Mr. and Mrs. Van Snub made their appearance today in Apeport, and created quite a sensation on the boulevard. Mrs. Van Snub was dressed in latest Paris fashion. Her gown was a semi-blue anthracite creation with Mayonnaise trimmings. Brussels sprouts with a shade of chiffinaire a la mignon in front, and shredded pompadour cotelettes in the rear flanks, gave the whole affair something divine. It is super-stylish and will be the talk of society for months to come. The display of jewels showed rare taste and the estimated value of the sunbursts and pearls alone is $2,000,000.
The wonderful black turtle suit of Mr. Van Snub is talked about in salons and clubs; it will give Mr. Van Snub the undisputed place as leader in the world of dash. Mr. V. S. is the well-know author of the book, "Why the I.W.W. Should be Abolished." Mrs. V. S. has won undying fame through her brilliant articles in the Saturday Evening Post on "Working Women and Wages." She proved conclusively that working women can and should live extremely well on Six Dollars a Week.
It should also be mentioned that both the Snubs are untiring workers for universal peace. It is whispered that Mrs. Van Snub is a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Karl Roth was a workingman, and after a hard week's work celebrated the Sunday afternoon in the park as usual. The weather was fine and his girl was there. Concerts and moving pictures were taken in, and Karl Roth almost forgot that he was only a poor workingman. Something happened to refresh his memory.
Karl Roth never forgot. What might have taken years of agitation and perhaps carloads of radical literature, was accomplished in that Sunday afternoon. He became a rebel. He hated the plutocrats; he hated militarism and capitalism.
Time passed.
Karl Roth had to go to war
and soon found himself in the midst of the fight. His regiment was spread out on the side of a hill, one firing line above the other. The lieutenants were in front according to the German tradition. Karl saw them; he remembered that Sunday afternoon. Those officers in front of him belonged to that hated class; now they were at his mercy. Here in the roar of musketry and cannon was his chance. No written title or proud ancestry protected his victims. Here up in the firing line he was above that superior class. He fired many a shot, and as the position of the
line always changed it happened that always new victims were brought in front of his rifle. Later when he read the account of the battle he found the following about his regiment:
"Our officers as usual distinguished themselves in the most brilliant manner. Living up their heroic tradition, all of them fell on the field of honor."
Solidarity is planning a SIX-PAGE special war issue for the last week in October -- No. 251, October 31.
At the suggestion of our cartoonist, Fellow Worker Riebe, we have hit upon a plan to make this a very attractive and effective issue, with very little additional expense to the institution. The idea is to use one or two new cartoons only, with a number of those which have already appeared in Solidarity. The cartoons will be scattered through the different pages, with an amount of reading matter
The rate for bundles of less than 200 copies will be TWO CENTS per copy; for bundles of more than 200 the rate will be ONE and ONE-HALF CENTS per copy.
Owing to financial pressure at the present time, we are compelled to require CASH IN ADVANCE for all NEW ORDERS. Locals that are in the habit of paying their bills promptly, will be granted credit as usual.
We want to make this the biggest and best issue ever. Will you help us?
Let us have all orders in not later than October 20.
Society Notes
(Drawing by Ernest Riebe with caption -- unsigned but it sounds like Riebe wrote it -- from Solidarity, 1913)
On the Field of Honor
(unsigned 1914 story from Solidarity with drawings by Ernest Riebe)
At a turn of the road he ran accidentally into a lieutenant who came strolling along with some companions. There was no damage done and the apologies of the humble workingman should have settled the matter. A man would have been satisfied but the feudal lords had just taken a number of "hofbraus" and their enthusiasm
about the exalted station of the nobility ran high. Insults came thick and fast. Karl Roth was quick to answer back. The girl feared the lords would make use of their privilege and attack the plebeian with swords. She persuaded her sweetheart to come along. Biting sarcasm and sneers accompanied the retreat.
The summer of 1914 came, the mobilization, the declaration of war. The wave of insanity called patriotism swept over the country.
War Extra!
(1914 announcement from Solidarity with drawing by Ernest Riebe; the promised special issue did appear, with reprinted antiwar cartoons like "The Judge" in a Hell of a Fix, Peace On Earth, and Poor Mother. In this text we can detect the familiar drama of the rebel cartoonist trying to figure out how to get loquacious rebel writers and editors to yield precious column inches.)
about equal to four full pages without illustrations. In this way there will be no crowding out of reading matter, and the numberous cartoons will make the issue easy to dispose of. Western locals, especially, should be able to get rid of large bundles of this issue, at their usual retail rate.