Open forum, vol. 2, no. 11 (March, 1925)
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THE OPEN FORUM
The Hero of Today is the Hitching Post of Tomorrow.
Vol. a.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, MARCH 14, 1925
FIELD FINDINGS
`*The field is the world.''
THE OPEN FORUM is not getting enough come-
pack from its readers. The fault is probably ours.
We are going to try a new tack. More items, and
fewer articles. More news, and less opinion. More
writers, and fewer words from each writer. Are
you ready for the new start? Let's go.
epee Eg
Scott Nearing came, spoke, and conquered. "Fine
work" writes Dr. Sydney Strong from Seattle, where
Nearing's coast tour began. "Fine work" is the
general verdict in Los Angeles, where Nearing's
coast tour ended. Even the CITY CLUB of Los
Angeles gave Nearing a large hearing at its noon-
day luncheon, Wednesday March 4th. and many of
the members and attendants remained for the Ques-
tionnaire which followed. Nearing was never in
better form, and never said more in a few words, in
which great art he is a master.
ees ee
"The first time in seven years that I have been
asked to address a business men's club,' was Near-
ing's smiling comment, after his address before the
Los Angeles CITY CLUB. And this happened in
Los Angeles. Ye gods! Also Nearing's lectures in
Los Angeles, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday even-
ings, March 2, 3, 4 were given in The Knights of
Columbus' Hall. Perhaps you will notice that our
A.C. L. U. OPEN FORUM, which holds forth every
Sunday night at Music Art Hall, had Joseph Scott,
a prominent member of The Knights of Columbus,
as speaker the following Sunday night, speaking on
"THE KU KLUX KLAN FROM A CATHOLIC
STANDPOINT." `This, in the Paradise of American
Parasitism, the Mecca of American Moronism.
"Come ye disconsolate."
a
Judge Bledsoe has been nominated for the Mayor-
alty of Los Angeles. Harry Chandler of the Los
Angeles Times is understood to be the god-father of
this political nativity. The god-mother is likewise
credibly reported to be the city plunderbund who
are opposed to public ownership. The churches are
to furnish the angelic chorus, ably assisted by the
patrioteers. The issues will be patriotism, and law
and order. We suggest as the leading anthem, a la
certain lines sent forth by the students of Chicago
University yearg ago, the following doxology:
"Praise God from whom oil blessings flow,
Praise him, ye grafters, high and low,
Praise him in sermon, song and toast,
Praise Chandler some but Bledsoe most."
i
Mark this item all ye would be public-speakers.
When Scott Nearing spoke before the CITY CLUB
on "THE ECONOMIC BREAKDOWN OF EUROPE,"
he did not fool away a lot of time on personal apol-
osles and cheap compliments about the climate of
California. He opened right off-the reel, without so
much as a "Ladies and Gentlemen." "The economic
break-down of Europe began before the world war."
He was at the heart of his subject at once, and
that first sentence was a lecture in itself. "Say it
with flowers" is the aphorism of the ordinary speak-
er, especially the Babbitt sort, but usually the
flowers are dried and withered and very much out of
date. "Say it in a sentence" is more to the point
i describing Nearing's style. Clarity and brevity
and reality are his strong points. `Have something
to say; say it; stop when you get through," is a
formula for public speaking which he practices in
high degree.
eT ee
sn of the articles in this issue are "left-overs"
eT Materia] already in type when our new pro-
m was adopted. None of them are very long,
however. Second page stuff will be allowed some
length, but we want articles of less than five hundred
words rather than more. Edward Everett, famous
as an "orator" made a "Gettysburg address" which
is said to have been an hour in length, and to have
been exceedingly eloquent. Abraham Lincoln fol-
lowed him, in high falsetto voice, and with an address
of just two hundred and sixty six words. But Lin-
coln's two minute talk lives, and the eloquence that
consumed an hour for its delivery is forgotten.
Some pictures need a "time-exposure,' and some
arguments call for full statement. But brevity is
the soul of the highest wit, in the widest sense of
that word.
2
The "new administration" in Washington begins
with Senator Reed of Missouri describing the new
Vice President, as "a bleating jackass." Tut, tut!
If our politicians are going to tell the truth about
each other in this frank fashion at the very begin-
ning of the Coolidge regime they may forget them-
selves to such an extent before the administration
is through as to let the people know the truth about
more important matters. The immediate significance
of "Hell-and-Maria Dawes" initial address as Vice
President of the United States seems to be that he
has no intention of keeping cool with Coolidge. Cool-
idge himself may be warm under the collar before
Dawes gets done.
3H
"There was spirited debate at the first day's ses-
sion over three resolutions offered by the three
leading groups represented in the meeting." So runs
the report in THE CITIZEN of Los Angeles, labor
paper, of the THIRD PARTY CONVENTION, or
more definitely, "THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE
FOR PROGRESSIVE POLITICAL ACTION," held in
Chicago a few days ago. Read the above quotation
over again. "Spirited debate." "Three resolutions."
"Three leading groups." L. H. Shepard, speaking for
the railway brotherhoods, wanted a continuation of
"non-partisan" action, the orthodox policy of ortho-
dox American labor. Hillquit, for the Socialists,
wanted an "`American Labor Party," a la the program
of English labor. Hopkins, of "the Committee of
48" wanted a ``Progressive Party," the program of the
"intelligentsia" of American liberalism. Finally af-
ter a "division of opinion so acute" that there was
"much sharp criticism,' and after Hugene V. Debs
had made `an impassioned plea for more than an
hour, and the best shock troops of the Socialist
Party were hurled against the railroaders, but all
to no avail," at the end of the first long day "it was
mutually agreed by all persons concerned that it
would be best to adjourn the C.P.P.A. leaving that
organization in the hands of the railroad organiza-
tions, and for those who wished, to re-assemble for
the formation of the third party."
cash aS a ee
"The battle on the second day was waged over
the plan of organization of the new party." A
majority report provided for such a party on "geo-
graphical lines,' according to regular Republican
and Democractic procedure. The Socialists wanted
"eroup" organization, not altogether industrial, evi-
dently, but approaching a representation of economic
relationship and interest. The majority report was
sustained, 93 to 64, some prominent Socialists, from
Missouri going to its support against Hillquit and
the Socialist bloc as a whole. `Some present mem-
bers of Congress" are to be asked to help "launch"
the new party. There were over 500 delegates
present the first day of the Conference, and "just
about one half that number on the second day's
sessions." 'The incubator process is to be used to
keep the infant alive.
No. 11
"Some men were sentenced in police court the
other day to five days in jail apiece for eating out of
garbage cans." So says the Seattle Union-Record,
labor daily, in an editorial paragraph. "That was
not the charge, but that was the evidence upon
which they were convicted," the article goes on.
The editor protests, of course, although admitting
that the food in jail "is some, if not much better,
than they were getting.' Some of our Los Angeles
boys who have been in jail here, not for five days
but in some instances for more than five weeks
without a trial, and not for eating with hands and
mouths out of garbage cans, but for refusing to
take their opinions from the garbage press, will
hardly admit that the food in the jail here is up to
the garbage can standard. But then Seattle is a
"revolutionary" and "labor city' and Los Angeles is
"white." Selah.
--- i
"Under the leadership of Ramsay MacDonald,
former premier, all the Laborite members walked
out of the House of Commons today in protest
against the suspension of Laborite member Kirk-
wood. The Tories cheered as the Laborites marched
from the chamber." So says the morning paper,
the Los Angeles Examiner, and gives just that much
space to the item, on page seven, page one being
taken up with such important matters, set forth in
big black type, as "Baby Selling Ring Revealed
Here." It seems that "tiny infants, born without the
love of their mothers, and oftentimes under a cloud
of doubtful parentage" are being regularly bought
and sold here by a "ring" of business folk who are
demonstrating the `fine initiative' which prevails
in this city under capitalism. Well, there are going
to be some other walkouts in the parliamentary
houses of the world, and the cheering isn't all of it
going to be on the side of the Tories, either. Just
wait a bit.
ht
Over against the recent decision of the State Su-
preme Court of California making membership in the
I. W. W. itself a prison offense let us set the sane
utterance of a New York judge, given during the hys-
teria of the Great War. It is to be hoped that some
day there will be judicial sanity in California. How-
ever long that day is delayed this which follows is
common sense and real Americanism.
"Every citizen has a right, without intent to ob-
struct the recruiting or elistment service, to think,
feel, and express disapproval or abhorrence of any
law or policy or proposed law or policy, including
the Declaration of War, the Conscription Act, and the
so-called sedition clauses of the Espionage Act; be-
lief that the war is not or was not a war for democ-
racy; belief that our participation in it was forced
or induced by powers with selfish interests to be
served thereby; belief that our participation was
against the will of the majority of the citizens or
voters of the country; belief that the self-sacrifice
of persons who elect to suffer for freedom of con-
science is admirable; belief that war is horrible; be-
lief that the Allies' war aims were or are Selfish and
undemocratic; belief that the Hon. Elihu Root is
hostile to socialism, and that his selection to repre-
sent America in a socialistic republic was ill-advised.
"Tt is the constitutional right of every citizen to
express his opinion about the war or the participa-
tion of the United States in it; about the desirability
of peace; about the merits or demerits of the system
of conscription, and about the moral rights or claims
of conscientious objectors to be exempt from con-
scription. It is the constitutional right of the citi-
zens to express such opinion, even though they are
opposed to the opinions or policies of the administra-
tion; and even though the expression of such opin-
ion may unintentionally or indirectly discourage re-
cruiting and enlistment."
Judge August Hand, in the trial of Max Kastman.
a
All that men suffer from others is as nothing to
the suffering which they needlessly impose upon
themselves.
ORR as
Hands out the "Truth"
about U. S. Presidents
Don C. Seitz, of New York, runs through American
history in The Forum and finds most American pres-
idents sadly deficient in every way. In George Wash-
ington's administration scandals were plentiful and
factional discords most rancorous. Washington's
fame was not helped by his administration. No one
can question his title to immortality-but not as a
president.
Adams, who succeeded him, was of the coldest
New England type.
ords of Adams as president to prove that he even
approximated the ideals.
Of Jefferson it can be said that he was more
concerned with enforcing his views than managing
the affairs of government. He bought Louisiana and
the northwest from Napoleon and so saved Ameri-
cang the necessity of stealing it in later years.
Madison produced the War of 1812, which almost
caused a secession of the New England States. Mon-
roe, who came after, remains famous as the inventor
of a doctrine that has more than once threatened
war, and has for more than a century been a source
of offense to the South American republics. Briefly
interpreted, under its enforcement, the Americans
will permit no one to "lick" their neighbors but them-
selves.
John Quincy Adams' administration was one of
discord and turmoil that did no good to the land.
Under Andrew Jackson the Electoral College be-
came a rubber stamp, and the people entered the
White House wearing their muddy boots and spitting
on the carpet.
Martin Van Buren, smooth, sly and "foxy," played
politics, and administration went to the dogs. Wil-
liam Henry Harrison, pompous and ill-informed, had
no idea of affairs and saved his fame by dying. John
- Tyler, of Virginia, achieved the annexation of Texas
as a sop to the cotton growing slave-holders and
laid the foundations of the unjust Mexican War.
James K. Polk put that conflict over with no justifi-
cation that any historian could ever discover. Zach-
ary Taylor lived only a few weeks after taking office.
Fillmore is rated as a nonentity. Buchanan was a
swallow-tail.
Lincoln has become one of the immortals whose
fame as a wise, just and merciful man cannot be as-
sailed, yet he led a party into office that was more
aggressive for spoils and far less representative
than the "people" of Andrew Jackson. Rule or ruin
was its program. It did both. Of Andrew Johnson
it is impossible to speak fairly, for the poor man
never had a chance.
No greater mistake was ever made than the choice
of Grant for president. Grant was president in
name; Roscoe Conkling the ruler. Grant, with all his
noble qualities, remains the most incompetent of
presidents.
Now comes a paradox. The man who succeeded
Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio, was not elect-
ed. An electoral commission dominated by Conk-
ling gave him the decision. Bitterly assailed, with
"fraud" stamped on his brow, Hayes gave a truly
honorable and proper administration. He gave the
south a chance to live. He inaugurated civil service.
There were no scandals. Political vermin vanished
from Washington.
What Garfield might have been is beyond specula-
tion. His death, however, gave the United States
a good president in Chester Alan Arthur. Grover
Cleveland went beyond the province of his office, said
some epigrammatic things, and was defeated for re-
election by Benjamin Harrison, of Indiana.
Harrison came near to being a model president.
Rated by the requirements he stands nearly 100 per
cent to the good,
Cleveland ran again in 1892 and came back. He
nearly brought on war with Britain. Cleveland's
strenuous term was followed by the administration
of William McKinley, nominated by Mark Hanna.
The war with feeble Spain to "free" Cuba was his
doing.
Here again the bullet of an assassin killed a pres-
ident who was improving and put a circus in the
White House. With Theodore Roosevelt the consti-
tution took a vacation. Roosevelt gave it a rest.
Also the House, the Senate, and everything except
the American people. He "took" Panama, meddled
with everything, and had a "bully" time. Then he
Little can be found in the rec.
A Patriot Speaks
Will you please print thig little protest of mine in
that paper you publish?
I'm not quite certain whether the protest should
be directed to the Better American Federation or to
the United States Government. One of those insti-
tutions surely is guilty of a most grievous offense.
After hearing the B. A. F. invoke the shades of
our revolutionary forefathers so frequently, I de-
cided to go up to the Public Library and find out
who those fellows were.
I found a book up there called the "Hconomic
Interpretation of the Constitution,' by Prof. C. O.
Beard, compiled from United States Government
records and (horrors upon horrors) here are the
results:
Of the fifty-five signers of the Constitution, at least
forty were speculating with bonds of the United
States Treasury; and incidentally of course, they
made sure to provide for the full discharge of the
public debt.
At least fourteen were land speculators, even
tho Los Angeles wasn't heard of at that time.
At least twenty-four were loan-sharks. (They
weren't Jews, either.)
At least fifteen were slave-owners.
Wm. Blount of North Carolina was found by Presi-
dent Adams to have been in the pay of the British
King while serving as Senator from Tennessee.
Another one defrauded the Government out of an
immense sum of money, for which he was "investi-
gated" by Congress. That was before Ponzi's great
grandfather had whiskers on his chin.
By the way, Mr. Whitaker, believe it or not, he
didn't go to jail. Seems like they had Tea-Pots then,
as well as Tea-Parties.
Another one, one of the most prominent, operated
a gin-mill along with making pin-money in his
slaves on his Potomac plantation.
Last, but not least, a few of them were alleged
to be gentlemen.
Therefore I demand that either the United States
Government keep those records out of the hands of
the curious public, or else I respectfully request
that the B. A. F. let those old-timers remain peace-
fully in their graves, for the "Good Book" ought to
say, "If one has no good to speak of the dead, then
speak not of them."
-L. J. Greene, A Patriot.
oH
This is from Fred B. Smith, one of the most prom-
inent of the "Christian laymen" of America, a man
widely known in all business circles, and entirely
familiar himself with the "best society" of America.
All the more remarkable is this testimony, coming
not from a "radical," but from a "safe and sane"
business man.
"The country is full of hoodlums who do not
live in back alleys but in country clubs and rich
men's homes. Our civilization is breaking at the
top as all others before us have. It is from high
society, not low, that our great danger comes."
From address before Los Angeles City Club.
gave us Taft to keep his seat warm while he went
a-fhunting. To consider Taft seriously as president
is not polite.
Woodrow Wilson belied the name Democrat.
His cabinet was ignored, his ambassadors left in the
dark. He dealt with important government matters
through unofficial agents, whether from mistrust or
impatience, it is hard to decide. He made many bad
and more weak appointments. He put gyves on the
American people, trusting them not for a moment.
On a mighty wave of reaction Warren G. Hard-
ing rode into office. He was a plump printer from
Marion, Ohio. Statesmen had died out in Ohio and
small men with ambitious wives were pushed into
power. Harding was one of these. With Harding,
the boys all came back to the crib. He exerted him-
self in no way to interfere with the orgy. Calvin
Coolidge is what the people want-a "mean" little
Yankee, sharp-eyed, close-fisted, who will cut down
taxes, keep "good fellows" at a distance and stick to
his job.
Toronto Star Weekly, Toronto, Canada
A weekly commentary by Robert Whitake;
on the high-power humbug and the res.
pectable nonsense of platform and pres;,
oe
He-Men
The American man, from the seediest scissor-hj
| to the latest addition to the Chamber of Commerce
or The Better American Federation, is not conten}
to be a man, but must needs list himself, or be liste
by his admirers, as a "he-man." Arthur Brisbane
loves to play the changes on this word, and is gep.
erous enough to admit that not only is our new "Heli
and Maria" Vice President a "he-man," but that Sep.
ator LaFollette is also a "he-man."
The whole thing is quite American, you knoy,
Who was prouder than the first Americans, so fool
ishly called Indians, since there was nothing
India in their temperament, who was prouder than
these `"heap-big-chiefs" of being "he-men?" Nj
woman's work for them, not even after the white
came. Yet it was the fact that the white maz,
following his womankind, had passed out of the
hunter stage into pastoral and agricultural life, which
enabled the European to take America away from
the original American. Settled life began with
womankind, and began with her because she was:
woman, and so nearest to the creative process. Ani.
all the rest of man's creative achievement, the real
key to civilization, began at the same point. [f
man had never been a "he-man'" he would never have
been man at all, but would have been grubbing with
the bugs and snooping around for snatches of ray
meat with the other animals yet. Really this "he.
man" stuff is one of the funniest phases of ow
American phariseeism, and even the women fall
for it yet.
Here is an Associated Press dispatch of this date,
right from Rome, Italy. "After the ceremony in St,
Peter's, Cardinal O'Connell and Monsignors Splaine
and Haberlin visited Pope Pius. Pope Pius said he
had carefully read the address delivered by Presi:
dent Coolidge at the Holy Name Convention in
Washington and he thought it admirable that the
head of a great country should speak so highly of
religion and give such a noble example of spiritual
feeling."
Well, why not? What cheaper way is there of
currying favor with the world's plunderbund in any .
and all countries than to pose as "deeply religious,"
aS we Say over here? Coolidge's piety didn't cost
him a vote last fall, and it will not disturb Wall -
Street in the least as long ag it gets no farther than
the sort of stuff the Pope praises. Isn't this Cardinal *
McConnell the same ecclesiastical higher-up of Mas
sachusetts who helped to rivet the chains a little,
tighter on the child wage-slaves of that commonr:
wealth a few weeks ago? What in the name of plait.
common sense and common decency is all his piety
worth when it comes to solving our social problems',
Just as much as Coolidge's, or the Pope's, and no
more. And all of them together are not worth the
heart-broken cry of one of "the little ones" whose
premature death is damning our civilization. Ii
there is any field of modern life in which there is
more of high-power nonsense posing under a cam:
ouflage of worth and respectability than there is
in the religious field it would take a cleverer and
more adventurous man than even Columbus to find :
it. "Spiritual feeling," indeed! A little real feeling
for men and women and children whose lifeblood
goes into the trappings and treasure-houses of these
folks who are so profitably religious would be more
persuasive on the side of religion itself than is the
whole mess of pious piffle, whether Catholic or Pro
testant, which the priests and politicians of the plu
derbund get off. The Pope means well, no doubt, but
ae has a whole lot more reading-and thinking-to |
oO.
"Money Hasy" is the heading of a conspicuous
article in the financial columns of the morning papel.
Suppose you tell that to the child-slaves of America,
turned down so generally by our legislatures. of this
period of "prosperity." Suppose you tell it to the
unemployed of Los Angeles, reported by the Chambe!
of Commerce itself in this city recently as numberile
forty thousand. "Money Hasy." Isn't it enough te
pick the pockets of the public without laughing 4!
them as well? But this isn't laughter. No, it i
sober fact. Money is easy, if you want it for invest |
ment in other men's labor and can give fair assul
ances that you are in position to skim off a thick
cream from that labor. But if you have only labo
itself to offer, and cannot bribe anybody to take you!
labor because you cannot promise them creat
enough, money is anything but easy for you. Evel
the skim-milk jobs, where the boss gets all the cream
are pretty short just now. The thing that is eas!
is to sell people words, and get away with thei!
goods. Our faith in our financiers is one of the
biggest humbugs of the ages.
A
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SAY SO
We want letters.
Lots of them.
8, 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
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
DW, published, provided you say `so.
01. Let's make "SAY SO" the best
of page of this paper. Mind you,
al be brief. And again, BE BRIEF.
No
bes fee g
all,
the
ich
om KATE CRANE GARTZ
ith A `
# Discusses Child Labor
i. And Communism
If Minneapolis Journal, Minneapolis, Minn.
ith Dear Sirs:
aw Your article against child labor has been brought
he to my attention.
You condemn the measure principally because it
was initiated by such women as, Jane Adams, Lillian
Ward, Florence Kelly, Anna Louise Strong, and by
ite, Owen Lovejoy and Eugene V. Debs. Such an array
St. of welfare workers, men and women who have con-
me gsecrated their lives to the upbuilding of the down-
trodden and forsaken, and for that-you presume
in to speak slurringly of them as "pacifists",and "social-
the ists'. I wonder in what category you belong that
of you condemn where all the world praises!
Today we are giving big prizes to the pacifists and
some day the unintelligent master class who are
4 stupid enough to put Eugene V. Debs behind the bars,
1s," because he was too Christlike to sanction the killing
ost of his fellow men, will realize that he was the great-
fall er man, whose name shall live as theirs are already
ail ;
nal Aotgot!
lass Sovietism, actually cares for its children! My
te what a horrible indictment for the lack for something
ain More formidable.
4 Surely you, Mr. Minneapolis Journal, were barking
no Up the wrong tree when you put your fangs into
the the greatest in our country.
Ose
Ii x * * *
1s
am
is February 28, 1925
and (c)
ind: The Los Angeles Times,
ing Editorial Writer.
oot D and
ear :
eae Sir:
ore Communism is defined in the dictionary as a
aM "Scheme of equalizing the social conditions of life
a by abolition of inequalities in the possession of prop-
put erty."
ee Can-any humane person object to that, and if so-
why?
ou Bishop Brown and Lenin, instead of being behind
fe the times, are really ahead of the procession, and
nis `USt about right when they said "let us banish the
the 80ds from the sky and make the world a fit place
bet for all human beings to dwell in." They belong to
a the thinking and reasoning class, while those who
at blindly follow superstition, and forget the world we
a live in, belong to the unthinking class.
ee If the millions of dollars now going into new
`ick churches in Pasadena today could have been directed
bot into constructive channels, we should have plenty
of to take cate of the unemployed, the hungry, and the
vel eurox-soldiers. But, no, there is always plenty of
am, ONey available to house superstition in luxury, but
as) ag Ohne cares how human beings are housed. They
| ie Only temporary, fleeting and cheap, but a vague
ar away myth, must have grandeur, and beauty, and
music, that we may talk of it once a week and
forget it for the other six days. But poor suffering
humanity any old shack or even park bench is good
enough for them.
Speaking of Charles Edmund Russell's book "Sol-
diers of the Common Good," why should that ever
be out of date; if the so called muck-racking maga-
zines have turned toward "Snappy Stories" and such
"tommy-rot" which you seem to prefer, so much the
worse for their declining intelligence.
You rejoice that Edwin Markham has ceased to
"sing of Social Brotherhood," to you seemingly, a
base ideal. He is an old man, but is still singing
this ideal, notwithstanding your statement. to the
contrary.
It seems to me you condemn yourself when you
voice such sentiments ridiculing the idealistic preach-
ments of socialists and communists, for you admit
they are seekers after Utopia. Even Emma Goldman
you class as "a heroine of Social Brotherhood";
and yet you despise her, but now and then you
sound her praise because she prefers Anarchism
to Bolshevism.
We have all the great names in the ranks of
`Socialistic Literat'"'; all that we lack are the capit-
alists. Allan Benson and a few other socialists who
stood for the war have lived to see the folly of
their stand, and regret it today. Although we too,
have a few renegades among us, sad as it is to admit,
we have also many towering figures, such as Debs.
I can really think of no one to put on the pedestal
beside him, in this country or in any other country.
As for Jack London's resigning from the party-
it was because it was not radical enough for him.
Radicals want to right the "world gone wrong";
that is all, and for that we are lambasted and
labeled as "red." To me that is the very highest
epithet of praise. How little and how much there
is in a word. How vast is the difference between a
"Social leader" and a "Socialist leader." The first
is not a leader at all, but simply a foolish follower
of fashionable foibles; while the latter is a leader
toward a new day in the evolution of society. There
is no question about which you prefer; and I prefer
the other!
Ess March ist, 1925.
You may "protest" from now until Doomsday, and
you cannot eradicate radicalism so long as society
is honey-combed with injustices. Unjustness is the
reason for radicalism.
"Radicalism is a speck of mud in the eye of the
world." Indeed, it is a heap more than that! It is
a great avalanche that is sweeping the earth clean
of its rottenness. Let your `"Uplifters, and Bitter
Americans" confine their activities to their high
jinks, for all their efforts to `offset' and suppress
progressivism can never stem the tide nor remove
that "speck of mud from your eye"; the "house you
live in" is not safe until the foundation of all society
is built on right principles. Not philanthropy, not
charity, but simple justice.
Radicals are not "bad men" nor are they spread-
ing "poison." Their object is the "common good."
But then, what do you care about that.
There is a small group of men and women in
every country of the world who think and speak in
terms of universal human brotherhood, and coopera-
tion, justice and fair play between individuals and
nations who want peace for the sake of peace; who
want a united cooperative world. They are the
much despised and misunderstood radicals. They
have the-right on their side and will win out in time.
Power is gradually slipping from the hands of the
tyrants into the hands of the workers, who create
all for others to enjoy; that is the fear and the
cause of the unrest in the world today.
At least the fear of Bolshevism in Europe has
been the greatest underlying cause for the better-
ment of labor conditions, and until we cease to per-
mit our government to spend fifteen times as much
for destructive purposes as we do for constructive
and helpful purposes, we cannot presume to be
leaders of the world in the march toward civilization.
Find herewith $.......... as payment for.-;.......
{ Yearly
Six Month
Les Month
subscriptions to THE OPEN FORUM. *
IN ERTYVO ee cae oe eer eRe cole SS ec PR OR a gag
Addresae.. . o.. RR Ma ees Sag eh ate ene
Date: . oeauc ma ae coe ee:
Civilization
(Dedicated to the worshippers of the Shrine of Mars)
By DON FARRAN
Member of the Order of Railroad Telegraphers, Di-
vision 96, Rowan, lowa
Stained with the blood of their brothers,
The races of men yaunt their pride;
Skull on a totem-pole, scalp at a belt,
And a curse on the men who died!
Lust, and. the call of revengs,
Loot, and the horror of might,
And over all a pestilence,
A lingering death, a blight!
Stone men who fashioned with water drops
A hammer to maim and kill,
Savage hordes who swung far south
To conquer a Roman hill.
Power, and the love of self,
Strength,-and the urge to destroy,
And running through the veins of men
The ruins of gutted Troy.
Knights in armor who rode away,
Smug in their coat of mail;
Black-bearded men with a Holy Cross,
Seeking a mad man's Grail.
Spoils, in the name of religion,
Thieves, with the banner of God,
Spreading the Plague to foreign lands,
Infesting an alien sod.
Empires wielded by doddering men
And a woman-to make them smile;
An infant giant's maniac dream
Left rotting on Elba's isle.
Genius-the weakness of flesh,
Pomp-uncontrolled desire,
Making the world a hut of straw
To burn on a despot's fire.
Red with the blood of a million souls,
The races of men yet kill;
Skull on a totem-pole, scalp at a belt,
And Christ hung high on a hill!
Is Evolution a Fact
or a Theory?
By Jack Richmond
Modern evolution is substantiated by modern
science. It is modern only in its broad aspects,
embracing as it does, the organic as well as the
inorganic world. In its simpler and narrower form,
it has long been known to the ancients. Aristotle's
assertion that nature fashions organs in order of
their necessity, first being those essential to life,
contains the ingredients of the natural selection
theory as expounded by Darwin and his followers.
Concisely, evolution is the process of gradual in-
tegration, brought about by the law of natural se-
lection or, as it is better known, the survival of the
fittest.
By gradual integration we mean that the lower
forms in organic and inorganic life are but stages (c)
in the course of development of the higher forms.
The trend of modern philosophy and modern
science is along evolutionary lines, and clearly
proves evolution to be a fact. We cannot conceive
of biology, anthropology, and sociology without evo-
lution.
The myth concerning the Golden Age in the re-
mote past when men were perfect and conditions
were ideal-received its death blow from modern
sociology, which sprang up and grew on the fertile
soil of evolutionary thought. Modern society is but
the product of a painfully slow and gradual develop-
ment from a very crude primitive stage. It is now
commonly recognized knowledge based upon anthro-
pological and historical facts that human society has
evolved from the simplest to the most complex forms
of organization, i. e., from savagery through bar-
barism and feudalism to modern industrialism,
which, by the way, is not the final stage, just as
Savagery was not the first one.
How did that gradual transformation come about?
What were the forces behind those marvelous
changes? The evolutionists give us the right key
to solve those perplexing problems.
RRA) oe
THE OPEN FORUM
Published every Saturday at 506 Tajo Building,
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Phone: TUcker 6836.
MANAGING EDITORS
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LITERARY EDITOR
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Doremus Scudder
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Leo Gallagher
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PROGRAM FOR MARCH, 1925
March 16-"Starving on Three Meals a Day" by Dr.
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March 23-"What is. Wrong with the World?" by
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March 30-`Gandhi-Soul Force Versus Physical
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Filipino Independence
to be Discussed
"THE -UNIZHD: = STATS SAND. EE) PHisre-
PINES" will be the general subject for discussion at
the March meeting of the F. O. R. (Fellowship Of
Reconciliation) Los Angeles Group, Monday, March
16, 1925. Dinner at 6 P.M. The Blue Triangle Club,
631 South Spring Street, 3rd floor. (Dinner 50 cents.)
RESERVATIONS ARE NECESSARY. poundTelephone
Miss Mills at 560-448, or call TUcker 6836, office of
The Open Forum.
Messrs. Pablo Castro and A. Dino, two prominent
members of the Filipino community in Los Angeles,
will speak on "Philippine Independence." Mr. A.
Plotkin, a member of the Fellowship Group, will
speak on the question "What Shall I Do With the
Philippines?"
All who are interested are invited to be present.
The F.O.R. in Los Angeles is doing a remarkable
piece of work through monthly meetings at which
international issues and relations are being taken up
in a peculiarly frank and fraternal way. Emphasis
is being laid upon the objective, "A PACIFIC WORLD
AROUND THE PACIFIC SHEA," and upon the ap-
proach to this problem through an actual meeting
of the various racial and political groups which are
represented in Los Angeles. This sort of work ought
to be carried on all up and down the Pacific Coast,
and on both sides of the Pacific Sea. If you want to
co-operate with us in it, or to carry on such work for
yourself we will be glad to aid with information and
suggestion. Ag to our local dinners, parties who
cannot join us in the fellowship of the table at 6
P.M. are welcome to drop in later for the more
formal discussion. For further information; as to
local or general items, address our Secretary,
ETHELWYN MILLS,
553 South Western Ave.
Los Angeles, Cal.
ie
In one of the High Schools of Los Angeles on
Lincoln's birthday there stalked among the students
and teachers boys armed with rifles who seemed to
have the freedom of the place. They had been ap-
pointed to dominate the anniversary of the creator
of the Gettysburg Address, at first in Prussian ma-
neuvers on the stage, saluting, presenting arms,
marching and counter-marching, and later at large
among the audience. Thus are we making the world
safe for swag-ocracy.
Ea Ten
Washington's birthday was celebrated, of course,
in the Los Angeles schools. In one school for a
considerable part*of the morning of that day five
or six boys were lined up against a corridor-wall,
facing the main school entrance from within, and
stood in a ramrod attitude, holding ready for im-
mediate action in front bayonetted rifles. All teach-
ers and students passing through the main hall had
to take or ignore the threat. Waist-high between
these young man-eaters was a small portrait of
George Washington, on a small easel, one corner
draped with an American flag. Thus also are we
making the world safe for swag-ocracy. And inci-
dentally making curselves either the laughing stock
of the world, or the New Prussia, the menace of
mankind.
ey
a
Aman to whom THE OPEN FORUM has been sent
by a friend here sends us the order to remove his
name from our list, and with it sends a three-column
editorial from the Washington Post, most laudatory
of Coolidge and the whole reactionary program.
Those who like that sort of thing are not going to
like THE OPEN FORUM, of course. It would be an
ill thing for us, if they did.
i
"T wouldn't like to hear that preacher very often,"
remarked a young woman to her companion as they
left the hall where a real sermon had been given.
"Why not?' remarked her friend. To which the
first girl responded, "`Because if I did | would have
to change my manner of life."
See
Bigotry is a deases of a man's temper, much more
than it is a necessary part of any particular form of
belief.
Linotyping and press work done in Union
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Los Angeles
OPEN FORUM
MUSIC ART HALL
233 South Broadway
SUNDAY NIGHTS, 7-30 O0x00B0CLOCK
MAR. 15-"THE LABOR PROBLEM IN _ IND},
by LENA MORROW LEWIS, for many years a ply,
form worker in behalf of socialism. Why is the,
unrest among India's millions? What is the Britis,
Government doing to relieve the situation? jy,
Americans ought to know more intimately the sit,
tion in the far Hast. SANDER SHOR, violinist, yi
give the musical program.
MAR. 22-"SHOULD CAPITAL PUNISHMnEy
BE ABOLISHED?" by Attorney S. S. HAHN. They
is a new bill now before our legislature Proposing
to do away with capital punishment in this State
Many are stirred up over the execution of criminak
Mr. Hahn, who is a criminal lawyer of wide experi,
ence, should be able to throw much light on this olf
question. We shall have the pleasure of listenin
to BERNARD COHN, a young pianist of much ability
in the program of music preceding the address,
MAR. 29-DEBATE "RESOLVED THAT TH
ATTACKS OF THE LIBERTARIANS ON RUSSI
ARE JUSTIFIED." The affirmative will be taka
by THOMAS BELL, and A. PLOTKIN will upholi
the negative. When two such doughty antagonisi
get together the fur is sure to fly-and some ney
facts touching a long-continued controversy amon
liberals will be brought out undoubtedly. MR. ji
FISH will be heard in a number of Russian songs
-----_ ar-_-__-__-_
Church of the New Social Order
Symphony Hall, 232 So. Hill St.
Sunday Morning Service: 10:45 o'clock
A WARLESS WORLD. DO WE WANTIT? Hoy
ARE WE GOING TO GET IT?
The particular subjects to be considered from Sur:
day to Sunday will follow the lines indicated in the
analysis set forth above.
March 15. The APPEAL TO SUPERIOR
PEOPLES.
March 22. THE APPEAL TO FAITH.
March 29.
TION.
-{_ 4-_____
The ritual of the average secret society is abott
as impressive as the sobriety of a goat.
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