Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1888-07-07
DON'T FEED COURTS
A BETTER USE FOR DEFENSE
FUNDS SUGGESTED.
LabOr's Champions Should Be Sus.
tained-The Bar Associations
Game-StubbOrn Passive
Resistance - Excel.
lent Tactics.

For the last two years the appeals
for subscriptions to defense funds
have been numerous and the ocCa-
sions thereof pressing. And it has
been pleasing to observe that such
appeals have uniformly met with
generous response; but this cannot
60 on indefinitely. The funds are
to great extent flowing into chan
nels which serve to nourish the ene-
mics of the working class without
yielding any substantial benefit to
those whom it is designed to aid.
These funds are usually for legal ex-
penses in the defense of those un-
justly prosecuted for their activity
in promoting the interests of their
fellow workers and and paying fines
and costs of court when convicted.
Not that we should abate the activity
in raising funds in the least, but
would rather put forth greater efforts
in that direction. 1t would be well,
however, to change tactlcs-pay less
money to lawyers.
The prosecution of our men is
conspiracy to break up the labor
movement. The prosecuting attor-
neys, judges and lawyers are men,
bers Of the same association, for
their loyalty to which and for their
fidelity to each other they are justly
noted. AS an association and as in
dividuals their interests are with, as
they draw their sustenance from,
the capitalistic classes. Juries are
so drawn that they are bound to con-
viot. We have often seen how care
fully are excluded those who are
members of or have any sympathy in
common with labor organizations.
1t is useless to carry cases to the
highest courts Of appeal, as has been
demonstrated in numerous instances;
it is well to defend our comrades to
such an extent rs ls necessary to give
the public good understanding of
the cases, and cheerfully accept the
Judgment. but absolutely refuse to
pay any fine or costs of court. Of
course, Imprisonment follows-not a
cheerful prospect, to be sure, for the
victim but there is the consolation
that the cost of his maintenance
must be borne by the public treas
ury, as well as the cost Of his prose-
cution. And to fill his place will
reduce the army of unemployed to
that extent.
Let the funds collected be used to
pay the unfortunate his wages dur
ing his incarceration, thereby rob-
bipg the prison of much of its ter
rors, for where one has funds, even
imprisonment may be rendered toler-
able, and as those arrested for our
cause are usually the brightest and
most highly respected among our
members, imprisonment for such
causes will soon become highly re-
spectacle, as in the late civil war
citizens were seized and arbitrarily
confined in forts and bastiles for
opinions sake until it became emf
nently respectable, and men referred
with pride to the time when they
were so incarcerated.
Just so long as the organized
workmen will raise funds to main
tain legal contests, pay fines and
court expenses, these arrests and
prosecutions will 60 on; prosecuting
attorneys under salary from the pub
lie treasury will issue warrants,
knowing that some other members
of their association will receive good
jobs to defend the cases; but when
there is no money to be made out of
the business, but the costs have to
be borne entirely by the public treas
ury, the prosecutions will cease, or
the people will rise up in their maj.
esty, and IN tones that cannot be
misunderstood, command a halt. To
prove We have no remedy in the
courts we have only to refer for eyi.