The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1911-09-28
The Free Press Fight

Pres staff on the charge of contempt
of court, the capitalist prosecutors
of the fighting Socialist weekly paper
in this city will begin the retrial OF
four comrades who were in charge
of the ape during the famous tin
mill strike in 1903 and 1910 on the
charge of seditious libel.
The prosecution of the paper is a
bold effort on the part of the con-
.servative and reactionary element of
the city to crush the paper and stitIe
the criticism of the Socialists, the
Free Press having been n thorn in
their sic from the day of it's birth.
The working class of the city is
rallying to the Socialist Party in
greater numbers, and with greater
enthusiasm, than ever before, and
both of the local capitalist papers
concede the possibility OF tie Social
lists carrying New Castle this fall.
This is Il certainty if our campaign
is not crippled as a result Of the ter
rible costs involved in fighting these
cases i'll court. Outside help must
be had at once if the Steel Trust tools
are not to defeat us.
The fight of the authorities of
this city against the Free Press is
due to the fact that it championea
the cause of the striking tin workers
from the beginning of the strike to
its untimely end. Had the paper
been purely a propaganda paper, in
stead OF a fighting champion of the
of the working class, it
would never have bee attacked by
the enemy, and the workers of this
city know that full well.
first the Free Press was charged
with violating the publishers law of
this state, convicted inc sentenced
to pay a fine and costs totaliny $500.
Fred II. Merrick, editor of Justice, of
Pittsburg, who has Just been jailed
for criticising Il rotten court, COM
planned Of the Herald, a local capital
lst daily newspaper, which was gull
ty of the same o%ffense. The Herald
was acquitted, but ordered to paw the
costs of the case.
The Chief of Police, Gilmore, flied
4 petition with Judge Porter and
four Socialists alleged to be members
of the Free Press publishing COM
mittee of the local Socialist Party,
which owns the paper. were indicted
on the charge of seditious libel. This
is the first seditious libel case in the
country since 1901. The judge who
tried the case was thrown off the
bench shortly afterwards.
The case was tried at June term
OF court in 1910, and the jury voted
to acquit the -four defendants, Frank
NJ. Hartman, c. II. McCarty, Charles
McNeever and w. J. White, but dis
agreed over the question OF disposine
OF the costs in the case. Under the
law OF Pennsylvania a jury may as
sess all OF the costs against the coun-
ty, the prosecutor or the defendants,
or may divide them between defend
ants n the prosecutor.
The jury in the Free Press case
wanted to divide the costs between
n defendants and the prosecutor.
but Judge Porter refused to stand for
that, and the jury then failed to agree
as to where the costs should be
placed That Porter called a mis-
trial.
Attorneys for the defendants
moved for quashing of indictment.
,, Judge Porter failed to hand down his
opinion in time for the case to be re-
tried at September court in 1910,
finally handing it down two days
prior to the opening of December
court.
Defendants heard nothing of the
case until March, 1911. whe they
were informed that another effort
would be made to sonvict them ur.
der English law of the seventeenth
century The Free Press then called
attention to the class character O
Judge Portor'S court. as shown by
the Free Press and Herald decisions
Immediately. under direction o.
someone behind the scenes. Chief O
Pollce Gilmore prayed Judge Porter
10 hale the Free Press into court tt
show cause why it shouldn't be in
dlctcd for contempt of court. Oblig
ing Judge Porter granted the zeal
Gus Chiefs prayer But the Ere,
Press refused to be caught in an,
such trap. Porter then ordered tn,
grand jury to indict the three defend
ants, which was done.
Now, having obtained a verdict o
guilty in the contempt farce whicI
was tried under English common law
the prosecution is trying for a con
Vlction on the Seditious libel charge
also under the old English law. hop
ing to use convictions in the contemp
case a club over the jury TO bring
verdict OF guilty in the seditious libe
: case.