The sun. [volume], December 03, 1919, Page 7, Image 7

About The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920

Image provided by: The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundation

                
THE SUN fTEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1919.
a
BERGER FACES
HARD BATTLE
IN WISCONSIN
Bace With Bodenstab, Fu
sion Candidate, Is Kun
Martyr Style.
1,000 VOTES MAY DECIDE
Anvrican Legion Makes House
to House Canvass Against
Convicted Socialist
By Staff Pomtponient of Tm 8cm.
Milwaukhsb, Dec. 2. At the most-
head of the Milwaukee Leader la the
announcement that Victor L. Berger
la editor thereof. Beneath Mr. Berb
er's name Is the announcement:
On Indefinite leave of absence
and not responsible for contents of
paper.
Whether this notice bo foreboding;.
hope or alibi, tune alone will divulge,
for the United States Government
would clap Berger into jail for his re
bellion against the espionage law and
Berger insists upon assuming the seat
in Congress that Is denied him by the
House of Representatives. At all
events Mr. Berger Is now occupying his
nicely appointed editorial sanctum In
the offices from which the Leader and
other ultra-naive publications issue,
wielding a trenchant pen with an
abandon so utter that the stranger in
Milwaukee Invariably demands to
know how he gets away with it.
Either, the uninformed casual con
cludes, libel laws have been banished
from the book of statutes of the State
of Wisconsin and the Government of
the United States hasn't read the
Leader or Victor Berger is just clam
oring; for additional indictments.
Playing the Martyr Game.
"Arrest him?" scoffs a Government
agent who happens to be In Milwaukee
Just to keep Mr. Berger and his Joyous
sheet under a more or less reactionary
eye. "Confiscate tho Ltaderr Shut
Berger up? What do you want us to do .'
Make his election a ten to one shot?
No, he's played the martyr gama as far
as we want him to. The third Indict
ment thiit the Government slapped upon
him In 1918 was what elected hi u to
Congress. Fo:ks began to i! o are him a
martyr; that we were persecuting him.
And immediately a lot of folks who hud
had no Intention of voting for Berg, r
east their ba lots for him Just to show
him that whilo they weren't socialists or
anything like that, they were for the
under do when it b,gan to look as i(
the bigger dog was getting rough. It
was oid humnn nature that elected Ber
ger to Consr-ss ; not Socialist votes."
Just how right the Government asent
was may be deduced from that which
follows here.
VI t. - rJsrfST, Bodallst boss of the
Fifth Congress district In Wisconsin,
seeks r. etUon to Congress. He siys
that be doesn't care a ra'abash for tho
Job; that he'd be of more service to
suffering humanity were he to stay at
i li rjrpf Tlt'an I eduot the masses
But he demands vindication. He says
he's a perpetua. candidate for the House
of R-p-e" rtntlves, and Dan Hoan. the
Socialist Mayor of Milwaukee, declare
that the Firth district is going to kep
on electing Mr. Beiger until the House
does accept him.
Thus committed to a test of en
durance Mr. Berger has built a political
machine that need ask nothing of the
organizations evolved by such astute
statesmen as Mr. Tweed. Mr. Taggnrt,
Tom Johnson, Mr. Hmna or the satur
nine Mr. Mc.N'Ichol of Phl'ade'phla.
On D.cember 19 the Fifth Congress
district goes to the polls to fill the
vacant seat to which Mr. Berber was
elected In 1918, but which the House of
Representatives derided to keep vacant
not becauBe Mr. Berger Is a Socialist,
for he already has served a term In
Congress, but because he has been con
victed and he Is at large under bonds
aggregating slightly less than $150,000.
Can They Care
For Money?
Yon think that your family
will not surer want after your
dcuth because you will leave
tltem fairly well off, but will
they stay "fairly well off?"
Do they know how to care for
their money?
If yon teach them now to boy
our Guaranteed Mortgages the
habit will protect them wher.
you are gone.
Wt ha fiMrartW $700,990,000
in the pad 27 ytan and no in
tutor hat ever lott a dollar.
Bond & ootgage
Guarantee fb-
Capital and Surplus, $10,000,001
176 Dndwy, New lurk
175 R ...... St, IN MmUim St, rUys
:S( Fshsa St., Jamaica
7 Jacks! At, leaf Idas. City
could not be made practicable nor work
able over night.
He was 111 advised. He would not
build party fences against the eleotlons
of 1912. He wreclced hie party by sheer
stubbornnesa He went on the theory
that If Socialism would not lit where
conservatism used to be nothing would,
for the simple reason that It would be
Soclal'nm or nothing.
Naturally this developed disaster, and
In 1912 the Republicans were swept back
Into power In the city, county and dis
trict. Berger, seeking reelection to Con
gress, was defeated by Stafford, a Re
publican running on a Fusion ticket,
who received 15,(31 votes to Bergers
14,025. The La Follette man. Trottman,
corralled only 8,251 votes. Stafford, on
tiw Republican ticket, was elected again
In 1914 and again in lilt, each time
defeating Berger ty a substantial If not
Impressive majority.
Came the elections of 1918, with all
Its war borne Issues. Barter won the
Socialist nomination as lual, but with
two Indictments lunging over him. Had
, he gone to the polls at tW election Vft
these two tntsotments It M Uke'v U.-'
Mr. Carney, the Democrat, woulS have
won, for the Fifth Congress district,
with all Its alien population, was, kfter
all, not anxious to be regarded au un
American. Berger was under a heavy, black
I cloud. He had flagrantly violated the
espionage law, which, when all was aald
and done, was the law and the country
. was at war. Stafford was one of the
- "willful men" who voted against war
with Germany. To do Stafford Justice
reactionary old party administration ft muat be said that he misjudged his
would offer. To do less, to try to dls- conatltuencv. for he figured he waa
pense with political discipline, would voting as they would have him vote ; that
spell Instant disaster for the Socialists, nis folks at home, being of German
and they know It. But the discussion of origm for the most part, were opposed to
Socialist methods Is out of place at this th9 United 8tates engaging Germany
K" or tne lOTy or victor Berger . In war. He Waa Quite wrong,
Wisconsin's Primary Law,
The State of Wisconsin has enacted a
D. S. AGENT DENIES
WETS BRIBED HIM
Paaqnalo Pignuolo of Depart
ment of Justice Says He
Got No Money.
JURY GETS CASE TO-DAY
Looked Like Snre Winner.
Camev. runnlnir strong on a straight
'.aw for Its cities that abolishes at the Administration ticket in a district that
primaries all party lines. To be brief, was first of all Socialist, second Repub-
tms law permits any one to run for nom- llcan and lastly Democratic, looked like
ination, provided, of course, he can get a sure winner. Then came the third
some one to vote for him. When the ' Berger Indictment and north Milwaukee
primaries open there may be twenty can- county revolted. The editorial and news
mantes necking nomination. The two columns of the MTwaukoc Leader so suo
men obtaining the greatest number of cessfully portrayed Berger as the martyr
votes are the candidates whose names that those Independents who were going
are presented at the election. to vote for the only available candidate
Theoretically this does away with , Carney, flew to Berger in sheer sym-
party machinery, and the Idea Is to ro-; pathy. Berger received 17,920 votes
Juce elections to a more democratla
status. However, there still exist a Re
publican, a Democratic a Progressive
.md a Socialist psrty, and each has pre
served Its organization. Nominally Gov.
Phlllpp heads the Republican machine.
Wisconsin Is Republican by about 100,000
in normal times. The Democratic ma
chine Is puny. It Is satisfied to throw
its powers to the Republicans for what
ir can get out of It.
The Repub'lcan faction dominated by
Senator 1a Follette Is the only uncertain
quantity In the field. It may be fair to
divide the faction Into five parts, throe
f which are more than likely to throw
themselves to the Socialist candidate and
i he remaining two parts, being more
onservatlve, cleave to the mother party.
This leaves but the Socialists, led by
l.lerger and Mayor Hoan, and by Win
red Zanel, District Attorney of Mllwau
l ee county, until the last named found
'iat he could not stomach tho St. Louis
P atform and bolted. Zabel, the most ef- I
licient prosecutor that Milwaukee ever j of heart
Carney 12,460 and Stafford 10,578
It will be recalled that Senator La
Fol'ette was proDatry the most bitter
of the anti-war crowd In Washington
His attitude had settled the question. It
waa tint part of his following which
would vote as he dictated, come what
might, that went to Berger when Borg r
proclaimed himself the victim of an
oppressive and autocratic admlnlstra
tion.
The subsequent history of Berger's ex
elusion from the House of Rcpresenta
tlves Is of such recent date as to forbid
repetition here.
However, Berger had not returned
from Washington after hearing himself
condemned as not on'y unfit to sit in
Congress but unworthy of American clt
Ix nship before the executive council of
th-- Socla'lst party In Milwaukee met
and proclaimed him a hero and an
nounced that the Socialists would send
h'm back and would keep on sending
him back until Congress had a change
Close Contest Indicated.
To predict Berger's election would be
as daring as to predict his defeat. About
the only venture one can make regarding
the probable outcome of the elections Is
that the difference between the two can
didates will be little if any more than
1,000 votes. The Socialists claim victory
a certainty with this margin. The
Fustonlsts Insist that Henry H. Boden
stab will defeat Berger by about 1.000.
A survey of the normal division of the
vote of the district gets one nowhere at
all. There Is nothing normal about this
fight It Is one of these enjoyable battles
where the two gentlemen Involved lock
themselves within a room, chuck the key
out of the window and have at it.
Probably no Congressional election In
recent history baa drawn such general
attention.
It la a strictly class war, no matter
how you view It. with Bolshevism on one
side and Americanism on the other. To
speak of Americanism In Milwaukee Is
ad and the most powerful Npeaker In
Socialist ranks. Is a marvellbus vote get
ter. At present he bids fair to retain
the District Attorneyship as long as he
wants It. lie Is quite fearless, adm't
edly square and legally able. The 8o-
. iullsts cla'm that they read him out of
iho party because of his failure to sub
scribe to party principles. Znbel Insists
rat he resigned be.-ause he couldn't find
it In himself to repudiate America.
Zabel Is Fighting- Heraer.
Be that as It may, the fact Is that
Z 'bel Is now fighting Berger, and great
s the rejoicing In the BodVnstab carr.p.
As a result of the non-partisan primary
law In Wisconsin there are but two can-
lidates for each city office. In the city
Berg'-r came back to Milwaukee to be
lionized. He Is a remarkable personal
Ity. He can diffuse enthusiasm. He
can arouse a lethargic audience to a
dervish ike excitement. His tactics are
who'ly undignified, but mighty effective
He Is a dynamo of high spirits. He has
a vocabu'ary that Is remarkable, vi
triolic, lavish In adjectives and totally
careless of the feelings of his opponents
At first blush It looked as though
he'd be returned to Congress by an
amazing plurality. The people who had
voted for him bfefore were beautifully
unified. Hundreds of non-Socialist Inde
p.ndents de-ni.d that Congress had
flouted the Fifth Congressional district
and the voters thereof. A week after
the House of Representatives practically
unanimous! v voted to exclude the Mll-
f Milwaukee the Socialists are strong I waulcee Socialist It looked like folly for
enough t- be assured that their ticket
Will be In the surviving lists after the
primaries. Naturally a non-partisan, so
called. Is the other candidate. And de
spite the law this candidate Is alwnys
previously flxeu upon by Joint agree
ment i e! ween the Republicans and the
Democrats.
But the non-partisan primary law for
cities does not obtain In county eloe
any opponent to take the field against
Berger.
Good Government Leasrne.
There exists In the city of MI'waukce
nn organization known as ihe Good Gov
ernment League. Hundreds of American
towns have Good Government leagU's.
M-iwaukee's league is in no wise unique.
tions. The old syrtem prevails In county " iiiiive m au
. ,-.-. j,i, i that Americans want to pres-rve to
tiona. Therefore Berger entered tWe
America. It Is representative of what
nld, seeking vindication, fully expecting;
; the majority of Americans have do-
that there would be the old three cor
manded at tho polls and have obtained.
7h. w..h'iT,n. th.l Tne Goo1 Government League of Mil
nerd fight among the Repub.lcans, the k. ,,.,. k ... ,k. ...,.. .....
Democrats and the Socialists. With such I ' ."t ,h Jl' .1 r i
, v , ,,.,. -.i,hi t,! -i.v.t.i Papers with the exception of the Leader,
an array he was quite within his rights .. r. I
i -. .... ,.h.,n sent out a call to the Democrat c and
to forecast his reelection by a substan- ,.,., .,,. ,.,,,,,
tial plurality, for the Fifth district u V" V, .TCSZT-S
the strongest Socialist centre
country,
Fifth District's Limits.
in the
tre only method of beating Berger and
showing the country that Berger was a
minority rr preservative and not a symbol
of the majority thought, that the two old
narHen fu ,r- jinrt ,nlf fnrth Ann , rwt nl .1
-. . .1 . . ... U,k I ..........
it happens, jiowever. uiai me r uw ; for whom all antl-Hergerites might vote
Congress District comprises only tho
northern half of Milwaukee county. To
be exact, I It Is composed of fourteen
ward of the city of Milwaukee, the city
of North Milwaukee, the town of Mil
waukee, Granville, Shorowood and
Whltofleh Bay. Incidentally were the
entire city of Milwaukee Involved, Ber
ger's defeat would be a much surer thlig
tl-an It Is. The southern half of the city
of Milwaukee the Fourth Congressional
District has a population as heteroge
neous as that of the northern ha'f, but It
There was no hesitancy. The Repub
licans nominated five repres nt.-itlvrs,
the Democrats five and the Good Gov
ernment League ten. They met and
after many candidates were reviewed
Henry H. Bodenstab, a Republican, was
fixed upon as the compromise nominee.
Bodenstab Is of Germm descent He Is
a lawyer who served one term In the
State Legislature with credit to himself
uid his party.
Bodenstab Is not a gifted campaigner.
He Is not In the same class with Berger
Is a non-Soclallst element, chiefly Catho- j as an oralo: on the stump he Is un-
llc. The Socialists of the north of the
city are chiefly Oerman Lutherana
Berger was first elected to Congres in
1910. It was the result of a three
cornered fight In which Berger got 13,417
votes, Cochems. the Republican, 13.14",
nnd Carney, the Democrat, 5,433. It
impressive. But he Is as clean an ex
ponent of all that America likes to have
the world nccept as American as can
he found in Milwaukee, or elsewhere.
He has not the backing of a machine
as efficient as that which the Socialists
j have bnllf, but his slmp'e, strnlghtfnr-
can ba s -en how narrow was Berger a j ward intform of Americanism Is being
margin of victory. acclaim. by hundreds of voters who
It was a straight party battle. There l nnve priae )n Milwaukee and Its
environs than loyalty to any party.
Platform of Negatives.
It is typical of Berger that he should
be running on a plntform of negatives.
It Is a clover platform that means every
was no war raging at the time. The
country was prosperous ; almost every
body who wanted to work waa working
to araw aown upon ones seir the nicely i and a general satisfaction prevailed,
forged literary thunderbolts that Victor Cochems was the La Follette candidate
Berger hurls from his editorial offices, j and on form and all the dope he should
He declaims that his is the real, slmon have won. But It was a Socialist year.
pure, blown In the bottle Americanism, The city of Milwaukee h id decided that thing and nothing. Berger announces
and that Henry Bodenstab Is a puppet It was going to do something radical In himself "ag.lnst" militarism and im
who libels the name of Americanism. crder to get rid of David 8. Rosn, I)mo- periallsm. which after nil means noth
But nevertheless and Ignoring for the crat, then Mayor, who prevlonsly Ing. He Is "against" prohibition, wbloh
moment the soundness of the political held that office from 1898 to 1906. Is regarded as an entirely personal mat
phllosophles represented by the two men, , It would be Idle to go Into the his- ter. Inasmuch as he csn do nothlng to
the lines of battle are clear. Bodenstab tory of the rule of Rose. Sufficient to make Milwaukee county wet even if he
represents those who would not radically say that It had so Irked a considerable were elected. He Is "against" the "so
depart from the tenets to which Repub- majority of the best citizens of the city called" espionage act, and It Is agreed
llcana Democrats and Liberals sub- that folks were ready to try nn thing be is an authority thereon. He Is
rcrlbe. In other words, his platform ia that would be diametrically opposed to "against" meddling In the Internal af
essentlally an American platform, reccg- ' what Rose had stood for. In this con-. fairs of Russia. Germany and Mexico,
nixing nothing European. To him So- nectlon It may be said that the Repub- I His "agalnsts" are numerous and for
clallsm Is a thing accursed an lmpossl- 'leans offered nothing that satisfied the the most part abnird for there Isn't a
tie departure from the principles of the d'slre for a radical change In the city j candidate of anyue In any part of the
Federal Constitution, and therefore administration. I country who'd dare come out for any
worthy of nothing but damnation. j 'The volatile Emtl Seldel was offered of Berger's aversions. Anybody could
I Dy rue oociaiiain. aeiur. us a kuuu iuii uii unirrs h i :n u.t tt.17 uckui.
' citizen ; had a ctean record in private The American Legion In Milwaukee
Berger, on the contrary, would spread wera nothing If not antagonistic palgn and has officially declared Itself
to this country the doctrines of Lenlne ,,ul n,. p.. , for iw.....h it i ,i..i ih. .,.
and forever cast aside or subject to a offer So Mauie got book of Emll to house work. Hundreds of boys In
wholly new Interpretation the Ameriran s . , , A d , , ,nt0 thft Mayor's olive drab and decorated with service
chair with much waving of banners and and wound chevrons and wearing dec
a great plurality. Seldel turned out to oration harettes are walking the streets
Wonld Nullify on.Mtntloo
Constitution and all Its amendments. His
conception of free speech, to use an ex
ample, Is so amazing as to make one
wonder Just how long his Government,
were he In position to dictate a new Gov
ernment, would survive As a matter of
be a better Socialist than a Mayor. More , and roads of Milwaukee county asking
about that later, however.
The wave that carried Seldel Into of
fice sent Berger to Congress. Stripped
fact, the Socialists ofMilwaukee, by their 0( A incidentals, that tells the story
own splendid organization an') machine.
ay the tribute of flattery to the political
machines that they would overthrow, and
announce that they would control by
methods and means as autocratic as
either of the ol , parties by constructing
a machine that Is a model of efficiency.
political wisdom an ! expediency.
the people of the Fifth district to up
hold them and the flag they fought
under.
Women do not vote In Wisconsin
yet, but they are out working for the
defeat of Berger. Bodenstab, himself, la
only a symbol. It Is a fight for Ideals.
It Is a hittle wherein the question of
of Bergr's election In 1910
Seidel's administration was a trifle
chaotic. No worthy lttack upon his In
tentions can be made. He woo honest.
He mnde th" great m'stake of trying to Americanism Is uppermost or the In
Jam Socialism Into effect. He tried to lerpretatlon of Americanism,
uproot Institutions of mature age and , The methods that Berger Is pursuing
substitute therefor Innovations that to win; the !L-ht of the Socialists to
In fine, Berger and his henehmen have were at best only theories and without 1 control Milwaukee; the Insidious propa-
decldsd to fight fire with dynamite, and the test of experience. Moreover he turned ganda that the Berger outfit Is dls-
the result Is that the Socialists of Mil- out to he Komcthlrur of a epnllsm in, ap- ! Tensing throughout the mldd'e West and
waukee would fix upn the citizens of pointing Socialists to Jobs without re- ' the splendid organlrt'nn of the Berger
that city a government no more demo- gard to their fitness. In brief, the ex- machine will be dea't with in the second
cratic than the most conservative and ceuent thaorlea that he may have had . Instalment of this story,
6 1
Charge of Perjury Against
Witness for Prosecution
to Bo Heard.
Judge Julian T. Mack In Federal
Court will give to the Jury this morning
the caae of Pasquale Plgnuolo, Depart
ment of Justice agent, charged with ac
cepting bribes from saloonkeepers In re
turn for protection from the war time
prohibition act
V charge of perjury growing out of
tho Plgnuolo caae, it Is expected, also
will be heard before Judge Mack to
day. That Is the case ot Edward Fitz
gerald, a witness for the prosecution,
whom Judge Mack charged with wilful
lying on Monday, when the witness's
statement on the stand became so con
flicting that the Judge was Impelled to
say "Jails are made for your kind."
Fitzgerald waa already under ball pend
ing a hearing upon another charge.
t yesterday's hea-'ng of Chief
Fly nn's charges that New York remained
"wet1' In "dry" times because of the
moro or less wholesale acceptance of
bribes by Department of Justlcu agents
Plgnuolo took the stand In hla own de
fence and attorneys for both sides com
pleted their arguments before the Jury.
Though Plgnuolo is being tried sepa
rably at his own request, Indicted with
him on charges of conspiracy and extor
tion of bribes from saloonkeepers lire
Charles P. McCarver and William J.
Polling, Department of Justice agents;
nichnrd Yancoy, formerly of the Inter
nal Revenue Department, and Morton P.
Allen of Nashville, Tenn.
On the stand Plgnuolo admitted he
had visited a certain saloon but con
tended that he had received no money.
On the contrary, he aald, he went to
warn the proprietors of fake revenue
officers who wore extorting money from
violators of the "dry" law. His visit to
the saloon of Carey & Brennon at Sixth
avenue and Twenty-eighth street after
he had beon charged with accepting 160
graft from them waa for the purpose of
asking them to testify In his behalf, he
said. Plgnuolo reviewed his career In
the Department of Justice, citing his In
vestigation of liquor law violations,
white slave cases, bomb outrages and a
conspiracy to kill President Taft.
Among character witnesses Introduced
In Plgnuolo's behalf were Judge John C.
Knox, United Stutes Commissioner';
San uel M. Hitchcock, Assistant District
Attorney J. F. Mulqueen, William Ben
nm and Albert O. Adams of the De
partment of Justice.
Special District Attorney Jamea W.
Osborne 2d undertook to convince the
Jury that Plgnuolo's story was unre
liable and Inspired by self Interest. Will
iam Fltts, attorney for the defence, en
deavored to discredit the testimony of
Carew and Brennan.
BE SAFE; GET VACCINATED.
ir. Copeland Issnoa Warning- With
Hmallpoa It nut mi in Canada.
As a precautionary measure, taken
because smallpox Is reported to ba rav
aging the southern Canadian provinces,
Dr. Royal S Copelaml, Health Commis
sioner, In a statement Issued yesterday,
advised vaccination for all residents of
New York city that have not been vac
cinated In the last four years.
Although the bureau of preventable
diseases of the Health Department has
reported no rases of smallpox in the city
for several days and as there Is no
cause for alarm because the State Board
of Health la requlrlrg all persons cross
ing the Canadian border to present evi
dence of remit vaccination. Dr. Cope-
land deems It wise to take the simple
preventive means offered by vaccination.
Taken From ship aa lied Leaden,
Nsw OauUNS, Dec. 2. Jacob
Abrams and Samuel Llteman, New
York, and John J. Ballam, Boston, al
leged radloal leaders, were arrested by
federal agents here to-day, on the
steamship Mexico, on which they were
preparing to sail to Progreso, Mexico.
Tiffany & Co.
Firm Avenue 37 Strbbt
Pearls and
Pearl Necklaces
ii A
BOILED EGGS in
are gi ven a rare relish by
the addition of a few
drops of
suuei
Eggs in any style art
made more i (petizingby
ne use of
LEMEHS
SAUCE
TM ONIV CM .OINAL WOHCEgnBSMtW ,
Hive a bottle in the kitchen
as vrell as on the table.
ass-
I
ForSai
uy
Grocers
50c
ma
Aga'n Selling at
Pre-War Prices
The First Pneumatic Truck Tire
-JW'
ir'yf
Built
. i.
U
This was the first truck equipped with Pneu
matic Truck Tires it was in 1911.
The tires were Wobbies' fore-runners of 'Nobby
Cords', the perfect pneumatic truck tires of today.
This Truck Is Now In New York
After eight years of continuous service on
United States Pneumatic Truck Tires it is making
a five thousand mile tour to show how 4 Nobby
Cords' pneumatic truck tires:
keep the truck on the road
prolong truck life
relieve shock and strain
lessen depreciation
cut repair bills
prevent breakages
increase operating radius
save gasoline and oil consumption
Mr. A. F. Masury,
Chief Engineer of the
International Motors
Company, says:
"We have received
as high as 24,000
miles service on
Nobby Cord Truck
Tires. Our truck
rides exceptionally
well and no doubt
due to this fact the
cost of repair has
been light."
5
st
b
United
States Tires
Good Tires
.Mi..
lUi.M'ABiMvv -s -A -tm,. -, a - m , , , ... j t'. -S '..IsTJ Ur.nA. . i
I HIIIMII
;
" 11
I I.
V - ' A. '
"1
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