It is all right.
I have no complaint to make.
It will come out all right
in God’s good time.
-Eugene Victor Debs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hellraisers Journal, Saturday September 14, 1918
Cleveland, Ohio – Debs Found Guilty of Violating Espionage Law
From The Boston Daily Globe of September 13, 1918:
To speak for labor; to plead the cause
of the men and women and children who toil;
to serve the working class,
has always been to me a high privilege;
a duty of love.
-Eugene Victor Debs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hellraisers Journal, Friday September 13, 1918
Cleveland, Ohio – Eugene Debs Addresses the Jury
From The Milwaukee Leader of September 12, 1918:
Jury in Eugene Debs’ Trial
on Free Speech Gets Its Instructions:
Former Candidate for President Makes Address in Own Defense,
Refusing to Retract Anything Uttered in his Canton Talk—
Case Will Be Appealed if Jury Returns Verdict of Guilty.
by J. Louis Engdahl
Comrade Debs at Canton, June 16, 1918
(CLEVELAND) — Federal Judge D.C. Westenhaver Thursday instructed the jury in the case of Eugene V. Debs, national Socialist leader, charged with making disloyal utterances.
The jury is expected to retire by noon or before.
Westenhaver defined the four counts on which Debs is being tried. They are:
-Caused and attempted to incite insubordination, disloyalty, and mutiny and refusal of duty in the military and naval forces of the United States.
-Obstructed the recruiting and enlistment service.
-Provoked, incited, and encouraged resistance to the government.
-Opposed the cause of the United States at war with Germany.
There is a penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment and a $10,000 fine on each count.
I have no country to fight for;
my country is the earth;
I am a citizen of the world.
-Eugene Victor Debs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hellraisers Journal, Sunday September 8, 1918
Terre Haute, Indiana – John Reed and Art Young with Debs on July 4th
From The Liberator of September 1918:
With Gene Debs on the Fourth
By John Reed
[Part II]
—–
It was on the Fourth of July that Art Young and I went to Terre Haute to see Gene. Barely a month before, the terrible rumor had gone round, chilling all our hearts- “Gene Debs is going back on the party!” That lie he nailed in the ringing statement published in the New York Call, and the Wallings, the Simonses, the Bensons cringed under the lash of his words…. Then came his tour through the middle states, menaced everywhere with arrest, violence, even lynching…and Debs calmly speaking according to schedule, fearless, fiery and full of love of people…. Then his Canton speech, a clear internationalist manifesto, and the Cleveland arrest.
“Gene Debs arrested! They’ve arrested Gene!” people said everywhere, with a shock, a feeling of pity, of affection, of rage. Nothing that has happened in the United States this year has stirred so many people just this way. The long sentences given to conscientious objectors, the suppression of the Socialist press, the indictment of editors, lecturers, Socialist officials under the Espionage and Sedition Acts-people didn’t seem to be deeply moved by these things; but the arrest indictment of Gene Debs-of Gene Debs as a traitor to his country! That was like a slap in the face to thousands of simple people-many of them not Socialists at all-who had heard him speak and therefore loved him. Not to mention the hundreds he has personally befriended, helped or even saved from every sort of evil….
“Gene Debs arrested! Our Gene! That’s going too far!”
I have no country to fight for;
my country is the earth;
I am a citizen of the world.
-Eugene Victor Debs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hellraisers Journal, Saturday September 7, 1918
Terre Haute, Indiana – John Reed and Art Young with Debs on July 4th
From The Liberator of September 1918:
With Gene Debs on the Fourth
By John Reed
[Part I]
—–
“WHAT’LL it be, Mr. Sparks?” asked the drug-clerk, with the familiarity of common citizenship in Terre Haute, Indiana, and the respect due to a successful politician.
“Gimme a nut sundae, George,” said the lawyer, who lived around the corner on Sycamore street. Sparks is not his real name. He was dressed up in a new grey suit, adorned with a small American flag, buttons of the First and Third Liberty loans, and a Red Cross emblem. “Reg’lar Fourth o’ July weather, hey George?”
Through the windows of the drug-store Eighth Street looked extremely animated; with families trooping toward the center of the town, flags aslant in children’s hands, mother and pa in holiday attire and sweating freely; with patriarchal automobiles of neighboring farmers, full of starched youngsters and draped with bunting. Faintly came the sound of an occasional fire-cracker, and the thin strains of martial music from the parade. A hot, sticky wind blew occasional puffs of yellow dust up the street.
“Yes, we got a spell of heat all right,” responded George. “We’re going to close the store pretty soon and go up town to see the p’rade.” He scooped ice-cream and went on gossiping. “They say Gene Debs has got arrested up to Cleve-land….”
Everyone in the place stopped talking and looked up.
“Yes,” said the lawyer in a satisfied tone. “Ye-e-es, I guess from what the papers say Gene stepped over the line this time. I guess they’ll shut him up now.”
Debs is a SOCIALIST and a REVOLUTIONARY SOCIALIST at that. Prepare to do your share in his defense! -The Ohio Socialist ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hellraisers Journal, Friday August 30, 1918
Eugene V. Debs: “I proudly march to Victory or Death!”
Debs is a SOCIALIST and a
REVOLUTIONARY SOCIALIST at that.
Prepare to do your share in his defense!
-The Ohio Socialist
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hellraisers Journal, Wednesday July 3, 1918
Cleveland, Ohio – Debs Arrested Sunday June 30th
From The Ohio Socialist of July 2, 1918:
—–
Working Class Champion Arrested on Alleged
Violation of Espionage Law
—–
Deb’s Canton Speech in Demand; Officers
Diligent Search Reveals Naught
—–
Eugene Victor Debs, several times Socialist Party candidate for President of the United States, champion of Labor and the cause of the underdog, was arrested on an indictment drawn by the Federal Grand Jury as he was about to enter the Bohemian Gardens at Cleveland, Sunday, June 30th, where he was scheduled to address the Socialists. The indictment is based on alleged violations of the Espionage law, which it is claimed, he committed in his speech at Canton, June 16th.
An audience of three thousand people awaited Debs’ appearance at the meeting, which was addressed by Tom Clifford and John Brahtin of Cleveland, Marguerite Prevey of Akron and Harry Kritzger, agent of John Reed, who was in the city arranging a meeting which Reed will address on Wednesday, July 3rd.
When the arrest of Debs was announced to the audience it immediately showed its determination to stay in the fight to the finish. Wild applause greeted the name of Debs. A grim determination was noticeable upon the faces of every one and a spirit of sacrifice and comradeship was evident. There were no weak kneed ones there.
