MOSCOW’S ORDERS

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 69, 14 December 1932, Page 9

MOSCOW’S ORDERS

Emissary in London

INCITEMENT CHARGE Sequel to Hunger-march By Telegraph—Press Assn. —Copyright London, Dec. 12. Sentence of two years’ imprisonment was passed on Sidney Job Elias, aged 35, chairman of the Unemployed Workers’ Union, on a charge of inciting Wai Hannington and Emfys Llewellyn, of the Unemployed Workers’ Union, to “cause discontent, dissatisfaction, and ill-will between different classes of his Majesty’s subjects, and create public disturbances against the police.” The charge arose from the discovery of a letter at the hunger-marchers’ headquarters in London on November 2 lash in which Elias, writing from Moscow, said, inter alia: “You must fight the police terror and agitate for the Police Chief’s dismissal. . . . There is no clear indication that the movement is trying to break the police terror in Birkenhead. Tlie fact being overlooked, the police are successfully breaking Birkenhead’s spirit. Some proposals must be made to comrades in Birkenhead and Liverpool on methods of fighting the police terror and agitation must be continued in the streets and simultaneously with the trade unions. There must ■be a national call to the rest of the country to join in the struggle to abolish the means test.” Section of Third International. It was alleged by the prosecution that the National Unemployed Workers’ Movement, which organised tlie unemployed marches, was a section of the Third International, under whose instructions Elias was acting. Commenting on the trial, Mr. Justice Charles declared that he was sure the jury would agree that the case had been free from political bias. Britain’s policy was to allow people to express any views and advocate any revolution they wished, provided they refrained from inciting others to disorder and violence. Elias had admitted that the hungermarch was aimed not at drawing attention to troubles bravely borne, but at inciting a mass struggle against the capitalist State. Demonstrations requiring police intervention were unlawful. Rightly Convicted. In passing sentence, the judge added that the jury had rightly convicted Elias. “The Unemployed Workers’ Movement,” he said, “interests workers only because the British worker is honest and law-abiding. Not one in a thousand is led astray by the activities Elias prosecuted at the behest of Moscow. The maximum sentence is far too short.” A well-dressed woman shouted: “How dare you arrogate the right to speak for the workers? To hell with capitalist justice.”