I have no country to fight for;
my country is the earth,
and I am a citizen of the world.
-Eugene V. Debs
Hellraisers Journal, Tuesday February 12, 1918
Eugene Debs Defends the Socialist Party of America
From the Chicago Eye-Opener of February of 9, 1918:
The Campaign This Year.
by Eugene V. Debs
The Socialist Party is emerging from another struggle crowned with victory.
When the party declared its attitude toward war at the St. Louis convention [April 7-14, 1917] it was fiercely attacked from within as well as without as an anti-patriotic, seditious, traitorous organization. The chairman of the committee that framed the war resolution was indicted and sentenced to penitentiary for a term of five years. The National Secretary [Adolph Germer] was arrested upon one charge, indicted and tried upon another, and is still under bail pending further trial.
Hundreds of the party’s speakers and organizers were arrested and jailed, and hundreds of others forcibly prevented from speaking. Halls for meeting purposes were denied our lecturers, secret service agents dogged the heels of our comrades, while rowdies and strong-arm men, including not a few in the uniform of United States soldiers and sailors, were incited to raid our local headquarters, sack our offices, and break up our meetings. The party’s papers were either suppressed outright or sorely hampered by the authorities.
