The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-11-11
Attempt to Railroad TwO Workers

1 the past few weeks to discredit the
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of
/ America were amused when on Fri
day Fowler blew up" as an important
witness for the prosecution. For
weeks Fowler had been preparing for
his part in the case, when he was to
tell, as he has thru the press on sew
eral occasions, of being in a Chicago
court year ago when 81 officers and
members of the union were brought in
from raid on their headquarters dur
| ing a strike in that city and of their
being bound over under heavy bail,
and also of brass knuckles, iron bars
and other weapons of warfare that he
says were found in the union head
quarters. (At no time has Fowler
been honest enough to inform the
public that the cases against all Of
the 81 union members arrested at that
time were later dismissed for lack of
prosecution.)
Fowler's name was published in the
list of witnesses to be called in the
case now on trial here. He closely
followed the examination of jurors
and was seen by the Federated Press
correspondent comforting with the
sheriff when the latter was starting
out after new prospective jurors when
the regular panel was exhausted.
He was quoted in the press as say
ing that "the Amalgamated Clothing
Workers Union is on trial in this
case" All of this, linked up with his
repeated press statements during the
strike at the Granert-Rothschild cloth
ing shop recently, which resulted in
recognition Of the Amalgamated by
the firm, that the Amalgamated was
an "un-American organization and a
menace to any community" created
unusual interest in his part in the
trial. Great was our disappointment,
however, when his testimony was linn
tied by objections by defense counsel,
sustained by the court, to his knowl-
edge of the alleged crime as it af-
fected the defendants. This meant
that, instead of boasting again OF
arousing the- community against the
Amalgamated and having a reward
of $1,000 offered for the arrest and
conviction of the offenders by the To-
cal chamber of commerce, his testi-
mony dealt merely with having seen
several bolts of cloth ruined by acid
burns. The fact OF the damage had
been previously proved by testimony
OF police officers, and so Fowler's tes-
timony failed to create the sensation
for which he had prepared the COM
munity.
Toy Balloon.
To the writer, the picture of Fowler
preening himself for grandstand
play on the witness stand and his de-
fation when. after only a few SCI
fences, the states attorney turned him
over for cross-examination and De.
Tense Attorney Short released him
without a question. as too unimpor-
tant to bother with reminded her of a
toy balloon blown up tight, from which
one expects TO hear loud and shrill
whistle as the air Is released. and
then, because of some defect, the bal
loon flattens with merely little
squeak. Frank Fower's day in court
has came and went and his promises
to settle the Amalgamated in the
eyes Of Daukegans" fiyvered-as did
his efforts to Illustrate the organiza.
ton OF the Granert-Rothsohild clothing
shop by this union
States Attorney Smith is assisted
by Assistant States Attorney Block
in the trial. Attorney George Field is
the third lawyer IN the brilliant coup-
sci for defense &,