Biography
Herbert Kaufman, a Communist organizer, was abducted with Sol Larks to the outskirts of Terre Haute by the Black Helmets during the fortnight before June 11, 1936. The report describes whipping, beating, robbery and expulsion from town. These are attributed accounts of extrajudicial political detention; no exact day, judicial sentence or total duration is supplied. He is not merged with W. H. Kaufman or other same-surname prisoners. Daily Worker, June 12, 1936, original PDF page 5. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1936/v13-n141-NY-jun-12-1936-DW-Q.pdf#page=5
The June 1 account identifies him as acting Vigo County Communist chairman and says a policeman took him and James Wilson to Terre Haute’s outskirts on a Saturday night, where they were beaten; a Sunday strike meeting received their account. It attributes the terror to the Chamber of Commerce and Law and Order League. The companion’s printed name differs from Sol Larks in the June 12 account, so the discrepancy is retained rather than silently equating those men or inventing an exact incident day.
