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Hellraisers Journal – Monday December 12, 1921
Los Angeles, California – Fellow Workers Found Guilty of Criminal Syndicalism
From The Los Angeles Times of December 8, 1921:
Nine defendants in the I.W.W. criminal syndicalism, case in Judge Willis’s court were found guilty last night. The Jury found Manuel Engdal not guilty since he not only denied membership in the organization, but a membership card in his name was not produced. The eleventh defendant, Thomas Bailey, was dismissed several days ago.
The defendants acted as their own attorneys. Most of them were charged with two counts, membership in the I.W.W. and treasonable propaganda. They will be sentenced tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. The convicted men are William Baker, Ben Whittling, R. Bendig, Abraham Shocker, Henry Matlln, James Olson, W. I. Fruit, Louis Allen and Edward Peters. The case has been under way since November 10. Dep. Dist.-Attys. Turney and McCartney conducted the prosecution.
“I regard this conviction as one of the most important ever secured in the courts of this country,” said Dist.-Atty. Woolwine last evening. “It serves notice upon the Reds of the world that they cannot with impunity enter America and here hatch plots and schemes for the overthrow of our government and institutions.”
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