The tribune independent of Michigan., 1935-07-20

NEW IOl pun lib litnt tntGhs
just between his ear and his nose.
Roy Wright, youngest OF the
Scottsborol boys hut one, bears a
scar like a vaccination mark. IL 10
a reminder OF the day--now more
than four years-when he. together
with the other Scottsboro boys, was
taken off freight train at Point
Rock, Alabama. by an armed posse.
Just before he was locked in the
Paint Rock Jail. one OF the men
jabbei a bayonet through his
cheek
That was only the first OF four
long years OF torment and perse-
cution Roy was II then; now he Is
Is. far fatter than when he enter
ed prison Between the hell OF kir-
by Prison and the hell OF Jefferson
County Jail this boy has grown al
most 10 manhood In dark. filthy.
yermin infested cells behind stone
walls and steel bars. shut away
from sun and air. cursed and abus-
ed by loud-mouthed jailers. and al
ways With the threat OF the
electric chair over HMM these
places Roy has passed his youth.
Hearing In July
The torment is not over. Roy is
still in jail. and the State OF Ala
bama continues to demand his cleo
: irocuticn In behalf of Roy and
Eugene Williams. also a juvenile at
the time of The arrests in Paint
Rock the attorneys for the Inter
national Labor Defense, Osmond X.
lraoukel ana G. b. Powell. viii go
into Ju,e emile Court in Decatur ear
u iu July and plead before Judge
IS L Malone that these two youths
hs tree Thomas r. knight,
uaa ufenant-governor OF Ala
naaa hut still prosecutor OF the
Sc1ushoro BOYS. will ask that
J 8 WMout declare the boys
'r ilspb and send them for
TRIAL i adulf court BY this devious
legal roaN lh Alabama prosecu-
TORS SSH hcabl,io demand that
those cailaYu hp burnt in the clcc- !
IA rhair a c OF their inno-
eelce ana lheir extreme youth
lt ha. NaG uuig a few years ui
-cAooiD- DIS ile "Abont tnrvp
III tlar Atars ae says II IS "A bit
Lard to count IL up he went 10
schod s rt-aiarly. The Wright :
fanNs w, aUane the poorest in
Ciiau..raa-a Fes ivcd in small
Shack on ,ur aab- OF the Tcnnes-
st ldr.r. lu 1894 Roys father
had meg il- watller Mrs Ada
wright has sNd After my hus-
bands death Nas both father and
mother TO my children. earned
So weli / pafi IA cents a day
for carfare. and $3.50 week for
rent though the house we lived In |
.r~asnr worth near that. We had
about $3.50 for the whole family to
live on
Lett Home With Brother
In March. 1891, Roy's brother,
Andy. begged TO be allowed TO leave
home. He had tried everywhere to
find work He thought be might get
iob ON the river boats in Mem
phs
his mother to let him go too. lie
When andy left, Roy percuaded
was Intensely distressed at the
Thought Of separation from Andy,
who had been sort ~ father to
freight rhey rode on an OIL tank |
car between two box cars
lettcr TO the International Labor
Defense Have you an wrote TO
Ally since he been in kuby2'
Roy and Andy, together with
Eugene Williams and Haywood
Patterson four BOYS had been
pals for years-went to the Twenty
Second street yards and hoped a
stone and steel and a distance OF
jefferson County Jail separated by
later. sitting behind the bars OF
him for seven years. \ few weeks
Kilby Prison Roy wrote in bis first
many miles from his brother In
TWO years later, just before the
Decatur trial, Roy. sitting IN Jei-
ferson County Jail, told New York
newspapermen what had happened
on that ride.
"Aimed Guns at our Heads"
THE first | knew anything was
wrong" he said. "or knew who else
was on that train, was when that
crowd of white men stopped the
train at Paint Rock and took us of.
They took us up the railroad bank
to a white rock and stood us
against it with their guns aimed at
our headsA
One Of the white men said to Inc
Come on now, niger tell us who
pushed those white boys off the
train. cause we don't want to pun
ish anybody but the guilty ones. If
you tell us which ones did il. well
let you others go.' And todd them
didn't know anything about IT, and
didn't seen nothing.
hen one OF them said TO me You
know. niger. we don't let no dark
les hang around here, and II we
catch you anywhere near here after
dark well shoot you. Now get go
ing
"Andy-thats my brother-Hay-
wood. Eugene and me-we started
away. Nobody said nothing until we
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