Industrial Conspiracies
Portland: Otto Newman & Franklin L. Rusmisel, 1912. Softcover. 12mo. 32pp. Original red printed wrappers. Wraps detached from booklet. Clarence Seward Darrow was an American lawyer and a leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union. He was best known for defending Leopold and Loeb in their trial for murdering 14-year-old Robert "Bobby" Franks in 1924. The lecture in this booklet is on industrial conspiracies by C. S. Darrow, delivered in the Heilig Theatre in Portland, Oregon on September 10, 1912. "This address was delivered shortly after Mr. Darrow's triumphant acquittal on a charge growing out of his defense of the McNamara's at Los Angeles, California. The man, the subject and the occasion makes it one of the greatest speeches of our time..." The American federation called on Darrow to defend John and James McNamara, who were charged with dynamiting the Los Angeles Times building during the bitter struggle over the open shop in Southern California. Twenty-one employee's died in the explosion. Darrow came to realize that the brothers were guilty but worked hard to have them acquitted. An orchestrated plot was launched by the defense to bribe the jurors in the case. Darrow was at the scene of the attempted bribery as one of his investigators was arrested handing money to one of the jurors. With the case collapsing around him, Darrow convinced the brothers to change their plea to guilty. They received lengthy prison sentences instead of the death penalty. Darrow was accused by many in organized labor of selling the movement out. Shortly after the trial he was charged with two counts of attempting to bribe the jurors. In the first, he was acquitted, the second trial ended in a hung jury. Subsequently the D.A. agreed not to retry the case if Darrow promised not to practice law again in California. Bottom half of spine torn, creasing, age wear, small closed tears and staining on wraps. Title-page creased, chipping near staples and on upper part of same leaf with no loss of text. Last leaf creased with two small closed tears and minor chipping along lower gutter, rest of interior in good+ condition. Wraps poor. As is. fair. Item #30913
Price: $100.00