The daily worker., 1935-02-26

TOUR victims out OF the nine indicted
as a result Of the West Coast mari
time strike last summer. Don Clus-
ter, Young Communist League or
ganizer, was sentenced to a year
and paroled because of his youth"
Dirk De Jonge was sentenced to
seven years, and faces trial on a
second indictment brought since his
conviction and sentence on the
first; Kyle Pugh, of Medford. whose
crime" was selling literature. was
sentenced to five years; and Edward
Denny, organizer of the unemployed
single workers. to two years.
Indictments Are ReprisaI
Steward is the last of four work
ers named on an Indictment
brought about as a ruling class re-
prisal to the indignant protests of
Portland workers against the shoot
ing down of strikers last summer,
Like Cluster, de Jonge and Denny,
he is charged with presiding at,
conducting and assisting in con-
Quoting an assemblage of persons.
to-wit, the Communist Party, which
assemblage did then and there un-
lawfully and feloniously advocate
the doctrines of criminal syndical-
ism and sabotage" The meeting
was public mass rally in defense
of the strikers.
Throughout the trials of the other
defendants, the State has clearly
shown that the reactionary indus
trial interests are out to suppress
working class organizations and lit
erature. The criminal syndicalism
cases in Oregon and California have
direct connection with the pro-
posed federal legislation barring
working class publications from the
mails, and striking at labor organ
izations through new drastic "sedi-
ton" laws They are part of the
Roosevelt -Hearst-Macfadden drive
against the working class.
The growing attacks on the toil-
ing population of Oregon are shown
in the flood of open anti-labor leg
islation introduced at the present
session of the legislature.
One measure would outlaw po-
litical parties and independent cam
didateS who are members of, or
affiliated with, any political party
or organization which advocates
the overthrow by force and violence
of local, state or national govern
ment, by radio, speech or press" It
would also disfranchise persons be-
longing to or affiliated with such
organizations.
Another measure would inval-
idate, in effect, the recall, initiative
and referendum by out-lawing the
circulation of petitions. Still an
other, recently killed in the Senate,
would have done away with the
jury system in large counties, SET
ting up Jury commissioner" ap-
pointed by the Circuit Judges, who
would hand-pick juries.
At present Oregon has ten jur-
or" law, slipped over on the workers
under subterfuge, which provides
than ten out of the twelve jurors
are sufficient for conviction. One
of the first cases to be tried under
this law was a worker charged with
assault and battery" by a welfare
functionary.
Convicted by Ten-JurOr Law
All of Portland's criminal syndi-
calism convictions were obtained
through the provisions of the ten
juror law: Cluster convicted, II to
l; De Jonge, 10 to 2; Denny, 10 to 2.
Another legislative proposal would
remove the restrictions against par
ticipation by state police in labor
disputes; set up fascist machinery
placing labor unions under the con-
troll of the governor; outlawing
picketing in strikes.
A whipping bill' was also intro
duced, providing lashes as punish
ment for crimes of violence" How
much of this pro-Fascist legislation
will be enacted will not be known
until the Legislature completes its
work. 1t depends, in the final an
alysis, upon the extent and power of
the organized protest campaign
against these undiSguised fascist
moves.