The broad ax., 1924-10-11
By Edward E. Wilson

IN MS 6ACclltht dItlCic ldSl WCGhp
Mr.. Fields touched lightly on the
question Of Judge Groves attitude to-
wards our group during the great race
riots in Chicago. The present writer
having gone through the whole crisis
as an official Of the County wishes to
say that Mr. Fields words were not
only true but that they only told a
small part Of Judge Groves great
friendliness to our group during this
critical period.
When Democrats were clamoring
for the blood of the members of our
group and when indictment after in
dictment had been returned against
race members, Judge Grove himself,
being Chief Justice Of the Criminal
Court, told the Grand Jury that the
prosecution was one-sided and that it
ought not to indict another member of
our group until some of the white
hoodlums who had started the riot
we're brought to justice. Then Mr..
Pick, foreman Of the Grand Jury, and
Mr.. George p. Bent, secretary of the
Grand Jury, sent for me and told me
that they informed the States Attor-
ney then in Office that they would not
indict another member of our group
unless white rioters were also indicted
After Judge Grove was elected
States Attorney he carefully exam
ined all the riot cases against members
Of our group and practically all of
them were found to be without merit,
and thereupon he promptly dismissed
the indictments.
This subject has been discussed Be-
fore the public at other times, but it
is well to repeat it to show what sort
of friend we have in the present
States Attorney and it may be well
to add that at the time he did the best
service for us he had no idea of run
ming for Office as he was then a Judge
of the Circuit Court with considerable
time to serve.
! think | may state without fear of
contradiction that there never has
been time in the history Of Cook
County politics when the members Of
our group had so faithful a friend IN
ottlce as at the present time, and when
this is said we do not mean that he
does not fairly and impartially enforce
the law; but he does scrupulously see
to 1t that no man is taken advantage
OF because Of his race or color.
One more thing, Judge Grove is Bit
terly and unalterably opposed to the
Ku Klux Khan, and for this reason
the Kaln has an independent candi-
date in the field against him, hoping
SO to split the vote and to LET in the
Democratic candidate. When Judge
Grove opposes the Khan, which open
~ hold that members of our group
nave no right to citizenship. and
should not be part Of the American
people, then Judge Grove stands on
exactly the same platform that We
stand on. He insists that we are
American citizens, that we should
have all the rights and privileges Of
any other American citizen and that
an organization like the Khan who
takes the position that we are not citi-
zens is an un-American institution.
and not to be tolerated in American
politics.
We need not remark that tried and
true friends ought not to be discarded
Tor those who never uttered word
IN our favor until they wanted a lob
and certainly we should not aid Or en-
courage the defeat Of man who has
always shown himself four-square on
the race question and we should not
put in Office either a representative Of
the Ku Klux Khan or one whose rec
ord on the race question is colorless
and whose hackers have always been
hostile to the members of our group.