P. S. Mr. Editor:—You are not responsible for the opinion of your columnists, so let me take the responsibility in this case—and publish today.
March 29, 1922.
EDITOR,
The Los Angeles Times,
LOS ANGELES, CAL.
Why does not the man who wrote the editorial on “Communists, Socialists and Rats,” sign his name to his unworthy screed? Christ was a Socialist and a Communist, but not a rat. You must be that, otherwise you could not write with such consummate hate about a movement to give more justice to an unhappy world. All thinking people are Socialists, as opposed to capitalists. How can you defend the ideals of Capitalism against the ideals of Socialism—Competition against Co-operation? Have you not shown what the power of Capital can do to Humanity? You, a supposed Christian, hate an idealistic theory, that will take away your special privileges and hand them to the masses. That, and that only, is what frightens those who are intrenched behind the bulwarks of privilege.
Oh, for a free intelligent press, one which is really striving for the best for all humanity, instead of one that goes out of its way to spread its venom and corrupt the minds of the unthinking masses! More power to the radicals in our schools, those who really want to get at the roots of the trouble of our civilization and eradicate them! Instead of which we expel the thinking, progressive teachers, because we fear to have the eyes of the children opened to the iniquities of the present cruel system of exploitation of the masses by the few.
Yours truly,
KATE CRANE GARTZ.
April 6, 1922.
WM. G. MCADOO,
LOS ANGELES, CAL.
My dear Mr. McAdoo: I was quite thrilled when I heard you uphold free speech at Miss Foy’s dinner the other evening. I thought, at last a real man! But alas, when Upton Sinclair asked you to show whether you really believed in your utterances or not, by signing an amnesty petition for release of political prisoners still kept in jail for exercising their constitutional right of free speech—you proved yourself to be not the straightforward man we hoped we had found. Thus you appear not promising as a presidential candidate, one who would do anything different from any other Republican or Democrat, so far as the welfare of the masses is concerned.
Oh, for a man, a real man, whose whole life is dedicated to solving the problems of humanity; who has ideals above bigger business, or who will not preach justice one minute and deny it the next, but who will be eager to put in practice what he preaches!
Sincerely,
KATE CRANE GARTZ.
May 10, 1922.
EDITOR,
The Evening Post,
PASADENA, CAL.
Dear Sir: You say you are a publication with a purpose and a determination to be fair. But you will have to change that slogan if you continue your outrageous attacks on Russia. Of course the “Nation” and “New Republic,” the “Freeman” and other magazines edited by intellectuals are sympathetic towards socialistic Russia and its struggle against capitalistic governments. The “Nation” is not for “my country right or wrong,” but is big enough to point out its faults that they may be removed. But it seems that truth is always resented by the guilty.
I heard our own Von Kleinsmid say before the Woman’s City Club the other day that Russia is the purest democracy on earth today. So why always denounce Sovietism? It only means more representation by the people who work, elected by the trades rather than by geography.
Watch the Genoa conference—the idealism and statesmanship of the Russians is far higher than in any other nation. The Allies refuse to listen or talk about disarmament—the one thing we conscripted our boys to fight for—that, and the pure democracy that only-Russia has attained!
As for Lincoln Steffens, why is he not more of an authority on Russia than you? Has he not been visiting that country for years and made it his business to know?
Sincerely,
KATE CRANE GARTZ.
May 18, 1922.
GOV. W. D. STEPHENS,
SACRAMENTO, CAL.
Dear Sir: Just to add my name to the long list of those who know that Mooney and Billings have been unjustly held prisoners for the last six years, by perjured testimony. We keep on protesting, but are unable to make any impression on the “powers that be.” They seem to be obdurate in this case—and also in the cases of unlawfully imprisoned Industrial Workers of the World. I say “unlawfully” because the espionage law is unconstitutional, and should have been automatically repealed at the signing of the armistice. Rulers, not “the people,” are always afraid of a new idea, and Mooney’s idea of justice is a thing which rulers fear because it is more justice to the masses! What can we who love justice do but protest against such unjust suppression?
The excuse of war now no longer exists—yet at the present hour another idealist, Miss Anita Whitney, is about to be railroaded to the penitentiary simply because she is a Communist! What, pray, is a Communist? “A Communist is one who advocates equalizing the social conditions of life by the abolition of inequalities in the possession of property.” Now who does not want that but the selfish propertied man? Don’t we all wish to see poverty and suffering abolished? But is it being done under the present system? No, and as long as there is one family who has to ask or accept charity, there will be those who are willing to go to jail in their fight against unjust conditions. But oh, the shame of those who put and keep them there! Where are their consciences?
KATE CRANE GARTZ.
May 28, 1922.
EDITOR,
The Evening Post,
PASADENA, CAL.
Sir: So you think Lincoln Steffens is paid by the Bolsheviki to make propaganda, and therefore you accuse him of “not telling the truth.” This is a serious matter—to accuse a man outright of not telling the truth. The world today is in the midst of very grave problems—problems so fraught with human pain and chaos, that civilization itself is in the crucible. So it is our duty to strive for real truth where a whole nation’s destiny is concerned.
You say Mr. Steffens is not telling the truth because he is paid by the Bolsheviki. Do you mean that a man cannot tell the truth if he is being paid? This would put most of our public men in a very peculiar light. What about yourself? Are you not paid to write for a newspaper? Do you mean to say that you could not tell the truth because you are paid?
Do you mean that the Bolsheviki are not honest, and therefore, anyone who is paid by them to make propaganda is not honest? Upon your opinion of the Bolshevik government you have no right to make a charge of untruthfulness against a man who is looked upon as highly cultured and entirely trustworthy by thousands of Americans. To settle differences of political opinion, honest men and women must not accuse their opponents of dishonesty.
Mr. Steffens is an old friend of my brother, Charles R, Crane, who chooses his friends for their integrity and intelligence.
Sincerely,
KATE CRANE GARTZ.
June 12. 1922.
PRESIDENT W. G. HARDING,
WASHINGTON, D. C.
Dear Sir: For the second time, I ask you to live up to your high flung phrases, “Expend your power in righteousness.”
You believe in God; I do not, but I try to believe in man, and find it most difficult many times. You let those children who are now picketing your front door plead in vain for “righteousness” for their fathers, who have been languishing in jail for five years for absolutely nothing! Not only should they be released now, but an attempt at atonement should be made to them for the five years stolen from their lives—if such were possible.
There is a man named Magon in Leavenworth, a beautiful character—I have seen letters to his wife, who lives in this neighborhood. No more romantic, idealistic phrases were ever penned. Perhaps he is a revolutionist. Why not? Should we not all revolt against tyranny and injustice? Was not George Washington such a one?
Magon is in jail for wanting more freedom and justice. How much longer will the Government be blind? And what must
the next step be—since for five years we have pleaded and petitioned in vain?
Sincerely,
KATE CRANE GARTZ.
June 14, 1922.
CONGRESSMAN I. G. HERSHEY,
WASHINGTON, D. C.
Dear Sir: Well, if the Amnesty drive is “engineered by Anarchists, Socialists, and Bolshevists,” all the more glory for them, as being the only groups in the country who have human attributes.
If you representatives in Congress would listen to the lone Socialist leader, Meyer London, we, the people, would have nothing to fear, and might live to see our hopes for justice and humanitarian principles prevail.
Sincerely, KATE CRANE GARTZ.
July 30, 1922.
PRESIDENT W, G, HARDING,
WASHINGTON, D. C.
Dear Sir: For a man who professes such a profound belief in religion we expect more practice of its precepts. Just now we cannot depend on “Almighty God,” to see that Justice is done, so we turn to mere man. All we know is “man’s inhumanity to man”; for God has been deaf, dumb, and blind as far as man’s ills are concerned. But you are his disciple—why not live up to his teachings?
You, of all men, have such a glorious opportunity to show the world that you really believe and carry out Christ’s teachings in your leadership of this great nation. I hope you are reading Debs’ articles on Prisons as Reformatories, Not Deformatories. There again we have talked long and done nothing. Another thing we could do is to take the manufacture of war materials out of private hands; that would help to abolish war. If governments can’t settle their disputes by their reasoning faculties, let the two heads fight a duel, and then only one will be killed instead of millions of our children. Will you not advocate this, and do our fighting for us?
Sincerely, KATE CRANE GARTZ.
July 25, 1922.
E. A. FILENE,
BOSTON, MASS
Dear Sir: I have just read your article in the current “Collier’s” on “What Can a Rich Man Do?” That is a question that has long agitated me, because I realize that I am a parasite living on the backs of others, and it makes me ashamed.
Now when we realize that, there is only one thing to do, and that is change the system which makes such exploitation possible. You are a “Good employer”—but that is not enough. I recommend to you the best possible way to use your money—that is, for a foundation to promote research, and subsidize men to find out what you yourself do not know—how to make the world a better and happier place to live in.
Because you are different from most capitalists, and can afford to be magnanimous, I hope you will see what a glorious opportunity you have for building a monument for yourself, and at the same time doing the greatest good to the greatest number. I know you realize that no people can really live until they are free from the bondage of economic necessity. So let us work for that.
Sincerely,
KATE CRANE GARTZ.
July 25, 1922.
ATTORNEY GENERAL DAUGHERTY,
WASHINGTON, D. C.
Dear Sir: You are greatly mistaken when you say that Magon and Rivera are dangerous Anarchists. They are dangerous only to a corrupt capitalist system. They are idealists, they do not believe in force, as do capitalistic governments. All thinking people are outraged at the treatment meted out to this type of men by your cruel, “law and order” regime.
If their own country, Mexico, asks for their return, you should be willing to grant that request. What would our country do if Mexico refused us under similar circumstances?
These men are highly educated and cultured, far above the average mental ability of our present day politicians. They were only seeking the salvation of humanity, and for that we dare to put them into jail! Why is there not one government official in Washington who would enjoy the reputation of being human?
Sincerely,
KATE CRANE GARTZ.
July, 1922.
PRESIDENT W. G. HARDING,
WASHINGTON, D. C.
Sir: We, the People, have a right to petition, and it is for you, the Servant of the People, to listen. We have appealed to your magnanimity, but you have been deaf to the voice of justice, and have refused the request for Amnesty made by a million people—a request that no other people on earth have had to make more than once.
It is not only our right but our duty to criticize the men at the helm of our government, and the government has no right to imprison men for exercising the constitutional right of criticizing their government.
“Our repeated petitions have been met only by repeated injury.....Such a tyrant is unfit to be the ruler of a free People.” (Quotation from Declaration of Independence.)
The president preceding you told us in a book called “The New Freedom” that there was an “Invisible Government,” namely, Wall Street. If that is true, it is a terrible indictment of our present day so-called civilization, turning our “Hall of Justice” into one of flagrant Injustice. Are you not afraid of forcing revolution by repeatedly denying the petitions of the people for justice, and also, as in the present coal and railroad strikes, in sending troops to protect property, instead of men, in their fight for living wages and decent living conditions? I would be, if I were in your position.
Sincerely,
KATE CRANE GARTZ.
August 1, 1922.
CHARLIE CHAPLIN,
HOLLYWOOD, CAL.
Dear Charlie; Sorry you missed hearing Foster on Russia last night. It is to weep when one hears again the atrocities committed by the Allies on prostrate, struggling Russia—their forcing them to fight on nineteen fronts, and the deadly inhuman blockade! But to come nearer home, we have five thousand railroad men here in Los Angeles striking for living wage. Some of them have had as low as $1.88 a day. Of course, they have not been able to save anything for a rainy day, and many of them are on the verge of starvation now.
Do you not want to come to the rescue and help them in their fight against the terrible inhuman system that rises to prosperity on the backs of the workers?
Sincerely,
KATE CRANE GARTZ.
August 2, 1922.
EDITOR,
The Los Angeles Times,
LOS ANGELES, CAL.
Dear Sir: You speak of the courage and loyalty of the Scab—your sympathy for some inexplicable reason is always with him, and against the man who is making the fight for better living conditions for all workers. God alone can understand the Scab, who is a traitor to his class. Heaven knows, he has no good reason for being loyal to the exploiter of labor, as every big business man is. But you know, and I know, that he is starved into it, as a result of the worldwide unemployment. You also know that this is a fight to break the unions, the only weapon the worker has against the predatory exploiter. With that attempt you are in sympathy, and for that you are hated by millions of workers all over the world.
That principle you stand so valiantly for in your editorial today—that a man must be free to work when and where he pleases—sounds very well to the unthinking person, but you know that such a man is keeping negroes down below the American standard of living. The five thousand strikers in Los Angeles today are starving for a principle. Are you? Are the Scabs? Oh, the shame, that the powers that be cannot see the infamy of the whole cruel system, and do something about it, before it is too late and the workers do it for themselves!
KATE CRANE GARTZ.
August, 1922.
ALMA WHITAKER,
Care The Los Angeles Times,
LOS ANGELES, CAL.
Dear ‘Alma’: You say we women have changed since 1910. If so, I cannot see it. From their busyness in the Red Cross, they have drifted back into their vacuous card-playing and Society stunts.
Do you think you could mobilize them now to work for our own hungry people or for starving Russia? How many of them came out last Saturday with their, ‘No More War,’ posters or attended the meeting? Only a handful!
No, we have not changed much. It is difficult to ch
ange human nature. We must evolve a system not dependent on whims of women, who do a little charity work to salve their consciences—or else forget to do it.
Sincerely,
KATE CRANE GARTZ.
September 20, 1922.
EDITOR,
The Valve World,
CHICAGO, ILL.
In reply to your article on “Individualism,” you say “Communism would destroy Individualism.” On the contrary, it wants every individual to have a chance to be an individual, which he has not got under Capitalism. Then you say, “Individualism demands that every individual shall have equal opportunity, also liberty and justice.” That is all Socialism wants. We do not get it under Capitalism. Capitalism wants it for itself alone.
You say, “We cannot for long let any one group dominate.” Yes, that is why we are tired of being dominated by the “Invisible Government”
Yes, Russia has unmade an autocratic, Czaristic nation; that is the crux of the whole question. Capitalistic governments do not want the workers to have anything to say about their jobs, or the conditions under which they live and work. What happened to the “will of the majority,” in the last presidential convention in Chicago? Six men decided the nomination.
So, I too, am “frankly, everlastingly, aggressively for Individualism,” to be arrived at through the free association of individuals for the benefit of all—which I call Socialism.
Sincerely,
KATE CRANE GARTZ.
September 21, 1922.
REV. JOHN M. DEAN,
PASADENA, CAL.
I have read of your sermon urging that our country should go to war with Turkey. You seem to forget that the late war was a “war to end war,” and if more war is the only solution that you, a minister, have for the world’s ills—I pity you and all the rest of us. Yes, the government has been subservient to big business in the past, but let us hope it has learned its lesson. Let the “Wrath of God” come down on your own head if you suggest more war!
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