The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-11-29
By JAMES GILBERT

/ trolled court room was again turned
into workers forum last week.
Dick DeJonge, found guilty in Port
land, Ore, of criminal syndicalism,
used the witness box not only to
attack the capitalist class which
was trying to railroad him to jail,
but to present to the massed work
erS the Communist platform and to
expose the class justice workers get
in the courts. This is the second
conviction in these cases, Don
Cluster, young Y. C. L. organizer
being the first.
Carrying on the tradition of self
defense Of which Dimitroff and
Herndon are examples, DeJonge
brilliantly exposed the subterfuges
and lies Of the prosecutor. At
tackled for not having called for
police protection, he exposed this
fakery by showing that it was the
police themselves who had raided
and broken up the meeting.
The courtroom was packed with
workers wearing red badges with
the inscription Free Dirk DeJonge"
on them, massing inside the open
doors of the courtroom. The pros
ecutor busted off all the old lies
that have been used against Com
munists that they advocate vio-
lence, that they are only looking
for martyrdom, that all they do is
to make soap-box speeches on
every occasion.
But one by one, calmly and
clearly. DeJonge took up these
lies and showed how false they are.
The Communists oppose force and
violence" he declared. Should 1
advocate violence, I would be ex-
PEELED from the Communist Party
as an agent provocateur. He
blamed the ruling class with the
responsibility for violence, accusing
it of trying to keep the workers in
subjugation by such methods. Did
you ever hear of group of workers
attacking the police?" he demanded.
1.-THE reason that our meetings
are being broken up is that the
ruling class wishes to break the
Communist Party" he charged.
THE reason that Dirk DeJonge Is
on trial is because he is member
of the Communist Party that the
ruling class wishes to break. The
Communist Party would have been
on the ballot this year had 1t not
been for the vicious attacks upon
the workers soliciting petitions to
put the Party on the ballot"
Not Out for MartyrdOm
The corrupt A. F. of L. Official
dom fulfilled its usual role, in this
case, of assisting the police. One
of the officials, Mr.. Osborn (three
testified for the state), accused the
Communist Party of faVoring the
criminal syndicalism laws because
such laws helped make martyrs out
Of the Communists. But DeJonge
exposed this for the lie it is. This
is ridiculous" he stated. IF we
wanted to go to jail We would just
march up to the gate Of the peni-
Tertiary of Salem and say Here we
are. Lock us up We want to go
to prison No, we do not believe in
marytrdorn. We don't want to be
in prison. But at times we have to
submit to such prosecutions"
The capitalist press of Portland,
by lying and SANDER. tried to preju-
dice the case in advance against
this militant worker But DeJonge
successfully showed the workers in
the courtroom how these news
papers distort acts against the
| workers.
"You undoubtedly read il the
local capitalist press that Dirk De-
Jonge was to give the jury soap
box speech today. When worker
makes a speech, it is a soap box
speech When Mr.. Doyle and Mr..
Cohen make a speech to you, thai
is an address. That is the way in
which the capitalist class ISLANDERS
| the working class. If this speech
to you is termed by them soap
! box speech, nevertheless l shall not
have been ashamed for having
made this speech"
Doyle and Cohen we're special
prosecutors called in by the cap
italists to make sure that DeJonge
would be railroaded to Jail because
of his militancy.
Reads Communist Party Platform
The platform of the Communist
Party in the recent elections was
placed squarely before the workers
by DeJonge, who took copy from
his pocket, and, point by point, dis
cussed it's various demands. He
explained the difference between
the Communist Party and the
trade unions, and the role of the
/