The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-03-24
Mcnamara, Framed Labor
Leader Begins 23rd Year in Jail
Betrayed by False Friends Clarence Darro ComBers p Leaders,
His Spirit Still UnbrOken

them TO agree to plead guilty. But
they refused. and especially militant
in his refusal, was the -willed
J. B. Mcnamara, the younger Of
the brothers and the real center Of
the case. They insisted that the
fight be carried on to the end. ex-
pressing their willingness to die on
the gallows Il necessary. Then
every conceivable pressure was put
upon the McNamaras. They were
told that they would surely be con-
Wcted and that their conviction
would not only deal q fatal blow
to the trade unions all over the
country, but would also send many
Of their labor union friends to the
gallows with them. And all this
could be avoided If they would
simply change their plea to one Of
guilty. They would then get of
lightly, no one else would be ar
rested, the unions would be saved,
etc. etc. On August 7, 1915. Anton
Johannsen, San Francisco labor
official, closely connected with the
Mcnamara defense. said at Nc
Namara Schmidt Captain defense
meeting, held in the Labor Temple
Of Kansas City. and organized BY
the local Syndicalist League:
THE McNa1aras were led to
believe, and they did believe. that
they and they only would suffer
by plea Of guilty and there
would he no further proSeoEtions
in Los Angeles, that the strike in
Los Angeles would be settled, that
the S-hOur day would be recog-
nized, and that organized labor
would be greeted and met and be
reasoned with by the Merchant
and Manufacturer Association
in Los Angeles"
Lawyers, labor leaders, friends and
relatives pressed upon the Mona
maras to force them to accept the
plan. The prisoners were pleaded
with, argued with, caioled. And
finally they reluctantly yielded.
They changed their pleas to guilty.
OF course, they did not confess or
involve anyone else. Upon the
urgent advice Of all their friends
they barred their heads and took
the blow. Their change of plea
was big tactical error. It de-
moralized the great mass defense
campaign Of the workers. But it
is the height Of injustice to blame
the McNamaras for it. They made
the guilty plea not to save them
selves but upon the solicitation of
their friends and In the firm belief
that is would protect the labor
movement. 1t was mistaken ges-
ture, but the action of brave men
and honest fighters in the class
struggle.
Paved Way for Bosses Drive
on Unions
Then came the avalanche. AS we
have pointed out, the capitalists
used the plea Of guilty with deadly
effect, and the labor takers, the very
ones responsible for this plea.
helped the bosses by their confus-
ing and demoralizing the workers
through their treacherous con-
domination Of the McNamaras. The
employers quickly repudiated their
agreement" The Golden Rule" Of
Steffens never went into effect. War
to the knife was wage6 against the
Los Angeles unions. J. J. McNs-
mara was given 10 years in ieil. and
j. B. Mcnamara sentenced to life
imprisonment. Later on. in 1915. in
further violation of the agreement.
David Captain and Mat Schmidt
were arrested and convicted. the
former serving l0-year sentence
and Schmidt still being in San
Quentin doing his life sentence. As
an aftermath, many other national
and local officials of the Iron Work
ers' Union all over the country were
arrested and railroaded to jail for
long terms.
j, B. McNamara's Imprisonment
has been long and hard one. At
tackled and deserted by labor Of
f1cials, who once called themselves
his friends, and with his motives
nisrepresented and his character
slandered before the workers. Nc
Namara in Jail for life term has
faced a situation that would have
quickly broken the heart of a
weaker man. But not Mcnamara,
the courageous militant Of the Iron
Workers Union He has survived
the ordeal wonderfully. Whoever
knows Mcnamara personally is
struck by the tremendous firmness
and power of the man. He is in
donlitable, the very epitome Of
courage and unbreakable fighting
spirit. Strong in his loyalty to the
workers and in his conviction that
they understood and believed in
him, u. B." has stood like a rock
through all these hard years. Never
a waver has he made and never a
whimper has come from him. He
has asked no quarter either from
the labor takers, the prison officials,
or the state authorities. He repre-
sents the very best fighting qualities
and traditions of the labor move
ment. Such brave fighter is an
inspiration and an honor to the
working class.
Mat Schmidt. the co-prisoner of
Mcnamara, is another real fighter.
One of the militants of the old
Wood workers Union, he has a
long fighting record in the Chicago
labor movement. He was also ac-
tive in anarchist circles. He did
not plead guilty, but he has been,
nonetheless, abandoned and SLAM
dered by the A. F. of L. and So
cialist misleaders. And he. too, has
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