The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-05-13
DAILY WORKERS.
EDITORS HAILED
IN COURT TODAY
Plead Not Guilty to
Technical Charge

The case of The DAILY WORKER
editors and business manager,
now out on bail on a charge of cir
culating "lewd and obscene" matter,
viii come up for pleading this morn
ing in Part of Special Sessions. Jo-
seph R. Brodslky, attorney for the de-
PENDANTS, will enter a plea of mot
guilty" and the judges will then set
a date for the trial.
Since the last hearing on this case,
David Gordon, author of the poem
America" whose publication in the
Daily Worker of March 18th formed
the basis for the case, has himself
been arrested on this same charge
and released on $500 bail.
From the very first day that VIII
liam F. Dunno, ]. Louis Engdahl, edi-
tors of The DAILY WORKER, and
Bert Miller, business manager were
hailed to court for a hearing on this
charge, it was evident that this ar
rest is part of deliberate campaign
against The DAILY WORKER. Those
called by the state as witnesses
against The DAILY WORKER were
George L. Darte, Acknowledgement"
of the Military Order of the World
War; and George Seitz, a research
worker" for the Keymen of America.
These two men testified to receiv-
ing thru the mail copies of The DAILY
WORKER containing Gordon's poem.
They brought in evidence the wrap
pers in which the copies had been
mailed, and they also introduced tele-
grams sent by the business office in
an appeal for funds.
Technical Charge
That they had been on the watch
for just such an opportunity to prose-
cute The DAILY WORKER was indi-
Gated by the fact that both men
claimed to have been diligent readers
of the paper for year and half.
They claimed this was the first
"obsence" matter they had discov-
cred. Since it would be only on this
technical charge that they could sue
the paper, there is no doubt they
were watchfully waiting for the adj
vent of just such material.
The patriotic Organization" which
these two men represent are we'll 1
known for their persistent campaigns |
against all groups which are not 100
percent nationalistic. Not only do
they spread propaganda against all I
organizations, but they at
tack even pacifist liberals and every
one who dares raise his voice in pro-
test against either social or political
wrongs.
"Adjutant-Gen Captain Darte
mas charged the National Board of
he Y. w. c. A., the Woman's Chris
ian Temperance Union and the
American Association of University
Women with having members of the
radical, pink or intelligentsia group"
which Of course is criminal.
Keymen's Record
The Keymen of America whom the
witness George Seitz represented, are
horoly exposed by Norman Hapgood
n his recently published book, PRO
essional Patriots" The organization
vas formed from the readers Of d
lection in the New York CONNER
:ial" (which is no longer in existence)
which was devoted to Exposing SUBJ
yersive movements" The aim Of this
yroup is to supply all patriotic or
plantations with correct information
md data upon which they can pro-
eed in their own way through their
Hapgood Describes
According to Norman Hapgood,
The organization announces that
Imong other duties its members
hould be prepared to help stop the
,rowth Of Communism and socialism,
work for industrial freedom (mean-
ng the open shop), keep informed
through the Information Bureau of
I'll subversive and radical move
nents', keep the Information Blu
eau posted on local activities of radi-
al movements, and assist local
newspapers to secure and print in
Continued on Page Five)