The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-06-20
PEAKER HAD
RIGHT TO FLAY
CAL SAYS JUDGE
But He Should Talk to
Himself Only

PHILADELPHIA, June 1s.-(By
here Saturday arrested
H. M, Wicks, speaker at the Workers
Party picnic, and dispersed the picnic
in regular cossack style, after Wicks
had been speaking less than five min
utes,
Police permits had been secured for
both the picnic and the speaking.
Shortly after Wicks had started
speaking on the question Of the neces-
sity Of supporting a daily paper OF
the working class a detective sergeant
from the S2nd precinct station Of
Philadelphia approached the stand
and told the speaker he would have
to refrain from talking about Cal
Coolidge, the President of the United
States. Wicks had referred to Coo
lidge's notorious record in the Boston
police strike and the attitude Of the
capitalist press in praise Of him and
called him a "strike-breaker" when
the interruption occurred.
Wicks replied to the detective, stat
ing that he intended to continue to
talk and that no one had any legal
right to stop him, whereupon a num-
Der of policemen forced their way
thru the audience of about 500 that
was standing around the stage, pulled
Wicks from the platform and removed
him from the grounds to a fire station
where he was taken to the police sta
ton in a patrol wagon.
Drive Audience From Grounds.
Meanwhile the police, reinforced by
mounted policemen who arrived from
some place nearby began an attack
upon the audience, ordering them to
leave the park, striking men, women
and children with clubs and riding
their horses perilously near the people
as they were compelled to retreat be-
fore this brutal assault. One man who
did not move fast enough was struck
over the head with club and thrown
into the patrol wagon, taken to the
station and booked for disorderly con-
duct.
In ten minutes the grounds were en-
tirely cleared. The members of the
Workers Party who had charge of
literature tables, refreshment stands
and other establishments were not
permitted to remove their supplies
from the grounds.
Wicks was taken to the 32nd prec-
met police station and held for over
two hours before the police could de-
termine what charge to hold him e..
They finally had to resort to the banal
charge that is. al 80 sa=.sa ssscsr ta;s-s'
is no basis tr holding a prisoner,
"disorderly &C Iduct."
Members OF the Philadelphia De-
tense Committee were on the Job in
short order and demanded that they
be permitted to furnish bonds. In
Philadelphia there is an established
procedure that a police magistrate
must sign a duplicate charge to permit
release Of prisoner on bonds. It
was not possible to find such magis-
tate-all of them being conveniently
absent. So Wicks was held in Jail all
Saturday night and until Sunday aft
ernoon, before bonds we're given. He
was released on $500 bonds to appear
for hearing next Thursday morning.
Judge Helped Nominate Coolidge.
A hearing to determine the amount
of bonds was held before Police. Judge
Dugan on Sunday morning and His
Honor had just returned from Cleve-
land where he was a Pennsylvania
delegate and helped nominate Coo
hdge.
He began delivering Wicks lecture
on the virtues of the President, when
Wicks interrupted him and informed
him that his opinion of Coolidge
showed clearly that he was a preju-
diced partisan and therefore in
capable of impartiality. Wicks
further asserted that he had called
Coolidge a strikebreaker and that
partiality Wicks further asserted
had he been permitted to con-
tinue he would have called him
worse than that; that in his
opinion Coolidge was but half
educated New England ward poll
tician, who by accident had been ele-
waited to the presidency. He insisted
that he had a right to criticise the
President of the United States and to
seek to prevent his reelection and
that no one had a right TO interfere
with him in his attacks upon the Presi-
dent.
The detective who arrested wicks
and one of the policemen who as
sisted him in the arrest we're in court
and testified to what had been said
and concluded by stating that Wicks
was melting to riot by his criticism Of
Coolidge.
In reply Wicks scored the officers
and said that neither OF them had
sufficient intelligence to presume to
censure political meeting and that
II any crime was committed the po-
licemen we're guilty. He asserted that
the policemen were guilty OF num-
Der OF crimes: disturbing a public
meeting, false arrest, assault and bat
terry upon the audience and burglary