Hellraisers Journal: From The Liberator: “Last Days With John Reed” -Letter to Max Eastman from Louise Bryant in Moscow

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Quote John Reed, to LB Moscow Autumn 1920, Lbtr p11, Feb 1921———-

Hellraisers Journal – Thursday February 3, 1921
Louise Bryant Writes from Moscow on Death of John Reed

From The Liberator of February 1921:

Last Days With John Reed

A Letter from Louise Bryant

Moscow, Nov. 14, 1920

Dear Max:

I knew you would want details and a story for the Liberator–but I did not have either the strength or the courage. As it is–I will be able to write only a very incoherent letter and you may take from it what you wish. Jack’s death and my strenuous underground trip to Russia and the weeks of terror in the typhus hospital have quite broken me. At the funeral I suffered a very severe heart attack which by the merest scratch I survived. Specialists have agreed that I have strained my heart because of the long days and nights I watched beside Jack’s bed and that it is enlarged and may not get ever well again. They do not agree, however, on the time it will take for another attack. I write to you all these stupid things because I have to face them myself and because it must be part of the letter. The American and German doctors give me a year or even two, the Russians only months. I have to take stimulants and I am not in a bit of pain. I think I have better recuperative powers than they believe–but, anyway, it is a small matter. I once promised Jack that I would put all his works in order in case of his death. I will come home if I get stronger and do so.

John Reed, Louise Bryant at Coffin, Lbtr p13, Feb 1921

All that I write now seems part of a dream. I am in no pain at all and I find it impossible to believe that Jack is dead or that he will not come in this very room any moment.

Jack was ill twenty days. Only two nights, when he was calmer, did I even lie down. Spotted typhus is beyond description, the patient wastes to nothing under your eyes.

But I must go back to tell you how I found Jack after my illegal journey across the world. I had to skirt Finland, sail twelve days in the Arctic ocean, hide in a fisherman’s shack four days to avoid the police with a Finnish officer and a German, both under sentence of death in their own countries. When I did reach Soviet territory I was at the opposite end of Russia from Jack. When I reached Moscow he was in Baku at the Oriental Congress. Civil war raged in the Ukraine. A military wire reached him and he came back in an armored train. On the morning of September 15th he ran shouting into my room. A month later he was dead.

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Hellraisers Journal: The Toiler: “John Reed Is Dead” by Robert Minor -Great Funeral Demonstration Held in Moscow

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Quote John Reed, Weak Gov Rebellious People, 10 Days Chp III, 1919———-

Hellraisers Journal – Sunday October 31, 1920
Moscow, Russia – Great Funeral Demonstration Panned for John Reed

From the Cleveland Toiler of October 30, 1920:

John Reed Is Dead

By Robert Minor.

John Reed Dead in Moscow, Telegram Oct 22, Toiler p4, Oct 30, 1920

The Tzar Nicholas once complained that he was unable to have the best of Russian music because, unfortunately, the best composers were guilty of the crime of sedition and he could not encourage them.

Today the Tzar Nicholas lies in a hole in the ground of a Siberian village, and the sweetest music of Russia is played in his palace to the ears of the plain workingmen for whom the composers really wrote their music anyway.

In Moscow there died the other day a great American literary artist, John Reed. He was a young man, only thirty-three, and already known about the earth as one of the finest of American artists.

John Reed, LOC, 19363, see Charlotte Ob NC p19, Nov 22, 1914

John Reed began his career ten years ago as a reporter for the New York World and for the New York Tribune. He did well. Very soon he graduated from the ranks of daily reporters and was acknowledged as one of the most brilliant writers on the high-priced magazines that spend their thousands to get the best of writing.

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Hellraisers Journal: John Reed Dies in Moscow; Well-Known Radical Writer Succumbed to Typhus Last Sunday

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Quote John Reed, Weak Gov Rebellious People, 10 Days Chp III, 1919———-

Hellraisers Journal – Tuesday October 19, 1920
Moscow, Russia – John Reed Has Died of Typhus, According to Cable

From The Butte Daily Bulletin of October 18, 1920:

JOHN REED DlES IN MOSCOW SAYS CABLE
—————
Well Known American Radical Writer and Editor
Succumbs to Typhus, According to Message.
——-

(Special United Press Wire.)

John Reed, Ogden Standard p12, Feb 19, 1918

Portland, Ore., Oct. 18.-John Reed, well known radical writer and editor, died Sunday at Moscow, Russia, according to cablegrams received by his relatives here. Typhus was the cause.

Reed spent considerable time in Russia as a war correspondent and writer for magazines. He had been previously on the staff of the American magazine. He returned to the United States after the war with a commission as Soviet ambassador to the United States, but his commission was later recalled.

——-

Reed’s commission as ambassador to the United States was refused recognition by the state department.

An address by Reed recently delivered in Moscow was widely quoted in the press of the United States and Europe within the last two weeks. In his address Reed was quoted as declaring that the workers in the United States and Europe were in favor of recognition of the Soviet republic, but that the opposition to such recognition was being fostered by reactionary interests connected with the international financial interests.

—————

[Emphasis added; Newsclip added from Utah’s Ogden Standard of February 19, 1918.]

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Hellraisers Journal: Debs Bids Farewell to Cleveland Comrades at Speech at West Side Turn Hall, Appeals for Solidarity

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Quote EVD, re Red Roses, OH Sc p4, Mar 19, 1919———-

Hellraisers Journal – Friday March 21, 1919
Cleveland, Ohio – Eugene Debs Presented with Red Roses at Farewell Address

From The Ohio Socialist of March 19, 1919:

Eugene V. Debs’ Speech at West Side Turn Hall, Cleveland
[Wednesday Evening, March 12, 1919]

EVD, Bstn Glb p3, Sept 13, 1918

Before a capacity audience of 3,000 which filled West Side Turn hall one hour before his scheduled appearance Debs made his farewell speech.

Debs was calm, His opening words were accorded an instantaneous silence. He said:

How true it is that there is a divinity that shapes our ends, roughhew them how we will! It may seem strange to you, but in my plans, in my dreams, I did not think of going to the penitentiary-and I-I had a thousand times rather go there and spend my remaining days there than to betray this great cause.

So far as I am concerned it does not matter much. The margin is narrow, the years between now and the sunset are few, and the only care that I have personally is that I may preserve to the last the integrity of my own soul and my loyalty to the only cause worth living for, fighting for, and dying for.

It is so perfectly fine to me to look into your faces once more, to draw upon you for the only word I have ever had, the only word that I can ever speak for myself. I love mankind, humanity. Can you understand? I am sure you can.

We are close of kith and kin, we are human and when we get into close touch with each other we come to understand that our good depends upon the good of all humanity.

Opposed to System.

I am opposed to the system under which we live. I am opposed to the government that compels you, the great body of the American people, to pay your tribute to an insignificant few who enjoy life while the great body of the people suffer, struggle, and agonize without ever having lived. Can you understand? I am sure you can.

Let me get in touch with you for a while. I am going to speak to you as a Socialist, as a revolutionist, and, if you please, as a Bolshevist.

And what is the thing that the whole world is talking about? What is it that the ruling class power of the world are denouncing, upon which they are pouring a flood of all their malicious lies-what is it? It is the rise of the workers, the peasants, the soldiers, the common man, who for the first time in history said, “I have made what there is, I produced the wealth; I want to be heard.”

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Hellraisers Journal: From the Appeal to Reason: John Reed’s Latest Book Tells the Truth About the Russian Revolution

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Quote John Reed, Weak Gov Rebellious People, 10 Days Chp III, 1919———-

Hellraisers Journal – Thursday March 13, 1919
“Ten Days That Shook the World,” John Reed on the Russian Revolution

From the Appeal to Reason of March 8, 1919:

John Reed’s Latest Book Tells
Truth About Russia

John Reed, Liberator p44, March 1918

“Ten days that Shook the World,” by John Reed, is the newest, and it is safe to say, the best book written about the Russian Revolution. The Appeal Book Dept., the largest mail order book house in the world, has a large stock of this new book and is ready to fill orders at once.

Do you know what occurred during the ten days of the Bolshevik Revolution in Petrograd? John Reed was there, and he will tell you if you do not know.

What did Trotzky prophesy seven days before the insurrection? John Reed knows, and his book will tell you. What was Kerensky thinking just before his government fell? John Reed had the last interview with him, and the report of this important interview is given a prominent place in “Ten Days That Shook the World.” How did the Bolsheviki make up their minds to revolt? John Reed knows what went on in the secret Bolshevik Conference of October 23, 1917, and his book tells the story accurately.

This book is a moving picture of those thrilling days in Petrograd. It is a serious attempt to tell all the details about the bolshevik coup d’ etat. It will be used as an original source by historians of the great Russian Revolution.

Can you answer these questions?

What is Bolshevism? What is the history of the Bolsheviki? Who are the cadets? What was the role of the Russian bourgeoisie in the Revolution? What kind of a governmental structure did the Bolsheviki set up? If the Bolsheviki championed the Constituent Assembly before the November Revolution, why did they disperse it by force of arms afterward? And if the bourgeoisie opposed the Constituent Assembly until the danger of Bolshevism became apparent, why did they champion it afterward?

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Hellraisers Journal: National Labor Convention for Mooney: Debs Invited, W. F. Dunn of Butte Speaks for Radicals

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Quote EVD re General Strike, Journal Paper Mill Workers p7, Mar 1919

———-

Hellraisers Journal – Saturday January 18, 1919
Chicago, Illinois – National Labor Convention for Mooney Hears from Radicals

From The Butte Daily Bulletin of January 16, 1919:

National Labor Mooney Conference, HdLn, Btt Dly Bltn p1, Jan 16, 1919 National Labor Mooney Conference, Radicals, Btt Dly Bltn p1, Jan 16, 1919

—–

(Special Dispatch to The Bulletin.)

Chicago, Jan. 16.-At this morning’s session of the Mooney Labor Congress Ed Nolan scored the capitalist press on its criticism of the invitation of Debs and its attempt to give a sense of dissension among the delegates. Debs’ name was again greeted with tumultuous applause. It was moved that the Nonpartisan league be given the floor. The motion was defeated. Dunn of Butte moved to give the Detroit delegate the floor. The Detroit leader clearly outlined the program before the convention as follows:

No political begging, a general strike to free Tom Mooney and also to take a stand to free political prisoners and recognize Russia; reorganize the American Federation of Labor on an industrial basis.

The radicals are satisfied with the moves so far.

—–

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Hellraisers Journal: “Six Red Months in Russia” by Louise Bryant, Describes Day-by-Day Drama of Russian Revolution

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Quote Louise Bryant, Six Red Months pxi, 1918

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal – Monday December 9, 1918
On Sale Now: “Six Red Months in Russia” by Louis Bryant

From The Liberator of December 1918:

Louise Bryant, Six Red Months Ad, Liberator p2, Dec 1918

Day-by-Day Drama of Russian Revolution

Imagine! If you had been alive at the end of the 18th century what would you have given for a book describing the day-by-day drama of the great French Revolution telling how Mirabeau, Marat, Robespierre, Charlotte Corday, looked, how they acted, what they said-all told by a first class, wide-awake unprejudiced reporter.

You who live now at a time when the great Russian Revolution, more tremendous by far than the French Revolution, is shaking a hostile world to its foundations, have the opportunity to walk with Louise Bryant through the streets of Petrograd and Moscow, to see Babushka and Kerensky in the Winter Palace, to watch the fall of the Provisional Government, the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly, the rise of the proletariat. You can see Lenine, Trotsky, Spirodonova, Kollantai, and many others, watch them in action, hear them talk. You can get an intimate picture of the women soldiers and the ragged Red Guard Army.

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Hellraisers Journal: From the Socialist Milwaukee Leader: Debs Speaks to Jury, Refuses to Retract Canton Speech

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To speak for labor; to plead the cause
of the men and women and children who toil;
to serve the working class,
has always been to me a high privilege;
a duty of love.
-Eugene Victor Debs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Friday September 13, 1918
Cleveland, Ohio – Eugene Debs Addresses the Jury

From The Milwaukee Leader of September 12, 1918:

Jury in Eugene Debs’ Trial
on Free Speech Gets Its Instructions:

Former Candidate for President Makes Address in Own Defense,
Refusing to Retract Anything Uttered in his Canton Talk—
Case Will Be Appealed if Jury Returns Verdict of Guilty.

by J. Louis Engdahl

EVD, Debs Orator Canton June 16, 1918, IN U
Comrade Debs at Canton, June 16, 1918

(CLEVELAND) — Federal Judge D.C. Westenhaver Thursday instructed the jury in the case of Eugene V. Debs, national Socialist leader, charged with making disloyal utterances.
The jury is expected to retire by noon or before.

Westenhaver defined the four counts on which Debs is being tried. They are:

-Caused and attempted to incite insubordination, disloyalty, and mutiny and refusal of duty in the military and naval forces of the United States.

-Obstructed the recruiting and enlistment service.

-Provoked, incited, and encouraged resistance to the government.

-Opposed the cause of the United States at war with Germany.

There is a penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment and a $10,000 fine on each count.

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Hellraisers Journal: From The Brooklyn Daily Eagle: Reporter Talks with Louise Bryant & Interviews Jack Reed

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In the relations of a weak Government
and a rebellious people
there comes a time when every act of the authorities
exasperates the masses,
and every refusal to act excites their contempt.
-Jack Reed

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hellraisers Journal, Tuesday May 14, 1918
Greenwich Village – Home of Jack Reed and Louise Bryant

After a short conversation with Louise Bryant, wife of John Reed, a reporter recently conducted an interview with Mr. Reed in the couple’s Greenwich apartment. Both Bryant and Reed were witnesses to the Bolshevik Revolution during their tour of duty there as war correspondents.

From The Brooklyn Daily Eagle of May 5, 1918:

TWO MONTHS LONGER OF KERENSKY AND GERMANY WOULD HAVE
RULED RUSSIA, SAYS JOHN REED
—–
Lenine and Trotzky Will Go Down Under 10,000 Feet the Moment
They Stop Representing the Masses-
People of the Bread Lines Real Rulers of Russia.
—–
Korniloff Allowed Riga to Fall to Scare the People Into Action-
If Kerensky Came Back the People Would Kill Him-
Lies About Bolsheviki Have Seriously Damaged
the American Cause in Russia.
—–

John Reed, Louise Bryant, Spart, Nov 1916The half-starved men and women on the bread lines are the rulers of Russia. The crowd is the government. The faction of which Kerensky was the head, once looked upon by the world as radical, became, comparatively, as conservative as Taft in his second campaign. This faction did not represent the crowd, so it fell, leaving Kerensky with about as much influence in Russia as one William Jennings Bryan has here. If Kerensky should return to Russia he would be killed. If he and his supporters and remained in power two months longer every city in Russia would have been under German control. Korniloff planned the fall of Riga to frighten the Russian people into action, and admitted it publicly. The Kerensky government, when the people threatened to take its power from it, practiced sabotage on the food supplies of the people, fomented strikes in the manufacturing plants, and closed down factories.

So, among many other things, says John Reed, war correspondent, soldier of fortune, unswerving Socialist, Bolshevik, Harvard graduate, friend and co-worker of Lenine and Trotzky, and the young American, who was some time ago reported as having been sent to America by Trotzky to act as American Consul General for the Bolsheviki. He returned to this country one day last week to face trial with Max Eastman, Art Young and others of the former editors of The Masses, who have been indicted on a charge of conspiring to encourage resistance to the draft.

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