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Show pSts Over-rides the Action of Governor Lowden and Allows the People's Council of America for Democracy and Peace to Hold Their Meeting and Organize. TROOPS HURRIED FROM THE CAPITAL Adjutant General and Four Companies of Guardsmen Arrive Too Late to Carry Out Order Or-der of Executive; Personnel Per-sonnel of the Committee Commit-tee jAppointed. CHICAGO, Sept. 2. After being driven from three states, the Peoples' Council of America for Democracy and Terms of Peace perfected a formal organization at a public meeting ln Chicago today. The session was held under protection of the police, acting on orders from Mayor William Hale Thompson, which were In defiance of Governor Frank O. Lowden. Four companies of national guardsmen rushed from the state capital on a special spe-cial train to prevent the meeting arrived after it had adjourned, its purpose having been accomplished. . The clash in authority between Mayor Thompson and Governor Lowden came as the result of the action of the police in breaking up the pacifists' meeting yesterday yester-day on orders from the governor. When the mayor, who was at his summer home at Lake Forest, heard of this, he declared de-clared that the governor had exceeded his authority and immediately instructed Chief of Police Schuetler to permit the meeting and to give the delegates every protection. I Pacifists Gather. When the pacifists heard of tire mayor's ' action immediate preparations were made ; to hold the meeting, which had been prevented pre-vented in Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin, and had been forbidden as unpatriotic un-patriotic and disloyal by the governor of Illinois. Assured of the protection of the police, the delegates gathered shortly after noon at the West Side auditorium, in the heart of a cosmopolitan quarter. A score of patrolmen were on guard inside and outside out-side the building, and fifty more w-ere held near by to suppress any disorder, Near-by streets were utterly deserted as the delegates took their places and were called to order by Seymour Stedman, former Socialist candidate for governor of Illinois, as temporary chairman. Troops Rushed to Chicago. In the meantime Governor Lowden had been notified of the defiance of his orders or-ders and immediately called Adjutant General Dickson of Illinois into conference. confer-ence. As Governor Lowden considered immediate imme-diate action necessary, four companies of the Ninth regiment of the Illinois National Na-tional Guard, who had not been federalized, fed-eralized, were assembled at Springfield and started for Chicago on a special train, with orders to make the run in four hours. Adjutant General Dickson, who accompanied accom-panied the troops, had orders to break up the meeeting at once on his arrival In Chicago, despite the action of the police and mayor. Committee Appointed. With the soldiers rushing toward Chicago Chi-cago to prevent their meeting, the pacifists paci-fists were called to order by Seymour Stedman and a national executive committee com-mittee appointed as follows: Seymour Stedman of Chicago; J. D. Works, former United States senator, of Los Angeles; James H. Maurer, Reading, Pa., member of the Pennsylvania legislature; legis-lature; Professor Scott Nearing of Toledo; To-ledo; Jacob .Panken of New York; Morris Mor-ris Hillquit, New "i ork; Professor IL W. L. Dana. Columbia university; M. A Toohy. Toledo; Mrs. W. I. Thomas, Chicago, Chi-cago, national secretary of the Woman's Peace party; George Roewen, Boston; Frank Stevens. Ardcn. Del.; Leila rave Secor, New York; Rebekah Shellv, New York; Elizabeth Freeman. New York and Dr. II. W. Walz, Cleveland. Rabbi's Address. IxUer committees were appointed on American liberties, economic conditions, revolutions, and peace terms. Rabbi j' L. Magnes of New York then delivered an address, in which he said: "Throueh free discussion the American people might, while heloing democracy throughout the world, develop rather than restrict our democra -y here at home. Ts it worthy of a democracy that citizens .holding divergent views be driven from ; place to place to tmd onportunltv for .discussion? That they he threatened with j imprisonment, that they be spied upon ! (Continued on Page Three.) Ill OF CHICAGO PROTECTS PACIFISTS (Continued from Page One.) and maligned because in these miraculous miracu-lous days of change, of death and of life, of misery and hope, as lovers of America and their fellow men they speak and labor and struggle for democracy and peace?" Congressman Talks. W. E. Mason, congressman at large from Illinois, the next speaker, declared there was more misery in the country today than at any time since Bunker Hill. "But no worse thing ever happened in the history of the. United States." he said, ''than Is happening now, when people peo-ple like you are branded as criminals and denied the right of free assembly." He alsoi declared that the only people who welcomed the war were the bankers and editors, and denounced "conscription and the sending of troops to France. J. D. Works of Los Angeles said: "I have never seen the time when the governor of a state issued Instructions to prevent the assembly of a peaceful I people. I wonder if democracy in this free republic Is dead! We are not here to attack the government, but to defend it. Governor Lowden should send troops here to protect us. If he fails, this meeting meet-ing will result in bloodshed and rioting." 200 Delegates Present. The remarks of all the speakers broughL wild applause from tbe delegates, about 300 of whom were in the auditorium. audi-torium. When Chairman S ted man an--nounced that troops were on their way to break up the meetir.c, one delegate proposed that the pacifists remain In their seats until ousted forcibly by the troops. Mr. Stedman said that the meeting meet-ing would have to adjourn at or before 7 o'clock, as the lease on the hall ran out at that time and that the troops were not due to arrive until some time later. He told the delegates that if they challenged the authority of the state at this time they would be destroyed. He declared that their only possible action was at the polls. "We have accomplished our purpose," he said In announcing an adjournment at 0 :50 o'clock. "But the adjournment Is taken because our lease on this hall has expired. Our ntxt meeting will be announced an-nounced secretly by the heads of the organization." or-ganization." Police Chief Explains. Chief of Police Herman Schneider tonight to-night said that the police had placed patrolmen at the peace meeting to prevent pre-vent the possibility of an attack on the conference by a mob. He explained that the meeting had been authorized by-Mayor by-Mayor William Hale Thompson, and that It was a part of the duties of the police department to see that order was preserved pre-served at the hall. Asked whether the police had been ordered to protect the meeting against soldiers, he replied: . "The police were there to prevent rowdyism, row-dyism, as the meeting had been declared O. K. by the mayor." He refused to say what would have been the attitude of the police if troops had arrived in time to stop the meeting. Aims of Council. A committee of seventeen on platform was appointed, with Morris Hillquit of New York, chairman of the national committee com-mittee of tho People's Council of America Amer-ica for Democracy and Terms of Peace, at their head. After four hours' deliberation, delib-eration, the committee reported a platform plat-form of principles, which was adopted by the convention by a unanimous vote. Tho platform called for the progressive progres-sive disarmament of all nations; repeal of the conscription act by the United States congress; a concrete statement by the administration of its war alms, and peace without conquest, annexation or indemnity. Resolution Adopted. The following resolution was offered by Irwin St. John Tucker and adopted by the convention: Resolved, by this convention, that we accept the president's statement of the war alms of the allies, so far as It refers to "no punitive indemnifies." indemni-fies." no exclusive economic leagues and no dismemberment of empires; that we urge the allied powers to make similar clear and unmistakable statements of their aims, in order to deprive the German autocracy of Its chief strength. The conclusion of the German people that the autocracy Is their only defense against dismemberment dis-memberment and economic destruction: destruc-tion: and that we urge the president not to demand of the German people a m eas u re of d e m ocrn cy so far In excess of the measure of democracv allowed to the American people as to raise In the minds of the Germans suspicions that our Insistence on their democratization is not made in eood faith. Leave in Small Parties, After the meeting on the west side disbanded, dis-banded, the delegates went to a down- I town hotel, where they maintain headquarters. head-quarters. The manager of the hotel said I , the leaders asked jor a suite of rooms In 1 I whir!-, meetings could be held, but tin's ' ' was refused. Shortly afterward, Word' icame to the hotel that the troons had i 'nrrlved from Springfield and that 'federal i soldiers had been ordered out in Chicago. The delegates then left the hotel in small J part ;c There were conferences cf leaders of the conference at their hotel rooms, and It was reported that an attempt would be made to hold a second session of the delegates tomorrow at the U'est Side Y. M. C. A. Subterfuge Einployed. It developed tonight that the meeting for today was planned last night, while publicly it was announced that the conference con-ference had broken up and that the delegates dele-gates would po home as a result of the interference of the governor. This morning morn-ing a notice calling1 today's meeting was found in the room of a delegate, and the news was communicatee to H. B. Her-rtck, Her-rtck, member of the Illinois council of defense. He got in touch with Governor Lowden, who ordered the troops to Chicago. Chi-cago. Before the state troops arrived, orders were Issued to three Chicago regiments of federalized guardsmen to assemble at their armories for reserve duty, but no statement was forthcoming as to the plans for these soldiers. Soldiers Stack Arms. When the special train arrived at the station nearest the hall where the conference con-ference had been held, Adjutant General Dickson was advised by secret service men that the meeting was over. A fleet of taxlcabs, which had awaited the troops to hurry the soldiers to the meeting place was then dismissed, and the soldiers stacked anm and took up quarters for the night. The soldiers were met hy Sheriff John K. Tracger with a squad of deputies. The sheriff reported that he had been ordered by the governor to co-operate wtih the troops and had many special deputies ready for action. Mayor Thompson dropped out of sight af ter authorizing the meeting, but resolutions reso-lutions thankine him for his stand against Governor Iowden. the sheriff and t he federal officers were adopted at the meet inc. jut before the sen? ion closed Hs successful race acainst the onspeed-iiifr onspeed-iiifr special train loaded with soldiers. The executive committee announced In le tonight that plans for further sessions ses-sions had been abandoned and delegates had been Instructed to return to their hemes- Many of them are said to have left t he r-ity tonigh t. A representative df the council aFserted that -MnR.smuch as a business programme tinit was exnertd to foii'iitne four days had been completed in four hours." the immediate purpose of the conference was accomplished and there was no further need of general sessions. Plans for the future have not been announced. |