Section 31
So there was Peter, down and out once more. But fate was kind to
him. That very day came a letter signed "Two forty-three," which
meant McGivney. "Two forty-three" had some important work for Peter,
so would he please call at once? Peter pawned his last bit of
jewelry for his fare to American City, and met McGivney at the usual
rendezvous.
The purpose of the meeting was quickly explained. America was now at
war, and the time had come when the mouths of these Reds were to be
stopped for good. You could do things in war-time that you couldn't
do in peace-time, and one of the things you were going to do was to
put an end to the agitation against property. Peter licked his lips,
metaphorically speaking. It was something he had many times told
McGivney ought to be done. Pat McCormick especially ought to be put
away for good. These were a dangerous bunch, these Reds, and Mac was
the worst of all. It was every man's duty to help, and what could
Peter do?
McGivney answered that the authorities were making a complete list
of all the radical organizations and their members, getting evidence
preliminary to arrests. Guffey was in charge of the job; as in the
Goober case, the big business interests of the city were going ahead
while the government was still wiping the sleep out of its eyes.
Would Peter take a job spying upon the Reds in American City?
"I can't!" exclaimed Peter. "They're all sore at me because I didn't
testify in the Goober case."
"We can easily fix that up," answered the rat-faced man. "It may
mean a little inconvenience for you. You may have to go to jail for
a few days."
"To jail!" cried Peter, in dismay.
"Yes," said the other, "you'll have to get arrested, and made into a
martyr. Then, you see, they'll all be sure you're straight, and
they'll take you back again and welcome you."
Peter didn't like the idea of going to jail; his memories of the
jail in American City were especially painful. But McGivney
explained that this was a time when men couldn't consider their own
feelings; the country was in danger, public safety must be
protected, and it was up to everybody to make some patriotic
sacrifice. The rich men were all subscribing to liberty bonds; the
poor men were going to give their lives; and what was Peter Gudge
going to give? "Maybe I'll be drafted into the army," Peter
remarked.
"No, you won't--not if you take this job," said McGivney. "We can
fix that. A man like you, who has special abilities, is too precious
to be wasted." Peter decided forthwith that he would accept the
proposition. It was much more sensible to spend a few days in jail
than to spend a few years in the trenches, and maybe the balance of
eternity under the sod of France.
Matters were quickly arranged. Peter took off his good clothes, and
dressed himself as became a workingman, and went into the
eating-room where Donald Gordon, the Quaker boy, always got his
lunch. Peter was quite sure that Donald would be one of the leading
agitators against the draft, and in this he was not mistaken.
Donald was decidedly uncordial in his welcoming of Peter; without
saying a word the young Quaker made Peter aware that he was a
renegade, a coward who had "thrown down" the Goober defense. But
Peter was patient and tactful; he did not try to defend himself, nor
did he ask any questions about Donald and Donald's activities. He
simply announced that he had been studying the subject of
militarism, and had come to a definite point of view. He was a
Socialist and an Internationalist; he considered America's entry
into the war a crime, and he was willing to do his part in agitating
against it. He was going to take his stand as a conscientious
objector; they might send him to jail if they pleased, or even stand
him against a wall and shoot him, but they would never get him to
put on a uniform.
It was impossible for Donald Gordon to hold out against a man who
talked like that; a man who looked him in the eye and expressed his
convictions so simply and honestly. And that evening Peter went to a
meeting of Local American City of the Socialist Party, and renewed
his acquaintance with all the comrades. He didn't make a speech or
do anything conspicuous, but simply got into the spirit of things;
and next day he managed to meet some of the members, and whenever
and wherever he was asked, he expressed his convictions as a
conscientious objector. So before a week had passed Peter found that
he was being tolerated, that nobody was going to denounce him as a
traitor, or kick him out of the room.
At the next weekly meeting of Local American City, Peter ventured to
say a few words. It was a red-hot meeting, at which the war and the
draft were the sole subjects of discussion. There were some Germans
in the local, some Irishmen, and one or two Hindoos; they,
naturally, were all ardent pacifists. Also there were agitators of
what was coming to be called the "left wing"; the group within the
party who considered it too conservative, and were always clamoring
for more radical declarations, for "mass action" and general strikes
and appeals to the proletariat to rise forthwith and break their
chains. These were days of great events; the Russian revolution had
electrified the world, and these comrades of the "left wing" felt
themselves lifted upon pinions of hope.
Peter spoke as one who had been out on the road, meeting the rank
and file; he could speak for the men on the job. What was the use of
opposing the draft here in a hall, where nobody but party members
were present? What was wanted was for them to lift up their voices
on the street, to awaken the people before it was too late! Was
there anybody in this gathering bold enough to organize a street
meeting?
There were some who could not resist this challenge, and in a few
minutes Peter had secured the pledges of half a dozen young
hot-heads, Donald Gordon among them. Before the evening was past it
had been arranged that these would-be-martyrs should hire a truck,
and make their debut on Main Street the very next evening. Old hands
in the movement warned them that they would only get their heads
cracked by the police. But the answer to that was obvious--they
might as well get their heads cracked by the police as get them
blown to pieces by German artillery.
