The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-02-16
Jury CONvICTS
EIGHT Miners,
Today TRIAL
Argue Motion for New
Trial on March rs
Continued from page H..

the United Mine Workers OF Illinois
out of existence.
In this fight, which eliminated with
the unsuccessful efforts Of the Zeigler
miners to force the Bell and zoller
mine officials to permit a correct
weight to be given to the miners at
the pit head, the local miners found
that the officials of the union, instead
Of coming to the aid OF the rank and
file. worked hand in hand with the
coal operators. The decision of the
sub-district officials was given in favor
Of the operators and against the
miners.
The spontaneous strike of resent
ment which followed was only stop.
ped by the energetic action Of the To-
cal progressive leaders, with Cor
/ bishly at their head. At meeting of
the Zeigler local which then took
place, and at which the sub-district
officials were present, the latter at
temped to run the gathering with
high-handed, autocratic measures
which were resented by the rank and
file. In a fight which began over
blow given the aged miner Bert Far
thing by member of the ku klux
khan, Cobb the sub-district yice-presi-
dent pulled blackjack and attempted
to beat some of the miners with 1t.
kIansman Kills Progressive.
The indignant miners, none of whom
was armed, pulled the jack from
Cobb's hand and in the scrimmage he
and a number of others were hurt.
From the doorway, Alec Hargis, dis
credited klansman, appeared and shot
at Mike Sarovich, progressive miner,
with .3S automatic. Sarovich fell
mortally wounded, and the meeting
broke up.
Instead of Hargis being held for
the grand jury, the charge of murder
was framed-up against Frank Corbish-
ly, brother of the president of the
local union, Henry Corbishly, and
more than a score of other miners
with their president topping the list,
and charged with assault with intent
to murder Cobb and conspiracy TO
murder Cobb.
It was on this first charge that the
thirteen defendants were just tried
at the Benton courthouse after num-
Der of the originally-charged defen-
dant-had been released and their num-
Der cut down because not even the
frame-up charges could have the
slightest chance in the world to stick.
In the proceedings of the trial, the
defense proved conclusively that the
entire charge was nothing but
frame-up against the thirteen miners
because they had pursued a progress
sive policy which BODIED no particular
good for the corrupt union officials and
the coal operators who were cheating
the men out of their coal weights, or
the ku klux khan which had been de-
feated in it's attempts to make the
zeigler local a tool Of the hooded
order.
The work of the prosecution during
the trial was largely confined to
ridiculing the defendants because Of
their foreign extraction and creating
the cheapest kind of a nationalist
atmosphere. The judge ruled out.
time after time, important evidence
which the defense wished to introduce
in order to prove conclusively that the
charges had been framed-up at
private meeting. that Cobb was guilty
in having started the riot, and that
Hargis was the real slayer of Mike
Sarovich.
Demand New Trial.
Immediately upon the rendering Of
the verdict the defense appealed for a
new trial. The workers OF this sec
ton of the country are aroused against
the verdict given by the farmer jury
and are proceeding to intensity the
work for the defense of the frame-up
victims. The International Labor De.
Ifense has already announced that Il
will continue TO place all its resources
at the command Of the defendants In
order to free them from the frame-up.