The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-12-26
Retuting Some
SANDERS Made
Against LID.
BY W. L. PATTERSON.

through its splendid leadership in
the struggle for the Scottsboro boys,
T ON Mooney, Imperial Valley,
Opeck, Orloff and all class war pris-
onerS grows simultaneously with
the increasing nlilitancy of the
workers throughout America. These
facts force the ruling elias to call
more insistently upon its agencies
within the working class for sup
port.
A flood of scurrilous lies-jets
from every anti-working class news
paper including the I.W.W., the So
cialist, Music, the NAACP, about
past activities of the LID. Their
attack upon its methods in the
Scottsboro case having failed, they
now seek Historically for some 9TH
er issue on which they may serve
their masters
Their line now is that the LID
has been collecting money for the
defense Of miners, (Harlan, KY
which "it has not RENTED" and
the LID is IAN organization con-
trolled by thieves and racketeers."
Q.W.W. Workers Defense, october
1882 Then, the IW.W. paper,
the Industrial Worker" October
4, 1882 writes, "The LID was the
chief factor in causing the men
to accept the lighter sentence rather
than stand trial on the murder
charge" w. B. Jones, who has never
spoken with an LID representative
concerning our policies, and whose
ideas are cleaned only from the 1
WV, is supposed to have written
in the I.W.W. Workers Defense
November 1882, ct was this bunch
of Communist rascalS that caused
my conviction"
The Socialist New Leader" and
the Labor Age" of the Rev. A. j.
Music have grabbed these morsels
as a scavenger would carrion.
THE FACTS
Now, what are the facts? In
July, 1881 the LID called for the
formation of Harlan Miners De-
Tense Committee to include priS-
oners, local miners, representation
from the American Civil Liberties
Union, General Defense Committee
of the I.W.W. thereafter referred
to as the G.DC0 and the Interna-
tional Labor Defense. The I.W.W.
Sabotaged; the Defense Committee
did not materialize. In August,
1881, when the cases were coming
up for trial Richard Bowling,
Well-lnoWn Louisiana labor lawyer,
at the request Of the LID, offered
his services for the defense of the
miners. The G.D.C. unanswered
so that his offer was rejected On
Sept. s, 1881 Herbert Mailer, I.W.W.
representative said, There was no
possibility for making any arrange
ments for joint defense in the
murder trials" Later another at
tempt made by the American Civil
Liberties Union to form a united
defense fell through solely because
of the attitude of the I.WW. Even
the ACLU officials attest TO these
facts.
The LID is an organization of
class struggle. It has always adj
vocated legal action as a support
to mass pressure. The G.D.C. pur-
sues a policy of legalism denying
the necessity of mass protest. 1t
continues to speak of the framed
up victims not as class war pris-
oners which they are, but as "mur-
INfn &c +,,I =
the attorney of the United Mine
Workers, Ex-senator j. M. Robert
son, a xxx. leader in Kentucky
and this in spite of the fact that
four Of the miners it was defend
ing we're Negroes.
The GD.C. assumed full respon-
Sibility for handling the cases of
these framed-up miners. There
were life sentences for w. B. Jones,
VIM. HightoWer, VIM. Hudson, Ellie
Phillips, Chester Poore, and others.
Long Jail terms for others. Ex-
Senator Robertson was in the fore
front of the w. B. Jones trial, yet
Jones said, Communist rascals
caused his conviction" 1t was the
policy OF the G.DC. which was car
ried out in these trials. No mass
action was permitted. How then
can the LID be held responsible?
THE LID has collected no money
Il for these murder" cases. 1t was
not a part of the defense. The
LID has never once issued an ap-
peal for funds in the name of the
workers whom the GD.C. was ode
Tending" The lid is defending
many miners against the charge of
criminal syndicalism and appeals
have been issued in their behalf.
Even a cursory. examination of back
numbers of the Labor Defender
would have brought out these facts
to anyone honestly interested.
The November, 1881 Labor De-
tender published financial
statement, verified by eerti-
fled public accountant, of what
Il has collected for the Harlan
defense. 1881 we're received
S2,572 expended. In addition the
LID paid out 5000 for the relief
OF the Kentucky prisoners and
their dependents.
At the Kentucky Miners Relief
and Defense Conference, held at
the Labor Temple, Dec. /, 1882,
it was admitted that the G.D.C.
had collected ten thousand dollars
I'D to January 1892 for the defense
of the Kentucky miners. This sum
has not been accounted for in an
itemized statement because lack
Of facilities at that time" made tbs
impossible, it was stated there.
The so-called Workers Defense"
October, 1892 alleges that the LID
lis endeavoring to steal more funds