The Producers News

ERIK BERT WARNED TO LEAVE TOWN BY BANKERS' SHERIFF

Charge Against Tialas and Hann Raised to "Obstructing Enforcement of Law" With Large Penalty; Trial on February 14

TRIO IS HELD ON $30,000 BONDS

Farmers and Farm Organizations Urged to Flood Gov. McNutt, Judge Vanderveer With Telegrams and Letters of Protest

CHICAGO, Ill., Feb. 2.-Trial of Alfred Tiala, National Secretary of the United Farmers League, Viola Tiala his wife, and Jesse Hann, local Indiana farm organizer came up yesterday at Kosciusko county court at Warsaw, Indiana.

Judge Vanderveer granted the state motion to postpone the trial until February 14 and the original charge of resisting an officer was dismissed and a more serious charge-obstructing the enforcement of the law-was placed against the defendants. The maximum penalty, if found guilty of this charge, is one year in jail and $100 fine. The judge denied the motion of the defence attorneys Bentall and Block to reduce the exhorbitant bail of $5,000 for each defendant.

Several hundred farmers filled the courthouse seats and were keenly interested and sympathetic to the defendants who are being railroaded to jail merely because they have defended the right of an American farmer to stay on his farm and not to be sold out to satisfy the mortgage sharks.

It was conclusively proved, to the satisfaction of every "neutral" person in the court, that Alfred Tiala, holding a responsible position in a large farmers organization, and as an officer in the Farmers Weekly, would not "skip bail." It was also pointed out that Mrs. Tiala, a mother, was in a nervous condition and should be released.

In spite of all this the judge stubbornly refused to lower the bail. The reason was clear enough -several hundred farms are to be sold Feb. 13 for taxes and the ruling class did not want Tiala free to help the farmers fight this robbery.

While waiting for the trial, the farmers in the Kosciusko and adjoining counties in the state of Indiana are organizing the Farmers Defense committees preparing to give adequate help to the defendants and also preparing to prevent future sales of their fellow farmer's homes. There is sufficient reason for this because about 1200 farms in Kosciusko county will be sold for taxes by February 13.

Expressing their keen interest in the defendants and the United Farmers League, farmers in Kosciusko county have promised to help raise bail for Alfred and Viola Tiala and Jesse Hann.

Sheriff Person in trying to bulldoze farmers into submission and inactivity, called Erik Bert, editor of the Farmers Weekly, into questioning immediately after the trial and threatened him with the American Legion, because he was making arrangements for a meeting with the farmers in the courthouse corridor. Upon the protest of Attorney Bentall to Judge Vanderveer, Bert was released with the warning to beat it out of town before sunset.

Against these threats, and for the defense of their rights to stay on their farms, the farmers of Kosciusko county and the farmers in Indiana, should organize. They will be strongly supported by the hundreds of thousands of organized farmers and workers who continue to pour their protests into Sheriff Person, Judge Vanderveer, Governor McNutt and President Roosevelt.

While protests should be continued, the U. F. L. National Office appeals to all farmers and workers organizations to send in money for the Defense Fund in order to put up a strong fight for the release of our national secretary, Alfred Tiala, his wife, Viola, and Jesse Hann, Indiana farmer and organizer