Open forum, vol. 2, no. 20 (May, 1925)

"THE OPEN FORUM

War today is Hell raised to the nth power.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, MAY 16, 1925

No. 20

War As Self Defense

By Henry W. Pinkham

Secretary, The Association To Abolish War

Mr. John W. Davis-you may recall that he was

the Democratic candidate for the Presidency in 1924

-sgaid in a speech at Sea Girt last August, (c) Luere

is no instance in recorded history when any civil-

ized nation has admitted that it was engaged in war

for any purpose but self-defense." All the belliger-

ents in the World War entered this plea of justifica-

tion. In 1915 Bertrand Russell said: `Serbia is

defending itself against the brutal aggression of Aus-

tria`Hungary. Austria-Hungary is defending itself

against the disruptive revolutionary agitation which

Serbia is believed to have fomented. Russia is de-

fending Slavdom against the menace of Teutonic

Germany is defending Teutonic civiliza-

tion against the encroachment of the Slave: "Hisance

is defending itself against a repetition of 1870. And

England which sought only the preservation of the

status quo, is defending itself against a prospective

menace to its maritime supremacy.'"' When the

United States joined in the general madness, we

made the same plea of self-defense!

aggression.

The trouble with that plea is not only that it be

"comes absurd: when made by all -the-belligerents on

both sides in every war, but also that experience

demonstrates that war affords no real defense. War

is in itself the supreme evil, comprehending as it

does every kind of wickedness, of suffering and of

loss. The military outcome-victory or defeat- is

relatively of slight importance. Both sides sacrifice

their most precious possession, human life, in approx-

imately equal measure. To engage in a war for the

sake of self-defense is like committing suicide in

order to ward off the smallpox.

One of the main reasons why self-defense is so

generally regarded as a justification of war is the

prevalence of a code of national honor corresponding

to that of duelists, according to which a nation must

violently regent certain wrongs or even discourtesies,

or itself lose caste. What is that sensitive thing

called national honor? It is something quite indef-

inite. But this is certain, that a country's true hon-

or can not be tarnished by anything that a foreign

country can do, but only by its own acts. In old

days the duelist thought he must fight in certain

circumstances to keep his self-respect. When en-

abled to reach a finer self-respect, it was impossible

for him to enter a duel. President Wilson before

he succumbed to the war-madness said: "There is

Such a thing as a nation being too proud to fight."

Verily, there is! And some of us hoped, when he

Said the words, that ours was such a country, with

too much proper pride, too much self-respect, too

much common-sense to degrade itself by entering

the European slaughter-house. But we were disap-

pointed.

: When one is struck, retaliation, blow for blow, is

instinctive, The man who is assaulted resists auto-

matically, having no time to deliberate and apply to

Hee ination the principles of ethics or the considera-

. Of expediency. But this is no justification of

ak. nation should and can take time to deliber-

ves = the sensible king in the parable of Jesus

= ea down and takes counsel whether he is able

in oh aaene to meet him that cometh against

i Ka eheaead thousand. What and the likelihood

ites ee What will Fe the cost of victory? Are

mated cent " at stak. ccent "nimensurate with that esti-

io. Sa. ane what assurance is there that vic-

biter ponect xe these alues? May not concession

restinis nee et KOs tS aggressor promise better

Suet a the en than risistance? Instinct can not

ed. tt a sjuestions. But they ought to be answer-

| Ibe the part of wisdom not to yield to the

hot-headed clamor: "We have been defied, our hon-

or is at stake, our flag has been insulted!" There

is always a better way out of every difficulty than

the way of war, war being in itself the sum of all

villainies and the cumulation of all evils. One of

the wisest men America has produced was Benjamin

Franklin. He was not given to exaggeration. He

meant it when he said: "There never was a good

war, or a bad peace."

At present all armaments are maintained ostensi-

bly for self-defense only. Military men in this coun-

try when addressing the public frequently utter an

apologetic note, as indeed they ought. They take

great pains to represent themselves as defenders of

their country. They would like to have the army

and navy known as the Department of Defense. They

roundly condemn aggressive war. But the main-

tenance of armament is itself aggressive. It is an

accusation of other nations, presupposing evil inten-

tions on their part, and virtually charging them with

hypocrisy inasmuch as they, like ourselves, deny any

purpose of aggression. Well said Nietzsche, a Saul

among the prophets: "The doctrine of the army as

a means of self-defense must be abjured as complete-

ly as the lust of conquest. Better to perish than to

hate and fear, and twice as far better to perish than

to make oneself hated and feared-this must some

day become the supreme maxim of every political

community."

Perhaps a nation, as Nietzsche forecasted, will

some time have courage enough to disarm without

waiting for the other nations to do likewise, trusting

in the justice which it does to all peoples, in the

good-will which it feels toward all, as its sure de-

fense. Such trust will not be in vain. So Emerson

taught in the finest piece of pacifist literature Amer-

ica has produced, in which he said: "Whenever we

see the doctrine of peace embraced by a nation, we

may be assured it will not be one that invites injury;

but one, on the contrary, which has a friend in the

bottom of the heart of every man, even of the violent

and the base; one against which no weapon can

prosper; one which is looked upon as the asylum of

the human race, and has the tears and blessings of

mankind."

Fh

Where Men Are Men And

Bosses Govern

By Sydney Warren

HORNE LAKH, B. C.-(FP)-This is what condi-

tions are like at Horne Lake logging camp: "Camp

conditions here are extraordinary rotten. Board

$1.35 a day; Chinese cooks and waiters; food cheap-

est grade, lacking both in quantity and quality. The

cookhouse is a quarter of a mile from the sleeping

quarters, walking through mud and water to your

boot tops for your meals. Insufficient seating ca-

pacity at the table to accommodate those who have

to tolerate such abominable, unsanitary surround-

ings.

"The sleeping quarters consist of small boxcar-like

pens, with nine men in each, and not sufficient space

to shelter more than four; there are three shower

baths but never any hot water, except you heat

it yourself. Two wash tubs serve 200 men. No dry-

house. It is entirely impossible to keep clean here.

Bunkhouse is seldom swept out, and to all appear-

ances has never been scrubbed since it was built."

This is out in the tall and uncut where `men are

men,' and their bosses pluck 'em!

Federated Press.

Gas Laws

On Teachers Growing

A survey of the restrictions on teaching in schools

and colleges just completed by the Amenican Civil

Liberties Union shows that more restrictive laws

have been passed during the last six months than at

any time in American history. These laws prohibit

the teaching of evolution, require compulsory reading

of the Bible and forbid the employment of radical

or pacifist teachers.

The survey shows that Congress passed one such

law as a rider to the 1925 appropriation bill for the

District of Columbia, providing "that no part of this (c)

sum shall be available for the payment of the salary"

of any educational director `""`who permits the teach-

ing of partisan politics, disrespect of the Holy Bible,

or that ours is an inferior form of government."

This law is now in force in the District of Columbia,

If a similar attempt is made to attach a rider to the

appropriation bill in the next Congress, it will be

fought, according to the Civil Liberties Union, which

did not learn of the rider on the last bill until it had ,

been passed.

Pennsylvania, Ohio, Delaware, West Virginia and

Kentucky have laws requiring the daily reading of

the Bible in public schools ``without comment," and

providing for the discharge and revocation of the

certificate of a teacher who does not conform to the

act. Similar bills have been introduced in the legis-

latures of Virginia, Texas, New Jersey and Washing-

ton.' A' test of `this' `type of statute was made in

South Dakota in March, where Judge McNenny ruled

that a school board has the authority to expel high

school students who leave the class room during

Bible reading. Thirteen students were expelled in

this controversy. The test was brought by a local

Catholic group. The Civil Liberties Union will join

in appealing the decision to a higher court.

The first state law prohibiting the teaching of the

doctrine of evolution in public schools and colleges

was passed in Tennessee in March. Resolutions of

state boards forbidding the teaching of evolution

were previously adopted in North Carolina and Flor-

ida.

Missouri state colleges and schools are forbidden

by a rider to the appropriation bill recently passed

to employ any person "who teaches, or advocates in

public or private that the citizens of this state should

not protect the government of the United States

from aggression by other nations." In the recent

Ohio legislature a resoultion was introduced author-

izing an investigation of members of the faculties

of three state universities, with the object of ousting

"radicals and atheists.' This resolution was killed

by the Senate Committee to which it was referred.

"Bfforts to get court action on all these restrictive

laws will be made through our attorneys," the Civil

Liberties Union announces. "The constitutional guar-

antee of separation of church and state, it is believed,

offers a ground for contesting the laws requiring

Bible reading. The U. S. Supreme Court already

has before it one restrictive school law passed in

Oregon and aimed at abolishing the parochial schools.

The chief sources of inspiration for this new and

unprecendented crop of gag laws on teaching are

the Ku Klux Klan, the Fundamentalists, and the

professional patriotic societies. The Klan is back of

the compulsory Bible reading and anti-parochial

school laws, the Fundamentalists back of the anti-

evolution bills and the professional patriots back of

the anti-radical and anti-pacifist measures."

a

WASHINGTON-(FP)-Progressive leaders seek-

ing to re-establish orderly government in China are

reported in letters received in Washington from

American sources in China, to be shocked at recent

tendencies in the United States.

Two outstanding phases of American retrogression,

as seen by the Chinese, are the wholesale disregard

of the prohibition law, and the general rejection of

the child welfare amendment to the constitution.

Federated Press.

Rei Re Te) ne See RSA w

CS

ae

re

TO WHOM

SHALL WE GO?

By R. W.

Ill

The Appeal To Reason

It is an accepted principle in law that no man's

judgment can be trusted where his economic interests

are involved. It is likewise a matter of common ob-

servation and experience that most men are more

affected by an immediate interest which seriously in-

volves present comfort and well-being than they are

by arguments which have to do with more general

and more remote concerns.

It has already been shown that the appeal to the

ballot in our American affairs of State is very in-

frequent, very indirect, and in every way so circum-

scribed that the most vital issues are not brought

within the exercise of the common man's initiative

and consent.

It has also been indicated that even if the ballot

were allowed to be used for the direct expression of

the people's judgment upon momentous issues there

would be no fair and square use of its power unless

there were given to the one side, such an equal op-

portunity to argue its case before the people as is

given to the other side. The ballot is not equally our's

unless the opportunities for arriving at intelligent

judgment are equal to the opportunities of recording

it when such judgment is made. If I am given a

sword equal in size and suppleness and sharpness

with my opponent we are still not equal if my arm is

. bound to my side while his arm is left free.

Nor is this all the case against the appeal to the

`ballot and the appeal to reason as we commonly

affirm them. If the unanimous and continuous exer-

cise of the franchise were granted the people, with

respect to real issues and immediate decisions upon

all vital questions, and if for the making of such de-

cisions intelligently the side of popular interest were

given as great freedom and opportunity for expres-

sion as is now afforded the special interests and their

pleas, the appeal to the vote, and to rational judg-

ment behind the vote would still fall short under our

present economic arrangements. For reason itself is

never free except where there is a fair measure of

actual economic equality, except as the items with

which reason happens to deal have no economic con-

nections. And it is to be doubted whether that is

ever true of any question that is of real importance

to man,

The most serious fact to be considered with respect

to the whole cult of democratic government as we

have it today is that there can be no equality of

rational appeal in a society which is built upon vast

and serious differences of economic interest. The

more powerful economic interests will not only dom-

inate those who are directly and excessively profited

by them but they will generally control the great

mass of the people who are in a dependent and sub-

ject relationship to the favored few. The general

and ultimate interests of the many may be, almost

certainly will be against the projects and programs

of the ruling minority, but the ruling minority will

be in such position of power that they can make it

to the immediate and individual interest of millions,

including most of those who would be the natural

leaders of the majority, to stand in with the policies

of those who are actually in power.

Illustrations of this are so abundant, and so easily

understood that it is not necessary to wait for further

philosophical statement of this most important fact.

The great mass of the white people of the Southern

States in the days before the Civil War had either no

property in slaves, or their holdings were so unim-

portant that they could easily have afforded to sell

them out. As that notable southerner, Hinton Rowan

Helper, demonstrated in "The Impending Crisis of

the South" the slave system was not to the advan-

tage of southerners in general, and had they sought

their own larger interests they would have favored

manumission in some form, even if they had not

made common cause directly with the abolitionists of

the North. The majority interest of the majority of

the southern people was against the continuance of

slavery. But their immediate interests were in-

dividually so entangled with standing in with the

slave oligarchy that even had they been allowed to

vote on the issue of abolition, and allowed something

like fair and full discussion of the question, it is

altogether likely that the appeal would have been

lost, because so over-weighted with self interest from

so Many angles of personal employment and associa-

tion. .

There can be no denying the fact that such is the

situation today with respect to the far more difficult

problem of dealing with the wage and profit system.

The bright boy or the bright girl of our time who

wants to "get on in life' must stand in with the

American plunderbund or wage an almost hopeless

battle for recognition and success. Is the youngster

gifted in music? Then he, or she, must cater to the

"better classes," to the people who have money, to

the beneficiaries of profit and privilege on every

hand. Is it education the workingman wants for his

children? He must send them to capitalist schools, to

be taught by capitalist teachers, to wave capitalist

flags, to take capitalist military training, and to be

daily under the pressure of the whole social environ-

ment of a capitalist society. The three things with

which every young person naturally deals, the play

life, the sex life, the vocational life, all tend to draw

the youngster from the rational protest of his father

and mother against the higher-ups and constrain him

or her to ignore such issues or to take the side of

those in power. Even in the Christian ministry the

child will find that the way of pleasantness and peace

and "influence" is by preaching doctrines that do not

endanger special privilege, or pretty moralities and

safe sentimentalisms which involve him in no bat-

tle for the disinherited and the oppressed.

In other words, to put it plainly, the immediate in-

dividual interest of the vast majority of the people

under any system:of special privilege is in standing

in with the owners and dispensers of privilege, and

letting those who make protest go to jail or to the

stake, or at the least to social ostracism and prac-

tical ruin. The appeal to reason, under capitalism,

is aS big a sham as the appeal to the ballot, for the

average man is more concerned to be comfortable, to

get on in life, to stand well with his neighbors, to

play safe in a word, than he is with abstract reason-

ing about what is good and what is right.

a

Too Bis To Catch

WASHINGTON-(FP)-Commissioners Humphrey,

Van Fleet and Hunt of the federal commission have

outvoted commissioners Thompson and Nugent on

the issue of punishing wholesale frauds, when the

offenders are business concerns which deliberately

misbrand their products and induce consumers to pay

for something they do not get. This majority in

the commission is the Coolidge Republican element;

the minority happens to be western progressive

Democrats. The minority has issued another protest

against the Humphrey-Coolidge idea of letting the

big thieves go free, on their word of honor to be

good.

Recently Thompson protested against similar leni-

ency toward a firm which had sold fake "wax" can-

dles to Catholic and other churches. Now the dis-

senting opinion deals with the Mallinson "Silk" con-

cern, which advertises enticingly and at generous

rates in the big magazines. Mallinson and Co. have

entered into an agreement, approved by Humphrey

and his associates, that the terms on which the

complaint against them is dropped shall be kept

secret.

Thompson and Nugent show that Mallinson and Co.

have been making textiles in their factories in

Astoria and Brooklyn, N. Y., in Trenton, Paterson

and West Hoboken, N. J., and in Allentown and

Hrie, Pa., and have been selling these goods as

"Mallinson's Silke deLuxe" and under other names

indicating them to be silk, when in fact they are only

part silk.

Meanwhile formal orders to "cease and desist,"

which have the effect of a public condemnation,

have been made by the commission against smaller

firms in the near-silk industry. Thompson and

Nugent declare that the Mallinson company knew it

was violating the rules and cheating its customers,

and should not be given favorable discrimination as

against its smaller competitors.

When Humphrey, the corporation lobbyist, was

confirmed as a member of the federal commission

some months ago, the Federated Press noted that

this brought to an end the useful service of the com-

mission to the public; henceforth it would protect

the bandits of the commercial world from drastic

punishment.

Federated Press.

nights worrying over his future.

Big Ben Becomes A .

"Has Ben'"'

In our issue of April 25th The Prognosticator gy

forth his estimate of the candidacy of Jujy

Benjamin Bledsoe for the mayoralty of Los Angele

in the following laconic fashion: :

"Harry calls him Ben'-The Opposition.

"Everybody calls him Ben'-His Supporters,

|

"Bverybody will call him, Has Ben.'-The Prog. |

nosticator. |

And Tuesday, May 5th, when the electors voicg |

their preferences at the primary election, they dep, |

onstrated that The Prognosticator was indulging jj

no mere "old wives fables' when he made hig pre

diction concerning the former occupant of the fg.

eral bench-the dignified, injunction-vending, gsimo

pure, 100% American, Benjamin F. Bledsoe. |

|

|

|

Mayor Cryer was re-elected hands down. fh

distanced Bledsoe by nearly 15,000 votes, and wor

over all his competitors by a majority of 3973. The

people who voted at this election are to be con

gratulated upon showing such wise discrimination,

Cryer may not be all that we wish he were, but

he has at least demonstrated constant and vigorous

friendship for the peoples' interest by furthering in

every way possible the municipal water, light ani |

power projects during his four years in Office.

Bledsoe, on the other hand, by his decisions om

the bench and his public utterances again and again,

has shown himself to be hand in glove with the big

business interests that are all the while exploiting

the laborers and robbing the people of their natural

resources. It would have been most unfortunate

to have such a man at the head of the Los Angele

city government for the next four years-little shor

of a calamity from our viewpoint. Let him go

away back and sit down and reflect soberly upon his

repudiation by the voters. May.he do "works mee

for repentance'-and also the bunch of `"non-par

tisans" that put him forth from behind closed doors

as their champion.

As a matter of fact, however, we have no hope

that either he or they will do any substantial repent

ing. They may feel chagrined that they spent s0

much time and money in a vain attempt to capture

the political mechanism of a great municipality, bu

there is no likelihood that they will repent (change

their minds and turn about, as the word literally

means.) Rather they will probably simply change 0x00B0

their tactics and concoct a new line of attack upo

the people's interests. Big business never repents

nor relinquishes its strangle-hold upon the under ~

dogs of civilization.

And big business will take care of its protege,

Bledsoe. He may for the moment feel like a "Has

Ben," but we venture that he is not lying awake

He's out of a

Federal job just now-a rather lucrative one t00,

that enabled him to tuck away $7,500 annually il -

his jeans-but you won't find him down among the

60,000 jobless men of this city, frantically hunting -

a job at the State Employment Agency or one 0

the private concerns on Towne Ave. No, he will be.

taken care of in handsome fashion. Just keep youl!

eye on him and you will doubtless soon see hil

"spreading himself like a green bay tree" again, il

the rapturous consciousness that he has become

counsel for some big, profiteering corporation.

"Has Ben" is a melancholy thing to think abot!

for a few days after an election. "Of all sad wor

of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, `It mighl -

have been'." "If only Ben could have pulled dow!

the mayoralty plum, then four years hence he might

have reached up and plucked the governorship; 4

eight years hence he might have been chosen chiel

executive;of the U. S. A.! Who knows? Such 8s

quences are not altogether uncommon in this cowl

try. Look at Coolidge, for example; he came out

obscurity by just leaps and by the grace of Prov! |

dence! Indeed, Ben had even a better start toward

fame and fortune. But now, alas, he's a "Has Ber

politically; no more will politicians bet on such #

loser. No a la Bryan career for him. History ha |

put her mark on him as a "Has Ben." |

Code t

----- |

x

WASHINGTON-(FP)-State department officials

explain the intervention of the American ministe!

to Honduras, in demanding treatment as comm!

criminals of revolutionists who enter Honduras fro!

Nicaragua and commit "offeng2s," as quite natural.

They point out that American marines are still 0x2122

Nicaragua. Hence American auth. rity is still looked

to, in Central America, to offer "advice" on serious

problems.

; Federated Press

dge

ley

big

ing

ral

ate

les

ort

pound0

his.

ect

yal

ors

' SAY SO

We want letters.

Lots of them.

From lots of people.

On lots of subjects.

BUT NOT LOTS OF WORDS.

Make them "Century Letters,"

that is letters of not more than

One Hundred words.

Write on subjects of general

ve []

interest.

Typewrite your letters,

if possible. If you are

interested in anything worth-

while, say so. But say it in

as few sentences as you can.

Sign your name. It will not be

used if you do not wish it 4

published, provided you say so. |

Let's make "SAY SO" the best

page of this paper. Mind you,

be brief. And again, BE BRIEF.

CD ee -com-"

Pen Punctures by K. C. G.

May 5, 1925.

Arthur Brisbane,

Washington, D. C.

Dear Sir:

"Twenty-five thousand men wanted to hear Debs

in New York last Sunday" (May 3, 1925). You say

he is "utterly mistaken," `off the track." We say,

he is years ahead of these cruel, barbarous times.

A man of peace, crucified by ignoble rulers using

their power to hurt and harm, instead of healing

` and helping.

He exorts the workers `not to fight in any war;"

so did Christ two thousand years ago and we have

not progressed very far, notwithstanding the millions

of dollars we put in churches to promulgate those

ideals of "peace on earth good will toward man."

(Our workers did not fight in the last war because

. "they wanted to,' if you remember, they were con-

scripted. ) ts

Because we are remiss in our treatment and

promises to our Indians-and because England rules

India with an iron hand-that does not justify the

imperialistic methods of the ruling nations.

And finally, we were conscripted to fight the last

war to make it the last. So, let us attend to that

job and not try to find ways and means to massacre

afew more millions of our best young men (leaving

the unfit to people the world with unfits), scatter-

Ing widows and orphans over the land, filling insane

asylums, and suicides' graves.

Surely Debs is so far ahead and above and beyond

you and all others, who cannot see and will not

find the better way, that you cannot touch his beau-

tiful clear-visioned soul.

Sincerely,

KATE CRANE-GARTZ.

f May 38, 1925.

Better Americans, e

Los Angeles, Calif. `

Dear Sirs:

sano' it is only to be expected that your organi-

iain pa be the one to find something to com-

Whole lif m Anna Louise Strong, a woman whose

ee ei has been devoted to the welfare of the

hnmes aia but your organization can't understand

erty inte ributes, your business is to conserve prop-

dean' rests-and any one who thinks above: the

evel of property rights is a red.

T have the honor to be,

One of them,

KATE CRANE-GARTZ.

May 3, 1925.

Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr.,

Los Angeles, Calif.

Dear Sir:

Your editorial of May first from New York evinces

the fact that you, as well as the U. S. Navy, are

very much "stirred" by the presence of a Japanese

naval tanker on the Pacific Ocean. Have they not

as much right on the high seas as we, with their

one little tanker "with its picked crew and choice

men," that frightens you, while we have 125 battle

ships and 40,000 men, trying to show or rather

menace them with our superior power? Have they

not their interests to conserve as well as we.

You even resent the formation of a National Com-

mittee for a better understanding between us; you

even go so far as to say "anyone with two grains of

sense would keep his name off such a committee!"

(G. W. Wickersham). That does not sound very

well coming from a young man who has chosen for

his motto "the people be served."

Why should the state of California drive the Jap-

anese off the farms where they have served us so

well, and crowd them back into the city slums; that

is the stupid thing the immigration law, which you

uphold, has done. You are bound to make them

enemies whether they will or no. [I am sorry to

see it coming from you of whom we had dreams of

better things.

Sincerely,

KATE CRANE-GARTZ.

May 3, 1925.

Harry Carr,

Los Angeles,

Dear Sir:

Will you give the definition of Communism as

found in the dictionary and then explain your idea

about it in your column, and just why the men

(like Christ) who invented it are ``wretched insects?"

What would you call the ones who invented the sys-

tem we are now struggling under-millions unem-

ployed, poverty, wars and corruption? Ye gods, the

Russians were weary of it all and are trying out

a new and more humane system, but the rest of the

world-the capitalists world-do not want to see

anything new, or old, or different succeed, so they

suppress or pervert the truth and call everything

"red" for the lack of a more expressive or more

comprehensive term. I like the word red, altho my

favorite color is blue. I would not like to be called

by it nor any other color-green or yellow-but red

-that stands for the red blood of all humanity.

All humanity is one, as the Creator intended we

should be, or else there is none.

Have you noticed that the "traitors" (the reds)

have been coming back into the fold to sit in the

seats of the mighty? MacDonald in England, Cail-

laux in France---thus acknowledging that they were

right (opposed to war). Soon it will be or should

be Debs in our own America, for who else in this

country has shown such a Christlike spirit as he?

And still he is persecuted by the hysteria of war.

Surely no ministers in the churches. Who has shown

such great pity and compassion for the oppressed

and downtrodden as Debs? Surely not the so-called

Christians. He is beloved by children and .by all

who wish to understand; he is only feared and mis-

understood by those who are more interested in pro-

tecting property than they are in helping human

beings. That is the difference and the only difference

between "red"? and any and every other color.

Sincerely,

KATE CRANE-GARTZ.

4

Refused Citizenship In The U. S. A.

`Yhe Open Forum:

I have just taken the naturalization course. In

the classes I availed myself freely of all invitations

to ask questions. One question I asked was: "Can

I be naturalized if I affirm loyalty to a government

of, by, and for the people as opposed to a government

of, by, and for the profiteers and grafters of the

country?" Mr. C. C. Kelso, director of the natural-

ization classes, said, "No." After class he asked

me to remain till the others had gone. Then he

spoke not very approvingly of my asking the question

in the class, said he had noticed I was given to

theorizing, and recommended diplomacy. On May

"Son of Light"

By Louis Adamic

The sun robed with noons on the pulpit of heaven,

Like an anchorite preaching his faith of light to

listening space.

And I am one of the sun's lost words,

A ray that pierces through endless emptiness on

emptiness,

Seeking in vain to be freed of its burden of splendor.

A pick and shovel man wrote that; a wop, a for-

eigner-Pascal D'Angelo. I take it from "Son of

Italy," the recently published story of his life. (The -

Macmillan Co., New York, $2.) The book undoubtedly

is one of the most remarkable autobiographies in

American literature. Bok's and Pupin's volumes

seem to me dull stuff in comparison with D'Angelo's

story. I know of nothing finer, more thrilling and

moving. As Carl Van Doren, who was instrumental

in the discoverey of D'Angelo, says in his introduc-

tion, "It is a record of enormous struggles against

every disadvantage. Some incalculable chance had

put the soul of a poet in the body of an Italian boy

whose parents could not read nor write and who

came into no heritage but the family tradition of

hopeless labor. To this was added the further com-

plication that he had to leave his native country

for another, there to master an alien tongue and

employ it for its utterance. No American

hereafter, watching a gang of brown Italians busy in

a ditch, can help asking himse!f whether there is

not some Pascal D'Angelo among them, perhaps

reasoning thus, `Who hears the thuds of the pick

and the jingling of the shovel? Only the stern-eyed

foreman sees me. When night comes and: we all

quit work, the thuds of the pick and the jingling of

the shovel are heard no more. All my works are

lost, lost forever. But if I write a good line of

poetry-then when the night comes and I cease

writing, my work is not lost. My line:is there. It

can be read by you today "and by another tomor-

row. But my pick and shovel works cannot be

read either by you today or by anyone else tomor-

row.' ae

The following is from a letter Pascal D'Angelo

wrote a couple of years ago to the New York "Na-

tion" submitting some of his poems for the maga-

zine's Poetry Prize:

"T hope you will consider them (the poems) from

a viewpoint of their having been written by one who

is an ignorant pick and shovel man-who has never

studied English. If they do not contain too many

mistakes I must warmly thank those friends who

have been kind enough to point out the grammatical

errors. I am one who is struggling through the

blinding flames of ignorance to bring his message

before the public-before you. You are dedicated

to defend the immense cause of the oppressed.

This letter is a cry of a soul stranded on the shores

of darkness looking for light-a light that points out

the path toward recognition, where I can work and.

help myself. I am not deserting the legions of toil

to refuge myself in the literary world. No! No!

I only want to express the wrath of their mistreat-

ment. No! I seek no refuge! I am a worker, a

pick and shovel man-what I want is an outlet to

express what I can say besides work. Yes to ex-

press all the sorrows of those who cower under the

crushing yoke of an unjust doom. 4

Pascal won the prize! Recognition. A degree of

fame. Now this precious book. Read it!

1st, I appeared before Judge McCormick. On. my

petition for citizenship I had asked if the U. S.

constitution guaranteed freedom of speech, and, if

so, why such questions (as are asked on those peti-

tions) are asked there. At the court I was required:

to tell why I had asked that question, whether I

was an anarchist, whether I sympathized with radi-

cal organizations, and whether [I thot the present

government was of, by, and for the people. Not

being an anarchist, I said so. I said I strongly sym-

pathized with radical organizations and that I had

my doubts as to the government. Judge McCormick

then refused to naturalize me.

One applicant was asked to compare the present

government of Russia with that of the U. S. Doing

it to the satisfaction of the Judge, he was granted

citizenship. Severai times we were informed in

class of the futility of seeking citizenship in case

of having asked exemption from military service.

The education test for citizenship, and the citizen-

ship classes, it appears from these cases, are in-

tended to exclude from citizenship aliens who have

thots unfavorable to the continuance of capitalism,

one's education and understanding of government

having practically nothing to do with it.

S. GARBORG.

THE OPEN FORUM

Published every Saturday at 506 Tajo Building,

First and Broadway

Los Angeles, California, by The Southern California

Branch of The American Civil Liberties Union.

Phone: TUcker 6836.

MANAGING EDITORS

Robert Whitaker Clinton J. Taft

LITERARY EDITOR

Esther Yarnell

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Kate Crane Gartz J H. Ryckman

Doremus Scudder

Ethelwyn Mills

Upton Sinclair

Fanny Bixby Spencer

Leo Gallagher

Subscription Rates-One Dollar a Year, Five Cents

per Copy. In bundles of ten or more to one address,

Two Cents Each.

Advertising Rates on Request.

Entered as second-class matter Dec. 13, 1924, at

the post office at Los Angeles, California, under the

Act of March 38, 1879.

SATURDAY, MAY 16, 1925

COMING EVENTS

kK wen Kk kk kk

= 6

Los Angeles Open' Forum, Music-Art Hall, 233

South Broadway, Sunday evening at 7-30 o'clock.

rs

EVERY SATURDAY NIGHT-OPEN DISCUSSION

At Eight O'clock

A Free Education is Offered at

EDUCATIONAL CENTER

INDUSTRIAL WORKERS OF THE WORLD

224 South Spring Street, Room 218

ht

I. B. W. A. FORUM

~ "At the Brotherhood Hall; '508 East 5th St.

Sunday Afternoon Meeting 2:30 P.M.

All are Invited to Attend

John X. Kelly and J. Eads How, Committee

oe

China At The F. O. R. Meeting

The Fellowship of Reconciliation at its meeting in

the Blue Triangle Club, 631 S. Spring St., next Mon-

day night, May 18th, will consider China-her own

problems and her world relationships. Mr. Harvey

House will be the principal speaker. He is a chem-

ical engineer, who was born in China, has taught

there and lived there most of his life. His sub-

ject will be: "China, the Field for a New Human

Enterprise." He is greatly interested in the indus-

trial development of this mighty, awakening giant

of the far Hast, and will devote much of his talk to

that phase of the matter. Others will speak briefly,

dealing with China's relations to Japan, Russia, In-

dia, the great powers of Hurope and our own nation.

It promises to be an exceedingly interesting eve-

ning. Successively the Fellowship has been taking

up the various nations bordering on the Pacific with

the idea of learning the inside facts concerning

them and their mutual relationships. It has proven

to be a most worthwhile series of studies.

A fifty-cent supper will be served as usual, pre-

ceding the meeting. If you desire to attend please

phone in your plate reservations either to 560-448

or TUcker 6836. Any who cannot get there in sea-

son for supper, will be welcome at the program,

beginning about seven o'clock.

--_ 4

BOSTON-(FP)-A drop of about one-half `per

cent in employment in Massachusetts factories from

February to March shows that Coolidge's little boom

is collapsing in his home state. The state depart-

ment of labor shows employment more than 7 per

cent below the 1922 average and 314 per cent be-

low March, 1924. Average weekly wages remained

at $24.17. Hight establishments report wage cuts.

The boot and shoe industry is particularly dull with

29 per cent fewer workers than in 1922. This marks

a reduction of over 15 per cent from March, 1924.

Other industries showing a heavy drop from a year

ago are men's clothing 20 per cent, women's cloth-

ing 7% per cent, electrical manufacture 8 per cent,

foundries and machine shops nearly 18 per cent.

Federated Press.

Send Your Protest

To San Quentin

Among the prisoners confined in San Quentin are

to be found a number of innocent workers, members

of the I.W.W. confined there because they preached

the Unity of Labor. Those men have always been

the victims of the warden's and guards' wrath. Many

times have they been beaten and thrown in the Hell-

hole, called a dungeon, merely to satisfy the tor-

turous craving of officialdom. All of that they stood.

Then their organization papers were denied them.

That was not so bad, as at that time, other radical

papers and publications were admitted. The new

warden stopped that too, so that now the men can

receive practically no magazines or newspapers other

than the fiction or "Brass Check" of other states.

Even then, things were still in a condition where

at least the men could receive personal letters.

However, someone gave orders. They did not

wish members of the I.W.W. to have any rights;

they did not want them to hear from anyone on

organization matters. So now their mail is held

up, especially such mail as is sent them from the

defense office. We are informed that mail sent from

this office seldom reaches them.

In that act of the warden in holding up this mail,

he has cut the last straw. It was the one means

which the men had of learning news from the out-

side world, and of the cause which they had fought

so valiantly and are now suffering for. To say that

the warden is inhuman by giving such an order is

putting it mildly. We cannot allow this usurpation

of power and denial of rights to pass unchallenged.

We are protesting and will endeavor to take the

matter still higher. You must aid. We may be able

to take the matter to the courts, but funds must be

had. Besides that, a protest may help. Sit down at

your first opportunity and write a protest to the

warden of San Quentin prison, and ask that he

return the privileges to all of the C. S. prisoners

that they were allowed during the regime of the

former warden.

Calif. Defense Bulletin

Farm And City

By Leland Olds

(Federated Press Staff Writer)

Diversion of the country's income from agriculture

to city products is preparing the collapse of the great

empire capitalists are organizing under industrialism.

The increasing burdens of the farmers lead to steady

deterioration of the soil and migration to the cities.

This means that the country is not paying enough

for food to insure good farming, which includes rota-

tion of crops, fallow acreage each year and the old

custom of manuring. It is also not paying enough

for a country standard of living to compare favor-

ably with that in cities. The resulting limitation

on food production is coming to be thought essential

for even the present unsatisfactory standards. Says

the chief of the U. S. bureau of agricultural eco-

nomics:

"Too many people on farms results in an excess

of farm products sold at unremunerative prices.

When the movement from country to city goes on

at a sufficiently rapid rate there will not be a surplus

of farmers and farm prices will be adequate to

maintain the desired standard of living on farms."

He points to the drop in the percentage of those

gainfully occupied in agriculture from 87 per cent

in 1820 to 26 per cent in 1920 and says the propor-

tion will probably be further reduced and should be

because otherwise we would have too many people

in agriculture and the cities would be lacking in

labor.

This viewpoint is produced by an unhealthy eco-

nomic condition. The diversion of an excessive

proportion of the country's spending power to the

products of mechanical industry arises because

mines, factories and transportation afford the basis

for huge profits on the people's consumption. A

self-contained agricultural community with its home

industries affords. small opportunity for large com-

mercial profits. Capitalists have built up factory

production and transportation not primarily to pro-

vide people with essentials but to force an increas-

ing tribute.

It is because the owners of railroads, mines and

factories can levy unlimited tribute that agricul-

ture finds the flow of income diminished.

The time is coming when the swollen cities will

look to the land~-with its fertility exhausted and its

agricultural population drained away to find that

food production is insufficient to cover normal de-

mands. :

Los Angeles

OPEN FORUM

MUSIC ART HALL

233 South Broadway

SUNDAY NIGHTS, 7-30 O'CLOCK

Program for May

May 17-"THE ECONOMIC FOUNDATIONS OF Tuy

MODERN WORLD". by EDWARD CAND.

RELL. Our audience is well acquainted with the

lecturer who has twice before appeared on the Forun

platform. He knows how to handle his Subject wal

Music by J. M. FIX, a violinist of the olq school

He made his own instrument and will play pieces

that were popular a hundred years ago.

May 24-"FREUD AND PSYCHOANALYSIS" by

PROF. ARTHUR BRIGGS of the Los Angeles [ay

School. Everyone should be familiar with the Freui.

ian philosophy whether he takes any stock in it or

not. Dean Briggs is ably qualified to make this 4

most interesting evening. Music by BERNAR)

COHN, phenomenal boy pianist.

May 31-"THE PRICE OF LIBERTY" by ROBER?

WHITAKER." During the days when America was

carried away with the World War there wag much

talk of liberty, from `Liberty Bonds" to "Liberty

Steaks." Of recent years liberty and democracy

both seem to be at a discount. What is liberty?

What is the movement of the world today, toward

liberty, or away from it? Are we ever going to

get liberty, and when, and how? All who know If,

Whitaker know that what he has to say on thew

lines will be outright, and interesting. Nobody is

asked to agree with him, but everybody is welcome

to hear him.

Sa gee

Hiding Their Holdings

How multimillionaires hide their enormous holt:

ings in vital industries is revealed by a sudden

change in the number of shares of American Tele

graph and Telephone stock held by the George I.

Bakers. Last year it was 53,306 shares for the father

and 11,194 shares for the son. This year the father's

"holdings are' down `to 35,161 Sharesand''the son` fails

to qualify as one of the 20 largest owners.

But Baker is chairman of the board of the First

National Bank of New York. And the New York

Times notes a significant jump from 15,600 to 27,692

shares in the holdings of the assistant cashier while

another minor member of the bank staff. suddenly

appears with 25,000 shares. Says the Times: "I |

stead of having sold stock it is probable the Bakers

have merely had part of their holdings put in other

names." This of course cuts the income subject t0

surtax and incidentally helps give the public al

impression of the growth of popular ownership.

EXPIRATION NOTICE

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