Biography
Harry Raymond was a seaman and member of the Marine Workers Industrial Union. He was one of five delegates chosen by the March 6, 1930 unemployment demonstration in New York to present demands for work and relief to Mayor Jimmy Walker. Police arrested the delegation at City Hall and held its members in jail until their release on bail on March 12. Raymond was convicted of unlawful assembly on April 11 and remanded to jail. On April 21, he received an indeterminate sentence of up to three years. He was held on the city’s prison islands, including Rikers Island and Welfare Island, and was released on February 20, 1931.
In a first-person account in the Daily Worker of March 13, 1931, page 2, Raymond described prison forced labor, guard violence and unequal treatment. He reported seeing a guard strike a prisoner at Harts Island shortly before he left prison, and said he had personally been refused a sweater supplied by the International Labor Defense while a former borough president was permitted a trunk of clothes. These are his attributed observations of the existing imprisonment, not evidence of a separate arrest or dated transfer. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1931/v08-n063-NY-mar-13-1931-DW-LOC.pdf
In his tribute to Robert Minor in the August 29, 1934 Daily Worker, Raymond recalls sharing a Welfare Island cell with Minor after the March 6, 1930 unemployment demonstration. He says they served six months together and describes Minor’s serious illness and continued political work. This retrospective description does not replace the separately documented bail gap, longer overall Raymond confinement or exact release. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1934/v11-n207-aug-29-1934-DW-LOC.pdf#page=1
The April 20, 1934 Daily Worker reports that strikebreaking operator George Williams brought a criminal-libel complaint over Raymond’s taxi-strike reporting. A Jefferson Market Court hearing was scheduled for April 24, with Joseph Brodsky and Edward Kuntz conducting the defense. The notice and captioned portrait establish the pending prosecution, without independently establishing an arrest or jail admission. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1934/v11-n095-apr-20-1934-DW-LOC.pdf#page=3
Page 8 reports that Daily Worker editor Clarence Hathaway and staff writer Harry Raymond had been indicted a few weeks earlier on criminal-libel charges brought by the Sherwood Detective Agency after Raymond exposed its strikebreaking during the New York taxi strike. This is a distinct 1934 labor-press prosecution, with no established arrest, custody term, verdict or release in this issue. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1934/v11-n172-jul-19-1934-DW-LOC.pdf
The April 9 Daily Worker reports that George Williams’s criminal-libel complaint arose from Raymond’s exposure of strikebreaking during the New York taxi strike and Williams’s connection with the Sherwood Detective Agency. A hearing had been postponed to April 10. This documents the prosecution of his reporting without establishing a jail interval. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1934/v11-n085-apr-09-1934-DW-LOC.pdf#page=2
The April 27 issue reports completion of testimony the previous afternoon before Magistrate Lindau, with a decision still pending. Stenographer Vera Taft testified that a disputed telephone conversation was between Max Sherwood and city editor Si Gerson, rather than Raymond. Edward Kuntz represented the defense. The report does not state a verdict or physical confinement. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1934/v11-n101-apr-27-1934-DW-LOC.pdf#page=2
Page 1’s Robert Minor birthday-banquet notice recalls Minor, Israel Amter, William Z. Foster and Harry Raymond serving six months at Welfare Island after the 1930 unemployed demonstration. This is a retrospective collective description of the known prosecution; no new custody episode, lifetime total or replacement of source-dated bail interruptions is inferred. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1934/v11-n206-aug-28-1934-DW-LOC.pdf
The June 16 issue reports that Hathaway and Raymond were brought before General Sessions Judge Rosalsky on Tuesday, June 12, on criminal-libel charges arising from the Sherwood Detective Agency exposure, with George Williams as complainant. Both were released on $500 bail. This adds an actual court-custody and bail episode to the already recorded prosecution; it supplies no elapsed detention time. Daily Worker, June 16, 1934, page 8. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1934/v11-n144-jun-16-1934-DW-LOC.pdf#page=8
The September 8, 1930 Laisve, page 5, reproduces an International Labor Defense political-prisoner directory. Its row prints Harry Raymond, a term of 6 months–3 years, the year 1930 in the sentencing-year column, and confinement or correspondence location 800 Fordham Street, City Island, New York. This is an attributed historical directory entry; printed years and nominal terms are not exact intake dates or measured time served, and mailing boxes do not independently identify a prison. The directory contains stale or conflicting chronology, so this row does not override independently established conviction, death or release facts. Source: https://www.spauda2.org/laisve/archive/1930/1930-09-08-LAISVE.pdf#page=5
Daily Worker, January 4, 1935, page 5: In the quoted Harry Eisman memoir reviewed by Martha Campion, Raymond is individually named among Foster, Minor, Raymond and Amter arrested in the March 6, 1930 unemployed-demonstration context. This is retrospective corroboration of the existing New York prosecution, without an additional arrest, exact sentence or custody endpoint inferred from the memoir. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1935/v12-n004-Nat-jan-04-1935-DW-LOC.pdf
The March 15, 1930 Daily Worker describes the five elected unemployed delegates appearing before Special Sessions and the Board of Estimate after their initial jail detention. The photo caption recalls refusal of bail and rearrest when bailed, while the news report and Foster meeting advertisement establish liberty before the planned March 24 trial. This is evidence of a pretrial bail gap, not proof of uninterrupted imprisonment from March 6 through later sentence; the exact bail-release day is not supplied here. The refusal of the defense requests for thirty or ten days to prepare is a procedural fact, not a completed sentence. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1930/v06-n319-NY-mar-15-1930-DW-LOC.pdf#page=1 and https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1930/v06-n319-NY-mar-15-1930-DW-LOC.pdf#page=2
The August14 report says ILD attorneys intended to seek permission to appeal to Justice Louis Brandeis because Harlan Stone was in Europe. It alleges the March6 unemployment defendants, despite misdemeanor accusations, had been held incommunicado, denied bail and refused jury trial. The Parole Commission recommended a six-month definite term (ten months for Raymond), but judicial confirmation remained necessary. The proposed October21 release for the three six-month defendants is not an accomplished discharge and cannot replace later verified endpoints. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1930/v07-n195-NY-aug-14-1930-DW-LOC.pdf#page=3
His signed letter from Harts Island thanks the ILD for prisoners’ relief funds, books and periodicals received during imprisonment. This is first-person evidence of prison support and location, not a new admission or release date. An adjacent unsigned censored letter is not his identified letter and its prisoner number is not attributed to him. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/labordefender/1930/v05n10-oct-1930-LD.pdf#page=19
Pages 2 and 5 repeat a release demand for Foster, Minor, Amter and Raymond, described as in prison for fighting for unemployment insurance. This is contemporary evidence of an ongoing defense campaign, not a new prosecution, exact gate-release date or additional numerical duration. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1930/v07-n221-NAT-sep-13-1930-DW-LOC.pdf
The March6 New York unemployed-delegation account reports incommunicado detention and fresh charges delaying release until March12, followed by April11 trial and return to the Tombs after conviction without bail. Predicted Sing Sing confinement is prospective and not a verified transfer. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/labordefender/1930/v05n05-may-1930-LD.pdf#page=7
The February 20, 1931 front page announced Harry Raymond's release that day from Welfare Island after ten months for the March 6 unemployed demonstration. It announced a February 23 welcome meeting at Irving Plaza. The article also named Foster, Minor, Amter and Joseph Lesten as arrested members of the elected delegation. Daily Worker, February 20, 1931, original PDF page 1. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1931/v08-n045-NY-feb-20-1931-DW-LOC.pdf#page=1
The February 23, 1931 front-page follow-up described Harry Raymond as just released after ten months for the March 6 unemployed demonstration. It announced his public welcome that evening and printed his appeal for the February 25 demonstrations. This is a follow-up to the February 20 release announcement. Daily Worker, February 23, 1931, original PDF page 1. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1931/v08-n047-NY-feb-23-1931-DW-LOC.pdf#page=1
The June 1930 Labor Defender places Harry Raymond at Riker's Island during the unemployed-delegation imprisonment. It reports denial of bail pending appeal and announces a June 3 appeal argument and a separate felonious-assault hearing. These are a contemporary confinement snapshot and scheduled proceedings, not new convictions, completed release dates or total time served. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/labordefender/1930/v05n06-jun-1930-LD.pdf#page=9
The article A New Attack on Foreign Born Workers is signed H. Raymond, prisoner number 52349, a member of the imprisoned unemployment delegation, and says it was written at Hart’s Island Penitentiary. This identifies a historical local prison number and confirms the place of prison writing; it is not a federal BOP number or evidence of a new admission or discharge day. The article argues for solidarity between native and foreign-born workers against deportation and discriminatory hiring.
The August 1 issue prints a joint statement attributed to the imprisoned New York unemployed delegates Foster, Minor, Amter and Raymond, calling on workers to join the anti-war demonstrations, oppose wage cuts and demand unemployment insurance. It links the prison statement to the March 6 unemployed demonstration. This is a dated record of political writing and activity during the existing case; it does not establish another arrest, a new jail admission or an actual release.
The Trade Union Unity Council requested permission for a committee to consult the imprisoned March 6 unemployed delegates on a municipal relief campaign, and sent its proposals to Foster, Minor, Amter and Raymond. The advertised parole dates and six- or ten-month recommendations are prospective, not proof of a physical release. Engdahl’s campaign announcement identifies Foster as still held at Hart’s Island; the visitation request refers to Welfare Island collectively, so no individual dated transfer is inferred from the differing location references.
The issue prints Commissioner R. C. Paterson’s reply confirming that the TUUC committee of five could not visit the imprisoned unemployed delegates as a body. Individual visits remained governed by the rule allowing one visitor at a time, two weeks apart. This is the documented refusal following the earlier request to consult on unemployment relief, not evidence of a new arrest or discharge. Proposed parole reductions remain prospective.
Daily Worker, July 19, 1934; relevant page stated in the accompanying profile note.
Daily Worker, August 28, 1934; relevant page stated in the accompanying profile note.
A signed prison essay bearing inmate number 52349
The October 17 essay “Facts About Fish” is signed H. Raymond, prisoner No. 52349, and closes with the statement that it was written at Hart’s Island Penitentiary. The name, exact inmate number and unemployed-delegate context identify Harry Raymond rather than Philip Raymond. Its criticism of the Fish inquiry is the author’s political argument, not a new judicial finding. The signed prison writing supplies biographical context but no additional admission, transfer, release or duration.
Protest and trial announcements before April 11
The April 8 issue announces a protest for April 9 at the Central Opera House against the threatened imprisonment of the New York March 6 unemployment delegation. Its page 3 continuation anticipates trial that Friday, April 11, in Special Sessions before three judges without a jury and warns of possible six-year penalties. These are campaign announcements and threatened exposure before the proceedings, not proof of a completed trial, an imposed six-year term or an actual admission. An adjacent caption criticizes Chief Magistrate McAdoo’s refusal of bail; it does not date a new remand or erase the separately documented March 12 bail gap. Existing later verdict, sentencing, individual custody intervals and numerical storage are preserved, without treating release demands as evidence of uninterrupted detention. The continuation prints Harold Raymond in the same five-person delegation; this source-specific form is not installed as a new legal name or confused with the separate Detroit organizer Philip Raymond.
Daily Worker, April 8, 1930, original pages 1, 3. Accounts and allegations are attributed to the newspaper; prospective proceedings are not treated as completed events.
The Behind the Bars directory on printed page 4 lists this prisoner under Harts Island, New York, with six months to three years, 1930. This is an attributed historical directory entry: the year and nominal term do not establish an intake day, uninterrupted imprisonment, completed service or physical release. PDF page 2 describes a ten-month term nearing completion; page 19 prints his signed Harts Island letter requesting workers’ papers and commenting on Portland arrests. Neither a rounded term nor the directory date establishes a physical discharge.
Daily Worker, January 4, 1935; relevant page stated in the accompanying profile note.
Page 2 reports Raymond then serving his unemployment-demonstration sentence at Hart’s Island and being denied a sweater sent for the cold. The ILD protested to commissioner Richard C. Patterson. This is a dated prison-conditions observation, without a new sentence or exact discharge.
Daily Worker, September 13, 1930; relevant page stated in the accompanying profile note.
The Bronx Coliseum anniversary account states the March 6 delegation was present except Raymond, who was still kept in jail. This directly corroborates continued confinement on the eve of the issue without supplying a new term or release.
The issue reports the four elected unemployed delegates still confined and prints Commissioner R. C. Paterson’s August 21 letter denying repeated political conferences in prison. It permits ordinary individual screened visits and correspondence while recalling the earlier Welfare Island nomination ceremony. This is contemporary confinement and visiting-policy evidence; it does not erase pretrial bail gaps, prove a fresh admission, or replace later established release dates.
A March 24, 1930 pretrial hearing report
The March 25, 1930 Daily Worker names Harry Raymond among the five New York unemployment delegates whose Special Sessions hearing the previous day was continued to April 11. It reports police excluding spectators and a proposed labor jury, and describes defense attorney Joseph Brodsky seeking time to prepare witnesses and moving pictures of police violence. In this March 24 hearing, the report identifies Assistant District Attorney Unger as opposing a longer delay and Judge Voorhees as denying it. These are hearing-specific roles, not a finding that Unger was the sole prosecutor at the later trial or that Voorhees replaced the separately recorded trial panel. April 11 was still a future hearing date. The newspaper’s rhetoric about the period since arrest is not evidence of continuous imprisonment across the separately documented March 12 bail release; no new admission, discharge, conviction or numerical custody total is inferred.
Daily Worker, March 25, 1930, original pages 1 and 3. Allegations and courtroom descriptions are attributed to this contemporary newspaper.
