The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-07-10
Pv L. MARTIN


BAFrERTON. Ohio-Thanks to the mistake
Of police in clubbing capitalist newspepernen
and letting businessmen as well as WorAerS o0
gazsed the class war which has been raging lot
some time in Barberton has become state
vide scandal. So long as it was just matter
of tobless workers starving, of an Unemployed
Council organizer being kidnapped and murder
ed of workers meetings being smashed with
brutal violence Barberton received little publ
citv. The same kind Of thing has been hap
pening in many other cities with the fulI ap-
proval of the capitalist class and its press. But
since Mayor S. A. Decker proved too dumb 10
be able to restrict his fascist terror to the work.
ers the capitalist press has suddenly discovered
that Barberton officials have connived at and
instigated a campaign of aggression against hu-
man liberties and human rights Governor
White has been deluged with demands for an
investigation, in which even Mayor Deckers Dos
ses and supporters have joined, not doubling 1t
will prove whitewash.
While placing the responsibility squarely on
Governor White for permitting the reign OF ter
ror and demanding the removal of the city adj
rinistration, the International Labor Defense
points out that Barberton workers can rely only
on their own organized strength for satfsfac-
ton Just as the industrial barons of Barber
ton the Chamber of Commerce, the Kiwanis
Club and other bosses agencies have lined up
behind Mayor Decker, the workers rallying
to their own organizations, the Unemployed
Councils are being strengthened and another
big demonstration of protest was scheduled for
July g.
Dominated by the Diamond Match, Soldering
Rubber, Pittsburgh Valve and Columbia Che
n1ical companies, the city Of Barberton, on the
outskirts of Akron has felt the unemployment
If it-
5000 population has long been jobless and
Unemployed Council organizations found fertile
soil SO effective were the organized jobless
in their relief demands, in resisting evictions
and in participating in big demonstrations that
the bosses soon took alarm In a city so directly
controlled by the manufacturers little attention
had to be paid to legal forms. The police just
decided to pick off some of the leaders, and c.
Louis Alexander. an active Negro organizer, was
run out of town without any legal pretext on
February O.
Alexander was not to be so easily disposed of,
however. and the next day he returned TO Bar
rerton committee from the Unemployed
Council visited Mayor Decker at once to protest
and offering to identify the kidnappers. The
Mayor told them to return later, but before they
could dp so--on the night Of February 4, Alex
ander was kidnapped again, this time never to
return Two autos drove up to his boarding
house and police in plain clothes and American
Legion officials seen by the landlady her
daughter-in-la and one of the other boarders
dragging Alexander from his bed and taking
him away. Children have reported since that
they saw police throwing body into lime pit
The capitalist courts have refused to consider
a murder charge against the hdnappers. Fur
Their than this they have noS only acquitted
the police charged with the kidnapping, but
arrested Mrs. Simpson, the landlady, and Mary
Ingol her daughter law, on charges of per-
Jury for identifying the kidnappers Pleasant
Davis, the boarder, who also witnessed the kid
mapping, had learnt enough of capitalist justice
bv this time to escape from town before they
could arrest or kidnap him grand jury in
vest1-Fticn of the whole hideous case is now
being demanded by the International Labor De-
Tense
Following the Alexander kidnapping, Mayor