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Show BOLSHEVIK! II U, S. HOH55 Seek Freedom for Alexander Alexan-der Berkman, Who Is a Leading Figure. NXW YORK, Feb. I. The Boisiieviki a. re in f nil control of the Russian colonial congress vhii:h opened here tonight, with ck-leyate: prtcont from all parts of the L'nii.:J fcjuueu. Alexander Berkman, who must go to prison tomorrow for opposing tho selective draft law, was one of the leading figures. The test of strength came with the ; election of officers, Gregory Weinsteln, editor of Novy Mir, a radical Socialist publication upon which Leon Trotzky was employed as an editorial writer when he was in this city, was elected president by a Large majority. A Bolshevik also was elected vice president. The convention opened with the singing sing-ing of the funeral dire adopted by the Russians after the revolution. The chairman chair-man I hen read telegrams from Socialist and social revolutionist organizations in a dozen states wishing the convention 1 success. 1 Tho second clash between the radicals and conservatives came with the introduction intro-duction by Naun Berkus, of the Cleveland group of anarchists, of a resolution which dechued: "The Russian colonial congress, representing repre-senting the Russian people in America, protests against the unjust verdict in the cases of Alexander Berkman, Emma Goldman, Baker and Kramer, and demands de-mands that they bo freed and returned io Russia." X. Horwitz, one of the editors of Kovy Mir, declared the resolution was too mild. He insisted that Berkman and others should be freed without deportation. He sain" they had a right to live where they pleased. Another delegate thought Chaykin of Kansas City should be included in the resolution. Brielo Uso of San Francisco demanded that the conference seek the immediate liberation of Berkman and Emma Goldman, Gold-man, who will begin tomorrow to serve two-yenr terms for conspiracy to obstruct the selective draft law. President Weinstein said the committee on credentials would have to report before be-fore the vote could be taken on the resolution, reso-lution, and suggested that the convention had other business to transact. |