Open forum, vol. 2, no. 5 (January, 1925)

THE OPEN FORUM -

and

HE The Supreme Authority is Reality.

ND.

a BL LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, JANUARY 31, 1925 No. 5

ma:

1 W,

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sh `"`He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh.

oth

th : : ' :

"He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the reality will read with an open mind and a free spirit flicted any people in history. And the. tragedy is

Lord shall have them in derision," wrote some iron- the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth chapters of staged so ironically that one cannot mes the feel-

ical observer of the Chambers of Commerce in Baby- the second book in the Bible, Exodus, as it is called, ing that the Bone themselves, or God, if you prefer,

lonia, Assyria, Egypt, and Palestine, some centuries and then read the following article from the LABOR must be laughing at us.

" ago. The same book tells a string of stories, evi- PRESS of Los Angeles for January 23, 1925, he will

ently touched up artistically but suggestive enough not find it hard to put the two together. Our Phar- ; : `

u eh form to set man who hag sense enough to aohs are more numerous than were the Pharaohs of Dea the reported seen es ee ;

survey the world's history with an understanding Hgypt at any given period, but if they are not just Cane Temperance Union here my Phe ae

mind. These stories concern the troubles which as stupid, and just as plainly "afflicted" of heaven, FOr ees behalt of he exclusion 0 cent ee Tis

ON, fell upon Egypt long ago because it was under a then current events mean nothing. The whole story evolution in the public schools must ae Ze risl :

"pysiness men's administration." The churches talk of California this past year, or two years, the bank- of heaven if they bare any due sense 0 priate up

you of these troubles under the title of "the plagues of ruptcy of the raisin industry, the hoof and mouth _ there. Apropos of this read Luther pa sae

Egypt," and are go concerned with the supernatural disease, the Bubonic plague, the insurrection in ment on Bryan. a America today is so a

increment which has attached itself to them that Owens River Valley, not to deal with other items, ig victim of commercial leadership and a@ moron ; aa

_ they haven't the least idea what they mean. But if a world advertisement of a reigning stupidity and ing in schools, churches, and press that one almos

a any man who can get behind form and dogma to cupidity here as insane and calamitous as ever af- listens for a vast guffaw from above.-R. W.

up

ody do 9 oo Je Ye oe

3

a oA W Libeled Los Angeles

. he Men Who Have

to

In recent issues of Los Angeles daily papers items was nothing libelous about any of them, but the Let us advise all right-minded people in Los An-

have appeared announcing that certain business vicious procedure which forced that condition was geles that advertising in iD East is in no sense _

men are taking steps to offset the libel which is be- libelous, and the Chamber of Commerce is guilty. corrective measure, and in itself simply will conbtl

eal ing spread throughout the Nation against Southern Representatives of the Chamber of Commerce and _ tute another libel against thousands of honest In-

ect California, and Los Angeles in particular. Meetings the Merchants and Manufacturers' Association re- vestors and home-owners.

`les have been. held and, according to these news items, fused to discuss the situation with honest men who ' s

these men have decided that a vigorous publicity earnestly appealed to them at a time when some- if the business men of Los Angeles age still too

campaign, Nation-wide in character, purporting to thing could have been done. nroud to be interviewed, Labor will take its chances

ing tell the truth about Los Angeles, must be launched at any game they play. On the other hand, Labor

the at once. Further than that no effort has been made by any Will be happy to join in any HOnGss movement to

commercial organization to turn-about-face. People promote the: welfare and prosperity of this com-

The "Labor Press" dealt with this grave question in all branches of commercial activity now are en- 0x2122unity and its people.

a sii aee a and at asi (eke pinned the ahaa gaged in cut-throat a Contrators - -_-___-___

ility squarely upon those who now are squealing phidding against one another, reducing wages to

a libel. These men themselves libeled Los Angeles. atin dat nothin and blaming their competitors. Busi- BURBANK ON BRYAN

~ The Chamber of Commerce and its members, and negsg interests continue to recognize the cheapest fig-

they alone, are guilty of libel against Los Angeles yres and co-operate in the wage slashing, which Luther Burbank of Santa Rosa, California, recently

and Southern California. It was these commercial means their ultimate destruction. occupied the pulpit of the Federated Church in that

ary groups that decided a year ago to return to the old city. In his address he paid his respects to William

do industrial policies. It was they who viciously re- The Chamber of Commerce and its kindred organi- Jennings Bryan and the campaign which the `de

" duced the wages of their own employees on work zations have libeled themselves. cadent apostle of democracy is carrying on against

financed by them directly. Nearly a year ago they the doctrine of evolution, and on the side of an obso-

ims eae eae Sia or ee ete - Labor stands ready to co-operate with the Cham: ete ecclesiasticism. Mr. Burbank said:

of Th. 2 . ; ; ber of Commerce or any committee representing the SANTA ROSA, Dec. 21-Luther Burbank, noted

Tough the columns of the daily papers they de- people of Los Angeles in conducting a campaign geientist, discussed science and religion tonight in an

a clared against wage reductions and publicly urged to tell the truth to the people of America, but the agqaress in the Federated Church, his first platform

that high wages be paid, yet through their walking frst thing necessary is to make the truth worth appearance in his own city in many years.

delegates they carried the propaganda to contract- while by creating a condition that we may be proud ea ;

ors and builders which forced wages down to $3 to speak about. Burbank spoke thus of William Jennings Bryan,

' and $4 a day less than the wages paid in other cities. one of the most ardent of "fundamentalists," who

Labor shall continue to tell the truth whether it Would decry all scientific explanations of the crea-

They libeled Los Angeles when they brought jg permitted to co-operate or not, but it would much tion of the world or the development of mankind:

thousands here by deceptive tactics. rather that the truth be a credit rather than a dis- "Mr. Bryan is an honored friend of mine, yet

Teton theme ssien STi nil Eepeke control. tas: ie Ri oe

i i wl which natu en

ae Aah ive aes Fee cal Let us again say that prosperity in this commu- bhe Neanderthal type, Meelings and the ny OF ate

ticulations and words are more according to the

work here at high wages. nity is just what its wage scale makes possible, and nature of this type than investigation and reflec-

nothing else. It never has been and never will be tion."

Months ago through these columns Labor ad+ anything different. With a per capita earning ca- Burbank said of fundamentalists in general and

vised those men that Labor would stop people from pacity of $3 a day less than that of other cities, we their efforts to prevent the teaching of certain scien-

a coming here to be further persecuted, and Labor can expect nothing but a diminishing prosperity. tific truths in the schools:

eat nalds Labor :fjetigniedrined:, thea "Those who would legislate against the teaching

that it would cost millions to start the flow of peo- Make the truth fit to tell and Labor will help of evolution should also legislate against gravity,

ple in this direction again if the wage-cutting pro- you tell it. Leave matters as they are and you will electricity and the unreasonable speed of light and

gram were followed out. Labor advised them that fool no one except yourselves. also should introduce a clause to prevent use of

Ce oe monentons ob iworeny eeulienta' t En oiher inatrunient of precion which may wm

dea ae and vicinity would write discouraging A reputable contractor told the "Labor Press" inhe be invented, daunted or used for the dis-

68 8 to their friends all over the United States that his competitor was paying $2.50 per day to covery of truth.

if they were driven to privation and poverty be

cause of the wage-cutting policy adopted by the

Chamber of Commerce and kindred organizations.

Letters have gone in unthinkable numbers from

people in all walks of life, stating that they had

been deprived of an earning capacity and that

_.their investments here were in shaky condition.

These were honest expressions-these people told

THE TRUTH to their friends everywhere. There

his laborers. He said he was paying $4, but felt

that his unfeeling competitor ultimately would

squeeze him out of business. He said no man could

live on less than $4 a day. We agree that $4 is

the positive minimum, but it should be $6.

The two-and-one-half-dollar contractor is a curse

to the earth, and yet wise men say the way to

straighten out matters is to conduct an advertising

campaign in the Hast,

The aged scientist contrasted science and re-

ligion thus:

"Religion refers to the sentiments and feelings;

science refers to the demonstrated everyday laws

of nature. Feelings are all right if one does not get

drunk on them. Religion is as natural to man and

as important to each human being and to the wel-

fare of society as breathing. It is a serene unity

with science and the laws of the universe. There

is no personal salvation, no national salvation ex-

cept through science."

Man and His World

By Robert Whitaker

Ill

THE PROCESS OF HISTORY

The story of mankind as most of us think of it,

if we think of it at all, is little more than our indi-

vidual story on an enlarged scale. Man, as we know

him, is born, grows up unless some mischance be-

falls him, marries and reproduces his kind, and

then goes the way of old age and death.

"So the multitude goes, like the flower or the weed

That withers away to let others succeed.

To repeat every tale that has often been told.

"For we are the same our fathers have been;

We see the same sights our fathers have seen;

We drink the same streams, and view the same sun,

And run the same course that our fathers have run."

And this also is the story of tribes, and states,

and nations, and civilizations, as we are led to be-

lieve by our teachers in general. These also are

born, grow up more or less successfully, reproduce

their kind, and fall into old age and death.

Such a view of life, either for the individual or for

the group, is too simple and too superficial to stand.

Even the individual is not an individual, an inde-

pendent unit, but is, as to all the items of his career,

birth, growth, reproduction and death an item in

a finely adjusted universe whose every particle ex-

ists in continuous dependence and response toward

the whole, conceived both as a mass and as a

process.

Nations and civilizations seem. so contemptible

against the background of the centuries that one is

tempted to apostrophize the most powerful of them

`n the language of the poet:

"Born to eat, and be despised, and die!

.Even as the beasts that perish, save that thou

Hadst a more splendid trough and wider sty."

But the beasts themselves reflect the operations

of forces as wide as the universe, and their destiny

igs wrapped up in a process which moves with stead-

fast steps down all the centuries. Thig also is true

of man, individual man. And it is most emphatically

so of nations. They are creations of the world

setting, which conditions all their goings and com-

ings. And they move on lines of an observable

world process which man is only now beginning to

understand.

What is that process? Something universal it

must needs be. If there is a process at all it must

have to do with the whole of life. We cannot think

of it as shifting from country to country and cen-

tury to century. Find out what it was with respect

to Egypt forty centuries ago and you will know what

it is in America today.

Where shall we look for it except at the point

where all life meets, the struggle for subsistence?

We are bodies first of all, whatever else we are.

Our primary needs are common to us all, whatever

else we are. Our primary needs are common to us

all, food, and clothing, and shelter, and their en-

jlargement in the more extended wants of civilized

man. Why should we regard these things which

are primary as vulgar, inferior, unworthy of em-

phasis in our thinking although they are obviously

first in our living? Whence comes this idea that

the sky is more sacred than. the ground, inasmuch

as we live on the ground very much more than we

do in the sky. If we are going to find what deter-

mines the direction of man's life where else shall

we look for that determinant so successfully as

`we may look for it and find it in man's use of

"the necessaries of life?" `

And what better proof could we. have that this is

the direction in which we ought to look to under-

Stand how life is dealing with us, and whence its

power over us is exercised, than in the fact that

this is the one point at which we can plainly prove

the difference between the present and the past?

Man is a thinking animal, you say. But is there

any proof that he is a better thinker in the Amer-

ica of the twentieth century after Christ than he

was in Greece in .the fifth century before Christ?

Man is a moral being, you repeat. But is he any

more moral in the London or New York of this

hour than he was in Judea when Jesus walked

with His disciples? If the process of civilization

is to be sought in mental growth, or spiritual growth,

the showing is dubious enough, and the direction is

practically beyond proof.

Not so is it when you think of the process of his-

tory as moving with man's development of the tool,

or to put it in broader terms, along the lines of

man's active attitude toward nature. We know well

enough that for a great period of time, possibly

centuries of centuries, man was much as the other

animals are, in that he accepted nature as he found

it, and lived in passive reaction to it. He subsisted

on nuts and fruits, and such prey as he could find

with his own unaided strength in forest and field.

Then he awakened to the employment of tools, the

taking of fish, the use of the club and the bow and

arrow in the pursuit of game, the first crude culti-

vation of the ground, the subjections of other ani-

mals to his service and their domestication as regular

food supply, and following these slow experiments

the development of all the arts and industries of

civilization. Men's interference with nature is the

one point at which the superiority of the modern

man over the ancient man is beyond question. Ra-

cial differences were not altogether imaginary, but

they are greatly exaggerated in the interests of racial

pride and self-interest. Cranial measurements do

not tell the story of why life in the United States

differs so today from life in ancient Rome or more

ancient Egypt. But the story of the tool makes

the movement of history evident and indicates the

only line on which its measurement can be had.

That this is the process of history is more evi-

dent today than it ever was in the past, and the

story of the United States, one of the youngest of

the nations, is peculiarly emphatic in the demonstra-

tion of it.

The red man lost this country to the white man.

Was the red man mentally or morally inferior to

the white man? The affirmative is often assumed,

but the evidence is very far from being conclusive

against the American aborigine. The one point

that is evident beyond question is that the red man

was inferior to the white man in industrial tech-

nique, in the use of tools and weapons. He lost out

for this reason, and not because he was any less a

man.

Those who insist that the red man was mentally

and morally inferior to the white, and. who explain

his defeat in the struggle for this continent on in-

tellectual and moral grounds, will hardly explain

thus the defeat of the Latin races by the Anglo-

Saxons in the later contest for primacy in America.

The Latins were here first, Spaniards, Portuguese,

Frenchmen. Mentally and morally they were as

good as Europe could supply at the period, and no

one who is not the victim of racial conceit will hold

them inferior at these points to the Englishmen who

came over to the New World. But their contacts

here were different at the main point of man's rela-

tion to the industrial process. On the whole the sec-

tions they occupied were less favorable to the de-

velopment of industry than were the sections taken

over by the English. And, for reasons which need

not be detailed here, the Latins who came over

were of the less industrial classes, missionaries, of-

ficials of government, fur-traders, adventurers, as

against the plain workingmen who founded the Eng-

lish colonies.

For the same reason the South lost out as against

the North when, after the separation of the English

colonies from English government control the issue

arose as to which section of the United States was

to get the final hegemony here. The North tri-

umphed, not because it was intellectually on a higher

level, but because it had a superior industrial tech-

nique. As long as economic advantage was on

the side of the South the South controlled. When

economic advantage passed so also did power. The

North dominated because it ruled on lines of the

world process, the development of the tool.

All history tells the same story. For two hun-

dred years after the landing at Jamestown our

ancestors made little progress. There were not over

five million of them here in 1807, and they occupied

but a fringe of the Atlantic Coast. A hundred years

later they had filled up the land, and multiplied twen-

ty times. Had they grown' so in mental power, or

in moral excellence as this contrast in growth

would imply, if this were the line of human ad-

vance? They had not. They had grown in tech-

nique, in the use of the tool, in the range and power

of man's active attitude toward nature, which is the

actual line on which man's progress has moved.

Here is the key to human history, the process by

which man becomes different today from what he

was yesterday.

-BRISBUNK

One of the commonest forms of BRISBUNK ig

the talk about man as naturally and inevitably q

"fighting animal.' War must always go on, it is

argued, because man has always been a jungle crea.

ture, "red in tooth and claw" like the other animals,

As a fact of natural history the "red in tooth and

claw" business has been tremendously overdone, for

"the brute creation". is naturally much more peace.

ful than militant. And this is emphatically so of ear.

ly man. H. J. Massingham, the English writer, in

the London Herald, deals vigorously with this mat.

ter. We get our quotation from the Llano Colo.

nist. Massingham says- under the heading:

THE FIGHTING INSTINCT

"If we can show the men of the Old Stone or

Pre-Agricultural Ages knew nothing of organized

violence and bloodshed, we shall have established

the fact that warfare is not a conduct fundamental

to mankind, but the product of certain tendencies

in social institutions. The problem of the abolition

of warfare will be concerned, therefore, with the

modification of those institutions, and until they are

modified and brought more into harmony with (so

to speak) the true nature of human nature, war.

fare will continue. For war came into our midst

not as the natural heritage of primitive mankind,

as nearly everybody takes for granted, but as a by:

product of civilization.

"The first thing that we have to consider is

tenacious and world-wide tradition of a golden age

in human affairs. You get it in the mythology of

- Greece, of Polynesia, of Mexico and China. As Lao

Tze, the great Chinese sage and founder of Taoism,

writes:

""They (the first men) loved one another without

knowing that to do so was benevolence, they were

honest and leal-hearted without knowing that it was

loyalty; in their simple movements they employed

the services of one another without thinking that

they were. receiving or conferring any gift... There

fore their actions left no trace and there was no

record of their affairs.'

"The modern school of ethnology, to which the

world owes the wonderful recent discoveries about

the early past of mankind, has learned to rely upon

tradition as the older schools neglected to do. The

evidence to be gathered from existing savage races

is the next point.

"There are warrior tribes and peace loving tribes,

but it has been found that the latter still remains

in the primitive stage of culture, being ignorant of

agriculture and the use of metals, while the former,

by their folklore and traditions, and by the existence

on their territory of ancient monuments, testify to

the fact, that they were once in contact with an

ancient civilization, whose arts and crafts they have

either forgotten or lost in warfare. For a close

study of the facts leads to the generalization that

warfare, so far from having been a strength to any

community, has invariably precipitated its decay.

"We then turn to the evidence of his way of life

left by the artifacts of primitive man, and by primi:

tive man I mean those groups of men who existed in

Hurope before ancient Hgypt, Crete, Phoenicia, and

other of the first civilizations in the Mediterraneat

area had sent out expeditions in search of precious

stones and metals, and taught the natives how to

till the soil and irrigate their fields; and with the

new learning a complex system of government and

religious beliefs. This stage, what Mr. W. J. Perry

(in "The Growth of Civilization") calls the "food:

gathering" as contrasted with the "food-producing"

or agricultural stage of culture, was one of wD

broken peace, as we can judge by the nature of

their implements.

"Their flints were constructed for industrial, do

mestic and artistic purposes, and there are no genu:

ine signs of any fighting weapons in Europe until

the Bronze Age, the earliest use of bronze it

Egypt being on a low estimate, some sgeventeel

thousand years later than the date of the settle

ments of the Cro-Magnon and Grimaldi tribes of

"food-gatherers" in Spain and the south of France.

"That would imply that the earlier stages of the

agricultural era in human progress, the biggest

revolution in it the world has ever known, were

also peaceful, though less so than was the very

long one that preceded it. And until the sun wor

ship of this ancient civilization which spread ovel

nearly the whole world had been displaced by the

appearance of war gods, an event much earlier il

the Mediterranean region than elsewhere, the peo

ples of the earth remained ignorant of the: meal

ing of serious and highly organized warfare."

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FROM VARIED VIEWPOINTS

Suppressing "Unrest"

Here is a letter from Mrs. Gartz, addressed to a

Los Angeles publisher, which was inadvertently over-

looked as to our earlier publication of it. Unhappily

these things are going on all the time, so that such

* news cannot be said to be ever out of date, and

certainly such protest as Mrs. Gartz voices here is

of.a temper and spirit of which we have need every

day. Following this letter we are publishing a small

item which came to us from another source, and

which indicates the wide reach of Mrs. Gartz' activi-

ties beyond the literary field.

Dec. 12, 1924.

F. W. Kellogg, Publisher,

Los Angeles EXPRESS,

Los Angeles, California.

Dear Sir:

It has just come to our notice that you discharged

a reporter who gave a favorable review of "The

Hairy Ape." Of course the ruling class, of which

. you are an example, does not like to see the horrors

and terrors of the present order and mechanism of

`society portrayed so brazenly. I admit that it is

rather terrifying to see and hear what goes on be-

low sea level on our "ocean grey-hounds," but. it is

necessary to stir society into a realization of just

how much we owe to the men (and women) who do

the "dirty work" of the world. You, by firing a

person who has vision enough to appreciate the les-

son put over by this:remarkable play, confess yourself

afraid of the truth.

Those rough uncouth men were clean little babies

once-but the accident of birth and circumstance put

them in sordid surroundings out of which it is diffi-

cult to emerge. For that reason we should listen

to their story sympathetically, and not shut our

eyes and say that such brutality does not exist, or,

if it does, let us forget it.

We cannot appreciate everything that the worker

creates and sacrifices for society and ignore him as

a human being. It cannot go on forever, you must

know. You, aS a newspaper man, have heard the

word "unrest." Well, don't you think there is a

good reason for it? If you don't, just change places

-in your imagination, of course-with those men,

forever stoking coal into those yawning furnaces,

and let them sit on deck muffled in robes, etc. Why

not?. They are men, like all men, with the same

*K

desires and capacities for the "pursuit of happiness" .

as others. How would you react to such a task?

Would you be satisfied with life as it found you, or

would you rebel?

Well, those sweating, cruel conditions exist

throughout our whole industrial world, and the peo-

ple of that world, men and women alike, want a

larger share of the necessities, luxuries and leisure

that they produce for the rest of us-you and me.

So, you'd better listen to all their stories and heed

-them, lest the "unrest" grow beyond all bounds.

Sincerely,

KATE CRANE-GARTZ.

* * * *

Mrs. Kate Crane Gartz of Altadena recently sent

$50.00 into the Fellow-Workers in San Quentin as

a Christmas present. The fellow-workers held a

meeting and by unanimous consent agreed to turn

this money over to Fellow-Worker Jim Roe, who

was released from San Quentin on December 26th.

Fellow-Worker Roe is over 70 years old and served

three years for C. S. Mrs. Gartz, upon hearing of

the action by the boys immediately donated another

$50.00 to them, which will be used by them in the

purchase of reading material.

-_-_ 4 -____

The man who stands in well with the oppressor

ought not to have very much of a standing with the

oppressed.

-_--- ---.

"It is singular how long the rotten will hold to-

gether, provided you do not handle it roughly."-

Carlyle,

k

SHERWOOD EDDY |

eS PRATS "OU 1

The recent visit of Mr. Sherwood Eddy to Los

Angeles and his several public addresses evoked

much commendation and remark. Many of Mr.

Eddy's. statements, printed in a recent issue of The

Christian Century, were practically identical with

what he said several times here in Southern Cali-

fornia. Among them were the following:

"Ten years ago came the war. My personal gos-

pel proved inadequate. We were not saving a frac-

tion of these multitudes of men living today, hat-

ing, striving, many of them without God.

I say the whole world in its desperate social need,

but I saw a whole Christ, able to meet that whole

world's need in the vision of a social gospel.

"The moral problem presented itself to me thus:

Is war right or wrong in its methods? It involves

the method of ruthless military necessity, under

an irresponsible national sovereignty, where might

makes right.

"In the second place war employs the method

_of reprisals and counter-reprisals, leading often to

atrocities and counter-atrocities. In its very nature,

war is retaliation under the sway of passion.

"Thirdly, war victimizes both sides by a distorted

propaganda. We cannot successfully carry on a

modern war if we tell the truth.

"War seemed wrong in its methods. But another

aspect of the problem confronted me: is war right

or wrong in its results? - It destroys material wealth

and prosperity. More serious. still, war de-

stroys human life, the most priceless thing on this

earth.

"But war does not stop with property and life;

it is yet more destructive of moral standards. Truth

is the first casualty of war; then follow liberty,

love and justice. Nothing, it seemed, could

work worse than war, for it carries with it all

other evils in its train-hatred, vengeance, murder,

atrocity, falsehood, deceit, sexual passion; the de-

fense of evil, the searing of conscience, the loss of

moral standards; disease, famine, poverty, despair;

violence, revolution, lawlessness, crime and death.

What evil is wanting that war does not multiply and

intensify?

In the light of all these facts, I had to ask my-

self... 2 15 owar Christian. or "un-Christian?

Jesus taught the fatherhood of a God of

love; war enthrones a tribal God of exclusive

nationalism. Jesus taught brotherhood; war is the

uttermost denial of brotherhood in its mass murder

and destruction. He came that men may

have life; war is organized for death. He launches

in the world his great offensive of love, of positive

goodwill; war is the reprisal of vindictive destruc-

tion. Christ seeks a kingdom of heaven; war is a

method of hell.

"I came slowly to the conclusion that modern

war is always wrong. It is, moreover, futile

and suicidal.

"Upon these grounds I have been led finally to

renounce war. I will take no further part in it.

I will strive with a large and rapidly increasing

number of Christians to lead the church to excom-

municate it, that the state may finally outlaw it

and make it as illegal as private murder.

"J desire to apprehend a whole gospel ...a

gospel that can be applied to the whole of life, that

can redeem and Christianize our semi-pagan indus-

trial order, our ideas of property and profit, of

labor and capital, of strife and war."

EH. M.

--__ +

Idaho and California

We are glad to note the fact that A. S. Embree,

who was mentioned in our last week's issue as "the

only political prisoner still in Idaho penitentiaries"

was already out at the time when our paper ap-

peared. Delay in getting space for the item occa-

sioned our belated reference to him as a prisoner.

When is California to rid herself of being at the

tail end of those states which have been decent

enough to get rid of having political prisoners?

*

The Drive

On Judsge Lindsey

The following telegram, sent to Upton Sinclair,

and by him forwarded to us for the largest publicity

we can give it, ought to speak for itself. It is a call

to all the liberal forces of the United States, and

particularly of the west. We commend the appeal

to every one who can answer it with even.a small

measure of help.

Denver, Colo., Jan. 15, 1925.

Upton Sinclair

Station A, Pasadena, Calif.

Contest Judge Lindsey election filed today by

Klan influences, which introduced bills yesterday in

Legislature abolishing Juvenile Court. This desper-

ate battle will cost several thousand dollars. Judge

Lindsey has spent fifty thousand in twenty-five years

fighting for women and children, now he needs help

of other champions of cause. May we count on you

and your friends' immediate help?

HENRIETTA B. LINDSEY. |

DE koe Ae

AIR

By Dr. Frank Crane

Air, just air, is all we want, thank you; but we

want a lot of it. For it's worse to be smothered

than hungry or thirsty.

Air! Air! Great Scott! don't people realize that

the primal luxury of existence is to breathe? What

a blessing it is, that there is so much more Out-

doors than Indoors,

The house is a form of race suicide. The house,

shut up tight, overheated, is the friend and brother

of all vicious microbes.

"Come out, come out, and greet the morn!' Come

out anywhere-so its' out. Emerge, humanity, from

your cell-bedrooms and take a few gulps with me of

the rarest liquor Omniscience knows how to brew!

Lonwits Air

It doesn't cost a cent and it's worth a million

dollars a swallow-priceless both ways.

If anything is the matter with you go outdoors

and stay there six months, whatever it is you will

get over it. Air is the greatest medicine of nature.

Come out and let the air, which is rained from

the stars, is wafted from the seven seas, run through

your body, mind and soul! You have no idea what

a deal of morbidity, insanity, and meanness it will )

sweep out of you.

Reprinted from Pasadena Post.

a

A Communication

My Dear Comrades:

"The Coming Day" printed in Open. Forum, Jan.

24, was written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. I

think I must have sent you a copy without her name

on it. You may be interested to know that she wrote

this poem in Los Angeles in 1911. There was to

be a socialist meeting at the auditorium on Thanks-

giving afternoon. While she was at breakfast some-

one telephoned to ask if she knew any hymn that

could be sung that day to the tune of the Battle

Hymn of the Republic. --She answered "No," - but

she might write one. "But," the inquirer said "it

would have to be in the hands of the printer. by

eleven o'clock." And she answered that she would

bring it down to the office in time. She was.there

before eleven o'clock with this poem which she

called "The Hymn of the Coming Day." It. was sung

for the first time Thanksgiving Day, 1911.

Three poems of Mrs. Gilman have stories that I

happen to know because I was with her those three

days. The one in Los Angeles in 1911 when she

wrote "The Hymn of the Coming Day." . The one in

Palo Alto when she wrote "The Female of the

Species," the best' answer :to Kipling's poem. And

in New York City "Feeding the Wolves,' a poem

against child labor.

Yours for us all,

ALICE PARK.

SS

THE OPEN FORUM

Published every Saturday at 506 Tajo Building,

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

Upton Sinclair Kate Crane Gartz J H. Ryckman

Fanny Bixby Spencer Doremus Scudder

Leo Gallagher Ethelwyn Mills

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 3, 1879.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 1925

A" CORRECTION

Through an unfortunate oversight in the making

up of the issue of January 24th, the editor's remarks

in introducing the first article, "THE DEVIL'S AD-

VOCATE," by Leo Gallagher, were run as if they

were a part of the article itself. Effort was made

to correct the mistake by running a line between

the paragraphs at the point where the introduction

ceased and the article by Mr. Gallagher began, but

the division could not be made as clear and dis-

tinctive as it ought to have been. We regret the

error heartily, and hereby make due apologies both

to the author and to the readers. If our mistake

leads to a more painstaking and a repeated reading

of the article itself the experience will not be with-

out its compensations.

The Editor.

oe ee

Church of the New Social Order

Symphony Hall, 232 So. Hill St.

Sunday Morning Service: 10:45 o'clock

THE CHURCH OF THE NEW SOCIAL ORDER,

which began its work most modestly on Sunday

morning, November 2, 1924, and has therefore been

holding its meetings now for only three months, is

compelled to seek larger quarters. Cleveland Hall

in the Walker Auditorium Building where, the meet-

ings have been held so far will no longer accommo-

date those who attend the Sunday morning services

of the new church, although no effort has been made

toward any general advertising. THE CHURCH OF

THE NEW SOCIAL ORDER seeks neither a Big

Crowd nor a Fat Purse, believing that both are

contrary to freedom in telling the truth which needs

to be told today.

' However, another place had to be found for the

meetings, and a room large enough for considerable

further growth has-been secured. The new head-

quarters are also nearer the center of town, right

in the down-town section, in fact and close to the

meeting place of the CIVIL LIBERTIES' UNION

OPEN FORUM. SYMPHONY HALL has been ob-

tained ag the meeting place for the church. It is

in the same building and under the same manage-

ment as MUSIC-ART HALL, where the Sunday night

Forum of The Civil Liberties Union has been held

for seventeen months now. The entrance is on S.

Hill Street, No. 232. Meetings will begin there next

Sunday morning, February lst. The hour of the

meeting is 10:45 A.M.

During the month of February Mr. Whitaker will

give a series of talks on "JESUS AND THINGS AS

THEY ARE." These will run as follows:

Feb. 1. DID JESUS REALLY LIVE, AND WHAT

OF IT, IF HE DID OR DIDN'T.

Feb. 8. WHY DO THE CHURCHES TALK sO

MUCH ABOUT JESUS' DEATH?

Feb.15. WHAT DID JESUS REALLY TALK

ABOUT?

Feb. 22. WAS THE SPIRIT OF JESUS MILD OR

REVOLUTIONARY?

FREE VIOLIN LESSONS

To Talented Children of Parents who

are unable to pay

MAX AMSTERDAM

Prominent Violin Teacher and Soloist

2406 Temple St. - + "(c) "(c) " " DRexel 9068

Reasonable Rates to Beginners

Be ATT .

COMING EVENTS

kik ke KEK KR KK

Music-Art Hall, 233

Los Angeles Open Forum,

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

es

I. B. W. A. FORUM

At the Brotherhood Hall, 515 San Julian St.

Sunday Afternoon Meeting 2:30 P.M.

All are Invited to Attend

Geo. McCarthy and J. Eads How, Committee

3

OPEN FORUM every Saturday evening at 8:00 P.M.

I.W.W. HALL, 224 S. Spring Street, Room 218. In-

teresting Speakers-Interesting Subjects.

fe

The Annual Roll Call Meeting of Branch Central,

Socialist Party, will be held at the new Jewish Social-

ist Headquarters at 126 North St. Louis Street on

Sunday afternoon, February ist, at 2:30 o'clock.

It will be largely a social affair, and visitors are

welcome.

Se

PROLETARIAN FORUM *

Every Sunday at 8 P. M.

February ist

DICTATORSHIP CAPITALIST OR COMMUNIST

Frank Cassidy

February 8th

THE MARXIAN METHOD OF UNDERSTANDING

G. Hvans

ODD FELLOWS HALL

220% South Main Street

Questions and Discussion Freely Invited

Admission Free

i

EVERY SATURDAY NIGHT-OPEN DISCUSSION

At Eight O'clock

A Free Education is Offered at

EDUCATIONAL CENTER

By Industrial Workers of the World

Program for February, 1925

THE EVOLUTION OF UNIONS, Archie Sinclair

February 7

Organizing to Consume, or How to Solve the Eat-

ing Question, Frank Cassidy. February 7

A Lesson in Psychology for the Working Class,

E. A. Cantrell February 21

THE REVOLUTION NON-RESISTANT, Fanny

Bixby Spencer February 28

HEALTH TALKS:

isms, fads, cures, and common sense of health

matters are being covered in a series of Lectures,

being delivered every Tuesday night. No Admis-

sion Fee.

Program for Ensuing Month Announced Soon

INDUSTRIAL WORKERS OF THE WORLD

224 South Spring Street, Room 218

TN e

FREE WORKER'S FORUM

420 N. Soto St., Los Angeles, Cal.

(One block north of Brooklyn Avenue)

Program for February

Feb. 2-Peter Kropotkin Memorial Night.

E. A. Cantrell, "Kropotkin's Contribution to

the Science of Anthropology."

T. H. Bell, `"Kropotkin as a Revolutionist."

C. B. Cooper, Kropotkin as a Comrade."

Feb. 9-Debate: "Resolved that the Present Die:

tatorship in Russia is Justified."

Affirmative-Harry Larner.

Negative-Clarence Alpert.

Feb. 16-"Food as a Cause of Disease," by Dr. Axel

EH. Gibson.

Feb. 283-Speaker and subject will be announced later.

eters

Find herewith $. .i.s.0.4. as payment for.........

{ Yearly

Six Month

Three Month

subscriptions to THE OPEN FORUM.

IN ERLE Cl gcsre hay urea eens eft en stabs ES eee calle (a ARPES CONE CASAS ars cals 6

PUGRESSINGS 5 a soa ae Oe OA Rae a eee rs

Date. c63) an) et ewan as RS.

t

Linotyping and press work done in Union

Shops. The make-up is our own.

The entire field of health, all .

Los Angeles

OPEN FORUM

MUSIC ART HALL |

233 South Broadway

SUNDAY NIGHTS, 7-30 O'CLOCK

Program for February

FEB. 1.-`THE RACE BETWEEN EDUCATION

AND CATASTROPHE" By Dr. JOSEPH K. HAR?

of New York, associate editor of THE SURVEY,

and former professor of Education in Reed College

Ore. He will discuss H. G. Well's famous declara

tion as to the outcome of civilization with the utmosi

frankness. The music will be both vocal and instr

mental, furnished by MR. and MRS. ELFENBEIN,

who have delighted us on several other occasions

FEB 8 -`MAMMONART" by UPTON SINCLAIR,

This address will reveal the way in which the money

power has controlled literature and the arts dow

through history. For years Mr. Sinclair has been

investigating along this line and has secured much

data on the subject. His new book bears the same

title and will be on sale the night that he speaks,

it is expected. MR. MAX AMSTERDAM, talented

first violinist, of the Philharmonic Orchestra will

provide the program of music.

FEB. 15-`AMERICA'S SERVICE IN THE NBAR

EAST" (illustrated by two reels of motion pictures)

by MRS. JEANNETTE WALLACE EMRICH, for

many years a resident of Asia Minor, and well-in

formed as to the currents and counter-currents of

life that have run through that bloody area for

centuries. What is at the bottom of the ancient

quarrel between the Turks and the Armenians? How

does Greece enter into the problem? What construe.

tive work is going forward over there today? These

and other matters will be discussed. A program

of Armenian muSic will be furnished by MRS. PRA-

PION, a singer in native costume, MR. K. VRONYR,

violinist, and MRS. M. G. FERRAHIAN, pianist.

FEB. 22-`THE MENACE OF FUNDAMENTAL

ISM" by MAYNARD SHIPLEY, of San Francisco,

President of the Science League of America. Should

the fundamentalists be allowed to block the prog

ress of science? Are laws likely to be passed in Cali:

fornia forbidding the teaching of evolution in the

schools? Whither are we drifting? and what should

be done about it? CAR ROSSNER, 'cellist, will favor

us with some of his excellent music. Le

The above program insures another banner month

during February. The January audiences have been

unusually large, and the addresses most informing

and interesting.

can't afford to miss one meeting. We anticipate a-

full house every night on the above dates. So come

early if you expect to secure a seat.

Cad: T.

pe ee

It would be easier to persuade even "bad people"

of the goodness of heaven if there were not 80

many "good people" who are to blame for so much

of the badness of earth.

IF IT'S INSURANCE

Confer with

BESS E. GALERSTEIN

716 Delta Building

Tel. No. TUcker 2240

Jom

Intelligent Secretarial Service

`*Nuf said''

Manuscripts

ROSE WIENER

716 Delta Bldg.

Publicity Advertising

TUcker 2240

et

SPECIAL I. W. W. ENTERTAINMENT

Saturday, January 3lst, 8 P. M.

Including a one act play, entitled

`THE GREY SWEATER"

An incident in the life of I. W. W. Organizers

in the North-woods.

ADMISSION 35c

I. W. W. Hall, 224 So. Spring St.

a

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