New-York tribune. [volume], November 23, 1919, Page 4, Image 70

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Ole Hanson Stumps the Country for Americanism
Seattle's Fighting Ex-Mayor Really Un?
derstands the Northwest, and He Says
What He Thinks About the Reds
/
By Louis Leo Arma
1W. W. eruptions on Annistice
Day and the ?vents of the
? paist fortnight have once more
singled out the Northwest as
the hot spot of radicalism.
The shooting down of four ex
soldiers and members of tthe Ameri
can Legion on November 11 at Cen
tralia. Wash., followed by the
lynching of one "Red" and the Jail?
ing of a score more, have created a
?situation the end of which is not
yet.
No man understands the North?
west, the character of its people
end its political and economic struc
fcre better than Ole Hanson, Seat?
tle's fighting ex-Mayor, the spec?
tacular white-haired American of
Bwedish extraction whose percep?
tion and decision last winter broke
? sympathetic strike which since has
been characterized as, in effect, a
social revolution.
Mr. Hanson is now on a speaking
tour of the country. During the
past seven weeks he has spent forty
two nights in sleeping car berths.
He is preaching Americanism and
relating to his audiences his experi?
ences with the radicals of the North?
west?those same that were impli?
cated in the Armistice Day out?
breaks.
"Make it a felony to belong to
the I. W. W. or a kindred organiza?
tion," said Seattle's former mayor
to The Tribune representative. "No
amount of theorizing suffices in the
present honr. Act! Jail the native
trouble-makers and deport the ras?
cally aliens who are equally at tht
bottom of the unrest of the North
west."
Behind the Discontent
Seattle's erstwhile Mayor, who re
signed his position to take the plat
form against radicalism, summed uj
the reasons for the chronic discon
tent in the Northwest as follows
beginning at the inception of th<
organization eut of which grew thi
Industrial Workers of the World:
"It could always be found in thi
Northwest that radicalism begai
among those men who had no fixei
responsibilities. Lumber and minim,
workers were the ones invariabl;
affected.
"These men were virtually home
less and womanless, and that is
condition that makes for disconten
Revolution feeds upon disconten
and there has been plenty of bot
in the Northwest. The lumb<
worker averages about eleven da*?
to a job. He is paid well for th
work and with the first or secor
pay day he frequently disappear
going to the city to spend his ear
ings and then back to work at a*
other camp when ho Is broke.
"To understand our situation it
necessary to understand the cha
itcter of the men who want to ove
throw tiie government and the co
ditions nnder which they are wor
ing and have worked.
"As early as 1914 men who we
opposed to our system of gover
ment wero convinced ithat the u
rest among this largo field of wot
men could be capitalized. An air
is held together by a common pi
pose, so is the priesthood and oth
groups of men, but these unmi
ried, homeless workers had
stabilizing Influences and clutch
ut anything that promised an eas
life and excitement. The last is i
pointant.
"Debs, Symons, Haggerty o
Coates whipped the miners Into l1
first In 1914 under the head of f
Western Federation of Miners.
was out of this organization tl
?Wth the I. W. W. and the Nonp
tlsan league gTew. They gr
rapidly, for they guaranteed radi
reforms and pandered to the lc
of excitement and intrigue whi
the homeless and womanless m
will inevitably substitute when thi
la no domestic life.
"At this time the radical lead?
decried unionism. The unions we
the quiescent tools of the capitali
they said. Nothing ever could be
done through them that the L W. W.
could not accomplish more effec?
tively and in less time. The L W. W.
felt sorry for the unions, but, which
is more important, could not show
them the error of their ways.
A Matter of Evolution
"From 1914 to the big strike of
1917 we may assume that condi?
tions in the lumber woods were not
of the best. All Industrial improve?
ment is a matter of evolution, but,
as yet, the living conditions in the
great woods had not evoluted. The
men did hard work and lived in
shacks and bunkhouses. They fur?
nished their own bedding with which
they trudged from camp to camp.
For many years there were no
amusements for the men, and this,
with the lack of home life and the
general feeling of irresponsibility,
mado of these workers saturnine,
rough fellows who, in the rough-and
tumble fights of the camps, sunk the
spikes of their shoes deep into the
faces of their opponents. There is
no gainsaying that the employers
were slow to recognize conditions,
or it may be that they thought the
quality of creature comforts was
comparable to the loyalty of their
men.
"After the great strike of 1917
was called living conditions for the
lumbermen were improved. Better
beds, better food and better hours
were established. Now I would
rather have a meal in a Washing?
ton lumber camp than the best din?
ner that could be served in a New
York hotel. Camp cooks are paid
$175 to $200 a month and they are
acquainted with the appetites to
which they minister.
"The advent of better living con
i ditions did not diminish the popu?
larity of the I. W. W. Rather it
helped, for the results of the strike
were pointed to as the magic that
could be weaved by organization
and many converts were gained. So
far, so good; for these, broadly, are
accepted principles of employer
employee relations and are a thing
apart from revolution.
"That takes in again the character
of the men. Seattle, as the first
port of entry from Russia, and the
Northwest in general as the jump?
ing off place for those who drift
across the continent from the At?
lantic continued to attract the home?
less wanderer. Under the prevailing
conditions it was here that th?
i 'floater' changed from a nobody tc
; a somebody, for in the eyes of th?.
i "Red" radicals who ruled the I. W
j W. the floater was potentially e
1 soldier of the revolution and as sucl
| was a valuable asset
' Mobilizing the Floaters
"Better living conditions meant tu
' more than temporary gain to thes<
men. That was not their vital objec
1 and never has been. The propos!
jtion was to mobilize thise floater
?or itinerant workmen in auffielen
j numbers to guarantee the success o*
; one bold stroke that would overthrow
1 organized government and start j
! revolution which would sweep th?
j continent.
"These men, as I wish again t?
emphasize, were homeless an?
womanless. I have seen hundreds
of Russian men in Seattle, but never
a woman I have recognized as Rus?
sian. From 1900 to 1918 seventy of
every one hundred immigrants past
nineteen years to reach this coun?
try have been males. That tells
much of the story in the Northwest,
for the woman, after all, rules the
home, controls the expenditures and
keeps man in his place and satisfied.
The most practical employer is he
who builds homes for his employees,
for that employer rears on the
? .
Oleisms
T
HE yesterdays are gone forever, but the lessons
taught by the past must be remembered if tee
are to progress.
In order to understand the present tee must remem?
ber the lessons of the past, but must forget its prejudices*
* ? ?
This is a new day?a new world?but one must never
forget that old human nature never changes*
m * ?
Our present condition has been bred by indifference*
neglect* ignorance and selfishne?s.
* * *
Cowardly complacence must be wiped out by intense
interest in our country's problems.
* * #
Despair never caught a fish nor built a home.
? n *
Great wealth, to be respectable, must come from great
service*
* * *
Poverty oft comes to men who have naught that the
world wants to buy.
* * *
There is* as yet* no synthetic substitute for brain.-.
?OLE HANSON, November 18* 1919.
i solid rock of psychological and ao~
| ciological fact.
"The improved condition that
; came in 1917 brought no real con
j tent. It stayed the hand of the I. W.
? W. for the moment, but the goal of
revolution loomed ahead. The I. W.
W. still held aloof from the unions,
but after the overthrow of the Rus?
sian government a new policy was
conceived. Previously the ?. W. W.
had desired to destroy all unions to
create one big union. Now, as a
matter of practical politics, it was
decided that the I. W. W. would go
into the labor unions, and, operat
: ing wheels within wheels, use the
110 crafts in Seattle as a tool to
? gain its ends.
"The,: story of the soviet was
, preached in every labor hall in
| Seattle. Its benefits and the ad
i vantage of making one bold stroke
| for so-called liberty were urged by
; the 'Red' leaders. In the strike at
' Seattle last February we never have
? been able to get the exact ballot on
; more than one of the union meet
* ings. That one showed that a union
? with a membership of six hundred
decided to go out in secret meeting
en the vote of sixty men. How these
sixty men managed to manipulate
the six hundred is none of our affair
They did do it. And these sixty men
as might be expected, were the I
W. W. radicals who had gone inte
i the unions that they might worl
j from within, just as they are at
I tempting to do to-day. We may as
j sume that a similar operation tool
place among all the unions that
' voted on the so-called sympathetic
strike for the shipyards workers,
i which was, in effect, revolution thin?
ly disguised and bristling with po
I tentialities.
Unnatural Living
"The conditions which I have out
i lined are as surely responsible for
| the outbreaks on Armistice Day as
they were for trio attempted revo
, lution last winter in Seattle. It
! finds its basis In the unnatural state
; of living which prevails in the
. Northwest plus the false hopes held
I out by the radical leaders taking
I their cue from Russia, Ignorance
i is at the bottom of tho situation,
j but while such ignorance obtains it
; is important that public conscious
? ness be awakened to the danger and
: that it be properly combated,
"In the outbreak? at Centralia
: and elsewhere the tag has been defi?
nitely placed on the I. W. W., just
' where it belongs, and any excuses
'? that their acts were governed by the
motive of self-defence will be taker
? for what they are worth.
i
"As a remedy for a situation su
i perinduced by an unnatural state of
! living and which has reached eucl
I an acute stage as is evidenced ir
1 the Northwest, there is but one cure
! and that is force. If the publii
I wants to fight I. W, W.-ism let u:
, mako it a felony to belong to it, o
to a kindred organization. Mak?
: reading, writing and speaking of th
? English language compulsory fo
Ole Hanson, Seattle's fighting Ex*Mayor, who says:
"Make it a felony to belong to the 1. W. W."
those who wish to remain in this
country. Deport the others. The
statistics on the recent coal strike
tend to prove that it is the foreigner
and the radical who go hand in hand
just a3 they progressed thus in the
Northwest, where 300,000 men were
guided by men whoso greatest hope
was to overthrow the government
of the United States.
"If we use force now we can talk
reform later. It is no time to mend
the barn door when the horse is
being stolen and that is the condi?
tion with which we are confronted
to-day. After we kick the aliens out
of our country and jail the home?
bred professional trouble-makers it
will be time to plan reform, anc
there is something that can be said
in that direction."
The Right Thing
"How about labor's stand?" we
asked.
"Organized labor in the end may
be counted upon to do the right
thing*," replied Mr. Hanson. "In
spite of the fact that Gompers is
a rank compromiser and labor
through his agency, has shown a
tendency to exalt itself in a period
so critical that man's first thought
should be for his countiry, labor will
stay on the track/
"Do you know who will keep it
there'/" he added.
We believed not.
"The women," replied the white
haired Westerner, thumping hia
knee. "The greatest stabilising, con?
servative forfce in the country to?
day is the woman. Her vote always
will quell the leaven of unrest, foi
her vote is for the home and that
which symbolizes the home. Com?
bine with that the fact that soon
labor will not permit itself to be
manipulated, as it plainly has been
in the past, and there is much for
-which we may be hopeful and thank?
ful. But we always must encourage
j these natural forces by standing
j firm against anything that smacks
| of alienism."
Ole Hanson is approaching his
forty-eighth birthday. He is the
father of nine children. An erect
! figure of slightly more than medium
height, he walks with his chin up
and his eyes level. His face is tri?
angular in shape, with high cheek?
bones and dark eyes that are sharply
contrasted with his wavy, snow
white hair. He dresses with what
might be said to be a western idea
of permissible flourish: silk shirts,
patch pockets, pointed, slender la?
pels and florid cravats being, the
high points in a gay ensemble.
He is quick to act. As he and
the WTiter walked into the Long Is?
land station a rumpus began at the
ticket seller's window and the next
moment Ole Hanson was in the thick
of it.
"Here!" he cried. "Stranger, ii
the ticket seller has made a mistake
his cash balance will show it. Mr
Ticket Seller, take th?3 man's name
and address and make a refund il
you are in error."
Scowls melted into expressions of
approximate friendliness. The for
mer Mayor of Seattle strode off ir
that superior ether which envelopi
the arbitrator. There was a grea
deal of buoyancy in his step; hi
I cigar was cocked to the angle of a
flagstaff.
The mention of Presidential as?
pirations does not rcduco Ole Han?
son to an anticipated clamlike
i silence.
"I have had an ambition to be
j President of the United States since
j I was eight years old," he said, In
answer to the writer's question. "Is
it not an ambition that is legitimate
to every American schoolboy?"
Further than this Ola Hanson did
not choose to go, beyond the state?
ment that "about two of every three
; persons who met him on the lecture
j platform at the end of a speech
?
seemed to think that he was some?
how in the field of Presidential
timber."
For the, present his speaking tour
and his book, which is to be brought
out by a publishing house of Long
Island, keep him busy.
"I never was so busy or had less/*
he said at parting. "Never again
can any one tell me of the prosperity
to be encountered by public speaking.
It appears to me, after my short
experience, that the promoter's idea
of an adequate speaker is one who
will speak for nothing.
"Still," he added, "I like it, and the
country needs it."
John Drinkwater \
Prefers the Kick |
By Glendon Allvine
JOHN DRINKWATER isn't sell?
ing insurance any more, which
is the reason why all London
knows who he is and why
j America is learning.
"For twelve years I was employed
| by the Northern Insurance Com
? pany," said the author of "Abraham
Lincoln" at the Hotel Schuyler the
; other day. "I ?sold insurance poli
| ?ejes, both fire and life, and traveled
' about the British Isles surveying
? business and inspecting agents.
! "Then, one day, I got 'sick of in
| surance, and decided to try my hand
? at living by my wits. I had written
I some verse and plays in my spare
i moments, and finally decided to
! write for a living.
"Last night I dreamed I was back
! In the insurance office again."
"Please," said his wife, 'net's talk
' about something else."
j The conversation veered to an
1
thing stronger handy. His name ?b
not by any means descriptive But
ho is getting used, after these six
weeks, to our quaint American cus?
toms. New York he has seen both
"wet" and "dry," and out in the Mid?
dle West he baa visited towns "dr
as Sahara.
"There was a Drinkwater fn
Cromwell's Parliament," he has
learned, "which amuses me, because
I am writing a play about Crom?
well."
He is also gathering material for
a play about Robert E. Lee, in
whose life he finds dramatic ma?
terial comparable to that of Lin?
coln's.
For the motive that sends this
young Britisher to America for the
.characters for his plays we have
his own explanation:
"The Civil War period In Ameri?
is perhaps the most epic in modern
Vachel Lindsay and Major Edward S* Johnson (custodian
of the Lincoln Monument at Springfield) who h-ave been
showing John Drinkwater the burial place of Lincoln
other unpleasant subject?prohibi?
tion.
"I hope I have the typically Brit?
ish attitude toward prohibition," he
said. "To my mind it will be a sad
day for England if we ever prohibit
liquor."
Drink water? Not if there is any
history. Certainly there has been
nothing more epic since 1650. In
my reading of Lord Charnwood'e
English monograph on the Great
Emancipator I suddenly discovered
in Lincoln a figure that interested
me above all others."
His interest led him to write the
play which has passed its 300th
performance at the Hammersmith
Repertoire Theater.
It was an unheard of procedure
when Arnold Bennett and Nigei
Playfair joined with John Drink
water in leasing the theater at
Hammersmith, a suburb of London.
It was as if the forthcoming Ameri?
can production of "Abraham Lin?
coln" were scheduled for a third-rate
theater in Yonkers.
No one in London had ever
dreamed of going to Hammersmith
to a theater given up to the cruder
kind of melodrama and a rather in?
ferior class of musical comedy. And
yet the play has been drawing
capacity audiences five miles from
the beaten path and has set a record
of performances that would be a
good run for the West End.
Would New Yorkers go to Yonk?
ers to see a play about Abraham
Lincoln? It seems doubtful. But
unfavorable comparison with Lon?
doners is not likely to result, because
William Harris, jr., who has the
American rights, will probably se?
cure for the production a theater
close to Times Square. And by tho
time the rehearsals now in progress
are finished John Drinkwater will be
back from Springfield, 111., and
points Wat, ready to answer the
call of "AuthorI Author!"
The Platform of Free Men
Absolute fairness t? employe and em?
ployer alike is one of the foundation princi?
ples on which Americanism rests.
We will work for the improvement of in*
dustrial relations, ?the elimination of class
prejudice, which generally results from mis?
understandings, and the establishment of
equitable and ?uniform working conditions
fair alike to employe and employer.
3,
We will always use our united Influence
in opposition to injustice, wjhether practiced
by employers or employes.
4.
We' stand for the American plan,, which
means absolute fairness to all classes of
workers? whether union or nonunion? It
unalterably opposes the "closed shop'9 which
shuts the doors of industry against the Amer?
ican workingman who is not a member or a
labor organization.
5.
It is un-American to interfere w??h the
personal rights and constitutional liberties
of the individual. Therefore, we shall op?
pose the use of ^force or intimidation by any
one endeavoring to persuade workmen eith?
er to join, or to resign from a labor organi?
zation.
Sa
We hold that both the employe and the
employer are privileged to terminate their
relations whenever either chooses to do. so*
unless, of course, there be contracts between
them.
We do not countenance limitation of the
amount of work which may be. accomplished
in a given time, or the manner in which pay?
ment shall be made for such work, whether
by hourly rate, piecework, contract or other?
wise. We believe that every workman
should have an opportunity to earn a wage
proportionate to his ability and productive
capacity.
8.
By encouraging fair dealings and broad
minded policies, we hope, with the co-opera?
tion of Seattle's thinking public, to bring
about working conditions and wages which
will make Seattle known as a good city in
which to work, to live, and to raise children.
The above platform ivas drawn up by the organized business men of Seattle, who pledged themselves to uphold it in their fight against Bolshevism