The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1939-07-11

Bridges, militant longShore
ceedings in a tiny room of
Angel island.
In effect. Bridges Is on trial for
his professional life. He stands
accused Of being affiliated to or
q member Of an organization which
teaches or advocates the overthrow
Of the American government by
force and violence" That organi-
zstion, says the government. is the
communist party.
Target of one of the most bitter
attacks ever launched against a
labor leader, Bridges is scornfull
OF the charge and says he well
comes the opportunity to disprove
II for all time. He has denied he
Is a communist or a member OF the
communist party. What he says
IL that communists make good
union members.
VIII Be Public
Dean James NJ. Lands. OF Har-
ward law school. former head Of
securities and exchange commits
sion. Is to preside as examining Of
ficer. Bridges defense is headed
by Miss Carol King, OF New York,
noted as an expert in deportation
cases.
Originally, the proceedings were
scheduled to be held in secret, but
so high is interest running that
Secretary of Labor, Frances Per-
kins and the immigration bureau
announced the press would be per-
mitted to attend the sessions and
that Bridges would be given the
privilege of discrimination.
Bridges Born Alfred Renton
Bridges in Kensington, Australia,
in 1900-Entered the public eye
in 1884 when he whipped the long,
shoremen into line, bacame chair
man Of the Joint Marine Strike
Committee. and tied up San Fran
cisco's waterfront in bitter strife
that cost the lives Of eight men on
the Pacific Coast.
He's Accused
He organized Maritime Fedora
ton of the Pacific, built on the
foundation of the Longshoremen
end Warehousemen, and before
long became West Coast director
OF the CLIO.
Bridges success as an organizer
brought him into immediate con-
flict with employers and ship
owners. He was accused Of being
an undesirable alien, but the i'm
migration bureau determined he
entered the United States legally.
in fact, he even served a hitch
with the Coast Guard before he
moved ashore.
Investigators brought forward
"proof" of his communist con-
nections, which they submitted last
year to the Dies Committee in
vestigatlng suDVerslVe activities.
He was in turn publicly damned
as an alien agitator, an unscrupul-
Gus wrecker with lust for power,
A ruthless doctrinaire and COM
munist.
Bridges didn't reply until the
accommodating charges against him
forced Madame Perkins to order
the deportation proceedings. Now
he has become more vocal and
testy at what he calls the "machi-
nations OF anti-union elements, in
GLIDING government officials"
There was formed Harry
Bridges defense committee" which
took as its motto "unionism is
Americanism." It charged that
the proceedings-"most contro-
versial since Tom Mooney was
released from prison"-were fore
ed by the associated farmers,
merchants and manufacturers as
ISOLATION and the chamber of COM
merce, in the hope OF smashing
trade unionism.
Movie Stars Hip
Motion picture actors-including
Gloria Stuart, Melvyn Douglas,
Lionel Stander and John Garfield
were enlisted to raise funds for
the defense.
Radio time was bought TO tell
Bridges side Of the story, and such
organizations as labor's nom
partisan league, the women's
labor congress and Washington
commonwealth federation joined
to support the plea for an open
trial.
The defense committee still Is
campaigning vigorously to have
the proceedings removed from