And, if in Glorious battle,
Your life should offered be,
Your body will be sent home sure-
But strictly C. O. D.
-W. H. Piper ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hellraisers Journal, Friday June 17, 1898
St. Louis, Missouri – Body of Corporal Walker Sent Home C. O. D.
We are free, truly free, when we don’t need to rent our arms to anybody in order to be able to lift a piece of bread to our mouths. ―Ricardo Flores Magón
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hellraisers Journal, Tuesday March 26, 1918
Las Angeles, California – Publication of “Manifesto” Leads to Arrests
The publication of a “Manifesto” by Mexican Revolutionaries, Ricardo Flores Magón and Librado Rivera, in the March 16th edition of Regeneración has led to the arrests of our Mexican Comrades. According to the plan outlined below, they will be tried under the federal Espionage Act.
From The Los Angeles Times of March 22, 1918:
Ricardo Flores Magon and Librado Rivera
AN INVESTIGATION by government agents was begun yesterday in the ramifications of a plan to foment a local Mexican insurrection, following the arrest of Ricardo Flores Magon and Liberado [Librado] Rivera, kingpins of the local anarchistic group and editors an publishers of Regeneracion, organ of the Los Angeles Bolsheviki [this is, of course, absurd as the Bolsheviki are not anarchists]. United States Commissioner D. M. Hammack fixed the bail in each case at $25,000.
Magon was picked up on the street in front of the Federal Building by Deputy United States Marshal Dolph Bassett, and just before noon, the same officer grabbed Rivera in the courtroom of Superior Judge Willis, where he was a witness for the defense in the Palma murder trial.
As Rivera was taken down the steps he scattered a number of sealed copies of Regeneracion, that had been addressed to followers of the unpatriotic cult. Enrique Flores Magon, the brother of Ricardo, was also in the courtroom and smiled when he saw Rivera taken away. For once he was outside the Federal net.
While Elihu Root is advising
the new Russian democracy,
you can come over and advise
the new American autocracy.
–Appeal to Reason to Czar Nicholas II
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hellraisers Journal, Thursday July 12, 1917 Girard, Kansas – Invitation Sent to “Mr. Nicholas Romanoff”
From the Appeal to Reason of June 30, 1917:
The Appeal Invites “Czar Nick”
to Come to America
Girard, Kansas, June 27, 1917.
Mr. Nicholas Romanoff, Care Council of Workmen’s and Soldiers’ Delegates, Petrograd, Russia.
Dear Nick: Not knowing just how to reach you directly, we are sending this letter in care of the Workmen’s and Soldiers’ Delegates, who are doubtless keeping an eye on you and whom we trust to deliver this message uncensored as the mail of other private citizens is now being delivered-in Russia.
We expect you to be surprised at hearing from us, but not more surprised than we are at finding ourselves writing to you, a perfect stranger, you might say. Still, we feel that we have had an introduction to you after a fashion, having read about you a great deal and followed your recent career with much interest; so we think, Nick, that you’re the very man for a job that is now open over here in this land of the recently free. Here is a new and promising field for the exercise of your peculiar talents.
You will drop your hoe and come over on the next ship when we tell you that Czarism has been introduced in America, that the United States has taken the place of Russia with a vengeance that is rather characteristic of your own past rule.
I have no country to fight for;
my country is the earth;
I am a citizen of the world.
-Eugene Victor Debs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hellraisers Journal, Friday May 4, 1917
The Socialist Party of America on War and Militarism
From April 7th to the 14th, delegates gathered in St. Louis, Missouri, for a “National Emergency Convention” to consider the Socialist position on the “orgy of war.” A Majority Report and two Minority Reports on War and Militarism were the end result of that convention and those Reports are being put up to a vote of the membership this month.
From this month’s International Socialist Review:
The Emergency National Convention
By LESLIE MARCY
IN compliance with a mandate hurriedly issued by the National Executive Committee, delegates assembled at the Planters Hotel in St. Louis on Saturday morning, April 7th. All states were represented with the exception of Alabama, Alaska, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina, while Texas was represented part of the time by one delegate.
This convention was called without a referendum vote and in face of the fact that there was very little demand on the part of the membership for it. The Constitution nowhere empowers the National Executive Committee to call a special convention. In many states the membership was not even given an opportunity to elect delegates but the rank and file will be asked to dig up $15,000.00 to cover the cost of the convention. The excuse for the convention was to find out how the party stood on the question of war. All the National Executive Committee had to do was to say, Let there be a convention, and there was a convention.
As many theories were represented regarding war, its cause and cure and the attitude the party should take in the present crisis, as there were tongues around the Tower of Babel. Many of the delegates came uninstructed but there were half a dozen delegations which came instructed to vote against all wars, offensive or defensive. The delegates from Illinois, Michigan, Washington and Ohio were cleancut and uncompromising and voted solidly together for a clear, concise statement of the party’s position.
