John Reed Biography A. Williams (1967) The first American city where workers refused to ship arms to Kolchak's army was Portland on the Pacific coast. On October 22, 1887, John Reed was born in this city. Reed's father, as Jack London described in one of his novels about the American West, was a sturdy and upright pioneer. This is a man of acute intelligence and hatred of hypocrisy and hypocrisy. Instead of flattering the rich and powerful, he opposed them. He fought violently against the trusts as they were seizing America's forests and other natural riches like a giant octopus, persecuted, beaten, and fired, but not once The enemy surrendered. In this way, John Reed received a fine legacy from his father—the blood of a warrior, a brilliant intellect, a spirit of daring and bravery. His brilliant talent showed early, and after graduating from high school, he was sent to the most famous university in the United States, Harvard University. It's usually the oil lords, coal aristocrats, and steel magnates who send their beloved sons here, knowing well that their precious sons have spent four years in sports, luxury living, and "cold study of cold science." Years later, will return with a soul completely free from the smell of radicalism. It is in this way in the colleges that thousands of young Americans have become the defenders of the existing order, the reactionary White Guard. John Reed spent four years at Harvard and became a public favorite for his own charisma and talent. He clashed with the children of the rich and privileged every day. He had listened to the rhetoric of orthodox sociology teachers, he had listened to the highest priests of capitalism, the professors of political economy, and he ended up organizing a socialist club in the center of this oligarchic bastion. This is a blow aimed at the faces of ignorant scholars. And his principals and deans consoled themselves by saying it was just childish nonsense. "As soon as he steps out of school and onto the wide stage of life, this radicalism in him will pass," they said. John Reed completed college, earned a degree, went out into the wider world, and conquered it in a very short period of time. He conquered it with his love for life, his passion and his pen. While still in college, he appeared to be a light-hearted and brilliant man in his role as editor of the Lampoon ("Satire") satire tabloid. A master of writing style. Poems, novels and plays flowed like a torrent from his pen at this time. Publishers were approaching him for articles, illustrated magazines began paying him almost mythical sums, and major newspapers asked him to write reviews of important events in life abroad. And so he became a traveler who traverses many avenues of the world. Whoever wants to get acquainted with modern life has only to run after John Reed, because wherever a major event occurs there, he must catch up like a petrel. In Peterson, the textile workers' strike turned into a revolutionary storm—and John Reed was in the midst of it. In Colorado, Rockefeller slaves, despite sticks and armed guards' rifles, fled the trenches and refused to return there—where John Reed had mingled with the insurgents. In Mexico, the enslaved peasants (Peon*) raised the banner of insurrection and advanced to Capitoli under Villa's command--and John Reed rode with them. A report on this latest exploit appeared first in Metropolis and later in the book "Revolutionary Mexico." Reed's lyrical descriptions of the red mountains and the vast desert "surrounded by huge cacti and spiky achenes". The endless plain fascinated him, but to a greater extent its inhabitants, ruthlessly exploited by landowners and the Catholic Church. He describes how they drove their herds from the hills and meadows in an attempt to rendezvous with the Liberation Army; how they sang by the campfire every night, and how, despite hunger and cold, in tattered clothes and bare feet, magnificent Land struggles for land and pasture. The imperialist war broke out—where the cannons were blaring, John Reed was there, he went to France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, the Balkans, and here—Russia. In order to expose the betrayal of the tsarist officials and collect information to prove that they participated in the organization of ravaging the Jews, he was once arrested by the gendarmerie along with the famous artist Bautman Robinson. But, as always, by clever stratagem, lucky chance, or clever trick, he broke free from their poison and grinned and threw himself into the next adventure. Danger cannot stop him at any time, danger is a natural phenomenon of his intimacy. He often sneaks into restricted areas and front-line trenches. The trip I took to the Riga front with John Reed and Boris Rheinstein in September 1917 is very much in my memory. How lively! Our car was heading south towards Wendeng, when the German artillery had flattened a small village to the east with grenades. This little village suddenly became the most interesting place in the world for John Reed! He insisted that we drive the car there. We advanced slowly and cautiously, when suddenly a cannonball exploded behind us, and the part of the road we had just driven was thrown into the air like a fountain of black smoke. We hurriedly grabbed each other, but after a minute John Reed was glowing with excitement. It seems that some inner need in his nature has been satisfied. In this way he roamed the whole world, all countries, all fronts, from one unusual adventure to another. But he wasn't just an adventurer, a traveling journalist, and a spectator who quietly observed people's pain. On the contrary, their pain is his pain. All this mess and filth and suffering and bloodshed insults his sense of justice and propriety. He was relentless in his quest to find the source of all this scum so he could pull it out. So he returned to New York from his own travels, not for rest, but for new work and agitation. After returning from Mexico, he declared: "Yes, there is rioting and chaos in Mexico, but it is not the landless peasants who are responsible for all this, but those who have planted riots by transporting gold and weapons, The competing oil companies of Great Britain and America." He came back from Peterson to organize a play called "The Great Battle of the Peterson Proletariat and Capital" in the largest hall in New York, in Madison Square Garden. A large-scale performance of the script. Returning from Colorado, he recounted the massacre at Ludlow, which in part overwhelmed the Siberian Lenner shootings because of its misery. He tells how the miners were driven from their homes, how they lived in tents, how those tents were doused with kerosene and burned, how soldiers shot the fleeing workers, and two dozen women and children How to die in flames. He turned to the millionaire Rockefeller and said, "This is your mine, this is your bandit and your soldier. You are the murderer!" He came back from the battlefield not talking about the brutality of one aspect of the war, but It is the war of curses itself that is a continual bestiality, a brutal slaughter organized by rival imperialisms. In "Liberator", the radical revolutionary magazine (to which he dedicated his best work without cost), under the slogan "Get a straitjacket for his son in the army*", he published a violent reaction Article on militarism. Along with other editors, he was indicted by a New York court for treason. The prosecutor did everything in his power to get a guilty verdict from a patriotic juror; he even managed to get an orchestra near the court house to play the national anthem throughout the courtroom debate! But Reed and his comrades stood firm in their beliefs. When Reed bravely declared that he considered his duty to fight for social revolution under the banner of revolution, prosecutors posed a question to him: "But in the present war, are you fighting under the banner of the United States? What?" "No!" - Reed answered firmly. "Why not?" Reed answered the question with an impassioned speech. In his speech he described the horrors he had witnessed on the battlefield. The writing was so vivid and moving that even some prejudiced petty-bourgeois jurors were moved to tears, and the editors were acquitted. Just as America entered the war, something happened: Reed had surgery, which resulted in the loss of a kidney. Doctors declared him unfit for military service. "The loss of my kidneys exempts me from service in wars between two peoples, - says Reed, - but it does not absolve me from service in wars between classes." John Reed, Summer 1917 Germany hurried to Russia, where he recognized in the first few revolutionary skirmishes that the great class war was approaching. He quickly analyzed the situation and understood that the seizure of power by the proletariat was logical and inevitable. But the delay and delay made him a little excited. He woke up every morning with a feeling like exasperation, believing that the revolution had not yet begun. Finally, Smolny gave the signal, and the masses began to plunge into the revolutionary struggle. John Reed also went with them, and it was completely natural. He was everywhere: in the dissolution of the Reserve Parliament, in the construction of barricades, in the warm welcome of Lenin and Zinoviev from the underground, in the conquest of the Winter Palace. ... all of which he talks about in his book. He collects material from place to place, from place to place. He collected the full copies of Pravda, Izvestia, all manifestos, pamphlets, posters and posters. He is particularly fond of posters. Whenever a new poster came along, he didn't hesitate to rip it off the wall if he couldn't get it any other way. In those days, posters were printed in such volume and speed that it was difficult to find a place to stick them on the fence. stand The posters of the Cadets, the Socialist-Revolutionaries, the Mensheviks, the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, and the Bolsheviks were posted on top of one another, with several thick layers, so that one time Reed tore off a thick layer, and another one under one poster. Post posters, there are sixteen posters. He came back to my room and waved the huge block of paper and shouted, "Look! I have all the revolutions and counter-revolutionaries at once!" In this way he has collected an excellent set of various methods. Material. The set was so good that when he arrived in New York Harbor after 1918, spies for the U.S. Attorney General took it from him. But he was able to repossess it, and hide in his little New York room, writing "Ten Days That Shaked the World on his typewriter to the roar of the underground and ground wheels galloping over his head and feet." ". Of course, the fascists in the United States did not want this book to reach the public. Six times they broke into the publishing house's office and attempted to steal the manuscript. John Reed once captioned his photo: "To my publisher Gorazie Levi Wright, who nearly went bankrupt with this book." The book was not about him promoting the truth about Russia The only fruit of his literary activity. Of course, the bourgeoisie does not want to know this truth. The bourgeoisie hates the Russian Revolution, fears it, and tries to drown it out with an endless stream of lies. Vile slurs poured out from the political pulpit, from the screen of movies, from the lines of newspapers and magazines. The magazines that had asked Reed to write articles in the past do not publish a single line of what he wrote. But they could not hide his mouth. He spoke at a large mass meeting. He started his own magazine. He became editor of the Left Socialist magazine "Revolutionary Century" and later "The Communist". He wrote one article after another for "The Liberator." He traveled all over the United States, attended various conferences, enriched himself with all the facts around him, infected others with zeal and revolutionary zeal, and finally organized the Communist Workers Party in the center of American capitalism - the positive and ten Years ago he organized the Socialist Club at the heart of Harvard University exactly the same. The "smart people" are, as usual, misguided. It's fine to call John Reed's radicalism anything but "temporary bullshit." Contrary to prophecy, contact with the outside world by no means cured Reed. This only strengthens and solidifies his radicalism. How deep and solid this radicalism is now, the bourgeoisie can be convinced by reading the new communist organ, the Voice of Labour, of which Reed is the editor. The American bourgeoisie now understands: in their homeland, there are at last true revolutionaries. Now the word "revolutionary" alone makes them tremble! Yes, there were revolutionaries in America in the distant past, and even now there are societies of great honor and respect, such as "Daughters of the American Revolution" and "Sons of the American Revolution." The reactionary bourgeoisie commemorates the revolution of 1776 with this. But those revolutionaries have long gone to another world. On the other hand, John Reed is a living revolutionary, he is alive and kicking, he is a call, and he is a whipping for the bourgeoisie! There was only one way for them now—to lock Reed up. So they arrested him—not once or twice, but twenty times. In Philadelphia, police closed the conference hall to not speak to him. But he climbed onto the soapbox, and from this pulpit appealed to the masses that filled the alley. The rallies were so successful, with so many sympathizers, that when Reed was arrested for "disrupting order," it was impossible to get a guilty verdict from the jury. No American city felt peaceful until John Reed was arrested, even once. But he was often released on bail or granted an extension by the court, and he hurried to fight at a new venue at once. The Western bourgeoisie is accustomed to blaming the Russian Revolution for all its calamities and failures. One of the heinous crimes of this revolution was that it turned this talented young American into a fiery fanatic of the revolution. The bourgeoisie thinks so. Actually it is not at all. It wasn't Russia that turned John Reed into a revolutionary. The blood of revolutionary America has flowed in his veins since the day he was born. Yes, although Americans are often portrayed as a prosperous, complacent, and reactionary people, in their veins there is still the blood of rebellion and rebellion. Recall the great rioters of the past—remember Thomas, Paine, Whitman, John Shiraun and Parsons. Check out John Reed's current comrades and comrades - Zell Heywood, Robert Menor, Rodenburg and Foster! Recall the industrial bloodshed of Mosted, Pullman, and Lawrence and the struggle of the Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.). They - both the chief and the masses - were all of pure American origin. Although this is not entirely clear at the moment, there is a strong mixture of rebellion in the blood of Americans. So, it cannot be said that Russia turned John Reed into a revolutionary. But Russia made him a scientifically thinking and thorough revolutionary. This is a great feat of Russia. It allowed Reed to fill his writing desk with the writings of Marx, Engels, and Lenin. It allows Reed to understand the historical process and the course of events. It made Reed replace his somewhat vague humanitarian views with the hard facts of economics. And it made Reed a teacher of the American labor movement, and attempted to give it the same scientific foundation on which he laid his beliefs. Reed's friends had said to him several times: "John, your power is not in politics!" "You are an artist, not a propagandist. You should dedicate your talents to creative literary work!" He often Experience the truth of these words, for new poems, novels, and plays are constantly being produced in his mind, and they are constantly looking for themselves to express themselves, trying to fit in a certain form. When friends insisted that he should put his revolutionary propaganda aside and sit down to write, he always smiled and replied, "Okay, I'm about to do this." But he never stopped his revolutionary activities for a minute. . Simply because he can't go into writing! The Russian Revolution seized him entirely and monopolized him. It turned him into its own follower, made him subject his wavering anarchist sentiments to strict communist discipline; it sent him to cities in America as some prophet with a burning torch It had summoned him to Moscow in 1919 to work in the Comintern on the merger of the two communist parties in the United States. Armed with the new facts of revolutionary theory, he resumed his underground tour of New York. He was betrayed by the sailors, taken from the ship, and kept alone in a Finnish prison. From there he returned to Russia, wrote on the Comintern, collected material for new books, and was a delegate to the Congress of the Peoples of the East in Baku. Having contracted typhoid fever (perhaps transmitted to him in the Caucasus), weakened by overwork and unable to resist the disease, he died on Sunday, October 17, 1920. Other fighters, like John Reed, fought the counter-revolutionary front in America and Europe, and were as brave as the Red Army fought the counter-revolution in the Soviet Union. Some were killed in the Holocaust, others were forever silent in prison. A man died in the White Sea during a storm on his way back to France. Another fell to pieces in San Francisco from a plane from which he distributed a manifesto protesting armed intervention. No matter how violent the imperialist attack on the revolution, without these fighters, it might have been even more brutal. what they do Some things are meant to resist the counter-revolution. Not only the Russians, Ukrainians, Tatars and Caucasians helped the Russian Revolution, but the French, Germans, British and Americans also helped the Russian Revolution, even to a small extent. Among these "non-Russian figures", the figure of John Reed stands first, because this is a man of special talent who fights with all his talents... When about his death from Helson When Foss and River came, we thought it was just a common lie from those who make up counter-revolutionary rumours every day. But when Louise Hilarente confirmed the shocking news, no matter how painful it made us, we had to say goodbye to the hope of debunking it. Although John Reed died as an exile, with a five-year prison sentence hanging over his head at this time, even the bourgeois press gave him due credit as an artist and a person. The hearts of the bourgeoisie were greatly relieved: there was no John Reed so adept at exposing their hypocrisy and hypocrisy, so mercilessly lashing out at them with his pen! America's rush to the world has suffered irreparable damage. Comrades living outside the United States have a hard time measuring the loss caused by his death. The Russians believe that it is natural and self-evident that people should die for their beliefs. There should be no sadness in this regard. Here, in Soviet Russia, thousands died for socialism. In the United States, however, such sacrifices are relatively rare. One could say, if you will, that John Reed was the first martyr of the communist revolution, the forerunner of thousands of future men. The sudden end of his meteoric life in far-off, blockaded Russia was a terrible blow to the American Communists. The only consolation left to his old friends and comrades was the fact that John Reed was buried in the only place in the whole world he wanted to lie down, in the square beside the Kremlin walls. Here, on his tomb, is erected a monument to his character, a huge unpolished granite, on which is inscribed: John Reed Representative of the Third International 1920 Man... When the news of his death came from Helsingforth and River, we thought it was nothing more than a common lie from those who make up counter-revolutionary rumours every day. But when Louise Hilarente confirmed the shocking news, no matter how painful it made us, we had to say goodbye to the hope of debunking it. Although John Reed died as an exile, with a five-year prison sentence hanging over his head at this time, even the bourgeois press gave him due credit as an artist and a person. The hearts of the bourgeoisie were greatly relieved: there was no John Reed so adept at exposing their hypocrisy and hypocrisy, so ruthlessly lashing out at them with his pen! America's rush to the world has suffered irreparable damage. Comrades living outside the United States have a hard time measuring the loss caused by his death. The Russians believe that it is natural and self-evident that people should die for their beliefs. There should be no sadness in this regard. Here, in Soviet Russia, thousands died for socialism. In the United States, however, such sacrifices are relatively rare. One could say, if you will, that John Reed was the first martyr of the communist revolution, the forerunner of thousands of future men. The sudden end of his meteoric life in far-off, blockaded Russia was a terrible blow to the American Communists. The only consolation left to his old friends and comrades was the fact that John Reed was buried in the only place in the whole world he wanted to lie down, in the square beside the Kremlin walls. Here, on his tomb, is erected a monument to his character, a huge unpolished granite, on which is inscribed: John Reed, Representative of the Third International, 1920 Man... When the news of his death came from Helsingforth and River, we thought it was nothing more than a common lie from those who make up counter-revolutionary rumours every day. But when Louise Hilarente confirmed the shocking news, no matter how painful it made us, we had to say goodbye to the hope of debunking it. Although John Reed died as an exile, with a five-year prison sentence hanging over his head at this time, even the bourgeois press gave him due credit as an artist and a person. The hearts of the bourgeoisie were greatly relieved: there was no John Reed so adept at exposing their hypocrisy and hypocrisy, so mercilessly lashing out at them with his pen! America's rush to the world has suffered irreparable damage. Comrades living outside the United States have a hard time measuring the loss caused by his death. The Russians believe that it is natural and self-evident that people should die for their beliefs. There should be no sadness in this regard. Here, in Soviet Russia, thousands died for socialism. In the United States, however, such sacrifices are relatively rare. One could say, if you will, that John Reed was the first martyr of the communist revolution, the forerunner of thousands of future men. The sudden end of his meteoric life in far-off, blockaded Russia was a terrible blow to the American Communists. The only consolation left to his old friends and comrades was the fact that John Reed was buried in the only place in the whole world he wanted to lie down, in the square beside the Kremlin walls. Here, on his tomb, is erected a monument to his character, a huge unpolished granite, on which is inscribed: John Reed Representative of the Third International 1920 It's hard to measure the loss caused by his death. The Russians believe that it is natural and self-evident that people should die for their beliefs. There should be no sadness in this regard. Here, in Soviet Russia, thousands died for socialism. In the United States, however, such sacrifices are relatively rare. One could say, if you will, that John Reed was the first martyr of the communist revolution, the forerunner of thousands of future men. The sudden end of his meteoric life in far-off, blockaded Russia was a terrible blow to the American Communists. The only consolation left to his old friends and comrades was the fact that John Reed was buried in the only place in the whole world he wanted to lie down, in the square beside the Kremlin walls. Here, on his tomb, is erected a monument to his character, a huge unpolished granite, on which is inscribed: John Reed, Representative of the Third International, 1920 It's hard to measure the loss caused by his death. The Russians believe that it is natural and self-evident that people should die for their beliefs. There should be no sadness in this regard. Here, in Soviet Russia, thousands died for socialism. In the United States, however, such sacrifices are relatively rare. One could say, if you will, that John Reed was the first martyr of the communist revolution, the forerunner of thousands of future men. The sudden end of his meteoric life in far-off, blockaded Russia was a terrible blow to the American Communists. The only consolation left to his old friends and comrades was the fact that John Reed was buried in the only place in the whole world he wanted to lie down, in the square beside the Kremlin walls. Here, on his tomb, is erected a monument to his character, a huge unpolished granite, on which is inscribed: John Reed, Representative of the Third International, 1920
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