davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-04-22
1916

The United States was feyerishly
preparing to Join the imp9rialist
slaughter in order to protect bankers
investments in allied countries. Or
ganized labor in San Francisco, led
by Tom Mooney and other mihtantS,
refused to join the Preparedness Pa
rade arranged by the Law and Order
league" The Power Trust was out
to get" Tom Mooney because, early
in July. ne had led the car workers
strike and had been active in other
strikes. The bankers were trying to
make San Francisco an oDen-shop
town.
July 90. The day OF the Prepared
ness Parade, when a bomb exploded
at Steuart and Market SITS, killing
ten people. The same day Martin
Swanson, undercoYer Pinkerton agent
for the Power Trust, whose men had
been shadowing Mooney for weeks,
takes charge Of the District Attorneys
office.
Photographs taken during parade,
at almost exact time Of explosion,
show Mooney and his wife on roof
Of building a mile away,
July 1921. Mooney, his wife, War
rem Billings, Weinberg, and Ed Nolan
are arrested, held incommunicado,
their homes searched without war
rants; clues leading in other direc-
ton are discarded, and a yenerlous
campaign against Mooney started in
the yellow capitalist press Of the Pa
cific Coast, based on lynch-inciting
statements issued by Chas. M. Flick
ert, prosecuting attorney and tool OF
the bankers.
September %. Billings tried and
convicted with aid of perjured tes-
timony by Estelle Smith, dope-fiend
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-04-22
By H. NJ. WICKs.

The Socialist Party leadership is
writing another deSpicable chapter in
its long record of treachery and in
fanny by it's attempts to split and dis
rupt the united front movement in
behalf of the fight to free Tom Moo
ney.
In the preparations for the monster
Free Tom Mooney Congress, to be
held in Chicago beginning April 80
and ending May the official ma
chinery of the Socialist Party is work.
ing overtime to disrupt the move
ment.
The Mooney Molders Defense Com
nlittee, under the direction of Moo
ney himself initiated the Cong ess
with a plea from his prison cell to
all organizations to unite behind it
for mass struggle to compel his re-
lease.
Naturally, as the revolutionary
vanguard OF the working class, the
Communist Party, enthusiastically
rallied to the support of the proposal
and modified all its members to
strive for broadest possible support.
Socialist Party Sabotage.
No sooner had the announcement
of the call been made to all working
class organizations than the Soci-
alist Party leadership went into &C
zion to try to head off or stifle the
movement.
Julius Gerber, the executive secre-
tary of the Socialist Party of New
York City, sent to all its branches
letter attacking the Defense Commit
tee and referring to it as the "so-cal-
led Mooney Molders' Defense Com
mittee". He went on to lyingly state
that the committee is dominated by
the Communist Party and concluded
with a plea not to participate in the
conferences arranged under the De-
tense Committee auspices.
Descriptive Activity In San Francisco,
In San Francisco, the home of Tom
Mooney, the place where he was
framed up in 1916, the Socialist Party
leadership and other groups support
ing it, carried out wrecking activities
that for downright scoundrellism have
no parallel in the history of planned
treachery to the working class.
A management committee, inciud-
ing Communists, Socialists, Proletar-
ian Party members, League for In
dustrial Democracy, init. Labor De-
Tense, trade unions, etc, was set up.
At the first meeting the Socialist
leaders, supported by certain other
groups, proposed that all parades be
banned. This was defeated. Then
these same elements proposed that
no signs or banners be carried in
the parades, and that all organiza-
lions participating conceal their iden-
tity. When this proposal to hide the
fact that there was united front
was turned down, they demanded
that committee be appointed to
censor all banners. This was also
voted down.
Finally, certain definite rules were
adopted binding all organizations tax
ing part in parades as follows: "a
No signs attacking any of the par
ticipating organizations or its mem
berS; 90 NO signs soliciting votes or
members for any party or organiza-
ton; go Only Tom Mooney Mold
efs' Defense Committee literature to
be sold at the meetings; a. The pa
rade to be headed by a big banner
with the following inscription: "Only
q United Front Of all working class
organizations viii free Tom Mooney"
go All organizations taking part in
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-04-22

fornia keep Tom Mooney behind pris-
on bars.
In the most systematic fashion this
disruptive campaign was carried on.
They attacked the conference where
they could get hearing. They called
upon all delegates to withdraw from
the conference by telling them the
most atrocious lies about the Mold
ers' Defense Committee. They tried
to persuade organizations, particu-
larly trade unions, TO withdraw their
delegates. They even asked the CAPT
talist newspaper reporters and the
management of the papers not to
give any publicity to the meeting.
vile Stool Pigeon Tactics
They even went to such an extent
as to try to intimidate the radio sta
ton that was to broadcast the meet
ing by having several Of their men,
,berS. call up the management and de-
mand that he stop Immediately "this
rotten broadcast" or they would re-
port it to the Federal Radio Com
mission and have the broadcasting
license revoked.
But those tactics did not succeed.
There were more than 80 organiza-
tions represented at the San Francisco
United Front Conference. After all
this infamous work, which was di-
rected by the Socialist Party lead
ership, with the Proletalian Party
outfit acting as their chief aides, they
only succeeded in withdrawing their
own delegates and those of the
League for Industrial Democracy, a
Socialist Party organization; the
Berkely branch of the Society of
Friends influenced by the notorious
Berkely leadership of the Socialist
Party; the Liberty Party and some
thing that calls itself the knights
Of Civilization" The only unions. four
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-04-22

and prostitute, and John Macdonald,
synthetic underworld character.
1917
February 8. Mooney tried and con-
voted. Since Macdonald had to
change his testimony and Estelle
Smiths perjury was obvious, Fickert
trotted out a new witness, F. c. Ok
man, honest cattleman OF Oregon"
who testified to seeing Mooney place
the bomb.
February "a. Moneys appeal de-
ned, he is sentenced to hang.
April 6. Ed Rigall, friend Of Ok
mans appears in San Francisco with
letters proving OXman's perjury.
Frame-u begins to collapse.
April rs. Workers in Petrograd,
under leadership of Lenin, demon
strate before American embassy.
Worldwide protest Of workers follows.
San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
publishes huge advertisements calling
ON all good citizens" to stand by
prosecution.
September 20. President Wilson,
forced by mass protest, and hoping
thereby to keep Russia in the trench
es on the side Of the Allies, appoints
q Mediation Commission to investi-
gate Mooney case.
1918
March /. California Supre
Court refuses Mooney a new trial.
June-July. The Densnlore Report,
of the U. S. Department Of Labor,
based on conversations heard over
dictaphone planted in Fickert's office,
proves that Mooney was framed, and
that Frank Drew, attorney for the
Chamber OF Commerce, and Fred W,
Hsnshaw, Of the California Supreme
Court, help direct frame-up.
September Is. q. s. Supreme
Court refuses to review Mooney case.
November 80. Governor Stephens,
~ request Of Wilson who Is alarmed
By international protest, commutes
sentence to life imprisonment. He
denies Mooney a pardon.
1919
Tnne 10. Top leadership Of Amer
lean Federation of Labor tries to
stem workers anger against Mooney
verdict. A. F, OF L. leaders at Allan
tic City refuse to endorse general
strike as protest.
National Mooney Congress in Chi
cago. with delegates from A. F. Of L.
locals.
1920
December 10. Detective Draper
Hand, in Fremont Older's office, tells
complete story of Fickert frame-up,
in presence OF Mayor James Rolph,
Jr., now governor of California. Rolph
turns and rushes out of office without
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-04-22

cialist Party charges that the Moo
ney Congress is Communicated thus
attempting to scare workers away
by dragging a red herring across the
trail. The leadership of the So
cialist Party has gone to the extent
of instructing its membership not to
elect delegates and not to have any
thing to do with the Congress
United Front of Workers Despite
Strike Breaking Leadership.
While the leadership Of the A. r.
of l.. and the Socialist Party con-
cistently sabotage the unity of the
workers in this struggle, the rank
and file is responding to the call.
In Philadelphia, Detroit and other
places, the local S. P. is participating
IN this united front. In San fran
cisco, 81 A. F. of l.. unions have
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-04-22

fact that throughout the proSecu-
ton of Mooney and Billings, Mrs.
Mooney and Weinberg, Fickert, was
constantly consulting California
Supreme Court Justice F. G. Hen
shaw, well known as the tool Of
the public utilities corporations and
bankers. 1t hides the fact that this
corrupt judge Henshaw was forced
to resign by MONEYS defenders.
WTFIY did Swanson want to get"
Mooney and Billings, il not
because his employers paid him to
do so?
Why was Swanson loaned by
these utility corporations to
District Attorney Fickert as soon as
the Preparedness Day bomb ex-
ploded in 1916? (Only half Of the
story Of the Mooney Billings
fralne-up has been told, say some
who know, or have strong reason
to suspect, that the Preparedness
Day horror itself was planned by
Swanson and his employers to en-
sure the frame-up Of these work
ers)
Why, il Swanson was personally
responsible for the prosecution of
Mooney and Billings, is there still
such terrific opposition to their re-
lease? Swanson Is dead. The
frame-up has long been acknowl-
edged an established fact. All sur
viving jurors OF the Mooney trial
have asked for pardon. Why are
the men still imprisoned, if not
because the capitalists framed them
and fear to release them?
Why do the Wickershammer
now try TO hide the gross frame
Up of Mooney and Billings, II not
to protect the capitalist trainers?
Why was the report officially
suppressed in 1881 if not because
Hoover and his power trust and
banker friends feared the rising
wrath Of the American masses?
Mooney says the trainers ''be-
heve that, since 1 am the symbol
Of militant labor, my pardon might
arouse the workers and give them
an insight into their power. :"
without the workers persistent
and ever stronger protest, Mooney
would have been dead long ago.
Without militant mass protest,
there would be no Wickersham re-
port, no Wilson Mediation Com
mission report, no Densynore re-
port on Mooney, and no second
trial. Lenin reused the workers of
Petrograd to march on the Amer
lean Embassy in 1917 and started
action which saved Moneys life
and made his frame-up world
famed
Workers protest must grow ever
greater, into such an insistent roar
that the prison gates will swing
open for Mooney and Billings, the
Scottsboro boys, and all other class
war prisoners in the United States.
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-04-22

with the policy outlined by Mooney
in his United Front letter. The
Communist Party and the 1. l.. D.
play a most active role in this cam
paign by involving their entire
membership in this work for popular
izing the Congress.
1t is possible that Mooney may be
convicted at this trial. We must re-
member we are dealing with class
justice (witness the Scottsboro YER
dict, the most recent and Grass eX-
ample). However, having undeniable
proof of the perjuries and frame-up
Of the State, and backed by mil
lion-voiced protest, we can compel
an acquittal.
An acquittal would amount TO Off
cial acknowledgment Of Mooney S
and Billings innocence. 1t will not
automatically free them, since the
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-04-22

first conviction will still stand.
The important point here is that
the governor who denied Moneys
pardon applications and the Supreme
Court which refused a review Of the
case, all hid behind the excuse that
there was mo new evidence" in the
court records. Proof of the perjur-
les committed in the first trial exist
outside of the court records since
they have been uncovered after the
first trial. The present trial would
place this evidence on the court re-
cords officially.
Should the governor then refuse to
pardon Mooney, this would most
clearly demonstrate the class nature
Of capitalist justice and its frame-up
system, for Mooney would then be
held in prison though officially pro-
ven innocent. This would make 1t
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-04-22

result OF which Mooney and Billings
have already served nearly II years
in prison.
Mass pressure forced the authori-
ties to grant this trial. The order
came during the campaign for the
Free Tom Mooney Congress in Chi
cago from April 80 to May 2.
Dealing With Glass Justice.
About so united front Free Tom
Mooney mass meetings and confer
ences are being held throughout the
country in preparation for the Con-
gress, which shall be the greatest
gathering Of its kind in America.
The entire campaign is under the
direction of Tom Mooney and his
Molders Defense Committee, which
draws into a united struggle all or
CARNATIONS willing TO fight for free
dom for Tom Mooney in accordance
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-04-22

court and expose the monstrous
frame-up.
The fight for Moneys freedom
must be strengthened, by broaden
ing and deepening the united front.
To involve the broadest masses, we
must connect this struggle with the
struggles Of the masses for bread,
for Unemployment Insure ice and
against wage cuts and especially with
the already historic Scottsbo1o case
which is daily being raised to ever
higher political levels, with the
struggle for the freedom Of all class
war prisoners and against imperial
list war. This, Tom Mooney pro-
vides for in his Congress Call when
he states that the Congress will
connect my struggle with every
struggle of the workers
At this critical moment, the So
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-04-22

possible for us to mobilize tenfold
more powerful mass movement for
the freedom OF Tom Mooney, and
to build up on a basis of local strug-
giles connected with the fight to free
Mooney, struggles in the shops and
among the unemployed leading up
to mass general strike.
See Crisis Near.
That a crisis is rapidly approach
ing in the Mooney Billings case is
clearly indicated among other things
by the ever-mounting protest on the
one hand and on the other hand by
the attempts of the authorities to
hold Mooney incommunicado from
the outside world in an effort to stop
Mooney propaganda" and to pre-
vent the scheduled trial from taking
place. They want to crush forever
MONEYS chance to step into the
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-04-22
Hold Send Off for
Mooney Delegates

PITTSBURGH, Pa. April ia
mass send-off for the delegates to the
Free Tom Mooney Congress In Chi
cago will be held here at 1880 p. IA,
Tuesday, April IS, in the auditorium
Of the Fifth Avenue High School, it
was announced today. Among the
speakers will be Jack Jol1nstone, who
organized the first Tom Mooney De-
Tense Committee at the time of Moo
ney's arrest, and Attorney jacob Mar
COLES.
This, meeting will folloWra confer
ence OF delegates to the local united
front Sunday, April % at 3 D. m. in
Walton Hall, 220 Stanwix st.
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-04-22
BY. ]. Nj.

BY. j. NJ.
After II years of constant defense
battle, Tom Mooney has won an
other trial
This is one of the most important
victories in the history of the case.
The trial, beginning on April 26, will
be based on the only indictment re-
naming against him from the frame
up in 1916. 1t charges murder in
the first degree" and conviction car
ries death penalty.
Why then, does Mooney want to be
tried on this Indictment? And why
does the district attorney not want
TO try the case, but is instead desper-
ateIy attempting TO prevent the trial?
The answer is that this trial will
expose in open court the atrocious
frsme-up perpetrated in 1916. as a
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-04-22

joined So has the entire Alameda
Building Trades Council to which
ere affiliated 20 unions. lfs
Through such a united front. the
workers can be weaned away from
refoTmist and reactionary leaders of
the A. F. Of L. and the S. P, and
for revolutionary struggle. 81.
How will the freedom Of Mooney
affect BillingsP The two cases are
inseparable. There was only one
explosion, and Mooney and Billings
we're both framed for the, one ex.
plosion. Freedom for Mooney mean,
freedom for Billings.
Build the Free Tom Mooney Con.
g=ess!
For the unconditional release Of
Mocneyi ee
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-04-22

the parade were to draw for position.
go The dominant note Of all banners
must be Free Tom Mooney" but
not exclusively.
Refuse United Front Action
After participating in all the dis
cussion up to that point, and insist
ing upon one compromise after an
other, these elements withdrew and
began a campaign of disruption, Will
fication and provocation that could
have but one objectiye-to disrupt
the United Front and help Governor
Rolph and the frame-up gang in Cali
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-04-22
By ESTHER LOWELL

IN dead corporation detective,
" the Wickersham subcommittee
which reported on the Mooney Bill
ings cases would like to leave re-
sponsibility for the frame-up of
these militant working class fight
ers.
On q dead corporation detective,
instead OF on the San Francisco
Chamber of Commerce, California
Merchants and Manufacturers
Association, public utilities corpo-
= rationS, dominant banks and
American Federation of Labor bU-
reaucracy. On dead Martin Swan
son, instead Of on such men as
Herbert Fleischacker, Jesse Lilien-
thai. Frederick j. Roster, John
O'Connel and Paul Scharrenberg!
On an obscure individual instead
Of on the whole capitalist class!
Once again come the liberals
with great ballyhoo about the pub
lication OF this officially suppressed
Wickersham report, trying to iso-
late one frame-up from the rest,
to make it an exceptional case. AS
though the frame-up system were
not in daily use throughout the
country, throughout the capitalist
world AS though frame-ups of
militant working class fighters
were not steadily increasing as the
world crisis becomes more and
more acute, with the world enter
ing a period Of @gr and revolu-
tion-the beginning of the end Of
capitalism everywhere.
TO HEAD OFF MASS ACTION
The whole manner of publication
of this report reveals its purpose,
says William L. Patterson, general
secretary of the International La
Dor Defense. Tho tone Of the pub
LEFTY it has received, especially in
the commentators from we'll
known liberals indicates that it
is designed to create illusions in
the minds of the workers, to. make
them think that now Mooney and
Billings will go free, without mass
mobilization on their behalf
"Only militant mass action will
free us!" Over and ove- Tom Moo
ney has cried this from his cell in
San Quentin, during Is years i'm
prisonment. only militant mass
action will free us!" cry hundreds
of thousands of class war prison
ers the capitalist world over.
1T is this militant mass action
i which the liberal sponsors of the
Wickerslarl Mooney Billings re-
port want to head of. True, the
report dencunces the "unfairness"
of the prosecution throughout the
cases, from before the trials to
this very day. 1t notes that the
prosecutors did not try to find the
real Preparedness Day bombers, as
even today they are ignoring the
confession of Paul Callicotte. 1t
points out fragrant violation OF
California law by the prosecutors.
1t calls attention to the false pre-
judicial, red-baiting stories given
the press by the prosecutors, 10 the
use of false witnesses, to the coach
ing of them in their perjury. But
this is all old stuff to workers who
have followed the cases. 1t is old
stuff to workers who are familiar
With the workings of the frame
up system in any capitalist coun-
try.
TIL GET YOU YETI"
Even the Wickershan report dis
proves its own finding that the
prosecution of Mooney and Bill
lngs was due only to the dead cor
poration detective. 1t tells how
Martin Swanson, a Pinkerton agent
in 1918, became a detective for
California public utilities corpora
tons in 1914. Swanson's employers
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-04-22
"T0m Mooney Ball"
to Be Given Apr. rs
i'm San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO, Calf, April 81.
james Csgney, famous Hollywood
movie star and Mother" Mary
Mooney will lead the grand march at
the Tom Mooney Cabaret ban - ..
36, at the San Francisco civic A'-'-
torium. The bill is being sponsored
by the United Front Mooney con-
ference, which met at Equality Hall,
l41 Albion Street, April Is.
Other features at the ball are Max
Dolin, concert violinist; the K. F. w.
L. stars; the Downey sisters; George
Eldridge and Martin Friberg. Cyrus
Trobs and an orchestra of thirty
pieces will provide music.
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-04-22
PAINTERS ENDORSE CONGRESS

NEW YORK Endorsement of the
Free Tom Mooney Congress, and in
structions to the union delegates TO
spare no effort in the furtherance
of the struggle for the unconditional
release of Tom Mooney and all class
war prisoners, was voted at the third
plenum of the Alteration Painters,
Decorators, and Paperhangers Un-
ion Of Greater New York, today.
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-04-22
Wickersham
Report to SAGE Face of
Banker Frame>Ub Crew

included Pacific Gas q Electric,
San Joaquin Light g. Power, Pacif-
ic Telephone Co., Western States
Gas & Electric, Sierra & San
Francisco Power Co. Swanson's eff
forts to get" Mooney for his part
in organizing workers Of these COM
panies and for organizing strike
Of streetcar men on United Rail
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-04-22

roads of San Francisco are briefly
told. Swanson's unsuccessful at
tempts to bride Israel Weinberg
and Billings to help frame Moo
ney just before the Preparedness
Day explosion are also related.
Weinberg was told by Swanson:
IN get you yeti" and was in fact
ja"ed with Mooney and Billings.
Swanson's employment by Dis
t;;ct Attorney Fickert, on the very
night OF the explosion, to have
charge of the bomb prosecutions, is
mentioned. Indeed, the Wicker
sham subcommittee remarks that
the mere coincidence in time be-
tween Swanson's entry into the
bomb cases and the arrests Of the
defendants is almost sufficient to
raise the inference that Swanson
used his connection with the Dis
trict Attorneys office to cause
their arrest"
But the misleading report makers
finally conclude:
Swanson is dead. 1t can never
be known what his motive was.
Mooney was troublesome
factor in the public utilities labor
situation in San Francisco, and it
was to the advantage Of these cor
porations to get rid of him; but 1t
is abhorrent to attribute Swanson's
conduct to orders from responsible
corporation officials wishing to
get Mooney. Emphasis mine
e. Ii The most convincing n.y.
pothesis is that Swanson saw .
chance in the bona cases to pay
off old private scores, and at the
same time to enhance his pres
tige by convicting men who were
obnoxious to his employers
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-04-22
ONLY HALF
FRAME-UP TOLD

This conclusion entirely disre-
cards the fact that some of these
responsible corporation officials"
previously had been under indict-
ment for bribing public officials;
that district attorney Charles Flick
ert had been put in office to qussh
these indictments. 1t ignores the
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-04-22

and prostitute, and John Macdonald,
Eyphiletic underworld character.
1917