Eugene V. Debs was one of Americas famous Labor leaders of the early 1900's who was jailed in 1918 under the Espionage Act for a speech that he gave at the Socialist Convention in Ohio. "The United States has an old man in prison in the Federal Penitentiary of Atlanta. The government regards this old man as a common felon. .... But it appears that there are a great many people in the United States and other countries who do not regard this man as a common felon; on the contrary, they regard him as a hero, a martyr, even a saint. It appears that the list of these people includes some of the greatest writers and greatest minds of Europe and America. ... Here are poems by 24 poets, and letters from a score or two of other writers. The money from this book will go to advertising it, as part of the campaign now being conducted by those Americans who wish their country to return to its old traditions of freedom of speech and of the press, and to abandon the evil custom of jailing men for expression of Opinion ..." -Upton Sinclair "Clearly the White House is the only safe place for an honest man like Debs." (who ran 5 times as a Presidential candidate) - George Bernard Shaw Some of the other contributors are: Henri Barbusse, Witter Bynner, Max Eastman, Eugene Field, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, David Starr Jordan, H.G. Wells, Carl Sandburg, and many others. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.