The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-01-13
DEFENSE COUNCIL
STARTS drive FOR
.RUTHENBERG PLEA

Declaring that the splendid defense
of William 2. Foster and Charles E.
Ruthenberg in the Michigan Criminal
Syndicalism cases "resulted in the
strengthening Of the working class
and of the Party in particular" the
National Convention of the Workers
Party, held recently in Chicago,
called upon all Labor militants to
rally to the support of the Labor. De-
Tense Council. This unqualified en-
dorsement comes at time when the
Council is launching upon campaign
to raise funds for the Ruthenberg ap-
peal. At its Offices in the Federation
Building, 166 West Washington ST.,
Chicago, there is an atmosphere of
hustle and expectation.
BY its persistent campaigns, the
Labor Defense Council has been able
to save 80 staunch fighters Of the
working class from prison. But it
has done much more than this 1t
has carried on a defense which was
at the same time an attack. making
use of the Michigan emergency 20
create united front Of labor against
the vicious agents Of the employers.
Raised Large Sum
Organized scarcely year and
half ago, the Council has raised close
to 100000 for the defense Of the
accused Communists Over 90 per
cent of this money was contributed
| by working people, in small amounts.
What is this Labor Defense Coun-
Gil that is defending the Communists?
1t IS not Communist organization,
but non-partisan body endorsed by
/ the Detroit Federation of Labor, the
Minneapolis Trades and Labor As
sembly, the Milwaukee Trades Coun-
ell, the Butte Trades and Labor
Council. and various other central
labor declarations. At its head is
Robert NJ Buck, editor of the New
Majority. official organ Of the Chi
cage Federation of Labor. Eugene
V. Debs and Rev. John A. Ryan. d.
d.. are vice-chairman. Others on its
national committee are Rogers N.
Baldwin. director Of the Civil Liber-
ties Union: J. G. Brown, netional
secretary of the Fsrmer-Lahor Partv:
John HAYNES Holmes. Of the Com
nunity church. New York; Max s.
Hayes, nationally known leader of
the Typographical Union. and Hulet
N. Wells, of the Seattle Central La
Dor Union
The Famous Raid
The resolution just adopted by the
Workers Party recalls wildly to
mind the famous Michigan labor
trials of -1a22 (which a.saes,1- s,,at sf-.tbe
raid on the convention of the Com
munist Party of America near Bridg-
man, in August of the preceding
year. The trials were among the
most spectacular in American labor
history. Foster and Ruthenberg
were the central figures, and they
refused to bulge an inch from their
principles.
But the real reason for the raid
was that the Communists had been
taking prominent part in the strug-
gle of the workers against the capt.
talist "open shop" drive. The coal
miners strike and the railroad shop
mems strike were being fought out
at the time, and Spolansky himself
declared to some of the defendants
later on that if these strikes had not
been in progress the convention
would probably not have been raided.
The trial of William z. Foster be-
gan March II, before a jury con-
sisting of nine farmers, one grocery
clerk, one non-union railroad man
and one housewife, whose husband is
factory superintendent. No per-
son was allowed on the jury by the
prosecution unless he first said under
oath that he believed the terminal
syndicalist" law of Michigan was a
good law and should be enforced.
Notwithstanding innumerable OBJ
stacles placed in the path of the de-
Tense, Foster was not convicted. The
jury divided, six and ak.
In the Ruthenberg trial, which
came next, the prosecutors had a
more favorable opportunity. Ruth
enberg was admittedly a member of
the Communist Party. His convic-
ton was secured by an appeal to the
prejudice of hand picked jury.
Basis of Appeal
An appeal is now being taken in
the Ruthenberg case. The outstand-
ing point in the appeal is that moth
ing illegal happened in the state of
Michigan, and that its criminal syndi-
calism law could not apply to the
formation Of an organization in an
other state where no such law exists.
If the appeal is won, it is extremely
unlikely that the other Communists
indicted with Foster and Ruthen-
berg will ever be brought 10 trial.
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