LIBERTY AND LEADERSHIP

The actions of three public spirited citizens and of Governor Ely both deserve to be singled out for commendation from the whirl of a typical communistic demonstration followed by customary police procedure. It is impossible to pass fair judgment on the question of violent propaganda; agitation undoubtedly keeps the vital question of the oppression of the masses in the public eye. But when agitators, in the business of keeping these causes alive, parade their troubles in such a way as to constitute a public nuisance, forceful methods of restoring order out of riot seem justifiable.

None of these limitations, however, appeared to be necessary yesterday. There is no reason for disallowing free speech in an area such as Boston Common. Furthermore, the police were grossly unfair in their treatment of the three private and orderly citizens, two of whom were arrested after Hessian methods of coercion, failed to cow them. This should be made a test case. Law will have to be liberal to the extent of recognizing the difference between a sincere determination to preserve freedom and a volent misuse of it. The prominent citizens involved should see their convictions of right realized. All praise to them.

Governor Ely's treatment of the petitioning committee is a good civic lesson. Although he has proposed relief measures, a hostile legislature has rendered him powerless. Nevertheless, he received the committee civilly and intimated that precise information would be appreciated. The embarrassment of the petitioners at this reception was a little damning. Their demands were for immediate relief of the needy, yet they had no possible or practical suggestions.

It is certain that whatever good such agitations may do in pushing these vital reform measures, the more intelligent attempts of Governor Ely to improve the situation, hampered as he is by legislative checks, are more productive. And the case of the two men who asserted their rights as citizens should aid in the better establishment of the fine line between individual freedom and the restrictions society must impose upon itself.