The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-04-09

TAE present trial OF Haywood Pat
1 terson at Decatur, Alabama, on
xxamed-up charges, offers one of
re best examples ever shown OF
how Southern justice" functions in
eases involving Negroes. OF course,
ehe present trial is somewhat OF
~ exception, because OF the part
the International Labor Defense Is
playing in it. Il is an exception in
that it has, at least, to put on 8
pretense of being fair" (although
the presiding judge and the pro-
scouting attorney find even this
Dretense q very bitter dose to Swal-
hw).
If the l, L. D. had not taken the
defense completely into its hands
land the hands Of the masses of the
world, who have raised their angry
voices In protest against Alabama's
threatened lynehing), those nine
innocent black boys would have
been left TO the mercies of the law
sliding Walter White and William
PickenS, officials of the National
Association for the Advancement Of
Colored People. They would have
been burned to ashes two years ago,
and today would have been forgot
ten except by class conscious work
ers. (ClaSs conscious workers never
forget capitalist crimes against the
working class Except for the fact
that the T. L. d. is conducting an
actual defense in this particular
osSe, IL would be like all other cases
M the South involving Negroes.
OLD FAMILIAR
FEATURES
What are some OF the old fami-
liar features of Southern trials in-
volving Negroes-the same old fam
liar features that one sees in the
present trial? What are some Of the
Incidents OF the trial at Decatur
that make it precisely like all the
rest Of them, from the time the
Negroes we're freed 10 years ago
right up to this instant?
FIRST OF all, we nave the time
4 worn setting. There IS the mig
HEA 116blAA5 CO4bOA Va b1lC AN'SebA AAC We
paper; he is also the local repre-
sentative of the Associated Press.
e is no accident that the A. P re-
preventative in the South is also
local editor or reporter. 1t is g
veil calculated move on the part
of the Associated Press TO get 80
cal color" into its releases.
fAxr ~ ttrVtInET Of yla
ia that it is always absolutely i'm
partial. The A. P. reporter "has no
opinion Of his own, the "rule"
says. He reports not what he thinks,
but what he sees.
That statement is, of course, not
true. Let anyone who believes it is
true read any Of the A. P. releases
from Scottsboro during the past two
years, or any Of them now, since
the trial has started in Decatur.
A certain amount of skill is need
cd to put over an A. P. story in
am acceptable manner; a certain
amount of understanding Of we'll
known newspaper tricks. t. M, Da-
venport of the Decatur Daily knows
t1fcnC bt4OhSy a1O LAC NSCS bAiSAA W
the advantage Of the State of Ala
bslma, 10 the advantage of the pro-
secution, to the advantage of the
Southern ruling class; he uses them
TO the disadvantage Of the Negroes
in the South in general.
now A CAPITALIST
REPORTER "REPORTs"
For instance, Davenport, the A.
p. representative at Decatur and
editor Of Decatur's daily newspaper,
sent out & story the other day say
Ing that mfr. Leibowitz indicated
he would seek to discredit Mrs.
Prices direct testimony and he and
Attorney General Knight clashed
frequently" According to the A.
p. reporter, Mr.. Knight once said to