The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-12-07
ABTTCLE Nv.

(EDITORg NOTE: This ID the
tomrth article of series Of four by
John L. Spivak who attended the
Decatur trial Of Haywood Patterson
as special correspondent for the
Daily WoFser.)
THE courts refusal to wait for the
1 deposition of Ruby Bates, seriously
SICK in a New York hospital, was COM
parable only with the attorney gen.
erals deliberate and open coaching OF
Victoria Price on the stand which
every newspaperman in the court
room as well as Judge Callahan saw.
Tt was while Victoria was testify
ing, insisting as she had at the spring
trial that Patterson and the other
Scottsboro boys had raped her.
Throughout her testimony as at the
former Patterson trial Victoria kept
her eyes glued on Knight. Whenever
Leibowitz asked question that she
could not answer she would repeat 1t
after him while waiting for Knight
DO form the answer with his lips.
knight had done the same thing at
the Spring trial but this time it was
more obvious. 1t seems that he did
not care what the rest Of the world
noticed about his coaching the wit
ness.
Victoria Tells Fantastic Tale.
Victoria, in telling her story, drew
vivid picture of the Scottsboro boys
climbing over the side of the gondola,
Patterson with gun in his hand
which he used to clip her forehead
making it bleed.
Gwen state witnesses contradicted
her testimony that she was bleeding
from cuts on her head)
"That there defendant Haywood
Haywood Patterson hit me over my
head with the butt end of the re-
yolver," she intoned in her metallic
voice.
(which end of the gun is the butt
erd?" Leibowitz asked sweetly
Victoria looked at him, startled
light appearing in her eyes. For a
long moment she was completely sill
emit. Then, as though caught, she
uttered q sicSly chuckle, looking at
Knight despairingly. Knights ruddy
smile spread across his features.
Knight Signals Answer to Her.
Suddenly he held his right hand up
over the table and opened and closed
his fingers several times around a
pencil he held in his hand.
THE butt end of the gun is the
part you hold in your hand" Victoria
said in desperation.
Knight sank back in his chair with
q sigh OF relief
Ray Daniel, Allen Raymond of the
n. Y Herald Tribune, Tom Cassidy
of the N. 7. Daily News, who were
sitting at my left, turned to me with
looks Of amaSement on their faces.
did you see him signal to her2"
you bet did"
The Southern newSpapermen kept
their eyes glued to their copy. II
they Saw-and cannot imagine how
they could have missed it-they were
saying nothing about the deliberate
coaching of the witness. Certainly
the jury saw 1t. It was impossible to
have missed 1t if a. man had his eyes
open.
Juust dIGsbltky CEu0StJ ODVlDuS.
Judge Callahan did not say a word.
Throughout the whole trial Gala
hans partiality for the prosecution
was so obvious that it was ludicrous.
What the hell Is he trying to do?"
one Of the Northern newspaper1nen
said at one time, "Is he trying to give
the defense record a thousand times
better than the Horton case for ap-
pealsP"
Decision after decision, ruling after
ruling from the bench, had made
it inevitable for the higher courts to
overrule. This was particularly true
whenever Leibowltz, pressing wit
nesseS for answers and the witnesses
found themselves caught In cleyerly
laid traps, was stopped from continue
ing his questioning.
That's enough now" Callahan
cried repeatedly whenever he saw q
witness about to break down.
Once Leibowitz, goaded to fury by
the Judges deliberate interference
with witnesses answers, protested