The Daily Alaska empire., 1935-12-03
Claim Marchers Could Have Gone Down Front Street
 at Time of Trouble
PRESERVING PEACE,
 DEFENDANT CLAIMS
Accused Men Aver They Had No Part in Violence
 During Alleged Riot

Denial that there was ulllOi blockade across Front Street near the union hall last June "A, through which group of men marching down to the Alaska Juneau mine office to register could not pass, was made this morning on the witness stand by Ed Rennie, one of the "A defendants facing riot charges in Federal district court.
 Rennie, who said he had spent eight years in the army, testified that his purpose in going out in the street at the time of the trouble was to prevent any violence and preserve the peace if possible. As matter of fact, the defendant said, he shouted, aI.et the bulls throughl' when the marchers came down, explaining un- der cross examination that he meant by that to let the police go on through and he figured the march, CTS would follow them. There really wasn't any time when the marchers couldn't have gone through and on down the street, any way, Rennie asserted in reply to close questioning. x Alias Tom Rivers
 The defendant, who admitted he once went by the name of Tom Riv- CTS in California when was pinch ed for vagrancy,' said that there were group of union pickets in the street in front of the union hall when the marchers came down the street. Their purpose was, he ex- plained, to talk the men out of go- ing down to register. He denied that any of them had weapons, to his knowledge, and that there had been any prearranged plans to resist the marchers physically.
 Rennie said he went to stop fight, preserving the peace, he ex- plained, when Police Officer Ken meth Junge came along and hit him over the head with club. He took the club from Junge, he testified, and threw it over the heads of the crowd, because he still was trying to preserve the peace and didn't think Junge had any business using his club in that fashion. Later, near the sawmill, the defendant explained, he had a little more trouble with Officer Junge. He said somebody shouted, He's going to get his gun!" He thought it was woman's voice but had no idea who said it. At that moment he saw Junge reach toward his hip pocket and as he did so; the officers handcuffs fell on the street. Fearing that Junge was drawing a gun, Rennie said, he ran over and picked up the handcuffs, because he figured he better take them before somebody else took them and used them for weapon. He said he re- refused to give them back to Junge but did turn them over to Chief of Police Roy Hoffman who showed up on the scene about that time.
 Preserving The Peace
 Asked by Assistant District Attor- ney George w. Folta if this was all in his purpose of preserving the peace, the defendant asserted that it was. Later asked by Folta why he had not volunteered to act as a spe- cial officer on that day, if he was so concerned about the peace, Rennie explained he had not wished to.
 The defendant declared that at no time did he hit anybody and there was no violence at the A. J. office. He s-,id he had an argument with Chief Hoffman over the advis- ability of Special Officer Walter Bea- mer having club, and the argument resulted in his arrest. Rennie said he ! went to the A. B. hall that morning beore the marchers started out to try and find out what it was all about. He said he had read the pa, pers relative to the plans but he
 (Continued on rage Two)