Gitlow: Speech to the Jury [Feb. 5, 1920] 1

Speech to the Jury, February 5, 1920. by Benjamin Gitlow

Published in “The Red Ruby”: Speech to the Jury by Benjamin Gitlow: Also Darrow, the Judge, Giovanitti. ([]: Communist Labor Party, n.d. [1920]), pp. 4-8.

Gitlow: I am charged in this case with pub- new code of ethics, and based on a new form of lishing and distributing a paper known as The Revo- government. For that reason, the socialist philoso- lutionary Age, in which paper was printed a docu- phy has always been a revolutionary philosophy ment known as the and Pro- and people who adhered to the socialist program gram. It is held that the document advocates the and philosophy were always considered revolution- overthrow of government by force, violence, and ists, and I as one maintain that in the eyes of the unlawful means. The document itself, the Left present day society I am a revolutionist. I desire Wing Manifesto, is a broad analysis of conditions, complete, fundamental— economic conditions, and historical events in the The Court: Mr. Gitlow, you are not permit- world today. It is a document based upon the prin- ted to state what your views are or what you are, ciples of from their early inception. The or what you think. You must confine yourself to only thing that the document does is to broaden an argument based upon the testimony in this case. those principles in the light of modern events. The Gitlow: Well, I will try to make it an imper- document starts out with the statement that the sonal argument. The socialists have always main- world today is in a crisis, that capitalism is in a tained, and the manifesto that has been printed in state of collapse. It goes into a statement about maintains that capitalism the war, shows what the war was responsible for, as it developed would be unable to solve the con- and also makes a fairly complete statement in ref- tradictions that spring up in the body politic of erence to the socialist movement. The manifesto capitalism. What is capitalism? Capitalism is that tells you that there were divisions in the socialist system of society in which the means of produc- movement, that there were various factions, that tion and distribution are owned by a few individu- these factions believed in certain definite principles, als for their own profit. You take the United States that these principles became clarified with the is- for example. You take the large industrial plants. sue of the world war. The socialists have always You take the land, you take the banks, you take maintained that the change from capitalism to the railroads, you take all of the factories that have socialism would be a fundamental change, that is, to do with production, take all the means of dis- we would have a complete reorganization of soci- tribution, and you will discover that they are ety, that this change would not be a question of owned by a few individuals or corporations, by reform; that the capitalist system of society would financial institutions, for the profits that can be be completely changed and that that system would derived from these institutions. The manifesto give way to a new system of society based on a maintains that all our institutions are based on 1 2 Gitlow: Speech to the Jury [Feb. 5, 1920] labor-power of the working man. The factories, enormous stores of wealth, and we find on the the mines, the land, and all means of production. other hand, side by side with this enormous stor- Labor-power is essential to make them valuable ing up of wealth, poverty, the degradation of the and to provide profits for those that own and con- masses. In England, in America, in Germany, in trol them. All of our institutions are based on the France, you can read all of the reports of your state labor-power of the working man. Without that departments, of your charity organizations, and labor-power society could not exist. Not a wheel you can see that side by side with the springing up could turn. Value could not be produced. That is of this enormous amount of wealth, mounting to very easily recognizable. Suppose John D. Rocke- the billions of dollars, spring up also the enormous feller with all of his wealth and all of his gold and poverty and degradation of the masses. And then all of his bank securities, all of his stock and all of we find out that capitalism as it stores up its wealth, his bonds, would go to the Sahara Desert and pile does not desire its wealth to remain idle. Its wealth his securities and his gold sky high to the billions must be converted into capital, and the capital of dollars, and stay there himself, do you think applied to the undeveloped areas for the purpose that value would be produced? Do you think that of getting more wealth. And we discover that all the gold would be valuable? Do you think that he capitalist countries that have the capitalist method could get for himself the comforts of life? Not at of production and distribution, and the building all. John D. Rockefeller could stand there, look at up and accumulation of capital, are always look- his mountains of gold, see them towering to the ing for markets, for new areas to exploit in order heavens, and he could not get something to drink, to procure more and additional capital. And we and he could not get anything to eat. But you can discover that the world is after all a ball, and is take a group of working men. Taken them from limited in area, and we discover furthermore that any section of the world, bring them to a place each country finds out that in this narrow world and tell them to get busy and make life worth liv- of ours, it comes into conflict with other coun- ing. And what will you have? What will you find? tries. And what is the result? The result of that is That the workers will get on the job, they will use that when diplomatic relations cannot solve the their labor-power, by their creating ability they will situation, a war breaks out, and when war breaks build a society in which workers of every degree out, all patriotic prejudices are brought into play, enjoy the comforts and pleasure of life. And our false slogans are manufactured, and the masses are human society, all of our wonderful institutions, asked to believe that they are fighting for a certain our boasted civilization, has been the result of the fixed and definite ideal. Germany and England creating ability of the working men who use brains were rivals for the world’s markets. One had the and muscle power. We make no distinction be- world’s markets. England had more territory in tween working capacity. the world than most of the other countries com- Capitalism today controls the creative power bined, and Germany had just developed industri- of labor for its own particular advantage, and capi- ally, and was spreading out and reaching through- talism in various countries is national in scope. out the entire world with her cheaper goods. And Production has developed to a market degree and then Germany decided that she wanted to get an fabulous stores of wealth are produced. In America, inroad into the East, and she started building the in England, in Germany, in all capitalist countries Baghdad Railroad, and the English imperialists of the world, due to increased machinery, due to began to feel that the completion of that railroad modern inventions, due to the scientific manage- meant the expansion of German trade in the ment of industry, we have the workers piling up East— Gitlow: Speech to the Jury [Feb. 5, 1920] 3

The Court: I do not like to interrupt you, ing— but there is no evidence presented upon that sub- The Court: (interrupting) He cannot explain ject, and you are now referring to something that the meaning. is not contained in the manifesto. Darrow: Then he can do nothing but read Gitlow: If your Honor please, the manifesto it. deals with the imperialistic war, and this is a phase The Court: He cannot explain the meaning of imperialism. of it, because he has not subjected himself to cross- The Court: It does not deal with the facts. It examination. deals with assertions. You are attempting to state Darrow: I desire to except to the language facts. of the Court and the ruling. Gitlow: Well, in order to dispose of the sur- Gitlow: The manifesto states very clearly that plus capital in various countries, the European war the war was one that was fought for imperialism, broke out, and the European war showed clearly that the Peace Treaty that was signed was a treaty the failure of capitalism to meet the situation of of imperialism, and that the workers had nothing the world. What did we find? We found millions to gain from the war. You will also read in the of workers facing one another and being slaugh- manifesto that the manifesto stands for a new form tered on the fields of battle. They fought for four of government, that that form of government is and a half years, and then a peace was concluded. known as the dictatorship of the proletariat, that We were informed that the war was one that was the dictatorship of the proletariat in its concrete fought for democracy, and when peace was con- form was the result of a revolution that took place cluded and the Peace Treaty drawn up, we found in Russia, that the Russian workers set up this form out that all nations involved desired more terri- of government as one which was suitable for their tory, desired privileges in mines and ore conces- purposes. The manifesto will tell you furthermore sions, desired to expand their territorial control, that all of the capitalist governments of the world and we found that the question of democracy— proceeded to fight the Russian workers, and at- The Court: Again I must interrupt you, be- tempted to overthrow their particular form of gov- cause you are stating as facts matters which are ernment. not facts of this court, and which the court has no Now, the Russian workers set up a form of reason to believe are facts at all. government known as the dictatorship of the pro- Gitlow: If your Honor please, the manifesto letariat, which is based on a system of council con- touches on that very clearly. trol. You will be told perhaps that the dictatorship The Court: It touches on it, and you may of the proletariat is not a democratic form of gov- use the language of the manifesto, but you may ernment. The dictatorship of the proletariat is a not make a speech beyond the language of the new form of organization. It is based on the in- manifesto. dustrial representation of the worker in industry. Defense Attorney Darrow: Your Honor, he Today you have a government called a democracy, has a right to explain the meaning of it. which is based on the territorial divisions of the The Court: No, sir, he has no right to ex- people inhabiting the nations. Under the Soviet plain the meaning of the manifesto, because he is form of government, under the dictatorship of the not subject to cross-examination. proletariat, this condition is changed. You have a Darrow: I want to again take exception to form of government that is based on representa- the remarks of the Court on that question of cross- tion of industry, that is, the men in the steel in- examination. If he could not explain the mean- dustry vote as steelworkers in the steel industry, 4 Gitlow: Speech to the Jury [Feb. 5, 1920] and it is their representatives who are in the coun- that he has to work. The worker in industry today cils of the government. The men in the shoe in- is not democratically controlling the affairs of his dustry vote as shoe workers, and choose their rep- life, and the socialists maintain that it is the duty resentatives to the council in the government, and of the working class to organize efficiently for the the national government as such, the supreme democratic control of industry. And we see that council, is the representative of the working class, in Russia, where we have the dictatorship of the and it must be so, because the workers derive their proletariat, the democratic control of industry has livelihood from the product of industry. They been put into effect. You have the workers in the know about their particular industry, and a so- shops, through elected shop committees, deter- cialist form of government is a government that is mining— concerned with the production and distribution The Court: One moment. There is no evi- of the necessities of life for the advantage of the dence of that in the case. people. And this government necessarily must get Gitlow: If your Honor please, I am trying to its expression from industry to know how the ne- explain— cessities of life are produced, to know how much The Court: (interrupting) You are attempt- is needed by the workers of the necessities of life, ing to state conditions in Russia, and there is no and furthermore, socialism recognizes that the evidence in the case in regard to conditions in working man cannot be free, and the working man Russia. cannot be emancipated unless democratic control Gitlow: But the manifesto deals with condi- of industry is established. The worker, outside of tions in Russia, and explains what the dictator- the factory, is permitted to vote. He has the privi- ship of the proletariat is. lege if he lives long enough in the country, if he The Court: You state if you like, that the lives long enough in the district, to go once a year manifesto contains certain language. Whether that or every two years, or every four years, and choose be true or false, there is no opportunity of deter- the various officials for the government. But in mining here, because there is no evidence upon the shop where he works, the worker has no demo- the subject. cratic control at all. In the shop the workers works Darrow: Your Honor, he has a right to refer day in and day out, all the year round. The shop is to historical facts. more important to the worker than any other po- The Court: It is not an historical fact as to litical institution, because it shapes his life day in what he is stating of the conditions in Russia. and day out. His wages, the amount of money he Darrow: We claim it is. He claims it is. receives in the shop, determines the way in which The Court: He may claim anything he likes. he shall live. If he gets poor wages, why, of course, Would you consider the converse of the situation. he will lead a miserable existence. If he gets big Would it be proper for the District Attorney to wages, why, his condition will be materially bet- undertake in his summing up to call attention to ter. And in the shop the worker applies for a job false statements of conditions in Russia as the Dis- to a master, and the owner lays down the condi- trict Attorney believes them to be? Certainly not. tion of employment. And the worker has only one Darrow: Your Honor, everybody reads his- privilege, to accept or decline those conditions. tory from his own standpoint, more or less. But once working in the shop, he must obey rules, The Court: Everybody reads the newspapers, the making of which he has no voice in. He must but newspapers are not history. work a certain amount of hours, he himself hav- Darrow: They are current history. ing no say in determining the amount of hours The Court: I cannot agree with you. Gitlow: Speech to the Jury [Feb. 5, 1920] 5

Darrow: People know something about court. You will refrain from saying what you would Russia. do if you could, or what you will do if you can. The Court: I will not discuss it. I will not Proceed with your argument. allow the speaker to continue as to statements of Gitlow: Well, gentlemen of the jury, I think conditions in Russia, or the forms of organizations when you read the Manifesto of the Left Wing as to which there is no proof in the case. He may Section of the Socialist Party, you will understand refer to the fact that something is stated in the what the fundamental principles involved in that manifesto. manifesto are, I want you to realize that I believe Darrow: I take an exception. in those principles, that I will support those prin- Gitlow: Well, I will close my remarks at this ciples, and that I am not going to evade the issue. time by making a short statement— My whole life has been dedicated to the move- The Court: I understand, counsel objects to ment which I am in. No jails will change my opin- the Court interrupting the defendant at the point ion in that respect. I ask no clemency. I realize that the Court did. that as an individual I have a perfect right to my Darrow: Yes, your Honor, and I excepted to opinions, that I would be false to myself if I tried the remarks. to evade that which I supported. Regardless of your Gitlow: The manifesto of the Left Wing Sec- verdict, I maintain that the principles of the Left tion of the Socialist Party is a statement of the prin- Wing Manifesto and Program on the whole are ciples of Revolutionary Socialism. These principles correct, that capitalism is in a state of collapse, maintain that in order to bring about socialism, that capitalism has brought untold misery and capitalist governments must be overthrown, and hardships to the working men, that thousands of in their place a new form of government must be men in this democratic republic are in jails today set up, known as the dictatorship of the proletariat. on account of their views, suffering tortures and I wanted to show how essential it was for the es- abuse and nothing— tablishment of socialism to follow that fundamen- The Court: (interrupting) Again the defen- tal principle laid down in the Manifesto of the dant must cease from making statements. There Left Wing, but if I cannot show historical facts, if is not evidence before the court that anyone is in I cannot make statements about conditions as they jail or suffering tortures and abuse. Proceed. exist in a country which has followed the prin- Gitlow: All I ask of you, gentlemen of the ciples laid down by the Left Wing— jury, is to consider the language of the manifesto, The Court: (interrupting) The Court must to realize that the manifesto stands for a new or- interrupt you again. The Court has advised the der of society, and a new form of government, and defendant that he cannot make statements of what the communists today believe in a new form of he claims to be facts, and having so advised the society, and necessarily in a new form of govern- defendant, the defendant shall not by direct lan- ment, and that they bend all their efforts in that guage or by indirection criticize the ruling of the direction.

Edited by Tim Davenport. Published by 1000 Flowers Publishing, Corvallis, OR, 2006. • Non-commercial reproduction permitted.

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