The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-08-15

not by a "fren21ed mOD, DuG Dy d
well-organized group intent on the
boys death.
"The announcement of the I. l.. D.
that it would enter the case OF Pip
pen, aroused furious hostility among
the ruling whites" Taub declared.
They terrorlzed the local Negroes;
they called mass meetings Of leading
Negroes of Tuscaloosa and demanded
that they pass resolutions against the
I. L. D. Sheriff r. L. Shamblin re-
fused us permission to see the de-
PENDANTS in Jail, saying that he was
not satisfied that we were the attor-
neyx although we had retainers
signed by all the nearest-of-kin.
Armed Guards At Court
eve arrived at the Tuscaloosa
courthouse on the morning Of the
trial, Aug. 2, at 9 o'clock. There was
an immense crowd in front Of the
courthouse, and the corridors were
damned.
Inside the building, barricading
the entrance to the stairway, was a
high wooden fence. Guarding this
entrance were armed deputies.
when we entered the courtroom,
we found every seat taken. Many OF
the leaders of Alabama's ruling class
were there, among them William
Brandon. formerly governor Of Ala
bama. There were many other Off
Gals, and quite number Of judges
and former judges from other parts
Of Alabama.
Defense Needed Time
Frank Irwin, our co-attorney in
the case, a native Of Birmingham,
rose in court to make the following
statement: that he had been retained
by the defendants in the case; that
he had gone to the Jail in Tuscaloosa
To see the defendants, but was not
allowed to consult with them; that
he had succeeded in seeing only
young Pippen in the jefferson County
Jail in Birmingham; that although
he had written the clerk Of the court
of his retainer in the case, he was
not notified according to legal pro-
cedure of the date OF the trial, but
had to find this out through other
channels; that because he had not
been permitted to see his clients, he
felt himself to be unprepared to pro-
coed at once with the case and there
fore asked a continuance. Irwin
then showed the court the retainers
signed by Dan Pippen, Jr., and by
the nearest-of- Of the other de-
PENDANTS.
"All this time the militia was being
held in readiness half a block away,
and the crowds at the courthouse
door and in the corridors were as
menacing as ever.
"a Sad Duty Indeed"
"At this point John D. Mcqueen, one
of the attorneys appointed by the
court for the defendants, called for
a recess. The five defense lawyers
appointed by Judge Henry B. Foster,
the lawyers for the prosecution and
the judge himself, all retired for con-
sultation.
when they came back, Mcqueen
arose and spoke words that had a
startling resemblance to the words of
Stephen Roddy, Ku Klux Khan law
yer appointed to defend the Scots
boro boys at their first trial. This
Is a sad duty, indeed" said Mcqueen.
Defending these men is not some
thing that I would have wished for
myself. We are here just to carry
out our duty, and we are here under
direction of this court
"Tlle state then put on the stand
young Dan Pippen and forced from
him a reputation of the retainer he
had signed in jail. Pippen had been
thoroughly beaten in jail, and the
bandages about his head had been
removed only a few days before the
trial.
I. L. ID. Telegram Read
"a telegram was put into the
judges hands. 1t was from william
L. Patterson, secretary of the Inter
national Labor Defense. 1t exposed
in no uncertain terms the frame-up
nature of the charge against the de-
PENDANTS; it denounced the attempts
to terrorize the defendants and to
keep the I. L. D. out Of the case;
1t held the judge responsible for the
safety Of defendants and lawyers,
and it expressed the determination
OF the l. L. D. fight for Negro rights.
when Judge Foster read this tele-
gram, the pretense of fairness
dropped from him like mask. He
clenched his hands and began to
shout. I'll kill the som of bitch who
wrote this telegram. I'll make him
answer for this One Of the deputies
said: You don't have to do it, judge;
wen do it for YOU
THE militia now entered the build
ing. They cleared it of all specta-
tors and all clerks and other workers.
National guardsmen surrounded the
courthouse.
Lawyers Taken Away
I'VE were taken down to the
ground floor, dressed in SLOUGH hats,
our coats we're taken from us. Dis
guised in this way, we passed out of
the building in single file and en-
tered the cars provided by the
guardsmen.
when we got to the Tuscaloosa
station, we found crowd waiting for
us. They shook their fists in our
faces and cursed us. On the train,
we were led into a private compart-
ment, in which we remained through
out the trip.
Thirteen miles out Of Tuscaloosa,
at Cottondale, the train came to a
sudden stop. We found out later
that the airline had been cut to hold
the tTein while lynch crowd
bearded the car. We heard heavy