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PACIFIC TRIBUNE’S

CROSSWORD PUZZLE
CONTEST

PUZZLE No. 3

Some longeshoremen be-

long to this (init.)

Numeral. :

The bosses would like to

do this to the PT.

. Canadian patriot.

. Phe news in the daily

newspapers is this) way.

Accomplish.

This organization promotes _

the welfare of the ‘Negro
le (init.)

Karl ae founded this

in 1864 (init.) —

11. Connection. 4.

13. Communist youths formed

_ this in 1922 (init.) Nigcs

14. You’ll find none of these . 6,
in Ottawa (sing.)

18. Girl’s name. 7

19. If you belonged to this 8
you were a Wobbly.

20. Small cut. 9.

21. Operation (abbr.) 12.

24. Negative reply.

zo: Spin like a S. i? ; »

26. Electrical workers belong 15.
to this union (init.)

28. Sun god. - 16. Bereaved wife (bib.)
30. Pierce. : 17. Great Negro_ writer and
31. Top French Communist is * ' Abolitionist. * %
Maurice “...... caus rk 22. Poland is a “..--- eee
34. The party of Canada’s Democracy.
working class (init.) 23. Behold. ‘ :
35. You will find Jimerow in 24. An aggressive alliance”
they Ae (init.)

. Women’s suffrage group

86. American pseudo - fascist age
of the. 1920’s (init.)

organization (init.)

i

37. Exclamation. \ 29. The science of plants.

38. Celt. ; 32. 19th century writer and
39. Observe. peace fighter.

40. In the fight for peace we 33. Korean despot. .
pe ANEYNOUES wee ay 35. Fabian socialist and play-—

43. Hitler’s thugs (init.)

‘. writer;
44. The loggers belong to this 41.

Musical syllable.

union (init.) 42. Repressive U.S. labor law
45. Quieting noise. (init.) = bat : ‘
ENTRY FORM :
NAME
ADDRESS ... :

Contest rules: Three labor crossword puzzles. will be published,
each to run for two weeks. All readers of the Pacific Tribune

| can enter the contest. There is no entry fee. Answers will be

judged on basis of correctness, neatness, and time begets ‘
Three members of the PT editorial staff*will act as judges. Their

| decisions are final. p

> Send completed puzzles to: ;
Crossword Puzzle Contest, Pacific Tribune, Room 6, 426 Main St, ;
Vancouver 4, B.C.

.

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bo 27 Ww. 29.
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B+ 35
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34 ro 2 ‘
43 MA 4S
; ACROSS : DOWN
1. Hitler’s dreams were shat- 1. Aver. :
tered here. 2. Group of Canadian unions.
‘10. PT readers should know 3. Parent body of U.S. craft
“...” Dewhurst. unions. :

still have it in my hand.”

MPP protests verdict to attorney general

Woman acquitted of slaying
in Ontario jimcrow trial’

TORONTO

An amazing trial and acquittal
took place February 9-13 in a
Toronto City Hall courtroom with
Justice E. C. E. Chevrier presid-
ing at the winter assizes.

With only a half-hour of delib-
eration an all-white jury brought
in a verdict of not guilty in the
case of Mrs. June Armstrong,
charged with mansiaughter in the
fatal stabbing, on September 20.
1952, of Walter Coleman, one of
some 50 Negro workers brought
in from Florida to work on the
Federal Farms plantation at Hol-
land Marshes, near Brantford, On-
tario. . ;
Here is the story of the trial:

S90 * *

Ronee damage had been done to
a tractor. On September 20, 1952,

Mrs. June Armstrong and her com- | -

mon-law husband Kinsey Waters
looked up Walter Coleman, one
of 50 Negroes brought in from
Florida to work on the Federal
Farms near Brantford. . Waters
was superintendent of the farms.

Waters and Coleman’ got into a
fist fight. Johnny Stevenson, an-
other Negro worker, tried to stop
the, fight and grabbed Coleman by
the arm.

The evidence showed that Mrs.
Armstrong seized a lettuce trim-
ming knife from the car, walked
over to Coleman whose back was
towards her .and plunged it into
his back. He died almost instant-
ly. According to the testimony of
eye-witnesses, Mrs. Armstrong
stood there with the knife in her
hand. Waters put his arm around
her and walked her back to the

ie. 3
orThese were the events which led
to the arrest of Mrs. Armstrong
for the murder of Walter Cole-
man. :

While in prison Mrs. Armstrong
gave birth to a child. On January
14 a Toronto grand jury reduced
the charge of murder to. man-
slaughter. She was released on
bail. : .

When the trial opened one po-
lice officer testified under oath
‘that when he arrived on the scene,

the accused woman had said: “T

”

just stabbed a n ----.

The police also testified that
when they asked if she had re-
moved the knife from the body
she answered: “I must have. I
De-
spite this gruesome admission,
police testimony was devoted
largely to an explanation of the
extent of damage to the tractor. «

A doctor testified that Kinsey
Waters had only suffered a small
cut over one eye. Ponzy Bryant,
a Negro farm hand, swore he saw
Mrs. Armstrong stab Coleman.
Johnny Stevenson said he was
holding Coleman and that he
thought the fight was about over,
when someone shouted: “The
white lady’s got a knife.”

Mrs. Armstrong, 24, had: mar-
ried in 1946. Her husband left
her with two children. She met
Waters and went to live with him.

In 1951 they went to Florida
for a visit. They were told there
had been “a little trouble” with
the Negroes in Florida. The refer-
ence was to the bombing of Negro
community leader Harry Moore
and his wife and Jewish syna-
gogues by the Ku Klux Klan.
Waters said he was told by his
parents and others that Negroes
“sang up” on white people and
kill them.

Mrs. Armstrong: said she suf-
fered “a loss of memory” when
the fight started.

Defense Counsel Borins summ-
ed up to the jury. “There’s even
a doubt that she, Mrs. Armstrong,
‘even stabbed Coleman. He may
have fallen back on the knife as

he turned around. The poor girl
in the dock could be your wife—
my wife — she is not guilty of
manslaughter as charged.”

At one point during the defense
attorney’s cross-questioning of the
Negro crown witness, Borins de-
clared to the court: “You’ve heard
three witnesses for the Crown...
are they responsible people . . .
can their word be taken. . . . How
could you believe them? Why look
at them, look at their appearance.
They were friends of the deceas-
ed.” - :

Prosecutor Klein recounted the
evidence. =

“This woman is guilty, beyond
all doubt, of the charge of man-
slaughter — on her own admis-
sion,” he concluded.

The judge then made his ad-
dress to the jury. He explained
that in a case of self-defense, a
man may come to the aid of his

ee

ani
Ke the U.S. air %0
“false report
U.S. bo

NFLY speaker

' Norman Penner of Toronto,
national leader of the National
Federation of Labor Youth, will
- speak on “End the War in Ko-
rea Now” af a public meeting
in Pender Auditorium this com-
ing Sunday, April 5, at 8 p.m.
Penner came to B.C. to attend

~ the two-day NFLY provincial

convention here April 4-5.

wife, and a wife may come to the
aid of her husband. provided the .
force of retaliation is no greater
than the force of the attack. He
added that in this case, the accus-
ed woman must be considered the
wife.

“What | am about to say,” he
concluded, “may make history.
If | were on the jury, | wouldn’t
think twice, but thrice before |
would find this woman guilty of
manslaughter.”

The jury then filed out of the
courtroom. Crown counsel imme-
diately rose to object to the
judge’s remarks, not on the
grounds that they might prejudice
the jury. but that they should have
been used as arguments by the
defense!

The judge replied at first, “I
don’t know what your mean.”

Counsel explained. When he
finished, the judge smilingly
told Crown counsel: “It’s too
late to change what I’ve already
said. If I did it would only make
things worse.” ‘

The jury returned with a “not
guilty” verdict. The judge thanked
them. “I can find no fault with
your verdict. I thought that would
be your verdict after what I said
earlier.”

He then turned to the woman
in the dock.

“You are now free. Go home
to your children and be a good
mother.”

So ended the manslaughter trial
of Mrs. June Armstrong. ;
J..B. Salsberg. LPP member of
the Ontario legislature for Toron-
to-St. Andrews, will request that
Attorney-General Dana _ Porter’s
department review the evidence
in the Armstrong case with the

aim of appealing the not guilty
verdict. :

Salsberg stated: “In view of the
fact that members of the Negro.
community are questioning the —
court’s verdict, believing it to be
influenced by racial prejudice, I
will put the matter before the

attorney-general’s department and ~

will ask it to review the case with
the aim of appealing the verdict.”

Robeson bar shattered
by Mine-Mill records

“The ban placed on Paul Robe-
son by the United States govern-
ment is being shattered as albums
of records are being distributed
across Canada and the people are
enabled to judge for themselves
by hearing him what Paul Robe-
son’s ‘crime’ is,’ states an edit-
orial in the March 24 issue of B.C.
District Union News, organ of the
International Union of Mine, Mill
and Smelter Workers. :

The editorial reveals that al-
though Mine-Mill assumed full.-re-
sponsibility and guaranteed pay-
ment, the largest recording com-
panies in Canada, branches of big
U.S. companies, first wanted to
censor and then refused to press
records of the great Robeson
rally at the Peace Arch last year.
Finally, one company at Windsor,
Ont., agreed to make the records.

“No,” concludes the editorial,

“we age not in the record-mak- ’

ing business, and we are not in
the music business but this is not
a question of music or a singer.
It is a question of the rights of
a man to speak out. It is the
question of freedom to cross the
borders. Mine-Mill invited Paul

Robeson as a singer to come and :
sing to our convention. The U.S.
State Department refused to al-
low him to go, and now he will
be heard by scores of thousands
in a permanent record of a mem-
orial occasion when 40,000 Cana-
dian and American people came
to the border and showed their
contempt for the U.S. witchhunt-
ers.”

In the ever-living name of |
JACK BUTLER
members of, his press club —
Grandview — appeal to those
who made donations to the
Pacific Tribune through him to
give again this year so that in
this way his memory may still
serve the working class press

he loved and fought for,
Send your donation to
THE JACK BUTLER PRESS~
FUND.
c/o The Picific Tribune

426 Main Street
Vancouver 4, B.C.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — APRIL 3, 1953 — PAGE 7