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322 VIOLENCE AND THE LABOR MOVEMENT
anarchists
"without phrase" and of the great commerce
they have built up,
it must, nevertheless, convince anyone
that republican institutions cannot long exist in a country
which tolerates such an extensive private commerce in
lawlessness and crime. Government by law cannot prevail
in the same field with a widespread and profitable
traffic in disorder, thuggery, arson, and murder. Here is
a whole brood of mercenaries, the output of hundreds of
great penitentiaries, that has been organized and systematized
into a great commerce to serve the rich and
powerful. Here is a whole mess of infamy developed
into a great private enterprise that militates against all
law and order. It has already brought the United States
on more than one occasion to the verge of civil war.
And, despite the fact that numerous judges have publicly
condemned the work of these agencies, and that various
governmental commissions have deprecated in the most
solemn words this traffic in crime, it continues to grow
and prosper in the most alarming manner. Certainly, no
student of history will doubt that, if this commerce is
permitted to continue, it will not be long until no man's
life, honor, or property will be secure. And it is a question,
even at this moment, whether the legislators have
the courage to attack this powerful American Mafia that
has already developed into a "vested interest."
As I said at the beginning, no other country has this
form of anarchy to contend with. In all countries, no
doubt, there are associations of criminals, and everywhere,
perhaps, it is possible for wealthy men to employ
criminals to work for them. But even the Mafia, the
Camorra, and the Black Hand do not exist for the purpose
of collecting and organizing mercenaries to serve the
rich and powerful. Nor anywhere else in the world are
these criminals made special officers, deputy sheriffs,