The daily worker., 1925-10-02
CLASS JUSTICE
SHOWS LEECHES
STICK TOGETHER
Embezzler and Picket
Treated Differently
BY REGINA MYRosKI.

MOUNDSVILLE, w. Va, Sept 3d.
Occasionally, we find the capitalist
courts melting out Justice" to the So
called higher (?) class Of society-the
parasites. Not that they want to, no
indeed! But they must at least go
thru the pretense to save their face
and so give opportunity to the mo-
rons, half-wits, ETC., for saying the
rich man and the poor man is equal
in the sight of the law. Such case
occurred in this section during the
September term of court.
At the beginning of summer startl-
| ing revelations were made at the
Bank of Benwood, Benwood, w. Va,
that the cashier, William s. Leach,
and the assistant cashier, Joe Ward,
had been defrauding the bank of
funds for a number of years. The as
sistant cashier fled across the contin-
ent and was finally arrested in Cali
fornia and brot back, while Leach
/, also was put under arrest. The case
caused great deal of sensation and
thru the whole summer the capitalist
press devoted columns to these two
thieves until they were in a fair way
of becoming immortalized.
Much Fuss Over Parasite.
Leach was tried during the week of
| September 21. There were fourteen
indictments against him. He pied
guilty and so was tried on only one,
for giving false statements to the
state banking commission in 1920 or
1921. The other indictments were an
nulled. When sentence was to be
passed upon him, his attorney plead
ed in the court to make it as lenient
as possible, saying Leach was an old
man (43) is suffering considerably be-
cause he is already ostracised from
his friends, his home is broken up"
and the rest of the hokum resorted
to by the parasites when they find
themselves in tight place.
Judge Morris, of the Marshall
county court, deemed it best not to
appear too friendly and so gave Leach
the maximum sentence, only 10 years.
Sroie money OF Workero.
Only 10 years for defrauding the
bank of three-quarter of a million
dollars, money that was deposited
there by orphans and widows Of min
ers who had been killed In the great
mine disaster at the Hitchman mine,
McMechen, w. Va, a year ago last
Aprill
And this is not all. There is hope
| that he will be either pardoned, pa
rolled, or upon good behavior his SEN
tence will last only six or seven
years. And, also, II is expected that
ne will get one of the soft" jobs In
the prison, being treated as an unwill-
ing guest who is forced to do some
thing to while away the time. In fact,
"--"~-'- nan crook-treated as
gentleman. sss~ sas&HMR
....... :. The so-cailed better" class
are shedding tears at this sad fate OF
their hero who was so unwise as to
make a slip-for is not robbing or
phans and widows a heroic deed in
the eyes OF the capitalists7
Who Weeps For the Worker7
Only 10 years for robbing widows
and orphans And, yet, during the
May, 1925 term of court, mine strike
picketer, because he was fighting for
his rights and for living wages also
received 10 years in the state pris-
on But his case was not attended
by middle class sympathy, columns
of newspaper sympathy, respectful
treatment, and so on.
Leach will be out one of these days,
and soon. True, there are still
number OF indictments that could be
entered against him besides the four
teen but, as one OF the local capital
ist presses stated, the officers of the
law" will feel in honor bonnd not
to molest Leach any further. ~
4Arae