The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-10-24

most for them"
While these conferences were GO
ing on with the mothers of the
Scottsboro boys, the state and
prison authorities were bringing the
| greatest pressure against the boys
to get them to line up with Leibo-
witz and his supporters in New
York. The prison officials gave the
boys all sorts Of papers saying the
! Communists, l. L. D. and Interna-
/ tional Workers Order representa-
tiyes were being locked up in At
lanta; showing the police drive
against the reds in Alabama and
Georgia. They told the boys so
long as such people as these had
charge Of their defense they were
sure to burn in the electric chair,
while if they took Leibowitz and
his hackers they would get out.
What Boys Said
Mr.. Ida Norris and myself arrived
at Kilby Prison Saturday a week
ago." said Davis. I'VE Immediately
went in to see the boys, Haywood
Patterson and Clarence Norris, and
asked them whether they knew the
seriousness of the step they had
taken in signing with Leibowitz.
They said this impression was
very vague in their minds; they had
an idea that Leibowitz was still with
the I. L. D. They had a sort OF
hero worship for him because of his
tricks and antics in the Decatur
court rooms, and felt that it would
be quite necessary for them to sign
these papers for Leibowitz in order
to keep him in the case.
Then I asked them whether or
not they still wanted the I. L. d.
They said certainly they did want
the LID, because it had saved their
lives for three and half years or
more, and it came to them at time
when they were unable to help
themselves.
Il asked them, were they willing
to sign back to the I. L. D. their
complete defense and leave to the
I. L. D. the question of getting law
yers for thheir case in the Supreme
Court of the United State, and they
said they were. 1 tod them that the
same man who had been used by
the I. L. D. in the Supreme Court,
Mr.. Pollak, was going to argue their
case and we had already retained
him. They were very glad to know
this. I explained to them also how
Mr.. Pollak was used before Leibow-
itz was even considered by the LID.
to come into the case, and that the
I. L. D. with its mass defense, and
using Pollak as a lawyer, had been
able to get a reversal on their cases,
so they signed up with the I. L. D."
After detailing the intricate web
of plotting, promises, threats, and
almost unbelievable intrigue re-
sorted to by Leibowitz and the Ala
bama lynch authorities against the
Scottsboro boys, buried in their
prison, away from all contact with
their friends and defenders, Davis
said:
Il think it is very important here
/ to note the fake arguments used by
4 Leibowitz, and all Of the lies. The
matter first. started by Leibowitz $
secretary. Terry, and an assistant
named Raymond Reilly, an attorney
and two Negro ministers going down
/ to Kilby first and signing up those
boys, and then coming around by
Birmingham and getting the con-
sent Of those boys to go over with
Leibowitz. The boys did not sign;
they just got the consent of these
boys. Then they came back to Chat
tanooga to see the mothers, and
there a conference was arranged
between Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Patter-
son, Terry, this attorney Reilly, ano
these Negro ministers.
THE main deceitful arguments
used were: first, the Cohen-Swift
bribery business. Leibowitz saio
that Brodsky had sent Sol Coher
and Swift down to Alabama tx
bride Victoria Price.
The next lying argument usec
was that the appeals in the Ala
bama State Supreme Court has beer
hopelessly bungled by Fraenkel. tina
if Brodsky and Fraenkel had taker
Chamlee's advice this whole thing
would have been avoided
The third vicious, fake srgumen
used, was that the I. L. D. hat
collected hundreds Of thousands o
dollars and had practically not givel
the mothers anything.