wrecked the place. Then they sent for a "Los Angeles Examiner" photographer to make a photograph of the offices, with the apparent desire to have the publication of the photograph give the impression that the Federal officers had desecrated the flag and destroyed the office property.
Prior to this episode I had been too busy with my own
writings to have even read a copy of the "Dugout" through.
But I knew the record of Flowers in the war, and I knew his
purpose since the war, and when I saw this plot to destroy
his magazine, I made up my mind to stand back of him. I
engaged a lawyer for him, and I sent long telegrams about
the case to the "Appeal to Reason" and other Socialist papers
over the country. So the masters of Los Angeles decided to
get me in the same net with Flowers.
There came to Flowers' office a second letter signed by the mysterious "Paul." This letter was written on the same bad typewriter, with a double ribbon showing traces of red. But this time the return address on the envelope was not "Paul Rightman, Chicago, Illinois"; this time it was "Upton Sinclair, Pasadena, California!"
Flowers called me on the 'phone, and said; "Did you mail me a letter yesterday?" I answered, "No, I haven't written you any letter." "Well," said Flowers, "here is a letter with your name on the envelope. Evidently somebody wants it to appear that you are writing me letters signed with an assumed name." "What is in the letter?" I asked, and Flowers started to read it to me over the 'phone. It was a letter of violent denunciation of the government, full of the most venomously treasonable sentiments, and offering to supply Flowers with more names of papers in Germany with which he might correspond. I waited to hear only about half of it, then I cried: "Get that letter out of your office!"
"But wait—" said Flowers.
"Don't wait for anything," I insisted. "Drop what you are doing and take that letter to my lawyer as quickly as you can run."
Flowers promised me he would do that, and I hung up the receiver. Two or three minutes after he left his office with the letter in his pocket there were two agents of the District Attorney's office of Los Angeles County looking for him at his office. When he returned there were four of them on hand, and they held him up and proceeded to make another
