te

soo |||

Trial of 12 U.S. Communist leaders concludes

Acquittal. plea declares democracy at issue

Completion of the defense in the trial of the 11 ee
gaping holes in the prosecution’s trumped-up “force and violence

attorneys finished oral argument in support o

or direct a verdict of acquittal.

A brief reply by U.S. Attorney ;
John F,. X, McGohey opposing the
motions quickly developed into a
duet in close harmony between
him and Judge Medina, At one
point Medina stated: “Certainly
the government’s case is stronger
at the conclusion of the whole
Case than it was at the conclusion
of the government’s case.”

Defense Attorney A. J. Isser-
man, examining the testimony
against two of the defendants,

John Williamson, labor secretary
of the Communist party, and Gil
Green, Illinois Communist chair-
man, showed that it rests chiefly
on the fact that they recommend-
ed the study of Marxist-Stalinist
books. ‘

“Tf that is a crime,” he said,
“then _we’re beyond the book-burn-
ing that took place in Germany,
we're beyond the Reichstag fire
trial which history has condemn-
ed as a frameup.”

Another defense attorney,
Harry Sacher, cited the fact that

the star government witness,
the renegade and _ professional
informer Louis ¥F. Budenz,

“though he was associated with
many of the defendants for 10
years, was unable to point to a

By A. B. MAGIL

charges.

rT SS SS

,—NEW YORK.
leaders of the U.S. Communist party here tore
With the jury absent, defense
f motions that Judge Harold Medina dismiss the indictment

sion. The issue which is present-
ed by this case is not whether
11 men conspired to speak words
which the law prohibits. The is-
sue is whether in the United
States of America our constitu-
tional government will survive.

single meeting at which they ag-
reed among themselves to teach
and advocate ‘the overthrow of
the United States government
by force and violence.”

Eugene Dennis, the Communist
party’s general secretary, acting
as his own counsel, warned that
the trial struck at the very foun-
dations of the Bill of Rights.

Pointing out that the adminis-
tration is not charging any plots
or coups d’etat, treason or sedi-
tion, Dennis charged it is “seeking
to try ideas” in accordance with

“its bi-partisan . cold-war policy
and vendetta against progress-
ives.”

He termed the trial of books
and ideas an “un-American and
devilish subterfuge” worthy of a
Hitler or Goebbels.

“The prosecution has tried to
place a new defendant in the
dock, that is, the theory and

philosophy of Marxism-Lenin-
ism,” Dennis said, “The police
state techniques employed by

the government is most sinister
and simple, as well as a mon-
strous frameup from beginning
to end.”

The Communist general secre-

tary pointed out that if “a con-
viction were forthcoming on the
indict-
then others who read or
circulated the proscribed books—
non-Communists as well as Com-

prosecution’s
ment”

grotesque

“The government in this case
asserts the right to throttle poli-
tical opposition, to impose thought
controi by outlawing a world phil-
«osophy now over 100 years old. To
send men to jail for the beliefs

munists — would be taken into} which they hold.”

“protective custody.”

Defense Attorney George W. “This police court trial of a
Crockett made the judge wince}century of thought and _ historic

when, tearing to shreds the gov-
of. “conspiracy”
he read from the 1948 edition of
“Free
Speech in the U.S.” Chafee, pro-
fessor of law at Harvard and the
free
speech cases, had written: “And no
Com-
munist party a party of conspir-

ernment’s theory

Prof. Zecharia Chafee’s

outstanding authority on

one can soberly term .the

,

experience dishonors and defames
our country in the eyes of world
opinion,” the brief stated. It point-
ed out that “trials such as these
are not new. The rise of fascism
makes it clear that political trials
of Communists and of the Com-
munist party are but a precursor

?

acy.” to an attack upon all democratic
The defense brief—a _ scholarly| groups, upon all those who are
yet vigorous document — boldly

thrust the central issue before the

court.

“This is the first time in the
history of this country”, the brief
said, “that men have been tried
as Griminals solely: because they
sought to participate in the
democratic process through the
organization of a political party
as a means of political expres-

opposed to the drive towards war,
to the rule of monopoly, to the
extinguishment of popular liber-
ties.”

ee a a

British Railwaymen
make new demands

LONDON

The National Union of Rail-
waymen, with 500,000 members,
hag reacted to government re-
jection of its demand for a 10
shilling ($1.40) weekly overall
pay increase by putting in an-
other claim, for a $5 ($14) mini-
mum wage for all workers. Be-
fore devaluation, 5 pounds would
have been worth $20:

In refusing all wage increases
under its wage-freeze policy, the
Labor government has placed it-
self in opposition to the work-
ers who voted it into power.

Left-wing. groups now have a
greater appeal to the workers.
On the other hand, Winston
Churchill’s Conservative party is
also trying to take advantage of
the disillusionment ,of many.
With elections near, the London
Times, leading conservative news-
paper, has been blaming the gov-
ernment for “inflexibility” in re-
fusing to raise wages.

with democratic troops

Greek people meet

i th
Were residents of a liberated town meet wl

heavy fighting this summer, has

it by the Athens regime

Greek fascists

Free Greeks charge rea

ATHENS

The Greek government has ad-
mitted execution of 1,223 political
Opponents, unionists and others
during the past three years. Greek
democrats say the real number
exceeds 4,000. More than 70,000
Greeks are in prison or exile. The
Averoff prison alone holds 860
Women, of whom 650 are. under
Sentences of death or life im-

prisonment.

soldiers

of the Democratic army which

yin
beaten back the U.S.-armed and financed armies sent to “annihilate”

Y

electrical workers’ union.

from the UN and its own state-
ment that all death sentences
would be reviewed. The unsched-
uled debate that followed Pipinelis’
statement in the Political and
Security Committee .of the '!UN
General Assembly also showed that
the Greek government has many
allies determined to take the heat
off it in the international body.
The debate began when the Bye-

lorussian representative on the
committee asked its’ Canadian
chairman, Lester B. Pearson,

whether he had made a promised
inquiry in Greece and received any
reply. The Byelorussian further
asked, with much. feeling, what
Pipinelis had meant when he had
previously said in committee that
executions had stopped and all
cases had been sent to appeal
courts. ‘

“If the Greek representative’s
purpose was to deceive this. com-
mittee, it was a cheap trick,” the
Byelorussion declared. “What is
happening in Greece reminds me of
what happened in my country
when people who stood up to de-
fend democracy were killed in
brutal ways. I know. I headed
a commission which dug up 25,000
corpses of SByelorussions, Jews,
Poles, Ukrainians and Russians
killed by the Nazis.”

Chairman Pearson complained

dink 1223 executed,
| figure 4000

tention. A British Trades Union
Congress appeal for the lives of
10 Greek maritime union leaders,
now under sentence of death, led
to a British official being allow-
ed to visit one of the arrested

The Free Greek Radio continues
to report atrocities by royalist
troops. It states that at Grevena,
early in September, royalist sol-
diers paraded in the streets car-
rying the severed heads" of five
soldiers of the Democratic army.

‘A lull may take place In execu-
tions of political prisoners during
the United Nations General a
sembly session, when they mg

attract too much international at-

men.
Judging
however,

by past

light on the situation.

experience,
such lulls are followed
by new waves of killing unless
continued protests keep a spot-

that the Byelorussian “was go-
ing to ask me a question but
made a statement instead which
may or may not be justified.”
Pearson said he hoped that “we
will not have a discussion.” Im-
| mediately afterwards, he let Pi-
pinelis have the floor.

The Greek said the Byelorussian
had been “rude” and that he had
noted that this had “disconcerted”
the chairman also. Then he gave
his idea of democracy and the
limits that should govern debate,
even in the UN. “In olden days
speakers who contravened decor-
um were punished. I am sorry our
rules of procedure don’t allow that
here,” Pipinelis said.

When Soviet and east European

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — OCTOBER 14, 1949 — PAGE 3

Pearson squashes
protest against
Greek executions

—LAKE SUCCESS

It is no use “‘trying to drag a man from his grave.”’ This cynical
statement was made last week by Greek Assistant Foreign Minister
Panayous Pipinelis in response to a Polish inquiry in the United Nations
about what had happened to Georgiu Demosthenes, leader of the Greek

In making this answer, Pipinelis admitter that his government con-
tinues to execute prominent unionists

despite world-wide protests, appeals

Union leader’s wife
asks for UN help

LAKE SUCCESS

Betty Ambatielos, wife of Greek
maritime union leader Tony Am-
batielos who faces execution any
moment by the Athens royalist
government, has appealed to Un-
ited Nations Assembly President
Carlos P. Romulo of the Philip-
pines to intervene ion behalf of
her husband and nine other Greek
union leaders now under death
sentences. Mrs. Ambatielos re-
ported, in a cable from London to
Romulo, that the Greek Council
of Grace (court of appeals) was
about to reject an appeal lodged
by her husband. She wrote that
this would result in his execution
after the “11 months of agony of
doubt and fear” that have -passed
since Australian Foreign Minister
Herbert V. Evatt, president of the
last UN Assembly at Paris, ob-
tained a reprieve for all 10 men.

delegates tried to answer, Pearson
ruled them out of order. Ukrain-
ian representative Dimitri Manu-
ilsky protested that “all delega-
tidns should have a right to speak
when lives are at stake.” Polish
delegate KatzSuchy said: “We
asked a question and were prom-
ised a statement today. Where is
it?” Soviet delegate A. Ariutinian
said: “The Greek representative
says the rules of procedure have
been violated. Perhaps. But peo-
ple are dying.”

U.S. delegate Philip Jessup mov-
ed adjournment. The chairman sil-
enced everyone else by saying that
a motion to adjourn could not be
debated. Since a majority of dele-
gations in the UN vote with the
U.S. on\all matters, the meeting
was. adjourned. In the meantime,
Greek unionists continue to be ex-

ecuted.

ASO AEE) Bieta