The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-04-26
Nine Furriers
Must Be Freed

rendered your verdict"
So the judge admonished the jury
as these twelve citizens of Nassau
county left the court room to decide
the fate of eleven fur workers,
brought to trial because of their de-
votion to the interests of the furriers'
union.
Armed Sheriffs.
Following the jury out of the court
room went the II prisoners guarded
| by sheriffs, conspicuously armed.
Then came the spectators-fur work
ers, cloakmakers, dressmakers, other
workers who had sat all day watch
ing their comrades and offering ST
lent sympathy and courage. Wives,
sweethearts, sisters who had sat day
after day listening to defense and
denunciation of their loved ones.
Ia 1t was 5:15, and for hours the
crowd wandered up and down the
court house; out for something to
eat; back to the vigil at the foot of
the stairs leading to the jury room.
Many RumOrs.
"The longer they're out, the better
for the workers" This was the the
DRY used to cheer each other. Ru-
mors spread. Zone man is sticking
out for complete acquittal." Every
one is acquitted except Maxim and
Franklin" "Only Gold is freed"
More recruits arrived from New
York. They could not stand the
strain of waiting for a message at
the Joint Board, or Local %, where
hundreds sat listening for the ring
of the telephone. Everyone asked
word about New York in order to
forget the drama of Mineola.
They Come!
"Stand back, stand back all of you.
Way back to the end of the hail."
The crowd is GREATNESS. The jury
is coming. With white faces and
trembling knees the workers file into
the court room. The prisoners are
led in; the jurors file back; the Judge
mounts to his rostrum. There is
strained silence.
10 near Inc OCdD.
81 understand you want to hear the
testimony of Mary Farkas" (the scab
from Barnett's shop, says the judge.
This means there is no verdict yet.
The crowd relaXes a little and listens
to a monotonous reading of question
and answer, question and answer, in
the even-toned voice of the court
stenographer.
Then the Paid Spy.
Then the testimony of Detective
Greeve is read; then the words of
Miss May c. Gresser, secretary to
John Coughlan of the central trades
and labor council.
At 10;45 the jury files back to its
room; the prisoners are led out; the
crowd goes back to it's patrol OF the
hall, with dozen detectives and po-
licemen watching every move. More
workers arrive from New York. A
girl falls asleep on the marble stairs
Zone of them damn Bolsheviks," as
the cop calls her.
They Wait.
| hC AODe SASAAA BOCo az AAsHO O0S
no one leaves his post. They can get
buses, or taxis, or walk. They would
not desert the workers and let them
face that verdict alone.
At lis comes another signal, and
the crowd surges back to the court
room-tired, depressed, trying to ap-
pear calm and unmoved.
The prisoners file back, looking hol-
lowed-eyed and exhausted. The jury
come in, with their hats and coats. |
So it is a verdict.
Many Police.
Half a dozen detectives and sher- |
ifs line up around the prisoners; a
dozen policemen surround the specta-
tors; a dozen more wait in the hall.
Five attorneys sit on the edges of
chairs at the counsel table. Half a
dozen reporters sit with pensils polls
ed. The judge walks in. The clerk
says:
Threaten The Crowd.
"There will be absolutely no demon
stration allowed in this court ROOM"
The Judge tells the jury to rise.
Gentlemen of the jury have you
reached verdict?"
eyes, sir"
"What is it,"
The foreman reads from a slip of
white paper,
We find the defendants Maxim,
Franklin, Lenhardt, Schneider, Rosen-
berg, Mileaf, Katz, Weiss and Men
cher guilty of assault in the End de-
gree"
eve find the defendants Gold and
Shapiro not guilty"
A Silent Crowd.
There is not a sound. Not a word
from the crowd. Not a word when
they leave the court room. Scarcely
word as they walk out of the
building to the waiting buses. No
comment. A strained silence. A few
questions in trembling voices. That
IL I