The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-02-13
STAR WITNESS
SAYS SHE LIED
The Scottsboro Boys
Still Facing Death
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I. L. D. attorneys succeeded in their
long, stern fight to force the police
to produce this evidence in court.
The letter was ordered produced and
impounded by Judge j. P. Mccoy in
Birmingham, Ala, on motion of Cen
eral George w. Chamlee and Irving
Schwab, two Of the I. L. D. attorneys
in the case. The court, however,
realizing the effect of its publication
on the already furious indignation Of
the toilil.g masses, attempted to block
the efforts of the I. l.. D. attorneys
to secure photosthat copies of the
letter.
Secured Jan. 81
An order for delivery OF photosphat
copies of the letter to the l. L. D.
attorneys was secured on Jan. 81.
The order was procured in the
course of hearing on writ OF
habeaS corpus to secure the release on
bail of 14-year Roy Wright whose
original hearing resulted in a mis-
trial. Roy Wright has been held in
Birmingham County all for nearly
two years, the State refusing either
to release him or bring him to trial.
The writ was denied
Cops Forced Fake Testimony
The letter, categorically denying
practically every point in the fabric
of lies erected by the prosecution, and
charging the police with forcing her
to give false testimony, states clearly
that the boys did not touch either
the writer or the white boys on the
same freight train. The latter was
written to sweetheart, Earl Street
man, with the obvious purpose OF
clearing herself in his eyes of the
imputations Of her court testimony.
What Happened at Paint Rock
The Scottsboro boys were taken off
a freight train at Paint Rock, Ala.
on March IS, 1881 by a sheriffs
posse. They were unemployed and
were travelling to Memphis in search
of work. The first charge against
them was OF fighting with and whip
ping group of white youths travel
ling on the same train. The lynch
bosses consider 1t crime for Negroes
to defend themselves. In this case
the crime was all the more "heinous
because the Negroes whipped the
white group. 1t was subsequently
shown that while a fight did occur
on the train it was between the white
youths and another group of Ne
groes, and that none Of the Scots
boro boys were involved. The Negro
youths involved in the fight had
dropped off the train before it
reached Paint Rock,
Frame-up Starts
The charges were changed to
rape" when it was discovered that
two of the group of white boys" were
girls dressed in overalls. The auth
critics at once sensed the makingS OF
nice lynch frame-up and the OPP
portunity to throw nine charred, tor
tured bodies of Negro children into
the face Of the Negro masses as a
warning to quietly accept the growing
oppression and starvation. Trial Of
the boys was deliberately set for
"horse swapping" day in the little
town of Scottsboro. The boys were
rushed to trial without being given
any opportunity to communicate
with their families or to arrange de-
tense. Thousands of people poured
into the town from the backward
hill sections and adjoining states. The
local newspaper, the Jackson County
Sentinel and the mill bosses joined
in whipping up the proper lynch
spirit. Cheap booze was passed out
freely. The mill bosses furnished
brass band which hailed the first
lynch verdicts with the strains OF
Happy Days Are Again The mi
litia was called out, ostensibly to
protect" the boys, but in reality to
further dramatize the lynch spirit.
Inside of 70 hours, lynch verdiets
were handed out to eight OF the nine
boys. In the case Of the ninth boy,
Roy Wright, there was mistrial.
!. l.. ID. Enters Case
The International Labor Defense,
backed by the toiling white and Negro
masses, entered the cases. The lynch
verdicts were appealed. The Ala
bama Supreme Court upheld the
lynch verdicts against seven of the
boys but was forced to reverse the
verdict against Eugene Williams.
Chief Justice Anderson, in a dis
scuting statement, admitted that the
boys had not had fair trial. The
thunder f mass protests against the
lynch verdicts forced the U. s. SUI
preme Court to review the sentences,
foilwing the filing of an appeal by
the I. L. D. attorneys. The u. S. Su-
preme Court ordered new trials for
the boys, but sent them back to the
court which had originally carried