legion at Centralia, Wash
ington. The mob, secreted in various
buildings along the route of a parade
celebrating the first anniversary OF
the Armistice, opened fire on the
Legion contingent, which had been
momentarily halted in front of the
Wobblies' headquarters. The Legion
group, none of them armed, broke in
to the /. w. w. quarters, disarmed
the bolsheviks, and turned them over
to the authorities.
That fragrant, wanton, murderous
act of the labor radicals aroused
public opinion in the United States
1t is not too much to say that the
four Centralia LegiOnnaires by the
manner of their death helped to end
the communist domination of Amer
lean labor. But for them the prob
lem of Kidding the nation of Harry
Bridges and other alien agitators,
a problem that one of these days is
going to be solved, might have be-
come insuperable.
And so those four Centralia Leg
ionnaires did not die in vain. The |.
W. w. mas ceased to exist in the
United States, though the cOmmun-
istice system which it advocated is
still Turing an infinitesimally small
segment of our population, despite
the fact that the mask of friendly
comradeship with democratic peo-
Piles has been torn from commun-
ism'3 face by the alliance Of Stain
with Hitler.
The martyrs of Centralia. who
died that this land might be safe for
democracy:
BEN CAssAGRAND4
WARREN o CRIMM
ARTHUR McELFRE5H
ERNEST DALE HUBBARD
All honor to the martyrs of Cen
tralia We may say of them, as Rob
ert G. Ingersoll said of his comrades
of an earlier war who had passed on.
"They died for liberty-they died for
us"
Let us remember and cherist their
names, as we remember and cherish
that of Nathan Hale. as we fOldly
remember the heroes of the Alamo
William e. Travis James Bowie and
Davy Crockett-as we tenderly recall
the beleagured George y. Custer and
his comrades of the Little Big Horn.
To us they have won an immortality
like to that of La Tour d dAuyergne, .
the soldier of Napoleon whose name
is still carried on the rolls of the
French army, eYoking the response
at roll-call: "Dead-dead ON the field
of honor"
The National Convention at Chi
cago reafiirmed the Legion's undy-
ing hostility to communism and ask
ed Congress to outlaw the cOmmun-
list party in this country. The com
munist system, which feeds upon the
misery attendant upon economic
crises, has control OF but one nation
in the wOrld-Soviet Russia. The
practice there gives an idea of what
the rest of the world might expect
if communism became top dog else
where. The communist party, mum
bering something like two millions.
imposes an iron despotiam upon the
other 179 ,0e0!00J OF HE population by
means of huge and pampered army.
Almost 1t the start of government
in this country, the MayfiOwer Com
pany, landing on the bleak Decem-
ber shore of what became Massa-
chusettS. ordained for themselves
common ownership OF property, with
each person contributing TO the store
as much as he could and receiving
from it as much as he needed. Will
liam Bradford, second Governor OF
the Colony and its historian, tells
how the system came to be discard
ed. Here are his words. with twen-
tieth century spelling substituted for
the quaint forms used three hundred
years ago:
THE experience that was had
in this common course and con-
dition. tried sundry years, and (,
that amongst Sodly and sober
men, may well evince the vanity
of that conceit of Platos and
other aLcients. appiaUded by
some of later times, that the TAX
ing away of property, and bring
ing in community into common
wealth. would make them happy !
and flourishing; as if they were
wiser than God. For this COM ,
munity $50 far as it was) was 7
found to breed much confusion \
and discomfort, and retard much !
employment that would have :
been 10 their benefit and COM :
fort. For the young men that =
were most able and fit for labor /
and service did repine that they \
should SPEND their time and
strength to work for other mems
wives and children, without any
recompen5e. The strong, or man 9
of parts, had no more in division !
of victuals and clothes than he
that was weak and not able to do
a quarter the other could; this
was thought injustice And
would have been worse if they
had been men of another condi- c
ton. Let none object this is 4
mems corruption. and nothing a
to the course itself. | answer, /
seeing ali men have this cor f
ruption in them, God in His d
wisdom saw another course fit L
ter for them" f
Communism as a way of life was S
hus tried in the balance in 1920 a
nd was found wanting Under cir t
more favorable than a {
complex civilization can
yer offer il failed, for it ran rough +
hod over every aspiration of man. d
)nly through thorough repression I
+ opinion dc the Soviets go through I
he motions of maintaining even a /
ollow shell of communism. 1t V