. THE MICHIGAN DAILY' TUESDA The Case of the Trenton Six ONG LAST a group of democratic ericans ha've undertaken the defense cent men instead of allowing Com- controlled organizations to exploit yen for propaganda purposes. Negroes-internationally known as renton Six-are on trial for their in New Jersey. The present trial, is the third, has already been con- for ten weeks and is expected to ur another five. nt group to defend the six has been by the Princeton Committee for De- the Trenton Six, and the Legal De- lid Educational Fund of the Nation- ciation for the Advancement of Col- eople. Because this joint committee lat "every man, whether Negro or is entitled to a fair trial" they are ag the defense for the six men and to carry the case to the Supreme f necessary. e examining the facts it is interest- encouraging to note the distinguish- onel of the joint committee. Edward' Samuel Corwin, co-chair- s noted author, is at present a pro- emeritus at Princeton University. her co-chairman is Bishop Francis Connel also an author and a mem- the Methodist Episcopal Church. rominent lawyers, Thurgood Mar- nd Arthur Garfield Hays, are mem- the counsel for the defendants. committee to defend the Trenton Six Kamined the facts of the case and ly -agree with the New Jersey Std- "ourt which called the previous trials with error." Below are excerpts from hlet published by the Joint Commit- Secure a Fair Trial of The Trenton e pamphlet is entitled, "The Facts he Trenton Six." - THE CASE - :30 A.M., January 27, 1948, a 73 year second-hand dealer, William Horner acked in his store in Trenton, N.J. . about five hours later from a blow, s, with a blunt instrument. e were no eye witnesses, but four s furnished some information: lizabeth McGurie, 59, the victim's , told the police how three men en- e store; that two of them went into k room with IHorner to look at a s; that she was showing a stove to rd man, who knocked her uncon-t She described them as "light com- Negroes about 20 years old. Is published in The Michigan Daily ten by members of The Daily staff resent the views of the writers only. EDITOR: DONNA HENDLEMAN 2) Frank Eldracher, a salesman, saw two young "light skinned Negroes walk out of the Horner store less than a minute before he heard Miss McGuire's scream. 3) Mrs. Virginia Barclay, a housewife, saw three men race down the street and drive off in a Plymouth driven by a fourth man. She did not get a good look at two of the men, but said that the two others were "light- skinned, 20 years older or younger." 4)Mrs. Argiros Kokenakes, proprietress of a nearby soft-drink parlor, said that about 10 a.m. two Negroes purchased two bottles of soda to take out, but was unable to des- cribe them. * * * - TRENTON, NEW JERSEY - The Trenton Police Department has a long record of brutal treatment of the city's 14,000 Negroes. The local branch of the NA- ACP has a grim collection of affidavits do- cumenting instances of police torture since World War II. On Jan. 30, police officials organized a special squad armed with tommy guns. Given orders to shoot-to-kill and to ar- rest any "suspiciouslooking"' persons found on the streets after dark, the squad arrested scores of Negroes. Trenton's Director of Public Safety de- clared; "Well meaning people may accuse us of acting like a Gestapo, but if we can bring in the Horner killers or save one life, I'ni willing to take all their criticisms. * * * - THE ARRESTS - Feb. 6, Collis English, 23 year old veteran, was arrested in his home after a complaint by his father to the police that the boy used his car without permission. But at the po- lice station; English was considered a sus- pect in the Horner slaying. Questioned un- interruptedly all night, English, fearful of the police, told a cock-and-bull story and mentioned eight names of persons he had been with on Jan. 27, the day of the crime. The next morning police arrested two of the men who had been with English, Ralph Cooper and Horace Wilson at a town ter miles away. The same morning English's brother-in- law, McKinley Forrest, came to the police station to see why English hadn't return- ed home. His inquiry brought arrest. James Thorpe, was arrested late the same afternoon. Fight days before the murder Thorpe had been discharged from the hos- pital after having had his right arm ampu- tated. Four and a half months later a po- liceman explained that Thorpe resembled a man whom English described only as car- rying one shoulder higher than another. John MacKenzie, Forrest's nephew was arrested at dawn Feb. 11th, when police told the woman who opened the door, "We want all the men in this house." All six Negroes were arrested without warrants. Miss Elizabeth McGuire, the mistress of the murdered man, was brought to the sta- tion to confront the suspects. She failed to identify any of them. None of the other three witnesses were ever asked to attempt an identification. Although the witnesses had described the suspects as "light skinned" Negroes, the de- fendants are dark skinned except James Thorpe, the man with one arm. There had been no mention of a one-armed man at the scene of the crime. * * * - THE CONFESSIONS - The State obtained "confessions" from five of the six defendents. All repudiated their confessions at the trial. Thorpe said he signed because he was afraid of being whipped. English said that after hours of continuous questioning he had not even known most of what went into his state- ment, and he signed because he was afraid of a beating. Forrest, Cooper and McKen- zie testified they didn't remember signing anything. Forrest said that he was given a pill that caused him to lose consciousness. * * * - THE TRIAL - THE TRIAL ran from June 15, 1948 to August 6. It ended in the death sen- tence for all six defendents. Although 53 persons appeared as wit- nesses for the State, the Judge declared "the State's case generally rests upon the confessions." Only one witness, Miss Mc- Guire, gave testimony that linked any of the defendants to the crime. Eight times she changed her testimony. She insisted that Forrest had signed a receipt for a deposit left on a mattress, although it was clearly established later that Forrest had never learned to write. The defendants offered testimony from 63 Negro and white witnesses. All alibies were supported by more than two witnesses. Two witnesses, Mrs. Barclay and Mr. El- dracher, testified that the defendants did not resemble the men they had seen. * * * - PRESENT STATUS - On June 30, 1949, the New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously reversed the conviction of the first trial. . The next trial was declared a mistrial when the Prosecutor underwent an appen- dectomy. The third trial, the present one, began March 5. None of these men, nor their families have a dollar left for legal expenses. * * * THESE ARE the facts-a fantastic jumble of errors and injustices. The Joint Committee To Secure A Fair Trial of the Trenton Six does not want elaborate rallies or eloquent oratory for these six men. The plain simple fact is, it needs money. As the pamphlet states the defendants have none, and, though not stat- ed, the Committee itself needs money to carry on the expensive defense procedures of the trials. Contributions may be sent to the Joint Committee To Secure A Fair Trial For The Trenton Six, fifth floor, 20 West 40th Street, New York, N.Y. Those who bitterly object to Communit tactics and to the inactivity of Ameridan liberals, must, if democracy is to be pro- tected by Americans, support-financially in this case-such a committee. -Alice Bogdonoff LookingBack__ FIVE YEARS AGO SENATOR VANDENBERa declared that America had developed a bipartisan foreign policy which barred 'appeasement' and called for a 'peace for keeps' based en justice to all nations. The development was the chief accomplishment of the Paris Coun- cil of Foreign Ministers. ** * TEN YEARS AGO COMMITTEES of the World Grain Con- ference sought the best method of ab- sorbing the international wheat surplus. Two opposing plans were advanced. The one, supported by the U.S., asked restricted acre- age on wheat, while the other, proposed by the Russians, advocated export quotas. FIFTEEN YEARS AGO PRIME MINISTER Stanley Baldwin told the world flatly that England would not stand for interference in Egypt and would take firm action against Anti-British senti- ment in Palestine. The statement preceeded an announcement that the British govern- ment planned to subsidize the extension of private automobile factories to quicken the production of military planes on a large- scale basis. -From the Pages of The Daily UNFORTUNATELY the world is likely to rate us by the company we keep. U.S. Senators who have chosen to represent Franco's Spain or Chiang's Formosa as well as Maine or Nevada feel compelled not only to welcome strange military allies but to endorse their political records. The Franco lovers would not quite recommend to the "The Cattle Are Giving All They've Got, Aren't They" M T ' S v~EMNSTy pp c ON TUE with DREW PEARSON WASHINGTON-The Senate's ruling that star witnesses in the Mac- Arthur hearings will not have to testify regarding confidential conversations presumably will hold for confidential conversations be- twen Gen. Omar Bradley and the other members of the Joint Chiefs However, some of their private reactions during the Mac- Arthur discussions are significant. Inside fact is that the Joint Chiefs were extremely nervous about the idea of ousting Mac- Arthur and took care to avoid the word "recommend" in report- ing to the White House that MacArthur be fired. Instead, and after considerable private debate, they decided to use the words "militarily advisable." Therefore, a report that it was "militarily advisable" to relieve MacArthur was signed by all four of the Joint Chiefs. Despite this compromise-wording there was no question among the Joint Chiefs that MacArthur should go. There were three general reasons for this view, and it is interesting, that none of them really agreed with Truman's reasons--namely, MacArthur's flouting of or- ders by discussing foreign policy. Reason No. 1-Was the fact that the Joint Chiefs considered MacArthur too rash as a military commander and likely to let Ameri- can forces in for more trouble. -TYING MAC ARTHUR'S HAND- HAT WAS WHY they actually tied his hands with the military directive regarding the bombing of Chinese bases. They decided that he could bomb Chinese bases If-and they were two very big ifs --1.The Communists threw in enough air power to jeopardize our ground troops; or 2. If the Chinese attacked any UN ships or installa- tions outside Korea. But MacArthur was given a further directive that before he could do any bombing in either of the above categories he must first con- sult the Joint Chiefs. In other words, what might provoke MacArthur into bombing Manchuria might not be enough to provoke the Joint Chiefs. They didn't trust his judgment, were afraid he would interpret these conditions far more liberally than they.ee Reason No. 2-Was the fact that MacArthur was not one to take the suggestions or guidance from the Joint Chiefs. While it is J.C.S. policy not to dictate to the commander in the field, they do reserve the right to give general guidance and make suggestions..a And they were quite provoked during MacArthur's November advance into North Korea that he ignored. their warning that there was no battle communication between General Walker's 8th Arny and General Almond's 10th Corps. When the Joint Chiefs warned MacArthur about this, he replied, rather coldly, that there was sufficient liaison.t However, the Joint Chiefs, still not satisfied, asked MacArthur a second time why General Almond and his 10th Corps were operating independntly of the 8th Army, leaving a big gap between the two forces. MacArthur replied, unconvincingly, that General Almond and his 10th Corps were drawing Chinese pressure away from the 8th Army. Later, when the Chinese struck, they picked the hole that had worried the Joint Chiefs, and smashed right into the vacuum be- tween the 10th Corps and the 8th Army. Reason No. 3-However, what finally got the Joint Chiefs really sore at MacArthur was the way his statement about using Chiang Kai- Shek's troops in Korea killed the Universal Military Training Bill. For months the Joint Chiefs had set their hearts on passing Universal Military Training for the first time in the history of the nation. But two days after MacArthur's statement urging tha we use Chiang's Formosan troops, the U.M.T. bill was dead. Mac- Arthur had killed it. For Congress was under immediate fire from the voters to use Chinese troops instead of expanding the draft. After that the Joint Chiefs needed no urging from the White House to state that it was "militarily advisable" to relieve MacArthur. ,. * * * --UN TROOPS- A LOT HAS BEEN published about the failure of our United Nations friends to support us in Korea, but not much about certain un- expected support. Italy, for instance, is not a member of the UN, but has asked for permission to send units to Korea. So far, nothing definite has been worked out. Peru, with a quite 'small army, is now sending a contingent to Korea. Actually Peru had volunteered some time before, but was told that a certain proportion of any Peruvian troops sent to Korea would have to speak English. This requiremnent, laid down by General MacArthur at first, was a hard one for a Spanish-speaking country like Peru to fulfill. Now that the language bar has been raised, Peru is sending its quota. (Copyright, 1951, by the Bell Syndicate, Inc.) XetteP4', TO THE EDITOR The Daily welcomes communications from its readers on matters of general interest, and will publish all letters which are signed by the writer and in good taste. Letters exceeding 300 words in length, defamatory or libelous letters, and letters which for any reason are not in good taste wil be condensed, edited or withheld from publication at the discretion of the editors. ' , Birth of a Nation ... To the Editor: I AM helping to show "The Birth of a Nation" to emphasize the principle that nothing ought to be kept from the minds of students and that items like this film are suitable objects of study and.dis- cussion. Last year, "Birth of a Nation" was banned from the campus. Students were then not able to make an effective protest such as that which culminated in the Slosson-Phillips off-campus debate. It is therefore necessary to supply that protest. It is said that this film is delib- erately and viciously anti-Negro, that it degrades the human spirit, that it is full of deliberate histori- cal distortions, that it has led to orgies of race hatred, that it was successfully used by the Ku Kluxl Klan in its frightening expansion after World War I. All this I believe to be true. But thereby, the film becomes all the more valuable. To preserve life, the doctor stud- ies death and disease. To fully comprehend racism's threat, to deal more intelligently with its impact, students must examine its ugliest and most powerful appeals in the best possible context. I believe that.students are cap- able of deriving great benefits from seeing "The Birth of a Na- tion" and hearing the accompany- ing talks by people like Prof.I Swanson and Mr. Hampton. We must reject any attempt by any-j one to lead us along the "path of righteousness" by placing blinders on our eyes and intellects. In general, we cannot yield to the special claims. which any group, minority or majority, makes upon the mass media, no matter' how sympathetic we may be with the legitimate aspirations of that group. There is no clear line be- tween banning "The Birth of a Nation" (objected to by Negroes) and censoring "The Miracle" (ob- jected to by Catholics), "Oliver Twist" (objected to by Jews) and Communist Phillips (objected to by a great variety of people). If we yield to any of these pres- sures, we risk a pallid and fearful intellectual sterility. Rather, the growth and through growth, strength and sense of accomplish- ment, which I feel they have al- ready attained. -George Qua * * * Expose . . To the Editors: ICELAND has been, as the papers reported, "taken over." Air- borne military forces landed there a few days ago to take over Its "defenses". That means the end of the Ice- land's independence. Of course, it also means that one more country has been set up as springboard for aggression against the East European states and the people of Western Europe. They are all over the world, these aviation bases "for defense." The other day, the French govern- ment turned over Morocco (which it stole from the Moroccan people) for Pentagon air bases. There are others all along the North African coast. All openly aimed at the Soviet Union's cities, farms, and factories. No one asks the peoples of these regions if they want protection any more than shake down racke- teers ask their victims if they want "protection". They take the "protection" or else. You, see, Washington is out to protect the freedom of the enslaved African and all the people in the world from the "Soviet menace", and Communist philosophy. Mean- while these people will have to face U. S. and British machine guns, as for example in Iran, China, and India, if they get the phoney no- tion that they would like national independence. Thus, the "defense - against Russia" racket, like all rackets, leads to the seizure of one country after another, like Hitler did prior to the second world war, for war bases. These countries are being victimized and dragged toward a war they don't want. What would the public say if it was the other way around-if the Soviet Union 'grabbed Iceland to "defend it," if the Soviet Union trampled on the people of Africa and set up air bases there, if it decided, that Long Island (like Taiwan) is needed for its security? There is not an honest person who can't see where the present war pressure for war is coming from and which way the wind blows. --George Miller, Grad * * * Both. To the Editor: Phooey on H. M. Taggartl I like Barnaby AND Pogo. -L. 0. Case, Jr. 04t 4 t ta RJ. t f . lA, frontiers must be sible. of free communication extended as far as pos- -Allan Silver, Neptune Film Society * * * ', Greek Week " " M ATTE kt JF FA C By JOSEPH ALSOP -IN A DARK HOUR. LONDON--From this angle of vision, at least, the United States appears to be ntirely preoccupied with internal contso- ersy. It is time for Americans to look broad again, however, and not in the di- action of the Far East, either. For the very oundations of the Western alliance against oviet aggression are trembling and crack- ig here in London. As any sane man must realize, that foundation is the Anglo-American part- nership, which is the hard core of West- ern strength. A crisis in the partnership has now been brought on by the reper- cussions of the MacArthur controversy in America, and by the effects of the Persian oil squabble in Britain. In effect, the Persian oil squabble is ra- idly becoming a pistol pointed at the heads f both partners, requiring them both to efine, once and for all, their relationship each other. This is so for a simple reason. is becoming increasingly unlikely that ie British can arrange any acceptable com- romise of the oil dispute with the highly rational Iranian administration of Dr. Mo- ammed Mossadegh. If the issue cannot 1,' egotiated, the-British must then choose etween passively allowing their vital oil re- urce to be expropriated, or sending troops 3 southern Iran to protect it. But in this choice, the United States is' nmediately and inextricably implicated, as ecretary of State Dean G. Acheson has al- ady been plainly told by Sir Oliver Franks. ar the British cannot venture to send oops to southern Iran, running all the im risks of this action, unless they can be re of American support. As a minimum ey must have American support in the nited Nations, where they will be charged th aggression by the Iranians, and will rely be convicted without our active aid. LATER REPORT will explore the Per- sian oil problem in detail. It is enough say here, in the present report on the aglo-American relationship, that losing e oil' resource will be a fatal blow to Bri- in's status as a world power. Furthermore, status of Communist China and Formosa, the same rule ought to hold true for us in the Middle East. But unfortunately, as is so often the case in international affairs, both reason and justice are irrelevant to the problem. The vital, inescapable, practical fact is that if we let down our ally in this unhappy crisis, the Anglo-American partnership will rapid-; ly dissolve in a tempest of recrimination. Such is the gravity of the choice that now confronts the Administration in Washing- ton. It Is tragic that this choice should be forced upon the American government at a time when all judgments are clouded by the MacArthur controversy. Yet in a way, it is also appropriate. What is now happening in fact is like one of those turning points in a marriage, which has for a long time been going from bad to worse, until' both hus- band and wife suddenly realize they must behave differently towards one another if the home is to be kept together. If we be- have boldly and generously, all may yet be well. * * * APECIFICALLY, THE British have receiv- ed a sharp lesson in Persia on the need for a partnership to be a two way street. The majority of them have also concluded that, the idea of bribing the Chinese Com- munists with a seat in the United Nations and with Formosa was never, after all, a very good one. The time is almost ripe for a close coordination of the once divergent Am- erican and British policies in the Far East. If this can be achieved, and the Persian hump can be got over, the troubles of the past will belong to the past. The source of those troubles, it should be remembered, was the original Ameri- can decision, taken by President Truman immediately after the 1948 election, to neglect the defenses of the West. Anyone could foresee-and it was repeatedly pre- dicted in this space-that neglect of the West's defenses would lead to a mood of appeasement among our more exposed allies. And that is precisely what oc- curred, producing all the strange mani- To the Editor: IN REGARD to a recent editorial concerning Greek Week by Crawford Young, it is the opinion of this writer that several facts were not brought out which were directly related to the success of the panels and kickoff rallies in particular and to Greek Week in general. Mr. Young states that the bias clause discussion was the "prime example of Greek Week's sad plight." Does the Daily have a special editor who attends cam- pus functions for the sole purpose of counting noses? Perhaps the turnout for the Kickoff Rally was small in comparison to the amount of publicity given it, yet I feel that if The Daily's representa- tives would give more attention to who was there and not how many, it would have been noticed that representatives from a majority of the fraternities on this campus were in attendance and of the fourteen fraternities on this cam- pus who still have selective clauses in their' constitutions, ten and probably more were in the audi- ence by personal count. - In regard to the Panel Discuss- ing held Wednesday, May 9th, the objective of this panel was, and I quote, "to inform the newly elected officers of the IFC about improve- ments which can be made in the organization and policies of the IFC."sCertainly the newly elected officers were there, as were the various committee chairmen from the. IFC committees and several well informed people, directly in- terested in the objective of the panel. Mr. Young states also that a quorum was lacking. Does one ususally have or need a quorum at a meeting of this type? Perhaps these above mentioned facts will help clear the issue in Mr. Young's mind and in the minds of others who place most of the editorials in the Daily next to the gospel in truth. In conclusion, I ask Mr. Young to give the "various embellishments to the Sing and the Ball" a chance to obtain i Sixty-First Year Edited and managed by students of, the University of Michigan under the authority of the Board in Control et Student Publications. Editorial Staff Jim Brown ........Managing Editor Paul Brentlinger ............City Editor Roma Lipsky .........ditorial Director Dave Thomas . ..........Feature Editor Janet watts ...........Associate Editor Nancy Bylan ..........Associate Editor James Gregory . ..... ..Associate Editor Bill Connolly .......... 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