Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1920-07-22


members of the national, state and
Cook county executive committees of
the party, secretaries of local
branches, members of the organiza-
tion and propaganda committee, Or
ganizers and agitators.
The trial is being conducted before
Judge Oscar Hebel of the superior
court and presents an array of legal
talent such as never assembled before
in a case Involving radicals and their
actions unless the famous Mcnamara
trial at Los Angeles be excepted. Lead
ing counsel for the defense is Clar-
ence Darrow, who occupied the same
position in the Mcnamara case, and
his principal assistants are William
S. Forrest, famous criminal defense
lawyer, and William A. Guinea, prom
inent Socialist attorney and former
candidate of that party for states at
torney of Cook county. Associated
with Prosecutor HoyDe are the full
legal strength of his office and emf
nent counsel from the outside, includ-
ing Attorney Frank Comerford as spe-
cfal prosecutor. The latter in the
past has been identified with some Of
the biggest labor cases on the defense
side, this being his first essay at the
role Of prosecute t,5s an important
trial of any nature. He is regarded
as an authority on. mass and social
problems, and returned few months
ago from study in Europe of bolshe-
vism and it's effects.
The state scored in the preliminary
sessions of the trial In securing the
admission as evidence of acts and
speeches of the defendants of period
prior to the passage of the state sedi-
tion law of q year ago The prosecu-
tiOn is endeavOrlng to show that the
defendants have declared themselves
to be in full accord with the Moscow
manifesto adopted In Moscow, Rus
sia, by the third international congress
in March. 1919; that the congress was
composed of revolutionary socialists
from Europe, Asia and America; that
1t was held for the purpose of form
Ing manifesto or program which
would outline the means by which
constitutional governments might be
overtbrown and relationships of the
proletariat established and all nations
be governed from Moscow. Also that
the Communist party is affiliated With
the international body and is an In
tegrai part of the Russian organiza-
ton: and that the defendants state in
their plntform that they are for the
overthrow of the government of the
United States. The state further con-
tends that they advocate mass action,
In other words. proceedings from the
shops and factories to capture and
annihilate the apparatus of govern
ment and that they tell the workers
that the Constitution cannot be
amendable in their behalf, and there
fore must be destroyed.
The defense has not. at this writing,
been outlined Volumes of testimony
are expected. II is the first case under
the Illinois sedition law and if won
will present that law as a model for
other states as we'll as for congress
sional enactments. On account of the
prominence of the defendants and the
effect the decision will have on radical
movements in general, it looms as one
of the most important trials of recent
years.
Gov rercival w. Clement Of YER
mont has at last clarified his position
in regard to the woman suffrage
amendment, by refusing to call spe-
cial session of the legislature to con-
slider or ratify the act; In spite of re-
ports that he had been urged to do
SC by Senator Harding, Republican
presidential candidate. Inferentially,
the governor takes a rap at the Su-
preme court of the United States and
also charges that there is too much
/ lobbying in connection with constitu-
| tfonal amendments and other impor-
tant legislation. AS q reason for re-
fusing to call special session, the
governor states that the present legs-
lature was elected before the question
Of ratifying the suffrage amendment
had arisen and the people of the state
have had no opportunity to express
themselves on the issue. He proposes
that the matter be taken up by the
. next legislature and that candidates
for election be required to declare
themselves on woman suffrage. He
alludes to the recent decision on pro-
hibition by saying that the Constitu-
tion "as 1t is interpreted by the S,l-
/ preme court today threatens the foun-
dation of free popular government"
Governor Clement declares: 1.-THE
sixteenth amendment to the Constitu-
ton (on federal income tax) had been