Montana labor news., 1936-10-22
Khan And Cops
Try To Escape
%FIogging verdid
By Frank cCallister

~ III AfAGONAAeNS
Tampa, Fla, - Two weeks ago
Judge Robert Dewell sentenced five
former Tampa policemen to four
years Imprisonment after denying
them a new trial and motion for an
arrest of judgment on charges of
kidnapping Eugene F. Poulnot, one
of the three victims of a Tampa fog
ging band of Ku Klux Klansmen and
Tampa cops last November. The
Judge reduced bond for each man
from $500 to $1,000 and allowed
the convicted criminals to leave the
courts jurisdiction on the spurious
plea of Defense Attorney Whitaker
that they were offered employment
out of the State. Whitaker announ-
ced that he would appeal to the SUI
preme Court and seek a review of
the entire case. He was allowed 80
days in which to file this appeal and
100 days from date of filing to pre-
pare the appeal. This means an ell
apsed period of five months from
date of sentence before any further
action on this case. The suppressed
cas- bonds were reduced in face of a
conviction while one would think
naturally, the bond would have been
increased rather than reduced. State
Attorney Farrior has said that he
would not bring the other flogging
cases to trial until the Poulnot kid
mapping case is definitely settled. If
he adheres to this decision, it will
be at least a year before any other
of these famous cases are brought
to trial and in the minds of most
Tampa citizens, if this course is fol-
lowed, they will never be brought to
trial. Already, it is being authorit-
atively stated that if the State Sup
rene Court grants the criminals g
new trial, the case will never come
up.
Another development in this SEN
sational case was the filing of a civil
suit by Poulnot against the City of
Tampa and ex-officers c. A. Brown,
John P. Bridges, j. w. Carlisle, Sam
E. Crosby and F. w. Switzer, joint
ly, for 500, 900 damages, on the basis
of libel, SANDER, false arrest and i'm
prisonment and physical damages
inflicted upon him as a result of the
unmerciful beating he received at the
hands of the ruffian gang of cops
and klansmen. E. l.. Bryan, Tam
pa attorney, retained by Poulnot says
that the trial in Barlow definitely
established connection between the
crime and the Tampa city admins
tration, thus making the city jointly
responsible for the damage inflict-
ed on Poulnot.
A group of Tampa citizens, led by
the Real Estate Board and the Jun
ior Chamber of Commerce, is trying
to push through charter revision
and set up a city commission form
of government in the hopes of GUST
ing the present melodorous admin
istration from power. They have
secured enough signatures for call
ing a referendum on charter revis-
ion but they are being opposed by
technicalities and sabotage by the
Board of Aldermen. Pressure has
been exerted on some signatorees to
the petition in an effort to get them
to withdraw their names so that the
move can be defeated. There are
some peculiar aligments and realig-
ments taking place in Tampa poll
tics, but impartial observers are
agreed that the present ones in pow
er are thoroughly and completely
discredited. Khan politics in Tampa
seem on the way out but no one can
predict what will take their place.
There is an urgent need for inter
ested Americans to vigorously pro-
test the dilly-dally tactics Of the pro-
secution in these cases. 1t is indie
feasible negligence for the state to
delay any longer in setting the
trial dates for the Shoemaker muir