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Show What About Free Speech? SINCE the decent people of San Diego, California, Cali-fornia, so summarily treated the band of I. W. W.'s there who, when questioned, nearly all replied that they were anarchists and desired de-sired the overthrow of all governments, a dis-I dis-I cussion 'has started in the east as to .the limita tions of free speech, as to whether an anarchist ought not to have, under our benign institutions, a right to express his opinions. That is not worth discussing. It 'may be assumed, as-sumed, if necessary, that he has, but then there is another feature of it. The law of self preservation pres-ervation is a very sacred one and it cannot be denied de-nied to all citizens; so when a band of loafers get together and tell how they would overthrow the government if they had the power, that law immediately comes in and those who listen to them have a right to appeal to it; and to protect themselves against those pronounced enemies of society, of human life and valuable property. The creed of those I. W. "W.'s in substance is, stripped of all conventionalities: "We are in this i world. This world owes us a living. If other men have plenty to live on and we have not, it is our right to take what we need, and when we cannot get it any other way, it is our right to prescribe double or triple or quadruple pay for our own indifferent services, which in the end amounts to the same thing. We are getting some- thing for nothing, and we are so determined to do that that we are perfectly willing to overthrow ( society to accomplish it." Now, when men are imbued with a spirit of that kind, it is perfectly natural that men who regard as sacred the lives and property of other men should band themselves together and make these lusty loafers as harmless as possible. They have just now some pretty high examples in the east. One man especially is going about the country proclaiming the absolute right of the people peo-ple to do anything they please. For him there is another treatment which Is prescribed by the - law governing the ballot, and we think on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November Novem-ber next that the people of the United States will do by him as the people of San Diego by their unwelcome citizens, stop 'their offensive-ness, offensive-ness, and if they do not it will be the hardest blow that the great republic ever received, be- .. .-. . cause disrespect for the law seems to be a growing grow-ing disease in this country; indeed an epidemic, which is running its course, and we think it is the duty of the American people who are law-abiding law-abiding and decent men, in the convention in July to vaccinate themselves against the malady, and then when a case appears treat it by isolation until un-til the epidemic dies out. |