Title | World voices on the Moscow trials |
Alternative Title | World voices on the Moscow trials: a compilation from the labor and liberal press of the world |
Creator (LCNAF) |
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Publisher | Pioneer Publishers |
Place of Creation (TGN) |
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Date | 1936? |
Subject.Name (LCNAF) |
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Genre (AAT) |
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Language | English |
Type (DCMI) |
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Original Item Extent | 64 pages: 1 illustration; 20 cm |
Original Item Location | DK266.3.A45 |
Original Item URL | http://library.uh.edu/record=b8304404~S11 |
Original Collection | Socialist and Communist Pamphlets |
Digital Collection | Socialist and Communist Pamphlets |
Digital Collection URL | http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/scpamp |
Repository | Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries |
Repository URL | http://libraries.uh.edu/branches/special-collections |
Use and Reproduction | In Copyright: This item is protected by copyright. Copyright to this resource is held by the creator or current rights holder, and the resource is provided here for educational purposes. It may not be reproduced or distributed in any format without permission of the copyright owner. Users assume full responsibility for any infringement of copyright or related rights. |
File Name | index.cpd |
Title | Image 7 |
Format (IMT) |
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File Name | uhlib_2774257_006.jpg |
Transcript | Introductory Note The material contained in this pamphlet is drawn from the world's representative liberal and labor press. It has been brought together in order to further the two objectives of the American Committee for the Defense of Leon Trotsky—viz., to secure for the great revolutionist the right of political asylum and an opportunity of getting an open hearing. In Europe similar committees have been organized with the same aims, including such figures as H. N. Brails- ford and J. F. Horrabin in England, and Jules Romains and Victor Margueritte in France. One of the most precious liberties enshrined in the American tradition is the freedom to take refuge on these shores from political persecution by foreign governments. The reception given to Louis Kossuth, the career of Carl Schurz and many other revolutionists who fled from Hungary, Germany, Ireland and Russia during the nineteenth century, testify to the strength of this spirit of tolerance and hospitality in American history. Today in many countries of the world the right of political asylum is denied even to those who pledge themselves to refrain from any participation in the political controversies of the land whose hospitality is sought. The extension of this spirit of intolerance is a threat to all lovers of liberty—even to those who owe no allegiance to any political party. That is why the American Committee is interested in securing political asylum for Leon Trotsky. Due in part to its efforts and to the fearless liberalism of the Cardenas administration, Trotsky has for a time found shelter in Mexico. No individual, and least of all one who has occupied so high a place in the affairs of the world as Leon Trotsky, should be condemned without a public hearing—without an opportunity to answer grave charges made against him. This is an integral part of the American ideal of fair play. But, even more important, it is an elementary prerequisite of any decent administration of justice. The American Committee, which is made up overwhelmingly of individuals who do not share Trotsky's political views, is interested only in the ascertainment of the truth. To achieve this end, it is willing to lend its services to the establishment of an impartial board of inquiry before which Trotsky can give testimony bearing upon the accusations made against him at the Moscow trials. As things stand now, Lenin's greatest collaborator has the same chances of finding impartial judges in Russia as Carl von Ossietzky in Hitler's Germany. The editorial committee, in selecting the material for this pamphlet, has restricted itself to that segment of liberal, labor or socialist opinion which has no official connection either with the Communist Party or with the Trotskyist groups and which, by virtue of its differences with both, is presumably unbiased. The Committee takes |