The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-03-13

Cl0n OF the communist Party OF
America at Bridgman, Michi-
gan.
Department of Justice Liar.
The letters conclusively prove:
~ that Department Of Justice Off
Gals lied when they denied the pres
ence of federal operatives in carry
ing out the raid; (2) that, altho os-
tensibly an affair Of the state Of
Michigan, the raid was planned and
directed from the office of Super
Dick William ]. Burns, in plain con-
travention of the law; (3) that the
whole thing was a result of Daugh-
erty's determination to "get" William
z. Foster, G. E. Ruthenberg and
their associates and that when he
found there was no federal statutes
under which it could be done he re-
sorted to the subterfuge of making
it appear as tho the arrests were
undertaken Independently by the
Michigan state authorities.
Since there is no FEDERAL appro-
priation for use in prosecuting state
cases, any department funds which
may have been diverted to this pun
pose constitute a gross misuse of
government money. If the money
did not come from the department
treasury, where did it come from?
Now that the precious oil of Tea
pot Dome has fairly inundated the
precincts of the Department of JUS
tice," people are beginning to get
an idea of the corruption and SUBJ
servience to capital which character
lied it's activities. Since the unearth-
ing of the tell-tale Mclean telegram,
written in one of Burns own official
codes, it is no longer possible even
to pretend Innocence" on the part
of Daugherty and Burns. The Labor
Defense Council has ''had the dope"
on Daugherty and Burns for a long
time. The correspondence referred
to has been lying in its files, waiting
for an opportune moment for pub
LEGATION.
An Important Letter.
The most important letter of the
series is one by Assistant Attorney
General Grim, dated October 81, 1922.
The American Civil Liberties Union
had addressed a communication to
the Department of Justice demanding
to know by what right federal opera,
tives had participated in the Michi-
gan arrests. Crim's extraordinary
explanation, which follows, is the
only detailed response that was ever
received:
American Civil Liberties Union,
1873 w. 18th St., New York, N. Y.
Gentlemen:
"This is to acknowledge receipt
of your letter to me under date of
October 80, 1922, and to say that
have made an investigation of the
files of this department to deter
mine the precise interest of this
department in the so-called Bridg-
man matter.
II find that certain individuals
attending that conference had been
under investigation by this depart
ment for some time with a view
to prosecuting them for violating
certain sections Of the United
States Penal Code. These offenses,
may say, with due regard to pro-
tecting the interests of the United
States, have nothing to do with
any particular theory of govern
ment, or so-called radicalism. In
keeping these particular irdividu-
ais under surveillance, representa-
tives of this department came into
possession of information which
seemed to be a violation Of the
laws of the state of Michigan,
turned it over to the state authori-
ties, and assisted such authorities
in identifying and arresting GER
tain individuals. Such laws of the
state of Michigan, in contrast to
the statutes l have referred to
above, do involve particular theo-
ries of government, or so-called
radicalism.
Department Whitewash.
''This department has not per-
fected its investigation of the in
dividuals believed to have commit
ted the offenses against the United
States. No formal charge has
been made against the individuals
under investigation by this depart
ment and while it is not proper
for me to make public any details
in this connection, / can assure
you that the investigation this
department is conducting, without
the slightest doubt, falls within its
duty and is provided for by the
appropriation for this department.
With this before you, assume you
are not concerned with the names
Of the particular representatives
Of this department who have been
working on the governments cases
and co-operated with the officials of
Michigan.
Respectfully,
JOHN w. II. GRIM,
Asst. Atty General"
The Labor Defense Council de-