The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-11-15
DELEGATION
SEES ONLY
SECRETARY
president Could Stop
Executions,' Mrs.
Norris Declares
BY Seymour Waldman
DAILY Worker washington Bureau)

WASHINGTON, D. c., Nov. IA
With tears in her eyes but with a
firm voice, Mrs Ida Norris, mother
of Clarence, one of the two Scots
boro boys sentenced to die on Dec. 7,
told Marvin Mcintyre, secretary to
President Roosevelt, that the Pres
ident could put stop to the exc
cutions and all this lynching if he
wanted to-"
President Roosevelt refused to re-
ceive either part or the whole of a
Negro and white Scottsboro delega-
ton that came to the capital to
ask him personally to stay the exc
cutions. His refusal to receive the
delegation is the third in a year.
Answering the protests of small
delegation of six, including Mrs.
Norris, Mrs. Viola Montgomery,
mother of DIN; Professor Broadus
Mitchell of Johns Hopkins, the So
cialist Party candidate for Governor
of Maryland; and Richard B.
Moore, of the International Labor
Defense, Mcintyre declared:
you'll Never See President"
you've been here two times be-
fore and you didn't see the Presi-
dent"
Does this mean We'll never see
him." Samuel Patterson, represent
ing the National Scottsboro-H ern-
don action committee, asked Nc
Intyre.
ut looks like it, doesn't it2" Nc
Intyre shot back, smiling.
The seven spokesman of the dele
cation of twenty-five gave Mcintyre
a letter addressed to President
Roosevelt, declaring:
I'VE come to you again,
mothers suffering the most terri
BILE pain, to see our sons facing
the electric chair for something
they never did. Our hearts bleed
as we watch December ! come
closer and closer. The courts of
Alabama have set that day for
the death of our innocent boys. :.
Will you let our innocent boys be
killed? We ask you to speak and
to act quickly to free our inno-
cent boys"
What Kind of Presidents is That?
MY boy is in the death cell now"
Mrs. Norris declared firmly to Nc
Intyre, crowd of newspapermen,
secret service, red squad" and uni
formed police gathered in the
White House lobby. 1.-THE President
has the power to release them if
he wants to. I know it. It's no
reason pust why they're Negro boys
they should be framed. He could
put stop to the executions and all
this lynching if he wanted to. What
sort of a President is that? He's
supposed to look out for the rights
of the people. He has power to de-
mand that cotton be plowed up. He
could do something for the boys
If he wanted to-"
Mrs. Montgomery was just as de-
termined as Mrs. Norris. i've been
waiting to hear and trust and pray
that the boys will be freed. Presi-
dent Roosevelt has been talking
about the forgotten man. These
boys are forgotten. 1 got sense
enough to know that he can free
the boys if he wants to. You tell
him that I, Ole Montgomerys
mother, said that"
Mcintyre said he would guar
antee that the President sees the
delegations letter and petition to-
day"
Mass rallies to protest the YER
dict of the Alabama Supreme Court
decreeing legal lynching for Hay
wood Patterson and Clarence Nor
ris, two of the Scottsboro boys, on
Dec. 7, and to demand the uncon-
ditional freedom of the nine inno-
cent Negro lads, will be held in Chi.
cage, Pittsburgh, Detroit and other
cities during the next few days
At the same time, preparations
were launched yesterday for ire
mendous nationwide protest activi-
ties during the week of Nov. 26 to
Dec. 2, designated as National
Scottsboro Week by the Interna-
tional Labor Defense, the National
Scottsboro- Herndon Action Com
mittee and other organizations sup
porting the mass fight for the lives
and freedom of the boys and fo-
the rights of the oppressed Negro
people.