of why you
wish him to keep his questions until after your speech is much better.
If he persists after that, he is either an ignoramus or drunk. If drunk
ask two or three of your supporters in the audience to lead him off down
the street. If he is a natural fool the problem is not so easy. But if
you keep unbroken courtesy and he keeps up his unprovoked interruptions
some indignant person standing near will abate the nuisance with a punch
in the eye--which is the most effectual method in such cases.

POLICE INTERFERENCE

There is no easier task in the world than to defeat the police
authorities in a free speech fight. In the few cases where we lose it is
our own fault. The police are usually acting under orders when making
arrests and nothing is gained by making bitter enemies of them unless
they treat you brutally.

A cool head, a disposition to reason the matter out with the district
attorney, the chief of police, the mayor, or in the courts, without ever
offering to compromise your speaking rights, will always triumph. The
realization by the authorities that they are in a dirty and tyrannical
business is one of your strongest weapons. Courtesy and persuasive but
firm and unflinching reasoning makes them more conscious of their
humiliating part in the matter. If you do or say foolish or offensive
things they will forget their conscience in their anger, and give you a
fight for which you alone are to blame.

There are a few exceptions to this rule; cases where the authorities are
bent on victory; even then there is no excuse for losing your head. But
you must give them all the fight they want and never under any
circumstances show the white feather or accept anything less than all
you need to make your meeting successful. In handling the police and
their relations to street meetings the New York comrades have set other
cities an example to go by. The comrades select any corners they please
and during the day notify the police by telephone that Socialist
meetings will be held that evening on such and such corners and a
policeman is instructed to protect each meeting. The New York comrades
have had many hard battles with the police to keep this system, and they
have reason to be proud of the result.

The permit system is all right if it does not keep you from the corners
you wish to use. If it does, the best thing is to fight it out for a new
arrangement or the right to hold your meetings without arrangements. If