The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-06-23

the part of the workers that ] owe
my life. We, then in prison, ina
gined we could hear the measured
tread of millions Of workers; count
less voices shouting, They shall not
die'!"
Those countless voices have saved
the Scottsboro boys through the
years Of the fight for their liberty
In Birmingham recently discussed
this case with many upper class
liberals: it was interesting to note
that these people now claim to be
convinced of the innocence of the
nine victims. But they speak of
the I. L. D. with horror and anger:
IF these radicals would stay out
of the case" said a prominent
clergyman. "the boys could have the
best criminal lawyer in the South
and would be sure Of fair treat
ment." AS he spoke it seemed to
me that I could see grim shadows
of the Tuscaloosa victims, of share
choppers killed in Talspoosa Coun-
ty, of hundreds of other lynched
and murdered Negro workers who
had trusted the fair treatment of
Southern liberalism.
What Scottsboro Means
had followed the Scottsboro
case carefully, but, until my trip
to Alabama, I had no real concep-
ton Of the depth to which it has
stirred the South, and the extent to
which it has affected the class
struggle. The masses have spoken;
the challenge of Negro rights has
been thrown in the faces of the
slave holding aristocracy. Every
black worker, and every white work.
er, walks with greater holiness to-
day, because the power of the lynch
ers has been challenged.
Scottsboro is one of the storm
centers Of I. L. D. activity; one Of
the great causes which has served
to awaken the masses of the whole
world. There have been many other
outstanding campaigns; nine years
of crowded bitter magnificent strug-
gle; there was Passaic in 1926; Col
orado In 1927; New Bedford in
1928; Gastonia in 1929; Imperial
Valley In 1880 and later; Harlan,
Kentucky in 1851; the tobacco
workers in Florida in 1882; the Ala
bama share-croppers, Herndon, the
Atlanta six.
The l. L. D. has also waged vigor-
Gus fights against fascism, against
deportation of militant workers,
against State criminal syndicalism
laws. In the international field, the
I. L. D. has organized a vital part
of the world protest against the
degenerate reactionaries in Ger
many, Austria and other fascist
Countries protest which is now
eliminating in the gigantic cry for
freedom for Thaelmann.
Day to Day Drama
These major campaigns have
stirred the world But it seems to
me that the day-to-day and hour
to-hour work of the l. l.. D. is
equally dramatic. The record of the
class struggle is a record of count
less heroic incidents. These heroic
incidents are so numerous that
many of them are neither publicised
nor mentioned. But wherever men
and women are struggling against
oppression, the I. L. D. is their
shields; its forces are prepared for
instant mobilization. In Coney
Island, strike leader is taken from
his bed in his own home by police
without warrant, and horribly
beaten, his eyes gouged, his hair
torn from the top of his head. In
Hillsboro, ILL.,, IL workers are held
in $4,000 bail each Cor twice that
amount for each If they can't pro-
duce the bail in cold CASH for TAX
ing part in an unemployed DEM
onstration. In Birmingham, Ala,
eight homes of Negroes are burned
to the ground. In California, 200
Imperial Valley strike leaders are
herded into a cattle corral, then
brutally driven like animals from
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