◆ SpookStack

te and, acoied. “wchuerro Bass trish so that T might teara what! decy, be momided the and told them that ,;jeappened to “enemies of the working class.” : thiy dead @ vight be petition ‘ggainst him if they _“'As they talked, my old love of witnessing some-_ aru nted to, tut, Ghat he thodght ny snisunderstand. “aighing new came over me. 1 wanted to see this trial, 4ngs that existed 90 be settled snicothly. eg ES Rat ¥ did not went te fiak being placed on ial 9” Who told ‘What we siere getting ep & poti- somywell, > : me ae “Linten,” told them. “I'm not guilty of Neal- " eon's charges. af I showed up at this trial, it would | gitl yelled. ~ - NE ape gee Beh Ree “No, it won't, Please come.” ‘4 i For tho wooting « delegatlo of Negro men came _- “All right. But, listen. If I'm tricked, F'll fight. | to my office and took oat their pocketknives and “You hear? I don’t trust Nealson. I'm not a politi- ° flashed them in my face. 2:5) 00< t+ 57°03 + Stinn and I cannot anticipate all the funny moves of 3 ion th el of i oe weet your “@ man who sponds his waking hours plotting.” bealiybotion out!” Shey vei’ te ca A ._ Bows trial took place that following Bunday af. { yom ‘Administration: Pivander eto oo “about the enecting, bal, at the doors, down the ee job, oe Til be exordered.” wf treet, and along the hallways. When I appeared, I 3 PWithin bwenty-Sour boure DeSheim end 1 were | ‘ras ushered in quickly. J was tense. It wes a rule { given our papers. We shook bends snd erent our “that once you had entered a meeting of this kind you separate ways. Bee Togthy “Vepould not leeve until the meeting was over; it was | Bau transferred to’ white axperimental theatri- : “feared that you might go to the police and denounce ; cal company as & publicity agent and I eeeotved to 3 . : hoep say ideas s0,sayoalt, or, bottet, $0 write os “lo, the nocused, sat alone at a table inthe front ee <Joget Leould not eecape feeling that he enjoyed this j | ~. aor him, chia wee perhaps the highlight of en other- : . __ pwvise bleak existence. 4 Sat Sp es ™ "cain trying to grasp why Communists hated intel- ee ot Negro Comamuniste called “Jectuals, my mind was led back again to the accounts | at my home and asked to speak to me im strict ve- sf] had read of the Russian Revolution. There had ] crecy. i 400k them into my .soom and locked the — ~existed in Old Russia millions of poor, ignorant peo- 4 ea RRR Des, sple who were exploited by a few educated, arrogant 4 WDick,“abey dogan abruptly, “the party srants " -oblemen, and it became nataral for the Russian + you to attend a meeting Sunday.” .:« ‘aCommunists to associate betrayal with intellectual 3 pRWhy? "dl asked. "P'm no longer a member. ~ "' gam. But there existed in the Western world an ele- j Sra bat’e all right. Shey went you to be present.” | gent that baffled and frightened the Communist : theyenid. °...0 2 ge": %- lah OE ET ~. Party: the sprevalence of aelf-achieved literacy. | Communists doa'tapeek to mo on the street,” I~ -Eivena Negro, entrapped by ignorance and exploita. 3 said. SNow, why do you want me at a meeting?” | tation, ~~ ae J had boen, — could, if he bad the will badged. They did not want to tell me. . ~~ -and the love for it, learn to read and to understand | Self you can’t tell mo, then T can't come, °d said. “the world in which he lived. And it was theve people ’ Ahisr among themeelves and finally that the Communists could not understand. ' " MDick, Ross ie going to be tried, "hey said MDhe trial began in a quict, informal manner. The | “Por hat?” oe wd 4 . seomrades acted like a group of neighbors sitting in 3 They recited a long hist of political offenses of sgadgment upon one of their kind who had stolen a 3 which they alleged that he was guilty. . a __eeehieken. Anybody wotld esk and get the floor. : “But what bas that got to do with me?” -.... "There was absolute freedom of speech. Yet the | SEIT you come, you'll find out,”"they said. +“. smnecting had an ‘amazingly formal structure of its ‘Sea not that malve,"id onic. dd mas euspicious « ows, « structure that went as deep as the desire of Were they ¢rying 60 lure me to a trial and “samen to live together. expel me? TEhis arial might-turn out ¢o be minc.”’ . » A member of the Central Cosasnittoe of the Com-- Wl bey ewore thet they had no intention of placing speauaist Party goes and gave « description of the roe-on trial, ¢ that the Periy merely stunted me to -werorld situation. He spoke without emotion and . oi