The day book. [volume], April 27, 1915, NOON EDITION, Image 26

About The day book. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1911-1917

Image provided by: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, Urbana, IL

                
THE PUBLIC FORUM
GIVING EVERYBODY HIS SAY
In your column asking what is the
biggest fake I notice on April 22 is
sue some person signmg. himself "An
American Citzen" states that his idea
is that it is the "Roman Catholic
church and its whole outfit."
I would like to answer him through
your columns. His spirit is very anti
American and anti-Christian. He
degrades our grand free nation by
calling himself an American citizen.
I must express my great surprise that
you would publish such narrow ideas
that can only belong to one who is
either mentally deranged or possess
es such ignorance that his idea does
not even deserve such notice.
I wish it understood that I am not
surprised at his remark, as unfortu
nately we have only too many such
ignorant, low-bred beings in our
great United States, but I am sur
prised at a publication, "which I al
ways have considered fair," granting
such maniacs space for their ideas.
Kindly oblige me by giving this re
ply a prominent space. F. J. Cun
ningham, 341 S. Wabash av.
CIVILIZATION When I told my
wife that I had chosen to enter the
contest with Civilization as my choice
of fakes, she said: "0, but that is
not in Chicago."
Civilization is the biggest fake.
Yes, Chicago's. The civilization
which would be convulsed with pride
if Julius Roesnwald would sit at meat
with it, and convulsed with "right
eous" indignation if one of his $4
wages slaves should give an eye for
an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Civ
ilization which is somnambulized into
believing it is serious; the leadstone
of murder, which is at its height
when most efficient in the art of kill
ing; which parades the biggest crim
inal as a just system, and legally
murders the poor devil whose home
fias been devastated by it. That
which prostitutes the good and lauds.
the bad; that which preaches virtue
in the poor and practices vice among
the rich; which holds out heaven as
the worker's reward and takes unto
the rich the earthly things; that
which puts a penalty on intelligence
and makes much of silly education;
that which teaches obedience to the
civil and criminal laws for the under
dog and violation of them for the
upper strata.
Your press, your church, youf
state, your system; bah! Civilization.
I heard a foreigner once call it "Syph
ilization," and his broken English
sounded the truth. A. E. Carver,
Gary, Indiana.
LIVE AND LET LIVE I do not
like religious discussions of any
kind, but at the same time I am dis
gusted with people signing them
selves "An American Citizen," and
"A Lover of Liberty," singling out
the Catholic church and its followers
to give vent to their religious bigot
ry and narrowmindedness.
It is an insult to the thousands of
noble men and women of that faith
who gave up their lives on the bat
tlefield that we migh all worship God
according to the dictates of our own
conscience.
Why don't they sign their names,
come out in the open, so we will all5
know who they are? If they want to
discuss religion, rent a hall. Leave
the columns of The Day Book for
working people to discuss their griev
ances in. I don't care what their re
ligious belief is. The Day Book is the'
only paper where the workers can1
get a fair show. Let us live and let'
live. '
Come out in the open now and
show your colors. Sign your name1
and address. I would like to see who
you are, a man or woman. Of course
if you are drawing a good salary for
your work we can overlook your say-1
ing. Otherwise, don't take up space'
in The Day Book to give vent to your'
narrow-mindedness. Let us discuss'
the best way for workers to bettei?v