New Britain herald., 1919-01-09
BERGER CONVICTED
 WITH FOUR OTHERS
Face Sentences of From One to
 Twenty Years

SnlCdSO, Jan. 9.-ln the sane court room and before the same judge who sentenced 100 l. w. W. leaders to a federal penitentiary for obstruction of the United States plans for war, Victor l.. Berger, socialist congress- man, and four other leaders of the national socialist party were found guilty yesterday afternoon of sedition and disloyalty under the espionage act. They face sentences of from one to 20 years and fines of from $1,000 to $10,000, or both.
 The end of the trial topped five weeks of ard-fought court battle be- fore Federal Judge kenesaw Mountain Landis in which Berger, his lawyers and radical leaders who associated themselves with the defense. asserted that the whole socialist party was on trial. The court room was damned with radical sympathizers, some of them declared Bolsheviki, I. W. W's and every coteric which comes under the red flag, when news came that the jury had reached a decision.
 Verdict Comes as Shock.
 Plain n-clothes men by the scores, deputy federal sheriffs and city po- licemen were placed throughout the court room and the adjacent hallway, but the demonstration which had been feared did not eVentuate. The radicals seemed stunned
 Those who face prison with Berger are: Adolph Germer, national secre- tary of the socialist party and one of the principals in writing the St Louis platform; J. Louis Engdahl, promi- nent party leader radical propasgan- dist and editor of the American So- cialist; William r. kruse, national secretary of the Young Peoples So- cialist party; Rev. Irving St. John Tucker, Episcopal rector and Red" propagandist and pacifst leader.
 The jury took only three ballots and was Out a comparatively short time The verdict was regarded as a sweeping victory for the governme ent and a Correspondingly heavy blow at the agents of discontent. The five defendants Immediately moved for a new trial. Each was released on S10,o00 bonds pending the hearing of motion for rctrial on Jan. 23. Judge Landis withheld sentence until after hearing the motion.
 Berger heard the verdict almost un- moved in his chair cntrenchod be- hind his array of counsel but tears which could not be kept back welled from his eyes Finally, in 9. voice shaken with emotion which accent Ca.ed his German accent, he made the following statement to ncwspa per men:
 Suffers For Principles.
 '! am no more guilty of the crime stated than Judge TIandiS himself I have lived in accordance with these principles for thirty-seven yea IFS. and now I must suffer for them.
 Germer and the others said they did not v.sh to express themselves on the verdict. Gerner did admit the verdict was q "shock and q surprise Seymour Stedman, the convicted mon's chief of counsel. was bitter saying, now that the controlling fac ton has shown it's teeth. We shall see how far they can go with it." He refused 10 cl@rity this utterance al- though ii was accepted as a further defiance at the government.
 Judge Ilandis made TO omment at all. but thanked the jury for the mems services and attention as he did in the I. w. w. trial. !
 The verdict was stunning to the de- fonae and it's sympathizers, because they bad expected that five weeks of preaching socialist doctrine, the in troduction Of propa ganda and appeals to the jurors would bear fruit. The jury was out from a. m. until 4:45 n. 11 but in that time took only 1 three ballots, the first being 10 to ? i for conviction. with one man won