The Cordova daily times., 1923-03-30
Radical Leader Denies Was Ever Member of
 Communists QUIT "WoBBLIEs" ALSO
Latter Failed to Agree With Policies of His
 Program

z. Fosttr, the radical leader and head of the Trades Union Educational League, took the stand in his own de- fense yesterday at the trial in which he is being charged, with 22 others for criminal syndicalism. Foster tes- tified that he had been a member of the I. w. w., the Seaman's Union, the Carmen's union and other similar or ganizations. He stated that he had quit the "Wobblies" because none of their leaders agreed with the policies of his program. He declared that he ] was not a member of the Communist , Party in August of last year, and had never been member of the Work CTS Party. He testified that he had made a speech at the sand-dune con- venton of last Summer, at which time he declared that the idea that Americans were immune to radical ideas was false, stating that the high ly developed system of capitalism in America had helped to create militant unionism.
 Foster admitted on cross exam ination that he had planned to form radical union among the copper miners of Montana, Minnesota and Michigan mines last Summer When questioned as to the strength of the | Communists Party, which established the present dictatorship of the prole- tariat of Russia, he admitted that Russia has a population of 140,000- 900 persons, and that of these 172,- 900 were members of the Communist Paryt in 1917 at the time of the Rus sian revolution.
 The Michigan Communist case, in which Foster is the first defendant to be tried, is the outgroWth of a raid by Sheriff George Bridgeman and Depart ment of Justice agents on meeting held in a lonely woods in the sand dunes along Lake Michigan, twenty miles south of here, on August P, 1922. The charges against the alleged
 
 eating and teaching the necessity and prOpriety" of crime, sabotage and violence as a means of accomplishing industrial and political reform; print ing and publishing books, papers and documents, advocating such practices; justifying by speech and writing the commission of crime, sabotage and violence with the same end in view; and assembling at a meeting of the Communist Party of America to teach and advocate the doctrines of crim- inal syndicalism.
 The twenty-one defendants under arrest include William z. Foster, lead CT of the 1919 steel strike and author of book on anarchistic teachings which was investigated by Congress; Charles E. Ruthenberg, executive sec retary of the Workers Party, self styled legal branch" of the Commun- ist organization; William F. Dunne, Workers Party candidate for govern or of New York last fall; Max Lerner of Seattle, and Zeth Nordling, of Portland, Ore, radical leaders in the northwest; Norman H. Tallentire, of New York. an Englishman who came here from Canada; Thomas OFlah- erty, New York; Charles Erickson, Chicago; Cyril Lambkin, Detroit; J. Mihelic, St. Louis; Alex Bail, Phila- delphia; William Reynolds, Detroit; Elmer MacMillan, St. Louis; Thomas R. Sullivan, St. Louis; Charles Krum- bein, Chicago; Eugene Bechtold, Chi cago; Caleb Harrison, Grand Rapids; Earl Browder, Chicago; Philip Aron- berg, Chicago; Joseph Zsak, New York; A. V. Sivereno, Cleveland; Thaddeo Como, New York, and Alex E. Georgian, Minneapolis.
 Edgar Owens, one of those under indictment, surrendered in Illinois and went to Joliet penitentiary to serve a sentence under the state anti syndicalism law, a statute similar to the one involved in the prosecution here. After fortnight in prison he was pardoned by Governor Len Small, along with William Bross Lloyd and several co-defendants.