nacing words escaped from
this crafty leader. He could not restrain them even at the end, on March
3, 1920, when summing up the case for the Socialist defendants at
Albany, according to the following account in the "Sun and New York
Herald" of March 4, 1920:

"Justifying the general strike as an emergency weapon, Mr. Hillquit
made this startling statement interpreted in some quarters as an
open threat:

"'The workers of this country have the right "to call a general
strike" and it is well that they should at least hold it in
abeyance as a possible instrument in some cases, in very
exceptional emergencies. I will say that the general strike has
been used abroad for the purpose of enforcing political action.'

"'A labor party is being formed,' Mr. Hillquit said, 'in some parts
of the country. Suppose it should elect representatives to the
Legislature and a capitalist in that Legislature should get up and
say "I don't approve of your programme; get out of my Legislature."

"'I say this would be eminently a case where the workers would be
justified in declaring a general strike until such time as their
constitutional rights are actually accorded to them.'"

To this "veiled threat" Martin Conboy, counsel for the Judiciary
Committee, replied the next day in summing up for the prosecution. We
quote his words from the "Sun and New York Herald" of March 5, 1920:

"'Under the veil of a simile a threat was employed that if you
gentlemen concluded that these five Socialist Assemblymen should
not sit in this chamber as members of this Assembly a general
strike might be called. In the whole history devoted to the
development of this idea there has been no more frank exposition of
the doctrine than that. It is proof, sufficient and satisfactory to
the point of a demonstration of the charge that has been made in
this case.

"'The threat carries itself further. You must not only admit them,
but you must take their legislative programme and exact it into
law; otherwise the general strike will again be employed.

"'No opportunity is lost by the leaders of the Socialist Party to
impress upon the rank and file that it is impossible to achieve
ultimate triumph by political action. For this reason the American
Federation of Labor is subjected to continuous attacks and
misrepresenta