Cottonwood Chronicle Newspaper, February 27, 1920, Page 4
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THE FORUM | The Chronicle will gladly pub- | lish letters from its readers on) all questions of public interest. All letters, however, must be | signed by the writer and while we do not assume responsibility | for the opinions expressed it is | simply affording a means for} voicing the opinions of residents | of this immediate section.—Edi- | tor. The following article was writ- | ten Jan. 14th, and intended for publication in the Chronicle is- sue of the 16th. Because of the heavy demands on its columns for that week and having been submitted a little late had to be omitted. Much has happened since that time, that to those whose vision has penetrated the| fog beclouding the real issue, this article will appear belated. | The hysteria over the Bolshevik | Bogey is beginning to burn itself out. But so long as such ac- tions as that of Speaker Sweet and the N. Y. legislature are countenanced our Republic is in| danger. Speaker Sweet is more dangerous than the worst shevik. W. HB. FREEDOM OF WHOSE CONCERN. If we could accept the popular assumption that every man knows his interests, that every class attitude is rational . directed toward the permanent good of that class, there would be not the least reason for in- quiring who are really concerned in the maintenance of free speech. The defence of free speech has become in this country almost a monopoly of the radicals. The conservative classes, with a few | honorable exceptions in C ongress | and in the press, have put away | the ancient American faith in | freedom. Either they admit | frankly that they wish the s safe | and sane doctrine—their own doctrine—to be protected by the prompt repression of political heresies, or they resort to the hypocritical devise of crying up “liberty” “license”, which they anathe-| matize and seek to penelize. The follies peculiar to their own views they would condone as liberty ; the follies of others they would suppress as “license.” This is apparent not only —in their words but in their action. Nicholas Murray Butler and Big Bill Haywood are alike in utter- ing without restraint whatever comes to their tongues’ ends. Nothing ever comes to the end or Butler's tongue that could place his liberty in jeopardy. re is pertectly adjusted to the social- political forces that are still dominant although perhaps in their decline. But Bull Haywood can hardiy utter a word that does not challenge those forces. His adjustment is to an order still in the hypothetical state, which may never be realized. Therefore Bill Haywood is con- cerned with freedom of speech, and Butler is not. But the ques- tion is not one that can be de- cided by reference soley to the immediate personal interests ot the Butlers and the Haywoods. The present economic and social system is in no immediate dang- er of overthrow. It will stand for a while unshaken, whether all agitators and bolsheviki are locked up or given perfect free- dom to pursue their own de- vices. The radicals if they look be- yond their own personal inter- ests, will have the best of rea- sons for welcoming a policy of repression. There is in America, as has always been in every nation, a sufficiently well defin- ed difference of feeling between the majority who have little or nothing and the minority who have much. The poor have always been discontented, they may not be more discontented now. But in earlier ages the poor were helpless to rebel] against their disabilities, except in sparodic, futile uprisings. The possessing classes control- led the arms and they alone had | the education and training by! which a political system could be| therefor be able bol- | SPEECH; | and | as distinguished from | | | | | } | POPES OOOO OPP rrom PUBLIC SS a se ee a a ee te se te ete De te a a te es ts is ts te ts eh ee ete siostoteete SALE Having sold my farm I will sell at public sale on my ranch 6% miles northwest of Cottonwood commencing at 10 a. m. the following described property on Wednesday, March10 5<HEAD OF HORSES--5 One One One One One 3 Cows, coming 4 years old 2 Milk Cows, 8 years old 2 Cows, 3 years this spring FARM MACHINERY AND HOUSEHOLD GOODS ONE ONE ONE 7-FOOT Mc 5-FOOT McCORMICK MOWER 10-FOOT McCORMICK RACK CORMICK BINDER 1 10-FOOT SURPERIOR DOUBLE DISC DRILI ONE ONE 3-SECTION ONE ONE ONE &8-FOOT DISC HARROW HARROW 16-INCH MOLINE SULKY PLOW 14-INCH JOHN DEERE WALKING PLOW 14-INCH CASE WALKING PLOW 14-INCH JOHN DEERE SIDE PLOW ONE 3-INCH IRON JOHN DEERE WAGON ONE SET OF BOB SLEDS TERM Gray Mare Gray Horse Bay Mare Bay Gray Mare 14 years old, 1 HARROW CART 1500 1500 10 years old, 12 years old, 10 years old, old, weight weight weight weight weight Mare 12 years One 1 year old Bull One 3 months old Heifer Calf 4 yearling heifers ONE 2-HORSE SCRAPER ONE FANNING MILL ONE BUGGY AND ONE HACK THREE TONS SEED 0: THREE OF HARNESS FOUR DOZEN CHICKENS" THREE SACKS OF SEED POTATOES ONE STEEL COUCH. ONE COOK RANGE pounds. pounds. 1300 pounds. 1200 pounds. 1200 pounds. ONE KITCHEN CABINET ONE BOX AND SHEET IRON STOVE ONE WASHING MACHINE AND WRINGER—Good as new SIX DINING CHAIRS AS GOOD AS NEW ONE LARD PRESS Many Other Articles Too Numerous To Mention A Big Free Lunch Will Be Served At Noon Joseph Ritter, Owner First National Bank, Clerk Harry Cranke, Auctioneer THREE BED STEADS AND SPRINGS All sums of $20 under, cash. All sums over that amount 6 months’ © time will be given on bankable note bearing 10 per cent interest. ean iatie denn beatae atiaaininilimiaanintamneaenaninenenitincsiaiatniaiadiaumiiibicitacieorn ec TT can the possessing class retain a monopoly of education. Even teday it is an open question whether the balance of intellec- tual power would not incline to the side of those who have little or nothing. With the non-pos- sessing class in command of both the numbers and the brains what chance is there that the possessing class will be left un- disturbed in its privileges? There is only one chance, and that is that it can justify its existence in the opinion of the majority, and that is no small task. But the champions of things as they are, control the press, the universities and schools, the pulpit, the Chauta- | qua’ circuits, the movies and what other means of communi- cations of ideas our civilization | | has developed. Should they not dominated. The monopoly of} own color to the mass mind? arms is no longer possible in an} Especially if they are also at age of citizen soldiers. Neither{ pains to suppress opposing ideas to give their | even imprisoning the agents of the opposing propaganda. There can be no effective de- fense of the existing system un- less thought and speech are ab- | solutely free. It is for those who believe in the inherent soundness of the existing system to bestir themselves to reopen and keep open the gates of free speech. In the United States, govern- ment rests on the consent of the governed, not on arbitrary power American institutions are secure because the great majority of | the people believe in them, not | because a few public officials |maintain them by force. If a minority does not believe in American institutions, let them hire a hall and vent their opin- ions untill they are hoarse. Let} to their hearts’ content, so long as they do not council crime or directly instigate violence. Since them work their printing presses | | | | | is Prussianism. } the people in America institu-} tions, and in orderly and demo- cratic progress, the fulmination | ( of a discontented minority will} fall on deaf ears. It may, per-} haps, perform the useful func-| tion of calling our attention to! existing greviences, but it can accomplish its objects only if it can convince a large number of} safe and sane Americans that their accustomed institutions are nificantly enough, no sooner iniquitous. It has always been] \ this new tyranny establish- | a part of our faith that such an|ed than Lenin and Trotsky pro- | attempt could not succeed. ceeded in their turn to “protect | The Communist believes that} the people from revolutionary | the present government does not| propaganda” by suppressing all} rest on the consent of the gov-| but the Bolshevist newspapers. erned, and that it is only by the Either the people are fit to forcible suppression of radical} govern or they are not. If they criticism that it protects itself| are fit to govern, it is no func-! against violent overthrow. The} tion of government to protect | belief, of course, is absurb, but] them from any kind of propa- Mr. Palmer has shown by word] ganda. They will protect them- and deed that he shares in that] selves. belief. This theory that it is} That capacity for self protec- the duty of government to pro-| tion is the very essence of sl It was the gos- pel of His Imperial Majesty, the verman Kaiser and the Tsar of Russia to protect their people! from revolutionary propaganda. | Autocratie Russia saw the doc- trine in its fullest flower, and it Was eventually followed by the| |most horrible, by the most! ghastly and degrading revolu- | tion known to human_history.| the overwhelming majority of| tect the people from propagandz] government. Without it popu-, lar institutions are inconceivable and the moment that a republi- can form of government sets it- self up as the nurse maid of the people, to train their immature minds to suit its own purpose and to guard them from all in- | fluences that it considers con- taminating, we already have a revolution and a revolution back- ward, a revolution by usurpation How is there to be any public | Opinion at all if government is to be the final arbiter of political theories and economic doctrines ? But, it will be said, the doc- trines that government is called upon to suppress are of foreign origin; they are advocated in jlarge part by an alien popula- tion; they are antagonistic to the principles of our Republic, and we cannot afford to have our people adopt them. Quite true, but what of it? This is not the first time that foreign re- (continued on | page 5)