The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-09-27
COMP ANY UNIONS
IN COTTON Mills
Facts Refute Lauding
of Bosses by Writers

of the prosecution that it will re-
duce the charges in the Gastonia
case and also the number of de-
PENDANTS. There is no assurance
that this will be done, but discussion
of the possibility indicates to the
workers here that the prosecution
feels that its case is weak, and if
the defense can get another jury of
workers and farmers, the prosecu-
ton will be unable to electrocute.
Reduction of the charges and the
number on trial would reduce the
number of peremptory challenges al
lowed the defense and enable the
prosecution better to pack the jury
with those prejudiced against the
defendants and their union.
1t must be REMEMBERED that some
members of the prosecution staff
are still determined to demand the
electric chair. They argue that a
reduction of the charges would be
a confession tina There is no real
evidence against the defendants. A
split in the prosecution staff, with
seven of its members quitting the
case is reported in the daily papers
here. Major Bulwihkle, whose con-
nections with the Manville-Jenckes
Co., for whom he has for long been
an attorney, are notorious, is to be
dropped, according to a statement
by Solicitor Carpenter of Gastonia,
the formal head of the prosecution.
This, if true, is obviously because
his leadership of the bosses black
hundreds in the recent lynching
parties they undertook has made it
inadvisable from the prosecutions
point of view to use him; exposes
their relationship with the mill own
ers little too openly.
Identify Murderer.
GASTONIA, N. c., Sept. &c.
After inquest headings yesterday
here into the murder of Ella May
Virgins, shot dead by mill own
ers' thug Sept. ID while riding in
a truck from the National Textile
Workers Union mass meeting in
South Gastonia, further hearings
were adjourned to Oct. Is Zap
parently to postpone verdict until
after the trial in Charlotte of the
unionists the bosses are trying to
electrocute).
Positive Identification Of J. Bor-
ders, a guard at the Loray mill,
as one of the men firing on the
group Of unionists, was made by F.
o. Case, a witness. Borders was
released on $4,000 bond on a charge
of manslaughter.
Truck Driver Released.
Various other as yet unidentified
thugs were described as taking part
in the shootings. The driver of the
union truck, George Lingerford, was
ordered released. He had been ar
rested with six of the mill gunner
evidently as part of the prosecu-
tons trick to represent the union
lists as participating nj the shooting,
and to cloud the issue. There was
absolutely no evidence against him.
/. l.. d. Lawyers Barred.
Solicitor Carpenter, in charge of
the Investigation" although him
self identified as a leader of
vicious lynchng gang on Sept. 8
which kidnapped N. T. w. organ
izers and flogged Organizer Wells,
continues his efforts to make it easy
for the mill thugs he is nominally
supposed to be trying to prosecute.
R. L. Sigmund, attorney for the
International Labor Defense, was
present at the inquest. He tried
to speak twice, the first time he was
merely told to keep quiet. The
second time Solicitor Carpenter told
him if he didn't keep quiet "I'll put
you out of here in five minutes"