Text of the Federal Indictment

From Fourth International, Vol.2 No.7, August 1941, pp.212-214.
Transcription & mark-up: Einde O’Callaghan for ETOL.

At a stated term of the District Court of the United States of America for the district of Minnesota begun and held at the City of St. Paul, within and for the district and division aforesaid, on the first Tuesday in April, being the first day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and forty-one, by a duly empaneled, charged, and sworn grand jury of the United States of America within and for said district, it is presented in manner and form following, that is to say:

The Grand Jurors of the United States of America within and for said district in the name and by the authority of the said United States of America, upon their oaths present that from and before the 16th day of July, 1938, and continuously thereafter until the day of the filing of this indictment, in the Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, in the State and District of Minnesota, and within the jurisdiction of this Court, and in the City of Chicago, State of Illinois, and in the City and State of New York, and elsewhere, one Vincent Ray Dunne, Carl Skoglund, James P. Cannon, Farrell Dobbs, Miles B. Dunne, Felix Morrow, Grace Carlson, Oscar Coover, Harry DeBoer, Jake Cooper, Max Geldman, Carlos Hudson, Alfred Russell, Edward Palmquist, Rose Seiler, Albert Goldman, Oscar Schoenfeld, George Frosig, Emil Hanson, Dorothy Schultz, Kelly Postal, Clarence Hamel, Carl Kuehn, Roy Orgon, Ray Rainbolt, Grant Dunne, Harold Swanson, Walter Hagstrom and Nick Wagner hereinafter referred to as “defendants,” then and there being, did unlawfully, wilfully, knowingly, and feloniously conspire, plan, combine, confederate, and agree together and with each other, and with divers other persons to the Grand Jurors unknown, hereinafter referred to as “co-conspirators,” to overthrow, put down, and to destroy by force the Government of the United States of America, and to oppose by force the authority thereof.

And the Grand Jurors do present that as part of said conspiracy and as ways and means by which it would be accomplished, the following steps, among others, were to be and were taken, all an the city of Minneapolis, State and District aforesaid, and elsewhere within the period of time alleged in this indictment:

The defendants, who were officers, leaders, active members, and in control of a certain political party or organization known as the Socialist Workers Party, which said party or organization was composed of a large number of persons, the exact number being to the Grand Jurors unknown, would procure, induce, influence, incite, and encourage the members of the Socialist Workers Party, and divers other persons, whose names are to the Grand Jurors unknown, to join with them to bring about the overthrow by force of the Government of the United States, and the destruction thereof by force, and the opposition by force to the authority thereof.
The defendants would seek to bring about, whenever the time seemed to them propitious, an armed revolution against the Government of the United States, and the authority thereof.
Said armed revolution would be brought about and joined in by the workers and laborers and farmers of the United States, or as many of them as said defendants and their co-conspirators could procure and induce to engage therein.
Said workers, laborers and farmers would be by the defendants and their co-conspirators urged, counseled, and persuaded that the Government of the United States was imperialistic, capitalistic and organized and constituted for the purpose of subjecting workers and laborers to various and sundry deprivations and for the purpose of denying to them an alleged right to own, control and manage all property and industry in the United States, all to the end that said workers and laborers would be willing to take part in the armed revolution envisaged and projected by said defendants.
Members of the Socialist Workers Party would be placed in key positions in all major industries, among others the transportation, mining, lumbering, farming, shipping, and manufacturing industries, so that said party members could and would induce, persuade, and procure the workers and laborers in said industries to join said party, embrace its principles and objectives and obey the commands of its leaders, thereby enabling the defendants and other leaders of said Socialist Workers Party to obtain and exercise absolute control of all industries in the United States to the end that by paralyzing the same, said projected armed revolution could be more easily and successfully accomplished.
Members of the Socialist Workers Party would be placed in key positions in all trade unions and said party members would especially endeavor to obtain absolute control over such trade unions, so that the members thereof, comprising a vast number of workers and laborers in the United States, would be subject to the will and commands of said party leaders, thus enabling the defendants and their co-conspirators to bring about a complete stoppage of work in the major industries of the United States at any given time, and preventing thereby the duly constituted Government of the United States from adequately defending itself against the armed revolution the defendants conspired to bring about.
The defendants and their co-conspirators would endeavor by any means at their disposal to procure members of the military and naval forces of the United States to become undisciplined, to complain about food, living conditions, and missions to which they would be assigned, to create dissension, dissatisfaction and insubordination among the armed forces, to impair the loyalty and morale thereof, and finally to seek to gain control of said naval and military forces so that the enlisted personnel thereof would revolt against its officers, thereby enabling said defendants to overcome and put down by force and arms the constitutional Government of the United States.
When the Selective Service Act was passed, the members of said Socialist Workers Party would be urged to willingly accept service, but after being induced into the army of the United States, to do everything in their power to disrupt, hinder, and impair the efficient functioning thereof, and when the appropriate time came to turn their weapons against their officers.
The defendants and their co-conspirators would, and they did, advocate and attempt to bring about control of the militia by the workers and laborers of the United States, especially by trade unions; and the defendants would advise, counsel, and encourage the said workers and laborers to arm themselves and to become proficient and trained in the use thereof so that they would be better equipped to overthrow, destroy, and put down by force the Government of the United States.
Workers and laborers would be, and they were, organized into military units which would be armed and drilled and taught how skilfully to use pistols and rifles, which said units would be, and were, called “Union Defense Guards”; said units would ostensibly be used for protection against violent attempts to destroy trade unions, but were in truth and fact, designed and intended to be used ultimately to overthrow, destroy, and put down by force the duly constituted, constitutional Government of the United States.
The said defendants and their co-conspirators would, and they did, by and for the use of themselves and other persons to the Grand Jurors unknown, procure certain explosives, fire-arms, ammunition, weapons and military equipment, for the aforesaid purpose.
The said defendants and their co-conspirators would, and they did, accept as the ideal formula for the carrying out of their said objectives the Russian Revolution of 1917, whereby the then existing Government of Russia was overthrown by force and violence, and the principles, teachings, writings, counsel and advice of the leaders of that revolution, chiefly of V.I. Lenin, and Leon Trotsky, would be, and they were, looked to, relied on, followed and held out to others as catechisms and textbooks directing the manner and means by which the aforesaid aim of the defendants could, and would be, accomplished; and accordingly, certain of the defendants would, and they did, go from the City of Minneapolis, State and District of Minnesota, and from other cities in the United States to Mexico City, Mexico, there to advise with and to receive the advice, counsel, guidance, and directions of the said Leon Trotsky.
The said defendants and their co-conspirators would, and they did, endeavor to procure and persuade as many other persons as possible to join with them in their undertaking by printing, publishing, selling, distributing and publicly displaying and by causing to be printed, published, sold, distributed, and publicly displayed, written and printed matter, including leaflets, pamphlets, newspapers, magazines and books which advocated, advised and taught the duty, necessity, desirability, and propriety of overthrowing and destroying by force and violence all governments in the world said by the defendants, their mentors and leaders, to be imperialistic and capitalistic, and of the governments so characterized, the Government of the United States of America was said to be the foremost. Contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided, and especially contrary to Section 6 of Title 18 of the United States Code, and against the peace and dignity of the United States.

SECOND COUNT

And the Grand Jurors aforesaid, upon their oaths aforesaid, do further present that heretofore, to-wit: beginning the 28th day of June, 1940, and continuously thereafter until the day of the filing of this indictment, at the Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, in the State and District of Minnesota, and within the jurisdiction of this Court, and in the City of Chicago, State of Illinois, and in the City and State of New York, and elsewhere, one Vincent Ray Dunne, Carl Skoglund, James P. Cannon, Farrell Dobbs, Miles B. Dunne, Felix Morrow, Grace Carlson, Oscar Coover, Harry De Boer, Jake Cooper, Max Geldman, Carlos Hudson, Alfred Russell, Edward Palmquist, Rose Seller, Albert Goldman, Oscar Schoenfeld, George Frosig, Emil Hanson, Dorothy Schultz, Kelly Postal, Clarence Hamel, Carl Kuehn, Roy Orgon, Ray Rainbolt, Grant Dunne, Harold Swanson, Walter Hagstrom, and Nick Wagner, hereinafter referred to as “defendants,” then and there being, did unlawfully, willfully, knowingly and feloniously conspire, plan, combine, confederate and agree together and with each other, and with divers other persons to the Grand Jurors unknown, hereinafter referred to as “co-conspirators” to commit certain acts prohibited by certain statutes of the United States, namely, Sections 9 and 10 of Title 18 of the United States Code, in that they in the Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, State and District of Minnesota, and elsewhere, and during the period of time alleged in this count:

With the intent to interfere with, impair and influence the loyalty, morale and discipline of the military and naval forces of the United States, would
a. Advise, counsel, urge, and cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, and refusal of duty by members of the military and naval forces of the United States, and
b. Distribute written and printed matter which advised, counseled, and urged insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny and refusal of duty by members of the military and naval forces of the United States, and
Knowingly and willfully would, and they did, advocate, abet, advise and teach the duty, necessity, desirability and propriety of overthrowing and destroying the Government of the United States by force and violence, and
With the intent to cause the overthrow and destruction of the Government of the United States would, and they did, print, publish, edit, issue, circulate, sell, distribute and publicly display written and printed matter advocating, advising, and teaching the duty, necessity, desirability and propriety of overthrowing and destroying the Government of the United States by force and violence, and
Would, and they did, organize and help to organize societies, groups and assemblies of persons to teach, advocate and encourage the overthrow and destruction of the Government of the United States by force and violence, and
Would be, and did, become members of and affiliated with such societies, groups and assemblies knowing the purpose thereof.

And the Grand Jurors do present that the said defendants and their co-conspirators would, and they did, attempt to carry out and accomplish said conspiracy in the manner set out in numbered paragraphs 1 to 13, inclusive, in the first count of this indictment; Contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided, and especially contrary to Section 11 of Title 18 of the United States Code, and against the peace and dignity of the United States.
Dated July 15, 1941

WENDELL BERGE
Assistant Attorney General

HENRY A. SCHWEINHAUT
Special Assistant to
the Attorney General

VICTOR E. ANDERSON
United States Attorney
for the District of Minnesota

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