White Terror in Cleveland comrades of the Russian branch who held the lease of the hall in which this branch met were arrested under the provisions of the law making it punishable by a year in to frighten hall owners from renting teir INCE the workers of Cleveland made halls to the party for mass meetings. Two their splendid demonstration on May tire press of the city at once began a camDay, when forty thousand left the shops and factories, closing scores of them, to partici paign of provocation and intimidation. One pate in the celebration of Labor Internatio day it was announced that the police had been furnished with new ammunition to prepare for the Bolsheviki on the Fourth Prison and 1, 000 fine to rent a hall for at nal Holiday and demonstrate for freedom for Debs, freedom for Mooney and all other poli the next day two thousand clubs had been tical and industrial prisoners, the capitalists distributed to beat up the Bolsheviki, etc. meeting to teach or advocate Criminal Synof the city have been making a desperate dicalism.
effort to destroy the revolutionary working John Dequer who spoke at a picnic held class movement.
Labor Day was arrested under the same law On Trial For this purpose they organized the Loyal and has since been indicted.
American League. This organization is an Since the local has affiliated with the outgrowth of the American Protective Comrade Ruthenberg, Execu Communist Party the terroristic campaign League. It is financed by the local capita tive Secretary of the Communist Party, has been redoubled. Recently ten members is now before the court in Cleveland.
lists and maintains offices, attorneys and a of the Second Ward Branch met at the home He will be tried successively on two host of agents for no other purpose than to of a comrade for some organization work, charges of assult with intent to kill fight the revolutionary movement.
and two charges of violating the Crimiwhen the police marched in the front and The immediate result of the May Day nai Syndicalism law. In all, the charges back door with loaded revolvers in their involve FIFTY YEARS in prison. This Demonstration, which was attacked by the hands and arrested all those present. Noth is one of the results of the white tercapitalist thugs and the police, was the rail ror in Cleveland.
ing was said or done at the meeting which roading of about a hundred comrades to violated any law, but the mere possession of prison on terms running from thirty days But the picnic was held, although every a number of copies of the pamphlet containto a year and the indictment of Ruthworker who attended had to run the gaunleting the Manifesto, Program and Constituenberg, Tom Clifford and Julius Fried for tion of the Communist Party was sufficient assault with intent to kill. on two policeof two squads of police stationed at the end of the city car line and at the city limits, who to bind them over to the grand jury. simmen injured during the struggle in the searched every one going in the direction of ilar raid was conducted at Acme Hall in streets. It was charged that Fried committhe picnic grounds.
which a committee of the German Branch ted one of the assaults and that Ruthenberg The fact that several thousand workers atand the Executive Committee of the Russian and Clifford inspired them through speeches tended the picnic in spite of the campaign Branch were arrested because they had they had made prior to the May Day of provocation and intimidation aroused the Communist Party membership cards in their Demonstration. In addition a general policy Loyal American League to new action. possession.
of suppression was adopted against the few days later the party headquarters were These raids are being linked up with the branches of the local movement, which had raided and all the literature found carted to arrest of alleged bomb makers, for the endorsed the Left Wing position.
police headquarters. Ruthenberg, then purpose of arousing public sentiment against When the bomb frame up was staged (the secretary, and his assistant Carl Hacker, the Communists.
house of the mayor of Cleveland was slight were arrested and charged with violating Twenty six cases are now pending in the ly damaged by one of the bombs. this the Criminal Syndicalism law through discourts of Cleveland, four of them being was immediately used as a reason for a new playing literature on the bookstand at the charges of assault with intent to kill and attack upon the movement. Raids were headquarters. Among the literature cited as twenty two for violation of the Criminal conducted nightly and all the members violating the law was the Revolutionary Syndicalism law.
found at branch meeting loaded into patrol Age. The New York Communist. The At the present time no Communist Branch wagons and locked up, sometimes for three Liberator. The Messenger and thirty can hold even a business meeting in Cleveor four days. The Russian branch was parother pamphlets and publications.
land. In the eyes of the police and the paid ticularly under attack, three raids being On July 19, Ruthenberg was again spy organization of the capitalists the Commade on its headquarters in one week. In arrested for violating the Criminal Syndical munist Party is an illegal organization.
one of these raids the members were found ism law, when an effort was made to break In spite of this oppression and white terquietly studying the parts of an automobile.
the ban against meetings and he delivered rorism the Communist Party is distributing The machine parts were heralded the next a speech in Royal Hall.
more of its propaganda leaflets in Cleveland morning as having some sinister significComrades who were caught distributing than in any other city of the country. The ance, although the comrades arrested were literature were regularly arrested and held party is adjusting itself to the circumstances merely a class in machine practice, studying as suspicious persons. On a single day and the capitalists will have to deal with to train themselves for greater service to five comrades were arrested on this charge. an underground organization in the future.
Soviet Russia when they returned there.
The Criminal Syndicalism law was also No matter what the action of the capitalists When the local advertised that it would brought into play to prevent the party the work of building the Communist Movebranches from securing meeting places and ment in Cleveland will go on.
The Revolution and the Technicians HORSTEIN VEBLEN, incomparable vested rights of property and privilege, for technical organization does undoubtedly satirist of capitalist business entersome time to come.
exist, that is, within the business organizaprise, kicks up his heels at the state of Red Of course Professor Veblen is too good a tions as presently constituted. There is no trepidation which has seized upon the student of history to believe that the lessons inherent connection between the technical Guardians of the Vested Interests. In a of history will be given effect by the Guardi organization within industry as now constirecent issue of the Dial. he assures these ans of the Vested Interests. It is too natural tuted and the control of that industry by the Guardians that there is yet awhile during the and desperate remedies. The British gento their rule to use the bellicose gestures Vested Interests. The class connection between some of the technicians and their emVested Interests shall remain in with the dustry.
ate remedies.
and control of the flotsam of industry.
He points out that a more genial policy lapse of the Vested Interests against the The reassurance against imminent col But not, perhaps, any more disruption than of conciliatory promises and procrastination is now involved in the speculative interwill be more to the purpose than any noisy there is not at hand an organization which two year period allowed by some is that ference with industrial management. The sanguine malcontents need not be Chamber. All that is needed to keep ductive industry as a whole, and to ad to the Vested Interests. They are sure sweet temper is a degree of patient am plan than that now pursued by the Vested minister it from the start on a more efficient enough riding for a fall. Of course if it biguity and delay, something after the Brit Interests.
cannot be under two years time, as Prof.
Veblen thinks unlikely, we need not quibble ish pattern, and all will yet be well with the There is one place, however, where this about a few days.
ducir continued usufruct of the country in bellicose gestures, not with the desper at the moment of the passing of ownership the underlying population of America in a