The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-12-15
The Terxani Victory
ArHos TER1ANT has been rec.


n The fascist murderer of Anthony Fterro, the
anti-fascist fighter, is stin at large.
These two facts bring out both the strong and
he weak SIDES Of the united front Terrain Defense
Committees work,
securing the release OF Athos Terrain a great
victory This clearly shows what can be accomplished
through united effort 1t should set precedent lead
ing to united action in other cases. and Immediately
in the Scottsboro case The initiative Of the Inter
national Labor Defense in first undertaking this
cessftd united struggle is to be congratulated.
The Terzani case was Of much more than ordinary
significance It arose from the murder OF an anti
fascist worker by fascist Frank Moffer, leader
of the fascist Khaki Shirts according to The testimony
OF another fascist, Samuel Vein This followed,
not by the arrest OF the murderer but by an effort
10 frame up the ant-fascst Terzani, showing right
here the United States the collaboration be-
tween fascist bodies the governmental authorities
characteristic of the Leipzig trial in fascist Germany
Therein lies the great special significance Of the
Terzani case
TITS case was first the struggle to free Terzani.
But inseparably connected witE this basic task
was The fight against fascism ITSELF the thing really
back of Fierro's murder, and the effort to railroad
Terrain to the electric chair This required a de-
termined effort to bring about Tie arrest ana con-
viction of the real murderer and particularly the
utilization Of the trial expose the alliance between
The court the prosecutor and the fascist urderers,
symbolic Of the growth of fascism in the United
states The trial itself should have resulted in great
srousing Of the masses against fascism in America.
This was not done On the contrary, the forced
release of Terzan by the workers united in his defense
is now used to conceal the open efforts the part
Of fascists, prosecutor and court to railroad in
nocent victim to his death and to spirit away the zeal
murderer. It is used to prove cloak Of fairness
for the very capitalist court that tried to frame him.
Let the workers not forget that the murderer Of
Anthony FTerro is still free He could have been
rested Immediately after the murder. The state held
Terzani while Frank AIofTer slipped away Now with
Nofer safe and with the working class aroused they
free Terzani. But Anthony Fierro is dead murdered
by the fasciss. The fascist murderer has gone UNI
punished with the help Of the very court and pro-
eecutor who would now try to appear as fair"
THIS naneuyer OF the 1ascsts and their legal allies
was not exposed. The aim was only to free Ter
zani with the fight to expose the fascist murderers
played down. This due to the non-class charac
ter Of the defense to the predominatng influence of
liberal socialist and anarchist leaders who them
selves interested in retaining illusions in So
called capitais Justice They conducted the struggle
for T1rzans release within the rules of Capitalist
Justice the legal manner prescribed by the capital
lists themselves
To have called the masses who became a part of
The Terzan Defense to the courthouse would have made
them eye witnesses OF The tactics the role and the
character OF capitalist courts. It would have raised
the political level OF those workers who so willingly,
came forward to fight for Terrain. Terzan would have
become Tor them symbol of their struggles and
the struggles Of the working class whole New
recruits would have been gained for the vanguard
the working class struggle Of America.
This is the approach Of working class defense
orgaaisation the question OF the struggle in the
Courts.