The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-06-13
MURDER CHARGE
PLACED AGAINST
ORGANIZER BEAL
LID. Is Holding Many
Defense Meetings

Continued from Pace One)
Large numbers of mill workers from
Bessemer and other nearby centers
are expected to attend.
Juliet Stuart Poyntz, national
secretary of the International Labor
Defense, states that a series of mass
meetings all over the country under
the auspices of the I. L. D. are al
ready being started. The entire
working class of America will be
rallied behind the defense of the
strikers of Gastonia, and the most
determined efforts made to save
them from the electric chair or
prison terms.
l. L. D. Demands.
The r L. D. demands the imme-
date and unconditional freeing of
the now nearly 70 strikers held by
the mill-owned Gastonia city gov
eminent, and the smashing of the
framed up assault, conspiracy OF
completely and murder charges
placed against them at the instiga-
ton of the Manyille-Jenckes Co.
The Gastonia authorities are try
ing this morning to evade the habeas
corpus writ served on them yester-
day in behalf of Fred Beal and IT
other prisoners.
The Gastonia prosecutor asked for
delay on the ground that one of his
distant relatives had died. The
judge before whom the hearing is
to be held in Charlotte is said to be
out of town, and other such ex-
cuses are made.
1t is believed that the Gastonia
authorities will try to bring up some
of the prisoners, who are charged
with minor offenses in connection
with the main case, for a prelimin-
airy hearing and will try to railroad
them.
Attorney Unison, for the Inter
national Labor Defense, is here this
morning and will refuse to recog-
nize this procedure. He will cite
the sheriff for contempt of court if
further Juggling with the writ is at
tempted.
Mclaughlin Tells of Raid.
Louis Mclaughlin and Carter, two
of the tent colony guards who are
held in the Asheville Jail, were in
terviewed yesterday by Unison.
Mclaughlin, one of the best
known local union leaders, and uni
versally respected, who was in the
Workers International Relief tent
colony when the police and deputies
arrived and the shooting took place,
gave an account of the battle which
shows that the strikers shot in self
defense and only after one of a
number of revolver shots fired by
Roach, one Of the wounded deputies,
had passed through the cap of
] McGinnis, striker, now in Jail in
, Gastonia.
. Beaten by Deputies.
Mclaughlin, who was born and
raised in this vicinity, was beaten
up in the Gastonia Jail by deputies
After the beating he was removed
to Asheville and was abused con-
tinually during the trip in a ma
: chine.
The authorities are playing up a
statement made by one Poison, in
which he claims to have been an
eyewitness to the shooting and
maintains that the strikers fired on
the officers without provocation
Only the hangers-on of the mil
barons give any credence to Polson's
statement. He is what Southerners
call Sorry" or mo account" His
reputation is that of never telling
the truth, and of general worthless.
ness. Furthermore, there are PEG.
pie who are able and willing tt
testify that he was not at the tent
colony when the battle took place.
Sentiment Favorable.
!, Sentiment among the workers ant
4 the masses of the people generally
| is increasingly favorable for thu
union and the defense. A local sym.
d pathizer, whose name cannot BIZ
: used yet, but whose business brings
:. him into intimate contact with large
numbers of people Gaily, reported
this morning that "nine out of ter
persons | have talked with are will
the strikers and the union. Of cours,
the Loray mill crowd, officials, bust
ness men and so on are all hostile
They tried mighty hard to have 9