The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-08-21

CODU anu L VA SWUlS OuG wall al %
against 26 members of Local 992 for
conspiracy to murder, and after
Cobb spoke to the grand jury, that
body indicted Frank Corbishley,
brother of Henry, for the murder of
Sarovich, and said not a word about
Hargis! The grand jury, as in Gas
tonia, represented the big business
interests of the community.
Here was clear cut frame-up
case, with all the usual trappings,
on charges of murder and conspiracy
to murder, with the officials of the
strongest section of the strongest
union in America openly and notori-
ously managing and conducting the
frame-up, with the employers grand
jury and employers courts loaned
to them for that purpose!
The International Labor Defense,
recently organized, rushed to the
aid of the &c victims. The sub-dis-
trict and district machines rushed
to the aid of the prosecution by sus-
pending Henry Corbishley and three
others, as means of prejudicing
their case in the eyes of miners in
other districts, who might see them
only as bad union members, unfit
to associate with.
The Old foreigner" Issue
The trial started, Feb. 2, 1926, of
13 of the indicted men, on the con-
spiracy charge. 1t was preceded
and accompanied by the usual anti
foreigner publicity campaign, So well
known as an ear mark of the frame
up. The lawyers actually prosecu-
ting the defendants in court were
States Attorney Roy Martin, and
Farrington's employees, Ju d G e
Nicely and j. Smith. The jury was
composed of 100 per cent American
farmers, many of them Klansmen,
susceptible to the "anti-foreigner"
talk. The issue of class against
class, which had saved the Herrin
men before a farmer jury, was here
hidden, obscured, in the minds of
the jury by the inner union fight,
by the appearance of union officials
as witnesses for the prosecution.
The prosecution lawyers continually
reminded the jury that President
Mckinley was assassinated by a
foreigner" Many witnesses testi-
fled for the defense, mostly foreign
ers" Of course, that Frank Cor
bishley, accused of actually firing
the shot, was not in the hall at the
time. Others testified about Cobb's
starting the fight. The prosecution
witnesses contradicted each other, in
important particulars, but these con-
traditions were smoothed over by
the continual jingoistic exhcrtations
of the prosecution. The jury was
convinced that they were defending
American institutions and the pro-
testant religion against "Reds,
foreign enemies, and maybe the
Pope"
Eight Convicted.
Henry Corbishley, Mike Karadich,
Stanley Paurez, Steve Meanovich,
Frank Corbishley, Ignatz Simich,
Martin Simich, and Eddie Maleski
were convicted, in this kind of a
trial. The others, against whom ex-
actly the same evidence was pre-
sented, were acquitted.
The cases were appealed by the
LID. In May, 1926, Martin Simich
won new trial, which ended the
frame-up against him. Eddie NAL
eski was sent to the reformatory at
Pontiac; he was under 10 years of
age. The other seven got sentence
Of one to fourteen years in Chester
penitentiary.
Henry Corbishley, Ignatz Simich,
and Meanovich actually served
terms. All are now released. Henry
Corbishley, Simich and others are
still militant miners of Illinois, Cor
bishley is leading the National
Miners Union, Illinois district.
Murder in PittstOn.
The xxx. has practically died
out of the coal fields, but the re-
dictionary murder machine survives.
In 1928, startlingly similar situa-
ton to that in Zeigler developed
around and in Local 1903, Pittston,
PA. The Cappelini district machine