The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-11-28
TERROR AGAINST
PORTER WORKERS
Labor Defense Is in
Protest
Continued from Page One

I continued from rage one
serving a term in Leavenworth. His
liberation was demanded by the pris-
oners in the Occaquon jail.
The letter of the International La
Dor Defense signed by its executive
secretary, Alfred Wagenknecht, is
reproduced here in full:
l. L. D. Letter.
"John S. Hornback,
''7OO-7O6 Woodward Building,
Washington, D. c.
"Dear Mr.. Hornback:
"The International Labor Defense
is in receipt of letters from friends
in Washington who have visited the
% demonstrators now imprisoned in
the workhouse at Occaquon, Va.
These letters state that the condi-
tions of those in prison are bad. The
food is Door and insufficient, a num-
Der of the prisoners have become i'll
and unable to do the hard labor i'm
uosed on them. They have been
threatened with being chained if
they did not perform this hard la
Dor, in spite of the fact that they
are too i'll to work.
eve request that you Immediately
protest to the authorities in Wash
ington against this brutal treatment.
We insist that an immediate investi-
cation of these prosecutions shall be
made. We call to your attention
the fact that these % workers com
mitted no crime. They are all work
ers and representatives of working
class organizations. They were ar
rested solely because of this. The
charge against them on which they
are row confined to 30 and 60 days
in the workhouse is a technical
charge of parade without permit on
government property, which ordin-
arily when actually violated incurs
from the courts only a $500 fine.
The authorities seem to be enraged
at the fact that this demonstration
called to the attention of workers of
this country that American marines
ara still maintaining their bloody
rule in Nicaragua. that the Coolidge.
Hoover government is preparing a
new imnerialist war and that the
Communist soldier John Porter is
being tortured and beaten in prison
because he dared to strike for better
working conditions.
Workers Sacrifice.
"These % workers who demon
strated at great personal sacrifice,
number of them losing their jobs.
when sentenced to 500 fine or 60
DAYS in Jail and 30 days in jail or
$50 fine, refused to pay their fines
rs a protest against this class JUS
tice and remained in jail. 1t is not
enough for the government to give
these workers the maximum SEN
tence, it is not enough that they
were handcuffed and taken to the
workhouse like hardened criminals,
they must suffer additional persecu-
tion in the workhouse, persecution
which is not meted out to the or
binary criminals, because they are
nolitical prisoners, because t h e
WASHINGTON authorities are trying
to use this means to stifle the voices
of working class organizations.
"Those who took part in the
demonstration represented seven or
CARNATIONS: The international La
Der Defense, the National Textile
Workers Union, The All-American
Anti-Imperialist League, The Amer
lean Negro Labor Congress, The
Workers (Communist) Party, the
Young Workers League and Young
Pioneers, and 100000 workers.
THE International Labor Defense
protests against this brutal treat
ment accorded its members by the
Washington authorities and by the
police and demands that these con.
ditions be Immediately remedied, ano
their immediate release"