The toiler. [volume] (Cleveland, Ohio) 1919-1922, 1920-05-07
Larkin Conducts Own Case

on trial in New York City for being
partly responsible for the Left Wing
Program, which has to do with the new
class-principles enunciated by the Third
International. Jim Larkin is Irish and
has ain WA-No. /" labor record
in ireland. But that is not what we
are going to talk about.
jim Larkin is on trial in New York
City and he is going it alone. He de
tcided he could make better clas:
fight than any lawer could make fol
him - and he is right. He is holding
down the stage in Judge Weeks court
in such commendable style that We
wish the whole world of workers could
sit in and listen and see.
First let IS say that if you d ASK the
average native what employment peo
ple follow in New York City he'(
tell you that there are ever so many
machinists, carpenters, needle workers
railroad men, ordinary working folk
How comes it then that the jury pane
in the courts show none Of these work
crs in it7 You II only need one guess t
guess why.
Here are the kind Of folk that arr
being called to try Larkin: general in
surance agent, carpenter superinten
dent, underwater of surety. stool
trader, chief cashier, cotton good
broker treasurer for importers, etc
And now get this-one prospective
Juror confessed that he managed
operative store and one approved o
the l776 revolution and out both o
them went by peremption by the pro
Sccution.
| The first thing Larkin did in actinI
in his own defense was to challeng
the Judge. claiming that the judg
was preiudiced and had proven it j
commanding the conviction Of GitloV
and Winnitzky, two communists previ
ously sentenced by this same judge
The court decided, as could have bee
epeeted, that it was fit to sit in tn
case. The court and Larkin, all thr
the selection of the jury. staged tn
class struggle in peppery language. TIL
court. to facilitate presentation of tn
case, advised Larkin to take lawyeI
: To this Larkin answered: Il don't Sc
that the form of presenting the trut
matters very much"
5 Larkin insisted that the jury pane
S was not of his class and asked its di:
Y missal. The judge refused. When
prospective juror seemed ratified abou
: constitutional methods which might }
). persued to overthrow the governmen
and admitted that he was not familia
with the constitution, Larkin said t
q him: "That is the reason why yo
allave been specially selected - u
9 asked this same juror that if foreig
er "'like Christ came to this countr
n do you think he could become Q
t American citizen" This Mortified Il
d court!
f At point when Judge Weeks and
e prospective juror who thought that Il
. reason the cost Of living was high w
!, because workers did not work loi
|. enough hours, engaged in a convers
y ton about economics, Larkin broke
:; by remarking: "Pardon me for sayiI
y so but I think that both do not knc
IS what they are talking about"
a 'What class do you belong to"
y Larkin's s hot shot. Most of those ask
e dom 7 belong to any class and say tn
a do not believe in classes. So much Ill
u VI the religious fanatic who said he d
!. not belong to any world nor belle
'e in things worldly.
n A new trick was played upon tho
!, who are attending the Larkin trii
and the court room is crowded. At
Ie specially we'll attended session t
l. names and addresses Of all wRo atten
+ ed were taken. An attempt at intimid
y tion, that's all.
IS We have had the emo defensei tri
J, and the class trial with lawers
IA structed to make a class fight. But t
best of them all, after all, is the XII
u that Larkin is conducting, for he mec
y y his class enemies face on and words
n not softened by passage thru a repl
d sentative of the legal profession. The
'e will be more of these trials from nc
! u on. - Voice of Labor.
,al -0