The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-03-12

guilty. with GROVE S men OF II
and visitors, of violence and fou
that the regular uniformed police
have been taking orders and have be-
come willing tools of the states at
torney's men and that both sets of
officers have been obeying the struck
employers.
A day by day account of brutality
and illegality by the police forces is
given, with the charges clinched by
names and dates in way that can
not be evaded.
The report of the committee of i'm
partial observers which was read to
the mayor follows;
Police Serve Bosses.
As representatives of Chicago
citizenry we are not in a position
to take sides with either party in
the present disagreement between
the |. L. G. w. u. and the various
employers organizations, and we
believe that the persons represent
ing the citizens should be similarly
impartial in their enforcement Of
the law. Unfortunately, the police
and detectives have not acted just
ly in the majority Of instances, but
have used their power to further
the interests of the employers as
far as possible.
A large portion of the workers
who are on the street are women,
certainly numbering two hundred
in the vicinity of Market and jack
son streets. To insure peace there
were present in this same region
at one time over 30 uniformed po-
States Attorney Groves office, and
well over % private detectives. The
lice, SO plainclothes detectives from
following statements as to the be-
havior of the agents of the law
apply with few exceptions.
Abusive and Violent.
They use profane abusive and OBJ
scene language in the presence of
and addressed to women.
They threaten strikers with
violence and arrest.
They violently handle passers by
with no provocatiOn and without
arresting them.
They arrest persons indiscrim
inately on the charge of disorderly
conduct and are often unable to
state what constituted the disorder
illness.
Grove Bosses Cops.
The uniform officers act largely
under orders from the states at
torney's men, and both groups act
directly or indirectly under orders
from the struck employers. OF the
$50 arrests to date over 200 are
reported to have been made by men
from the states attorneys Office.
The following specific instances
were observed and accurately re-
corded on the spot by members of
a group of persons who were pres
ent for the express purpose of Sc
curing the facts. They suffice to
illustrate the above statements.
During the period covered by this
report these observers saw only
three instances of physical violence
on the part of the strikers and
many violences of which they were
the victims.
February, 2S-Afternoon. A
we'll known woman, not connected
with the strike, was showed by one
of the states attorneys detectives.
A uniformed officer at once warned
him, "leave her alone. She is the
wife of -" Her arm is still,
eight days later, sore and dis
colored where the detective grabbed
it.
More Weiss Arrests.
March $3.50 a. m. A group
Of girls were arrested in front of
Arthur Weiss & Co., charged with
stopping pedestrians. -Four OBJ
servers on the spot for thirty min
| utes did not see anyone stopped.
March 3-7:55 a. m. Market
St., between Quincy and Adams.
An officer walking south turned
from his path and as he passed
severely jostled two girls walking
north. The action was unquestion-
ably deliberate.
Mr.. Thomas Holland, one of our
group, makes the following state
ment which is substantiated by
persons with whom he was convers-
ing:
Hollands Story.
81 was walking down Adams
street accompanied by an observer
and a striker whom ] was ques-
tioning. Near Market street we
met two girls Of our group and
stopped to speak with them. We
had paused for a very short time
when a man in civilian clothes,
Sergeant Gentle Of the states
attorneys office, gruffiy ordered US
to move on. | was irkcd by his
uncalled for roughness, but said
nothing and was about to move
along when he roughly took my
arm saying. "Yo6 are under ar
rest" This was shortly after five
o'clock. The officer took me into
the corridor of the Arthur Weiss
4 Co., where a group Of arrested
girls were being held and there
he showed me his star and
searched me. Officer No. 1913 who
was in the corridor showed me