The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-09-09
.oRTURE USED
On PRISONERS
FOR STATEMENTS
Mclaughlin, Carter,
Sfugged, Beaten

hey heard the cries of the young
mill worker while he was being
given the third degree. eve heard
doors open and shut, scuffling and
Banging" Bush testified, "and Nc
Laughlin pleading: Jaw quit, aw
quit, 1 didn't do it. Leave me alonel"
On the witness stand Sophie Melvin
supported Bush's testimony.
Mclaughlin described a night of
rror following the raid on the
y.I.R. tent colony. After he was
punched and slugged with a black
Jack in the Gastonia Jail, he was
ragged into car and taken by
Sheriff Lineberger to the Cleveland
Jail in Shelby.
"They were beating me during
80 entire ride. and it wasn't until
We got half way to Shelby. just
past Kings Mountain, that they
'aid whe' ley were liking me.
ey said IRE was s mch down
80, river that was going TO lynch US,
i that they wanted 10 take as to
.)cIenae attorney revealed the
TACT that both Mclaughlin and Car
ter were again threatened when
hey arrived in the Shelby Jail by
number of officers including the
sheriff and Adam Hord, the Caste
MIA policeman.
Against the objection of the de-
tense counsel that this statement
was obtained under duress, Judge
Barnhill ruled that it could be adj
mittted as evidence. Sheriff Allen
admitted that he didn't tell either
Carter or Mclaughlin that what
they said that night would be used
against them.
Statement Mclaughlin is alleged
b have made is as follows: "The
officers were shooting at US so Nc
Ginnis fired first and then ! fired.
| didn't know who they were and
didn't shoot at any particular per-
son. Carter was on guard and told
the police to halt twice and they
threw him down." Carriers state
ment, according to Sheriff Allen,
was that she was on guard and
Gilbert came up and took hold of
him. He was thrown down and lost
his gun. He jumped up and ran
back to the tent to get another gun.
Carter said that the captain Of the
guard told him to shoot anyone
trespassing on the union lot"
It is clear that although 'this
statement was obtained after the
defendants had been beaten almost
into insensibility, it is not in the
least damaging to the defendants
line of self-defense, and taken to-
gether with the testimony of Roach,
Gilbert and other star witnesses for
ne prosecution, it does not identify |
Inv of the defendants as the indi-
uals who fired the fatal shot, nor
does it implicate them in any con-
spiracy.
T. 4. Gilbert, the tall, Ratchet
facct 'ficer who accompanied Ad-
erho,t on the night of June 2. is on
the stand. did you not say just
before you started for the union
headquarters" Attorney Unison
demands, "there is only one way to
get rid of them, and that is to go |
down and kill the sons of bitches,
and we might as well do that now?"
Lawyers uncover Gilbert's GRIM
inaI record which, for color, exceeds
that possessed by Roach and Adam
Hord, the other star witnesses OF
the prosecution:
Gilbert is now under Indictment
for "assault with deadly weapon"
arising out of a drunken attack with
guns upon the owner of the bar
becue joint near the Catawba River
bridge a few hours preceding the
attack on the strikers colony; he
was fired from the police force at
Maiden, N. c., few years ago after
he had chcked his boss, the chief;
in 1922 a jury in Catawba County
found him guilty of being drunk
and disorderly and fined him
s125.05.
Loray Detective.
The star witness, it is brought
but in the cross-examination, was
for some time on the private police
force of the Loray mill, and thus
had acquired a peculiar sympathy
for the interests of the Manville-
Jenckes Company. Three days be-
fore the shooting. it was revealed,
Gilbert and some Of the mill boss
thugs tried to kill "Red" Hendryx,
one Of the active strikers and now
among the defendants. He was
saved only by the arrival of group
of workers passing by.
Gilbert is leaning on a slick blond
walking stick, the handle of which
is formed by carved wrist. The
witness is questioned by Attorney
Unison for the defense:
Q.-By the way, Mr.. Gilbert,
where did you get that pretty walk
ing stick you have there?
A.--Oh, fellah gave it to me
while back.
Q.-Don't you know, Mr.. Gilbert,
Mat that walking stick belongs to