Duluth Assault Case Before High Court.
Type of event: Legal Proceedings
Location: Duluth; St. Louis County; Minnesota; United States
Citation:
Minnesota Messenger, April 8, 1922, page 1.
“Duluth Assault Case Before High Court”
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DULUTH ASSAULT CASE
BEFORE HIGH COURT
ATTY. BARNETT ARGUES
FOR NEW
TRIAL
Atty. F. L. Barnett of Chicago, and Atty R. C. McCullough of Duluth, counsel for Max Mason, the Negro who is serving a term in Stillwater prison for the alleged assault on Irene Tusken, a white girl, which caused the lynching of three Negroes on June 14, 1920, appeared before the state supreme court on April 5th to argue an appeal from the decision of the district court.
STORY OF THE CASE.
THE MAX MASON
CASE.
Atty. F. L. Barnett called at The Messenger office and gave the following
statement of the Max Mason case:
The Max Mason case, appealed from the trial
at Duluth, was argued orally before the Supreme Court of Minnesota, Wednesday,
by Atty. F. L. Barnett of Chicago, representing Max Mason, appellant, and Warren
E. Greene, county attorney of Duluth, representing the State.
The case was
taken under advisement and an opinion will be rendered later. In his argument,
Mr. Barnett contended that the statement of the case by the prosecuting
witnesses was wholly insufficient to justify a verdict; that no reasonable
identification of Max Mason was shown by the evidence; that Max Mason was
indicted after he had been compelled to testify against himself, and hat the
evidence presented by the state, not only raised a reasonable doubt, but
actually proved that no rape had been committed.
The concluding efforts in
this case give evidence of splendid race loyalty to victims of race prejudice.
Max Mason and five other were indicted for rape alleged to have been committed
upon a white woman on a circus ground in Duluth, in June, 1920. The result of
that charge was the arrest of seventeen men on the morning after the alleged
rape. Three of the arrested men were lynched that night with indescribable
brutality, and the whole city of Duluth was thrown into riot and turmoil for
three days. Thirteen other colored men held in jail for several days–then
seven were discharged by the Grand Jury and six were indicted for rape. In
April, 1921, the indicted men were called to trial. As the prisoners were all
poor, the colored people of Duluth determined to secure for them the benefit of
a proper defense.
The splendid spirit of race loyalty showed itself, through
the work of the Duluth branch of the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People. Under the administrations of Messrs. George B. Kelley, George H.
Adams and Robert Newsome, presidents of the local association, more than $1,300
were raised by this recently organized branch and applied to payment of expenses
of the trial of the cases. This small body of race loving people retained F. L.
Barnett of Chicago, C. W. Scrutchins of Bemidji, Minn., to assist R. C.
McCullough in the trial of the cases. Wm. Miller was acquitted–the four
other indicted men were discharged without trial, and only Max Mason was found
guilty. Out of thirteen men originally held for the rape all were discharged
except Mason and the local branch decided to provide expenses of the appeal, and
within ten days raised one hundred and fifty dollars to guarantee payment of the
transcript of the evidence.
After the local branch had paid all the expenses
up to the trial of the cases and paid for the record to take the appeal to the
Supreme Court, the Branch referred further financing of the appeal to the
National Organization. This great organization, which had acknowledged
contributions specially for the Duluth cases, and of the contributions received
had expended $100.00 towards the defense fund. In perfecting the appeal,
printing of the record, costs of traveling and other incidentals, a deficit of
more than two hundred dollars must be met, which represents actual cash expended
independent entirely of the expenses of F. L. Barnett and R. C. McCullough who
are the attorneys who have prosecuted the appeal.
An Appeal for Aid.
It is to be hoped that local branches of the National Association will appreciate the good work of the Duluth Branch by liberal contributions to the National Organization and enable it to meet the unpaid expense of the appeal.