The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-07-10

tributions to Al Smiths campa
This was the accusation HI
Gottlieb by Robert Minor, ed-%
itor of The DAILY WORKER
and Workers (Communist)
Party candidate for U. S. SEN
ator, as he was dragged away
by three policemen, roughly
manhandled and slugged in the
First District Criminal Court yes
terday.
Minor together with nine others
appeared for hearing yesterday
on a charge of disorderly conduct
in connection with the anti-imperi-
aIist demonstration on July 3 which
was attacked by police. The pro-
ceedings quickly took the form of
an inquisition, with Magistrate
| Gottlieb usurping the powers of the
prosecuting attorney in an obvious
effort to railroad the workers to
jail.
Demands Right to Speak
The climax was reached when
Minor, just before sentence was
passed on him, requested, through
JACQUES Buitenkant, defending at
torney, representing the New York
Section of the International Labor
Defense, that he be allowed to ad-
dress the court. This is one Of the
constitutional rights of all accused
in a court of law Magistrate Gott-
lieb summarily refused. When Mi
nor protested, he was seized by
three policemen and dragged to the
side. Struggling with the preser-
vers of claw and order" he shouted
out his accusation showing the real
forces behind the trial. One of the
i policemen swung his fist at Mi
nor's face and gagged his mouth
with his hand to prevent him from
saying any more. Everybody in the
audience arose and it seemed as if
many of those in the audience were
on the point of rushing to Minors
defense. The bluecoats dragged
Minor from the courtroom when he
flung back at the magistrate:
"You're no Judge; you're a prose-
cutorl" 1t summed up the entire
proceedings of what was supposed
to be a trial in court of 'justice. :"
Magistrate Gottlieb looked grave
and pounded his gavel. He offered
not a word of censure of the brutal
behavior of the police. He then
proceeded to impose the sentences.
All Choose Jail
+ Minor, Rebecca Grecht, Workers
Party candidate for assembly and.
election campaign manager of Dis
trict 2, Harriet Silverman, secre-
tary of the New York branch of
the All-America Anti-Imperialist
League, which arranged the demon
stration; Emanuel George, strik-
ing coal miner; and Robert Wolf,
poet and novelist, were condemned
to five days in the Tombs or S25
fine. Fanny Plotkin, Anna Bloch
and Phil Frankfeld were given two
days or $40 fine. The cases against
Kate Gitlow and Sophie Melman
were dismissed. All of the accused
chose to serve their terms in Jail.
Prior to this incident Magistrate
Gottlieb, a former shyster lawyer
who has a high standing with in
side Tammany circles, had given an
astonishing exhibition of Impair
tial" conducting of trial by pre-
siding magistrate. When the trial
started in the morning, he was COM
paratively mild and the machine
did not seem to be functioning as
smoothly as it should. Jacques Bui- /
tenkant, the attorney for the ac-
cused, was permitted to tie officer
John Rockford, the first witness, in {
to a knot of contradictions and in /
consistencies.
Officer John Word, the second .
witness, unwittingly revealed the /
imperialistic psychology of the hun
dred percenter by saying that the
accused had demanded the with
drawal of American marines from
Nicaragua and other possessions of
the United States government"
Rev. j. Hall, the itness,
who was conducting a, meet
ing in Wall Street at the time the |
demonstration took place, bowed and
scraped before the magistrate. He
declared he had not seen police slug
any of the demonstrators and in
general seemed to have seen only
that which it is proper for pious
minister of the gospel to see.
After a recess of several hours,
the trial was resumed at 2:15 in
the afternoon. 1t was at once evil
dent that the machine had smoothed
out all difficulties in the interim.
The witnesses for the prosecution,
all of whom were members of the
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