The second round of ‘Palmer Raids’ saw over 3000 people arrested on January 2, 1920 with foreign-born radicals and the leaderships of the Communist and Communist Labor Parties particularly targeted. Many would be held for deportation, where a number would die. A C.L.P. editorial on their members arrested and the response of their organization.

‘The Party Outlook’ from Communist Labor. Vol. 1 No. 3. February 25, 1920.

Right from the outset we want to assure all who are interested that the condition of the Communist Labor Party is, at this writing, most satisfactory, if all we have had to face in the last month is taken into account.

We do not claim that the raids and the arrests and the indictments did not hamper the work of the organization. The energy and money which would have been spent in education and organization had to, for the time being, be given to defense and relief.

As may be known, the National Office was included in the Red Raids. Party supplies were confiscated, money was stolen out of the cash drawer, and L.E. Katterfeld, organization director, who happened to be the only person in the office at the time, was taken to the New York City Department of Justice headquarters, questioned, and shipped with hundreds of others to Ellis Island. He was kept there three days and until his citizenship was proven.

Instructions to the raiders were that only alien radicals were to be arrested. And when the raids were completed, nearly every nationality on earth was represented. Greeks, Lithuanians, Ukrainians, Letts, Hungarians, Germans, Irish, Russians, Poles, South Slavs, Italians, even a Chinaman on the western coast were among the several thousand “foreigners” held for deportation. A total of 124, including 14 women, were crowded upon Deer Island, Boston Harbor. Five hundred and fifteen, including 32 women, some with children, were “shipped” to Ellis Island, New York. Mothers with babies were among those sent to Ellis Island. In one instance a woman, who had given birth to a child ten days before the raids, was forced out of bed to share the privations of the deportees.

Facilities at both Deer Island and Ellis Island were entirely inadequate to take care of the hundreds of deportees housed there. At Deer Island two deportees went insane and one committed suicide because of the persecution. At Ellis Island eight deportees died and most of them suffered severe colds, due to bad ventilation and other causes.

All deportees which belonged to the Communist Labor Party have been released from both Ellis Island and Deer Island upon bail. To secure ample bail in New York City was a large undertaking and we have the New York members of the party to thank for their unceasing labors in this respect. From last reports there are still about ten deportees, members of the Communist Labor Party, imprisoned in Philadelphia, and several in Denver.

In Oregon Victor Saulit and others were arrested. In California the cases against the state officials of the Communist Labor Party were dismissed in lower court, but the comrades were immediately rearrested upon indictments returned by the Alameda grand jury. Those indicted are: James H. Dolsen, State Secretary; J.E. Snyder, editor of The World; Cyrus Tobey, organizer; Edric Smith and J.C. Taylor, of the State Executive Committee; Reed, party worker in Oakland; Allanson Sessions and Max Bedacht. All are released upon bail. These comrades are charged with violating the state syndicalist law. Their defense is well taken care of.

In Duluth Jack Carney was arrested for “discouraging enlistment in the US Army.” He is out on bonds. In Kansas City, Mo., the federal authorities accused J.P. Cannon, State Secretary, and Charles Baker, national organizer, with violating the Lever Act. They are supposed to have encouraged the miners in their strike. Baker was arrested in Ohio and has been released upon bonds. From latest reports we understand that Cannon is still held in the Kansas City, Mo., prison. Ample bail for his release was offered by Kansas Comrades, but only Missouri property will be accepted by the Court. Comrades owning property in Missouri should get busy.

Party members arrested in New Jersey, charged with violation of state law, are all out on bonds and the date of trial has been set several times and again postponed. In New York, Benjamin Gitlow was found guilty of violating a law passed right after McKinley was assassinated in this state. His case will be appealed.

At Chicago all the state and local officials of the party, as well as the national officials, were indicted for alleged violation of the state sedition law. Members of the party named in the indictment, as reported by the press, follow: National Executive Committee: L.E. Katterfeld, Alexander Bilan, Max Bedacht, Ed- ward Lindgren, Edgar Owens. Cook County Executive Committee: Samuel Hankin, Edwin Firth, John Vogel, Arthur Procter, Jacob Schriff, Niel S. Kjar, M.A. Stolar, Charles Krumbein. Branch Secretaries: Robert Norburg, R.W. Horseley, Charles Katz. Organization and Propaganda Committee, Chicago: Albert Schuster, G.A. Engelken, John Nelson, Meyer Dobrow. National Executive Secretary A. Wagenknecht. Active organizers and agitators: John Reed, William Bross Lloyd, Charles Baker. Women comrades indicted: Marguerite Prevey, Helen Judd, Clara Rofsky.

This is by far the largest number of indictments the party has had to deal with since the ruling class decided to “safeguard” the constitution and yet the Illinois organization has met the situation head-on.

Comrades were released on bail as fast as they appeared in answer to their indictment and the defense work is going forward in a most efficient manner.

It will be seen from this report that the party has ably met the situation which confronted it subsequent to the raids. The various subdivisions of the organization have shown remarkable strength and courage and have discharged their duties to the indicted members and the deportees with speed and understanding. When it is taken into account that almost all of those who held for deportation have been freed on bail; when it is understood that in every case the defense is being attended to in a manner which merits praise, then the membership as a whole may well realize that the organization as such is more powerful today than before January 3rd.

Close attention will now be given to education and organization work. Members will be pleased to learn that preliminary tasks are well under way to place into the hands of all subdivisions and members the literature which will enlighten the workers, which will point out to them the many commissions of crime, violence, and terrorism by the ruling class and which will teach them that only all power in the hands of the workers will put a stop to the White Terror.

One thing is assured. We shall not be intimidated. The purpose of the raids was to cow the workers. The Red Raids will have the opposite effect. Already the lackeys of capitalism sense that they have overplayed their hand. Already they are forced to back up.

We will stand our ground. We will advance. We will emerge victorious.