Biography
Paul Butash sold subscriptions to the Literary Digest. On May 19, 1936, while canvassing a grocery store in Angola, Indiana, he discussed economic inequality and political change. The men he spoke with invited him to address a public meeting that evening and later testified against him. His short speech concerned a Farmer-Labor Party; the prosecution relied on his answers to questions from the audience. A Steuben County jury convicted him under Indiana’s criminal-syndicalism law, and he was sent to the state penitentiary under a one-to-five-year sentence. The International Labor Defense and Chicago Civil Liberties Union supported his appeal. On June 23, 1937, the Indiana Supreme Court reversed the conviction, finding that the fragmentary testimony did not establish advocacy or incitement prohibited by the statute, and ordered a new trial.
The Daily Worker of August 1, 1936, page 8, reports $10,000 bond in Butash's Angola prosecution and a jury deliberation of fifteen minutes. The International Labor Defense account alleges that Ku Klux Klan and American Legion members assaulted him at the arranged public meeting, then intimidated students who had agreed to testify for him. It describes the disputed word force as meaning compel politicians to honor promises and reports a joint appeal campaign by the International Labor Defense and Chicago Civil Liberties Union. These are contemporary defense allegations and procedural details; the one-to-five-year sentence is not converted into actual time served.
