Still Kicking

Last week U. S. Attorney General Biddle relieved postmen of carrying Social Justice around in their packs when he banned Father Coughlin's up-to-the-minute Fascist newsmagazine on the grounds of sedition under the espionage act. At 11:30 Sunday morning Social Justice distributors in Boston decided not only that they would ignore this crimp in their staff, but they would also assert their displeasure in no uncertain terms. The driver of a Social Justice truck, Joseph McDonald, kicked to pieces Traveler photographer Hansen's camera when he tried to take a picture of a newsboy handing out the magazine. Hansen asserts that a Boston policeman held him while McDonald kicked, and it is definitely known that the officer witnessed the destruction.

This assault indicates that Social Justice's misguided following in Boston is irate about the Government's attempt to silence their subversive sheet. Not only did the patrolman fail to interfere with the demolition of the camera, but he also said he read and approved the magazine. An America First and Social Justice leader said last night that he thought the Traveler's "unfair" story would increase the number of Boston readers which far exceed the reported 200,000, he boasted. It is undeniable that the appeasers are anxious that Coughlin's paper should be more widely read. It is equally undeniable that the distributors of this "pure American" magazine know they have something to hide when they block the view of its sale and kick photographers' cameras around the street.

When the obstructors of the war effort use R. R. Express and find other means to continue their activities which are so blatantly injurious, it is bad enough. But when they resort to physical violence--and get away with it under the eyes of the law--the situation is alarming. The Hansen incident and his attacker's sources of support, both on and off the scene, show that Social Justice is clearly seditious. When Biddle relieved the postman he certainly did not intend a policeman to take up the task.