New-York tribune., 1920-12-28
Press Lynched
Brindell: Says
M. w. Iittleton
Attorney for Indicted Ring
of Contractors Nj a k e s
Dramatic Court Plea
for Change of Venue
Clashes With Untermyer
Latter Attacks Credibility
of the Affidavits Submit
ted by His Opponent

Robert P. Brindell, the indicted
labor king of the building trades, rep
resented by an array of counsel, head
ed by Martin W. Littleton, appeared
before Justice Burr, in the Supreme
Court, yesterday in his fight to have
his trial set for January 5, changed to
another county.
Littleton based his plea on the
ground that the extensive publicity
resulting from testimony concerning
his client before the Lockwood COM
mittee on housing would prevent Brin-
dell obtaining fair and impartial
trial here His client, he said, had
been lynched by "ink law in New York
City as there haye been lynchngs by
rope law in the South
Il don't purpose that my client shall
be lynched by gallons of ink" he con-
tinued. "There is no more chance of
Brindell obtaining a fair and Impair.
tial trial in this county than there
would be for Pontius Plate, or Judas
lscariot, or any other villain of sacred
or profane history who might be
brought back for trial here"
Clashes With Untermyer
The argument was the cause Of many
bitter clashes between Mr.. Littleton
and Samuel Untermyer, chief counsel
for the Lockwood committee, and his
associate, Samuel A. Berger. Deputy
Attorney General. At one point, when
! MIR. Untermyer suggested that he cease
/ his Interruptions and sit down, Mr..
Littleton replied that his opponent
wasn't running the court and added
/ Il wouldn't sit down in q thousand
/ years at your command"
/ To which Mr.. Untermyer retorted.
"While eloquent, this is very intem-
perate."
Justice Burr reserved decision, the
date of the trial being subject to the
decision Of the court. 1t is expected,
however, that decision will be handed
down by Friday.
Mr.. Littleton offered huge scrap
BOOK choking with newspaper clippings
alleged to contain abusive references
/ to Brindell and produced list of opin-
IONS alleged to have been obtained from
/ 6,OO3 persons who had been interro-
! gated by numerous investigators on the
subject of a fair trial here for his
client. Of this number 4.319 are said
TO have expressed the opinion that
Brlndell could not obtain an impartial
trial in this county.
had been tried and convicted in the
public press and had been branded as
felon by Judge Mulqueen at the time
OF his arraignment
Every man in the street thinks that
fair trial for Brindell," said Little
ton, would be to lynch him. He has
been made to appear responsible for
a. the privations growing out Of the
housing situation. The whole of New
ork City was made q grand jury, and
the whole city returned an Indictment"
Calls 1t Lynching
Mr.. Littleton here referred to story
that recently appeared in an evening
paper associating Brindell's name with
the Wall Street bomb explosion. "You
may as vel. say he sank the Lusitania
or the Maine, or stole Charlie Ross"
he remarked.
Il come from the South" he went on,
"where many have been lynched who
deserved to be lynched because Of their
deeds, although they were lynched
without due process Of law. What Is
happening here is lynching by ink law
IS ther" Rave been lvnchings by rope
law in the South. But don't propose
that he shall be l~nched by gallons Of
ink in this city. Every man is entitled
10 an impartial trial before an impair
tial jury"
In attacking the affidavits Of sixty
eight persons and sixteen Investigators
who claimed to have interviewed 6003
people in the county, Mr.. Untermyer
asserted they we're to large extent
unreliable, that they were practically
worthless and "afforded not the slight
est basis upon which the defendants
application Tor change Of venue could
be considered"
as having obtained opinions for the
defendant are two women, Mrs H.
Elvia and Ella Morganstein. Accorl-
ing to the records, Mr.. UntermyeY
pointed out, Mrs. Elvia interviewed
635 persons in twelve hours. or 72O
minutes. "The average time she had
thus devoted to each person." said Mr..
Untermyer, was one minute and eight
and two-ffths seconds and, remember,
to take notes Of the result of the in
terviews"
Ella Morganstein, according to rec
ords, interviewed $50 persons in 37B
minutes, devoting one and half min
utes TO each interview, assuming that
there was an incessant flow Of CONVEX
sation," commented Mr.. Untermyer,
'and that there was a steady stream
of people coming toward her for inter
view" Mrs. Morganstein gave her ad-
dress as the Pennsylvania Hotel, but
all inquiries there indicated, according
20 Mr.. Untermyer, that she never had
been there, either as guest or employed.
In addition, said Mr.. Untermyer, not
a single name Of those claimed to have
been interviewed is given by the in
gestigators for the defendant
Questions Records
Investigators fer the Attorney Cen
eraps office who looked up tho In
vestigators for Brindell, found, &C
cording TO Untermyer, that they were
q nondcscript aggregation" Some Of
them do not live at the addresses set
forth in their affidavits. one has
police court record, another is q men,
Der Of Brindcll's Building Trades
Council, and another is foreman Of
houscwreckcrs. it was charged. The
names Of only two OF the affiants ap-
peared on the regular jury list. and
ono Of these had been stricken out
because he was nonresident"
Mr. Untermyer added that many OF
the names we're fictitious and that
many Of the streets and house numbers
Charles ". Bellows, an attorney