The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-05-16
BLOODY HARLAN
 COUNTY TRIAL
Sixty=nine Prosecuted By Government for Murders,
 Arson, Kidnapings
By HARRY FERGUSON United Press Staff Correspondent


 cial guards sworn to protect wit- nesses, the federal government be- gan today its prosecution of 69 per- sons accused of terrorism in Bloody Harlan" county to keep coal miners from organizing under the Wagner labor relations act. U. s. deputy marshals have been ordered to search spectators for weapons be- cause of persistent reports of threats against government witnesses. Indicted Under Old Law The defendants, 47 men and p corporations engaged in the mining of coal, were indicted under musty law passed in 1870 in an attempt to smash the Ku Klux Klan. They are charged with conspiring to pre- vent coal miners in Harlan county -"Bloody Harlan" is the nickname it has acquired in the last 10 years from organizing for the purpose of bargaining collectively under the Wagner act.
 If the government wins, it will have set a precedent of law that can reach out and affect scores of industries. The Wagner act IS a civil statute and in itself carries no criminal penalties for violations. By invoking the 1870 law, providing jail terms and fines for persons who conspire to deprive citizen of his constitutional rights, the govern ment hopes it can, in effect, write a punitive clause into the Wagner act.
 Will Go to High Court
 Almost everyone agreed that the battle that starts today eventually will go to the United States supreme court on appeal and that months from now there will be handed down a decision that will affect millions of workers and thousands of indus trial concerns.
 This town of 1900 persons, packed to outlying tourist camps with witt nesses, lawyers, veniremen and newspapermen, is 84 miles from Harlan. It was chosen as the scene of the trial because it is the nearest place to Harlan in which federal court sits.
 Excitement, Tension
 London was electric with excite ment and tension. Eight U. s. deputy marshals were sworn in to guard the 250 witnesses-mostly miners-that the government will call. Ten federal bureau of investi- gation agents were on duty in and around London and two more were assigned to Harlan county to protect the men and women who will come over the hills to testify after a jury is chosen in Federal Judge H. Church Ford's court. Reports of threats against government witt nesses reached the brick house where government prosecutors have set up headquarters with direct teletype machine to the department of jus tice in Washington. Men and deputy marshals spread a protecting ring around the men and women who will testify for the government.
 Although it seemed unlikely that there would be room for any spec tators in the small courtroom, deputy marshals were ordered to search every person who could not prove that he had business in the courtroom.
 Many Crimes Charged
 All corporations on trial are mem- bers of the Harlan County Coal Op- orators association. The govern ment charges that these companies, working one of the worlds richest soft coal fields, resorted to murder, bombings, arson and Kidnapping to prevent union organizers from gain- ing a foothold in Harlan county. In this campaign or alleged terrorism, the government contends that the coal companies hired deputy sheriffs ostensibly as mine guards, but in reality to intimidate the workers. Among the defendants is Theodore Middleton, former high sheriff of Harlan county, and 9 men who served as deputies under him. The remainder of the 69 defendants are coal cmopany executives.
 All defendants are at liberty on bail ranging from $2,500 to $5,OOO. A special section of the tiny court room has been roped off for them and they will occupy about half of the available seats.
 Young Prosecutor
 The government sends into this battle a young, black-haired Irish man-Brien McMahon, assistant att torney general of the United States in charge of the justice departments criminal division. He has 8 long record of prosecutions in cases simi- lar in many respects to this one, the most notable being the Arkansas peonage trial. Four legal assistants and the force of G-men have aided him in collecting evidence. Me- Mahon plans to call 250 witnesses and believes the trail will last six weeks.
 Against him the Harlan county coal operators will pit a former fed eral judge, Charles I. Dawson, who resigned from the bench because of his burning desire to fight the New Deal in the courts. Baced up by almost a dozen other lawyers, Daw- son is expected to deny that the federal government has Jurisdiction in this case. His argument will be that Harlan county coal does not move in interstate commerce and therefore it is exclusively an intra- state matter.
 Judge Ford, member of the fed eral Judiciary for three years, was appointed by President Roosevelt. BRASS COMPANY