The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-08-27

somebody else, admits that bottles
and ice which was thrown might well
have come from a big galvanized can
in charge of the UNIV gang on the
truck which was used as platform.
He couldn't say who was making the
big noise, but it drowned out all in
dividual words.
All three first witnesses stated that
the NNTU parade onto the Curry Field
was led by Leo Thompson, Stella
Rasefske. and Negro defendant,
Edgar Jones, except that Burgess
Cooke didn't see Stella.
But then came the stool pigeon
William Martin. He said he saw
both meetings, that Stella was the
first speaker at the NMU meeting
(Which she wasn't) and not content
with following the formula which the
police had worked out for Stella's
speech at Becks Field, Martin said
she said: "Yank Pat Pagan off the
platform, beat him up and kill the
son of bitch and throw him in the
creek"
Then Martin says he ran over to
the UMWA meeting, saw it start, and
saw the Canonsburg miners march
in. He agrees with the others as to
who was leading, but unlike the po-
lice, who say the noise was SO great
that nothing Thompson said could be
heard, though they we're very near
him, Martin, much farther away,
heard Thompson shout three times:
Comrades, let's go get himl" and
wave three times with his megaphone
toward the platform, which was the
signal for all the throwing of missiles
and the fighting. Martin says he saw
Stella Rasefske and her mother, An
ma Rasefske "frothing at the mouth,
jumping up and down, splitting ours
ing and stamping their feet and
again urging that Pagan be killed"
Martin then proceeded to identify
most of the defendants as being at
the Curry field. The police, inciden-
tally, said they saw the Rasefske
mother and daughter, but say not a
word Of the actions Martin mentions.
The police did not see Thompson
throw anything, though they were
watching him, but Martin says he
saw Thompson throw his megaphone
Mt Pagan, miss him and hit a certain
James Malone, Jr.
This Malone, on the stand, under
cross examination, admits he is no
miner, but is employed by the Amer
lean Tin Plate Mill apparently in
the office and that he is nephew
of Phil Murray, of the international
office of the UNIV. He gables his
story. He certainly learned that story
by heart after the Curry field meet
ing, because he was so drunk at the
meeting he couldn't stand straight
and wandered about, choking girls
who were arguing for the National
Miners Union, and being showed away
by them.
The police and the burgess say that
the two crowds became inextricably
mixed, so no one could tell who was
originally in either: Malone and
Martin testify that the NMU was one
solid block, separate from those on
the field first, and that all the bot
ties and bricks were thrown by the
NMU miners. Malone contradicts all
previous speakers by saying that he
heard Stella speaking before the plat
form at Curry field, and what she
said was directed at him personally,
as follows: you are taking the bread
out of my mouth and my mothers
mouth and my kid sisters mouth by
coming to this meeting"
Malone denies throwing anything
or hitting anybody, but admits he
just Swung a chair around a little
to keep from getting hit"
After Malone they put on another
henchman Of the Fagan-Lewis ma
chine, Frank Dowlinger, for II years
an international organizer of the
UMWA. His story followed the line
Of Martin and Malone, but had two
added features. He says he saw the
defendant, Pete Wagner, yelling:
Come on and finish it." and he says
he saw the Negro defendant, Ed
Greene, Tear down the American
flag from the platform and trample
it, But under pressure of the cross
examination, he suddenly changes
this as follows: did I say he tram
pied it2 I didn't mean that. What
he did was to fold It up in ball.
Bowling complained he was hit in
the knee with rock from the audi
ence, but had trouble explaining this
when it was brought out that he was
himself in the audience, not on the
truck.
The second common ordinary non
official stool pigeon was the woman,
Rose Kosta. Before she testified she
spent her time in the court house
trying to pump defense witnesses. Her
testimony In general followed Mar
tins, but she added that when
Thompson threw the trumpet at Fa-
gan, he also yelled, you son of a
bitch, we'll get you yet" All this in
spite of the inability of the police to
hear word Thompson said, though
they were closest to him. She was
just handy liar, who saw and heard
i evarvthinc ever, tho,,oh in,y,oseihle tr