The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-02-27
PROVE HILLQUIT
WAS BRAINS OF
s15O,0OO SW|NDLE
Socialist Boss, Umhey,
Plotted Fraud
(Coatinaed from Page One

kOtNtWHtU gfVHt Uyt OftI
who was the "brains" of the Sigman.
Schlesinger pogrom on the cloak
and dressmakers, was also the
brains" of shameless swindle as
result of which the cloak anG
dressmakers have lost about $780,.
600 and are now in danger of also
losing the buildings which they ac-
quired thru many years of struggle
The buildings are now being claimed
by private bank which still bears
the name, International Union
Bank, tho it is no longer the prop
erty of the International Ladies'
Garment Workers Union,
Morris Hillquit is now suing the
editors of the Daily Worker and
the Freiheit for criminal libel. In
able to answer the charges made
against him and his yellow socialist
associates in the Communist press,
the millionaire socialist party boss
has had recourse to his friends, the
capitalist courts, in an effort to
cripple the two militant working
class organs. Why did Hillquit go
to the district attorney and how did
he manage to secure grand jury
indictment?
Ordinarily trial for criminal
libel mast first come up in a nlagis-
trate's court and the magistrate de-
cides whether to turn the case over
70 the grand jury. Only in cases of
murder OF other serious crimes can
grand jury indictment behind
closed doors, where the defendant
cannot appear, be secured. And it
is this sort of secret, unprecedented
indictment that Morris Hillquit has
secured in case involving merely
criminal libel! Hillquit, the Social
ist," is accorded special privileges
by the. capitalist courts. Not for
nothing does his party serve the
capitalist class so Faithfully.
Why did Hillqait do everything in
his power to prevent the case from
receiving public hearing?
Because Hillquit knows that at
public hearing, where he would have
to submit to the grilling Of the de-
Tense attorney, he would make a
rather sorry showing. And though
a!illquit has never been adverse to
publicity, the sort of publicity he
would get from a hearing in a
magistrates court would hardly be
to his liking.
AZ Fears Public Trial.
But why, if he is innocent. as he
so piously protests, is Hillqsiit so
anxious to prevent the case from
coming out in the open? He should
be eager to let the whole world
know what terrible people the Com
munists are!
The truth is that Hillquit is afraid
of public trial.
Hillquit really swindled the Joint
Board even before he engineered the
stock swindle. We print in this is
sue a photostatic copy of a letter
sent by Hillquit on Aug. 9, 1925,
TO Louis LYMAN, then manager of
the Joint Board, Cloak and Dress
makers Union and now president
Of the new Needle Trades Workers
Industrial Union.
On July 1. 1926, the strike of the
New York cloakmaleers began, after
The cloakmakcrs had decisively re-
jected the findings of the governors
commission. This strike was con-
Quoted under the leadership of the
left wing, Joint Board, which had
been elected in 1925. In order to
finance the strike the Joint Board
borrowed 100000 from the Inter-
national Union Bank, then the prop
erty of the International !. Ladies
Garment Workers Union. As Sc
curity the Joint Board turned over
the shares of the bank that it owned
and also the stock of its buildings,
tie Joint Board building at Licking
ton Ave. and 25th st., and the head
quarters of Locals 2, 9, % and 80.
An agreement was made which
was signed by Louis Hyman, man.
ager of the Joint Board, the man.
ayers of the locals, Boruchovich,
Zirlin, Portnoy and Goretsky, and
the managers of the right wing To-
Gals. The agreement stated that if
the Joint Board fails to pay the
money it borrowed, the bank has
the right to confiscate the shares
and the buildings locals 10 and 48