The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-03-25
Force SapirO to
Drop Third Of
His Charges
Judge Tells Him Not To Be
Interviewed Any More


DETROIT, March 24.-One third
of the libel charges, upon which
Aaron SapirO sued Henry Ford for
million dollars damages, were drop
ped from the trial this afternoon
when Federal Judge Fred NJ. Ray
mond accepted SapirO's amended de-
claratiOn of libel.
The court rendered a tentative opin-
ion allowing the changes, over the
protest of counsel for Ford. The
amendments eliminated 81 of the 141
specific allegations of libel and struck
out two of the twenty-one counts.
The judge, however, refused to al
low one paragraph in Sapiro's amend
ed general declaration. This para
graph made a new reference to ar
ticles published in the Dearborn In
dependent over two years ago; the
court held the statute of limitations
applied to them.
Jewish Issue" First.
The amended declaration was filed
by Sapiro after the court had warn
ed his counsel that the old declaration
of libel was insufficient" In its
reversed form, the declaration held
that Sapiro was libelled when Ford
linked him to Jewish ring that ex-
plotted the farmers by charging him
with using Communists and anar-
chists as assistants and by declaring
his cooperative plan looted the farm
ers.
Sapiro's counsel said the amended
complaint would Concentrate the
case on the Jewish issue"
Wouldn't Adjourn.
The charges were only tentatively
allowed, the court said, in telling the
Ford counsel he might change his rul-
ing if they submitted precedents show
ing he had errored. The court then or
dered the trial to proceed although
counsel for Ford pleaded for an adj
journment until Monday.
With William ]. Cameron, editor
of the Dearborn Independent back on
the stand, opposing counsel got into
an argument Immediately over a
question about Ford's attacks on the
Jewish race. The jury was excluded.
Anti-Semitism Proper?
The court again ruled that any in
quiry into Ford's general attack on
Jews was improper He held that wit
nesses could not be questioned on
Ford's anti-Jew crusade unless it
were shown the attacks were levelled
on "a class of individuals or toward
individuals" He made the same rul-
ing on two preceding occasions.
Judge Gags Sapiro.
Judge Raymond trying the case
has apparently set out to establish
reputation for being fussy. He has
notified all spectators that contrary
to the usual practise in New York
and Chicago, he wants his court room
to be scene of cathedral decorum".
Furthermore he has ordered Sapiro
to stop giving interviews to the press.
He had already asked the reporters
not to write up for their papers those
parts of the testimony he orders ex-
cluded from the record. Each such
exclusion is blow to Sapiro's case.
In the interview, which caused the
judge to issue his rather unique man
date, Sapiro is quoted as saying that
Ford was a bigotted genius, who,
"just as | am color blind, seems to
have blind spot where justice to
certain races is concerned"
More arguments over the amended
complaint is expected. Cameron will
probably be on the stand for several
days, and then Fred l.. Black, the
business manager of Ford's maya
zine. After that, either Sapiro him.
self, or Ford himself--the two big
events of the trial.