SENSATIONAL TRIAL

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXI, Issue 279, 9 November 1931, Page 8

SENSATIONAL TRIAL

DIGGING OUT THE REDS POLICEMAN’S EXPLOITS. SECRETS RTVEALED. Toronto, November 6. "To the members of the Communist Party in Canada Sergeant Leopold was known as a devoted and faithful workers to the cause, one who was always ready to entertain our organisers, always prepared to help out financially and always willing to pay his own expenses to our conventions or meetings.” These words were used to-day by Tim Buck, alleged leader of the Communist Party in Canada, a defence witness, in telling how Sergeant John Leopold, of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, had, under the name of Comrade E. W. Esselwain, acted as secretary of tho Regina (Saskatchewan) branch of the party for seven years from 1921 to 1928. Buck, and eight others are being tried on charges of being parties to a seditious conspiracy. Leopold has been the sensation of the trial. Testifying, he told how for the purpose of getting information he had obtained a position of confidence in the Communist Party, attending conventions and having access to correspondence. Leopold has stated that in 1923 3000 dollars were sent from Moscow for the Canadian Communists, but after that Moscow felt that tho organisation should bo self-supporting. The Crown concluded its case to-day with tho filing of documents linking Moscow and Canada. Among these was a thesis of Communism written by E. Vassiliev, of Moscow, who said proletarian self-defence should be organised. "The police had broken up dozens of sections of proletarian selfdefence,” Vassiliev wrote, "because comrades do not have the slightest conception of self-defence.” He recommended that comrades should train in throwing stones. They did not know the tactics of street fighting ami did not even know how to box.

"It is not enough to pick up a stone and throw it, but it is important that that stone should hit its target, and not merely hit its target but that some effect should be seen from the blow.” It was suggested that each evening and each morning, instead of going through gymnastic exercises, comrades should practice throwing stones at a target 25 paces away. The Communist Party in Canada has never fomented revolution, never advocated the use of force violence in overthrowing the capitalist system, and never preached the overthrow of the existing Government by force, according to testimony given by Tim Buck and Torr Ewen, alleged leaders of the Communist Party) in evidence on their on n behalf.