The toiler. [volume] (Cleveland, Ohio) 1919-1922, 1920-01-07
Extracted from two personal letters
to the editor.

I0CtCu kAOAa WV FSAoVAsoA A~ss~<S
to the editor.
"The so-called "trial" started onl
Monday Dec. 1st, more than two years
after the arrests. and a half days
were used in examining and selecting
a jury Of twelve men. The Plute press
had done its work so well and the
public mind was so poisoned that
more than 100 men stated openly
they could not give fair and i'm
partial verdict. Others, equally pre-
judiced, tried to hide it in order to
get on the jury with the intent of
conviction regardless Of the evidence.
Kansas City is an industrial center,
with an overwhelming preponderance
of wage earners, yet it is significant
that not single working man was
called from which jury might be
chosen. The farce had no sooner
started than it developed into the
most disgusting sight ever witnessed
by liberty-lowing men. Every con-
stitutionai fright" the defendants
were supposed to have, was ruthlessly
trampled under foot by the public
servants" who are supposed to deal
out exact and impartial justice.
Everything the Standard Oil Com
any chose to introduce was allowed
to go into the records. The indict-
ment specially charged the men with
conspiracy to overthrow the U. S.
Government, violation of the Espion-
age Act, causing men to desert from,
and become insubordinate to the
army, navy and marine corps, and to
prevent production and distribution of
fuel oil, natural gas, food and farm
products during the period from
Apr. 9Th to Nov. "a, 1917. The prosec-
rution dug up everything possible from
the inception of the I. w. W. in 1905,
and the court allowed it to be intro
,duced as evidence!
UNDATED and UNSIGNED let
ters, and what was purported to be
minutes Of meetings went in regard
less Of the objections of the attorneys
for the defense. One of the defend
ants writes:
"The usual stool pigeons are hare
and one Of them has testified to GRIM
inal acts committed by himself, but
could not implicate any one of us. Our
attorney gave him an awful showing
up, and now the prosecution is trying
to make hero of him. The U. s
Government has three of these fAisef.
able creatures on a regular circuit
going from place to place, betraying
innocent members of the working
class members of their own class)
into the hands Of the avenging master
class. We all stood up before this
cringing cur, while our attorney asked
him to point out one Of our number
he ever knew to do a criminal act,
and Of course he was forced to admit
he knew nothing about us.
The fact of the matter is that this
stool-pigeon was kicked out of the
I. W. W. in 1917. At that time he was
arrested in Minot N. Dak., charged
with highway robbery. One Of our
boys took his credetials and supplies
and told him there was no room in
the I. W. w. for the likes of him. The
government has something on this
bird and is forcing him to testify
against all ]. W. w. to save his own
hide"
Continuing further he writes: "the
government placed county attorney
upon the stand who admitted throw
ing /. W. WIS in Jail without any
charge against them and holding
them for days without trial and then
letting them 60. A sheriff and his
deputy from Oklahoma also testified
to the same kind Of treatment.
The press tables are crowded with
reporters who draw pictures and kid
one another all day long. They do
hot have to take notes as they write
nothing only that furnished them
each night by the prosecuting attor-
neys.
Practically everything appearing in
the capitalist press regarding this
trial has been a mass of lies. They
publish long articles on letters and
evidence supposed to have been sub
mitted that has never appeared.s As
a matter Of fact the reports" Of the
trial published here is news to us and
furnishes comedy for each day. We
look those reporters over each day
and wonder how they can SO prosti-
tute brains that might really be made
to serve useful purpose in society.
From now on, ! am for silent de.
Tense. There is no such thing as
justice in the masters courts"
That letter was written before the
jury had brought in its report. A
later letter informs us that the jury