Life, 1912-11-07 · page 25 of 60
Life — November 7, 1912 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page critiques the suppression of Socialist speech during a labor strike in Little Falls, New York. The article describes how Mayor Lunn and other Socialists were arrested for violating a local ordinance prohibiting public speaking without permission—directly contradicting the Constitutional right to free speech. The satire targets the hypocrisy of political leaders: Governor Dix and President Taft both swore to uphold the Constitution but took no action. The author suggests local authorities either never learned about the Constitution or were acting under pressure from mill owners to suppress strike-related speech. The cartoon illustrates a domestic scene with the caption "And it's not so many years since they ran away and married on ten dollars a week"—likely contrasting idealistic youth with present political realities, though the specific reference is unclear. The piece satirizes how Constitutional protections prove meaningless when authorities prioritize corporate interests over citizens' rights.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ws SS SS —— i < owas S—— SS S Y) / Y Wy] Wy Mj: WHY Uh AS bg, AND ITS NOT SO MANY YEARS SINCE THEY RAN AWAY AND MARRIED ON TEN DOLLARS A WEEK Free Speech in Little Falls HERE is a provision of the United States Constitution that the right of free speech and free assemblage shall not be abrogated. But there is an ordinance in Little Falls, N. Y., which says there shall be no speaking in public places without permission of the local authori- ties. Needless to say, such a clash of regulations offers great possibilities for a ruction. And the ruction came. There was a strike on. Mayor Lunn, of Schenectady, and other Socialists, wanted to address the strikers. This, however, was one of the par- ticular kinds of free speech to which the Little Falls authorities objected and the ordinance “got busy.” The Socialists were arrested. Governor Dix, who has sworn to support the Constitution, was appealed to, but declared he had no jurisdiction. President Taft has also sworn to support the Constitution, but he did nothing. Inasmuch as these two commanders-in-chief were not interested, we should not be too harsh with the local authorities. Perhaps they were born and reared in the wilds of Little Falls and never heard of the Constitution. In fact, one of the Socialists was reading the Constitution when arrested. The Socialists charge that the Chief of Police was acting under orders from the proprietors of the Phoenix Knitting Mills, whose employees were on strike. We don’t know as to that, but it is not improb- able. Having seen the Cordage Trust in action under similar conditions in Brooklyn, and the Woolen Trust in Lawrence, we know just how foolish and lawless a crowd of nettled employers can be. We have no real fear that Little Falls wjll succeed in making a serious dent in the Constitution, but we sym- pathize with any of its inhabitants who fondly believed they were living in America Ellis O. Jones. comicbooks.com