The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-10-21
Carpenter Kneels on Floor in Charlotte Court
And Prays For Conviction of UniOnists
Bill Dunno Speaks to Workers Mass Meeting,
Answers Solicitors Attack on Communism
Mill PROSECUTOR
WANTS REVENGE

CHARLOTTE, N. c., Oct. 20.
The trial in Charlotte has
come to an end-eXcept for the
judges charge to the jury
which will be given Monday
morning and the verdict which
is expected Tuesday. The jury of
propertied farmers listened to II
hours of final argument, six for the
defense and six for the prosecution.
The speeches of the four defense
lawyers with their emphasis upon
the evidence bore the same marked
contrast to the oratory of the four
prosecution lawyers that the testi-
mony of the defense witnesses bore
to the perjured testimony of the
states witnesses. The mill owners
lawyers, Hoey, Newell, Cansler and
Carpenter, devoted their six hours
to the most venomous invective, vi
cious accusations of immortality and
criminality. They performed every
melodramatic trick known to shyster
lawyers in their impassioned appeal
to the prejudices of the jury. The
defense, on the contrary, gave a
searching analysis of the evidence
in the case proving with incisive
logic that the states evidence is
weak, contradictory, perjurious and
flimsy. Johnson D. Mccall, Thad-
deus Adams, Tom Jimison and Frank
Flowers, lawyers engaged by the
International Labor Defense, ex-
posed the plot of the Manville-
Jenclkes Co. to smash the union,
utilizing for this purpose the police
forces of Gastonia and the courts of
North Carolina as we'll as its fas-
cist Committee of 100. They re-
viewed the long series of atrocities
committed by the agents of the
Loray mill necessitating the forma-
tion of strikers guards. Adams
gave a particularly powerful plea
for the right of workers to self de-
fense. The class issues were very
clearly brought out during the eight
speeches to the jury.
Disregard Evidence.
None of the four lawyers for the
prosecution paid any attention to
the evidence. For six hours they
distorted the opinions of the defend
ants and defense witnesses on racial,
religious political and economic
problems. The most contemplate
of all was Solicitor Carpenter. Even
Judge Barnhill turned his face away
and hid his laughter behind a news
paper while Carpenter was resort
ing to melodramatic trickery to stir
the emotions and prejudices of the
Jury. The courtroom was crowded
to the doors when Carpenter began.
but it was only half-full at the end
of his two hour harangae. Nearly
half of the spectators had left in
disgust. 1t seems incomprehensible
that any jury could be swayed by
SNSil Ne'JOlSly anu
1t is clear that the verdict result
ing from such appeals will be pure
ly class verdict.
For two hours Carpenter gave the
jury his wierd interpretations of the
doctrines of Communism "from the
wild precincts of Soviet Russia"
Under ruling of Judge Barnhill it
was permitted for the prosecution to
present their distortions of Commu-
nism to the jury for the sole pur-
pose of appealing to prejudice. but
the defense was not permitted to
put Bill Dunno on the stand as an
expert on Communism to give the
jury correct statement of Marxism.
Two hours after Carpenter had
finished his harangue to the Jury in
/ the court room, Bill Dunno spoke to
the workers of North Charlotte at
meeting held under the auspices
of the Communist Party, the Young
Communist League and the Young
Pioneers. He gave them speech
which if the jury had heard it would
have answered the lies of Carpenter.
Dunno pointed out that the trial
has brought forward the question of
violence and revolution before the
workers of the South, among the
issues of the trial. The prosecution
has tried to convince the jury that
the purpose of the Communists in
the South is to Immediately organ
ize an armed insurrection to over
throw, the government, kill all po-
licemen, public officials and mill
owners, seize control of the mills
and set up Soviet" The prosecu-
ti'n has appealed to. the jury to 10
their duty as patriotic Americans
Continued on Page Three)