The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-03-25
LABOR Defense
SHOWS MISTAKE
Mooney MAKES
Appeals to All Workers
to Free Prisoners

ternational Labor Defense has is
sued the following statement calling
upon the workers to force the capt.
talists to liberate Mooney and other
class war prisoners.
Warren K. Billings and Tom
Mooney, jailed II years ago in one
of the most vicious frame-ups of
labor history, are still in jail. Their
conviction was connived at, if not
actually assisted, by certain reac-
tionary labor leaders in California.
Mooney in particular was attacked
by the Catholic elements because he
had been for many years a con-
spicuous fighter against the super
stitions and prejudices and anti
working class attitude fostered by
the church.
After Billings had been incarcer-
ated in the dungeons of Folsom and
when Mooney was standing IN the
shadow of the gallows, the interest
of the entire world was drawn to
this case by the protest of the Rus
sian workers on behalf of Mooney
and Billings before the American
Embassy in Leningrad and thruout
the entire Soviet Union.
Appeal after appeal for executive
clemency has been refused on be-
half of these prisoners, has been de-
MED by the henchmen of finance
capital who have occupied the gov
ernoris chair in California. Still
Mooney relies solely on this kind
of appeal for his freedom, and to
our regret, attacks the l. l.. d. and
uses as a medium of attack the re-
dictionary "Catholic Monitor" This
attack in the Catholic Monitor is
being reprinted in the capitalist and
anti-working class publications. The
latest enemy of the workers to use
the name of Mooney against the
IL. D. is the yellow sheet, the jew
lsh Daily Forward.
MONEYS statement to the Cath
ole Monitor, now reprinted IN the
Forward, shows that Mooney is still
obsessed with the idea that any one
man can help him to freedom, still
harbors the illusion that only Gov
ernor Young of California and not
the mass protest of the working
class can free him. He says in his
statement: Here is the fix We are
in. Governor Young is. the only
man that can do anything for
Mooney and Billings and he does not
want to do it." In a letter to the
l. L. D. recently, Mooney declared
that he is appealing to the voters
Of California to bring pressure upon
Governor Young, since Governor
Young is a candidate for reelection.
He declares in this letter that there
are few workers in California who
are voters and that the main aim
must be to bring pressure OF petl-
ton and appeal to Governor Young.
Bv travelling this road, Mooney can
gain his freedom only by giving up
his services to the working class.
It is to be regretted that by writ
ing the letter to the Catholic Monl-
tor. Mooney is thus making ges-
ture toward peace with the Cath
olic church which has always been
his enemy as a representative OF the
working class. Mooney can gam his
freedom by petition to the great
men of the country only by making
his peace with the enemies of the
working class and he must realize
that this is the road which he has
begun to follow. The fact that the
vicious enemy of the workers, the
Jewish Forward, which attacks all
working class organizations, which
has helped frame up furrier strlk-
ers and needle trades workers, which
has connived at the use OF stool
pigeons by the government, which
has elaborated with the reaction
airy A. F. of L. bureaucracy, which
has always been Moneys enemy,
which has played the role OF the
strikebreaker, the fact that this vie
sheet reprints MONEYS letter
should bring Mooney to his senses
and make him realize the danger
GUS path which he has begun to
tread. MONEYS appeal to such
men as Nicholas Murray Butler,
president of Columbia University,
for his freedom, and in his letter
to Butler he praises this arch reac-
tionary very highly.
The international Labor Defense
has fought consistently for labor's
fighters on the basis of the class
struggle. In the course of our cam
paign we have used the names OF
all class war prisoners and we also
used the name of Mooney. How
ever. we never conducted a special
campaign for funds to be trans
mitted to Mooney, so that his state
ment in this respect is unfounded.
Every penny that is collected by the
II L. D. has been used to defend
workers before the courts who are
fighting against capitalist exploita-
tion and who are in the tolls OF capt.
talist justice. The /. l.. ID. uses
every penny it collects for the sup
port of class war prisoners and their
families. The I. L. d. uses every
penny it collects in its campaigns
far the release of class war prison
rs. but it does not use its organiza-
A. dc