AnarchismDemocracyGerman RevolutionSocialismSocialist PartySovietStrikeWorking Class

8 THE REVOLUTIONARY AGE Saturday, January 4, 1919 White New Year to By John Reed ED is the color of the revolutionary working half its power, and allowed its unions to be shot to most impossible for them to get a hall. And when class. White is the color of the capitalist class. pieces Peace would surely inean an end to all in they succeed in getting a hall, the company detectives In Russia, Finland, and now in Germany, the justice for the working class.
and the police line the street for a block in every direcRed Guards, composed of armed industrial workers, But now that Peace has conie, and instead of some tion, and take down the names of the men who are made and are making the Revolution. And in all kind of Government arrangement, the working class going to the meeting; and next morning, those men those countries the White Guards, made up of volun discovers to its astonishment that the United States are fired.
teers from the capitalist class, sons of factory owners, Government has 10 plan of reconstruction. GovernThe capitalist class controls the American Governbankers, university students, took up arms ment contracts are cancelled overnight, throwing ment. Even Woodrow Wilson pointed that out in defend their property. And when, as in Finland, the thousands out of work. Union organizations are deThe New Freedom. The working class supports them White Guards beat the Red Guards, they slaughtered stroyed, and the employers of labor intend to see that in power by voting for the Republican and the Demo the workers by tens of thousands. This state of things they remain so. Labor itself, leaning on the promises cratic parties. Controlling the Government, naturalis called the White Terror. It is much more terrible of Sam Gompers and President Wilson and Frank ly the capitalist class makes the laws, apd makes the than the Red Terror. If anyone doubts that the Gov Walsh, suddenly wakes up to find that it has no plan laws for itself. But even then the capitalists do no: ernments of the Allied nations are capitalist Govern of reconstruction, and is in a worse condition than it obey these laws, when it goes against their interest.
ments, let him remember that the Government of the was before the war. The only class of people who Only the working class obeys laws; it has to, for the United States protested against the Red Terror, and have a plan of reconstruction are the employers of police and the army are on the other side.
not only did not protest against the White Terror in labor, factory owners, bankers the active capitalists. And yet the working class not only composes the Finland, but allowed representatives of the Finnish And their plan is simple. The open shop even the army and the police, but also turns every wheel and White Guards freely to come to this country, while old Unions destroyed; and the breaking down of the swings every tool in the country. If the workingat the same time the Finnish White Guards were slender frame work built up by the War Labor Board class were to stop work, altogether, for even a few supported by German troops.
The workers of Bridgeport, the workers of Bethledays, the control of the capitalist class in America Not only are there White Terrors in Europe, how hem, are now witnessing the discharge, not only of all could be shaken to its roots. If they voted their own ever, but also in our own country. The suppression active Union men, but also of members of the workcandidates into public office, and passed their owTI of free speech and press, the jailing of Socialists and ers committees instituted by the United States Govlaws, and then threatened to lay down their tools unchampions of the working class, the lynchings, the ernment War Labor Board. In these days, and inless those laws were obeyed, America would belong tar and featherings, the assaults of soldiers on So creasingly as the days go on, it is clearly seen that the to the workers, as it ought to belong to them.
cialist meetings, the ban on the red Nag in New York, patriotism of the capitalist class only lasts as far 19 Yot only, however, does Organized Labor in all this is called in the European Socialist press the its profits.
America fight all other organizations, but the different French and Italian papers, among others the White Out in Arizona the detectives and hangers on of the craft Unions fight each other, pay little attention to Terror in America. The whole manner of the con Copper Mine owners who deported striking miners. each other grievances, and sometimes even scab on duct of the war at home revealed very clearly what a great majority of them of members these each other. This is what is desired by the capitalist kind of a war it was, and for whose interest. The rich men and their paid thugs, who deliberately broke class, who, when the craft Unions become too strong killing of Frank Little in Montana, the deportation the law and spat on the Constitution, have been ac for them, secretly support them against Industrial of the copper miners in Arizona, the continued perse quitted. Does any American worker now doubt the nion propaganda. it must not be forgotten that the cution of Tom Mooney in San Francisco, the estab.
innocence of Tom Mooney, or the filthy crookedness capitalists are always struggling to get back to the lishment with arbitrary powers, of White Guard or of the California court and District Attorney which Open Shop.
ganizations all over the United States local Counconvicted him? The President of the United States In international affairs, today, the issue is beauticils of National Defense, American Protective sent a commission to California to investigate the fully clear. Soviet Russia is a Union on strike League all these incidents ought clearly to have Vooney case, and this commission demanded a new dangerous kind of Union, an industrial Union. The proven that, in the eyes of the capitalist class, this trial for Mooney and yet lie is sent to prison for life.
Governments of the Allied countries are trying, by was anything but a War for Democracy.
And the leaders, sent up for terrible terms every means possible, to break that strike. Armies Every working man, no matter how patriotic or because of their alleged pro Germanism, when not a of French, British, Japanese and American soldiers how much in sympathy with the war he might be shred of evidence against them was ever brought into are in Archangel and Vladivostok. The Labor movemust have been irritated at the way he was forced to court. And Fugene Debs, sentenced to ten years, and ments of the Allied countries feel sympathy with the buy Liberty Bonds and subscribe to the Red Cross, Rose Pastor Stokes, and all the brave inen and womea great Russian strike but, after all, Russia doesn with the alternative of losing his job. The people who dared tell the truth when it was dangerous, and belong to our nion or else, Those Russians are of the Middle West will not soon forget the reign of now suffer in prison. Is it difficult to guess why just a bunch of anarchists.
terror which was inaugurated there by the bankers, they were punished? While at the same time the They like the German Revolution a good deal betthe factory owners and newspaper editors during the grafters who looted government contracts, the profi It is inore orderly. Of course this Ebert and war. The cloud of Government and private spies teers low many of thein can you think of who are Scheidemann are Socialists, but, at the same time, which made every man, loyal or disloyal, toreigner or now serving jail terms? With such clear demonstra they seem to be pretty sensible guys. So runs the American, be careful what opinions he expressed. tions before them, how is it possible for American thought of the old fashioned Union man.
Is this free America, fighting for liberty, or Czarist workers to believe that Labor could ever get a square But the Capitalists also like the German Revolution.
Russia, the Kaiser Germany?
deal after the war?
Their newspapers show every day how anxious they Many honest and conscientious workers, however, The old fashioned individualistic American work. are that the Ebert Scheidemann Government shall argued that all this was a necessary condition of war. man says: Well, what about it? Debs and Rose continue in power. The reason is clear; the EbertMoreover, their wages were comparatively high, work Pastor Stokes are Socialists; the are anar Scheidemann Government promises that all the peowas plenty, and the Government was fighting their chists. Mooney well, Gompers and President Wil ple shall be represented. It stands for democracy battles for them. When the bosses refused to listen son will see that he gets treated right. And besides. that same democracy we have, under which Tom to their just grievances, couldn the workers appeal lic isn a meinber of my Union. All that isn any of Mooney goes to jail for life, and the Arizona copper to the War Labor Board, where Frank Walsh was my business.
kings get off without any punishment; under which their powerful friend? Was not the War Labor But the capitalist doesn talk that way. He says: the steel kings in Pittsburgh won permit their men Board compelling the bosses to allow organization don care what they call themselves. They re even to attend a Labor meeting, and the machinists and even organizing the workers itself, forming coni niembers of the working class, and they ve got dan of Bridgeport are re classified.
mittees which were empowered by the Government gerous ideas. can let them corrupt the contented There is but one alternative to this: Industrial to deal with the employers committee? Weren workers. Capitalists stick together. And they treat Unions, the Socialist Party, the general strike and wage scales and conditions officially fixed by the Gov the working class as one class. In the Pittsburgh dis Labor Democracy, in which those who do all the work ernment? And finally, the coming of that Democratic rict the steel workers are forbidden to organize. When shall have all the power.
Peace for which the American working class gave up they want to hold a inecting for the workers it is al Then it will be a Red New Year.
ter