Biography
Seymour Waldman was a journalist and author who investigated the arms industry. He worked in the Daily Worker's Washington bureau and traveled with Earl Browder's 1936 presidential campaign as a member of its national election committee. Terre Haute police arrested him with Browder and novelist Waldo Frank as they arrived on September 30, 1936. Police chief James C. Yates charged the campaign party with vagrancy and held them in jail, preventing the scheduled meeting. The five were released on October 1. Waldman was born on February 20, 1905, and died on December 16, 1991.
The October 1 Associated Press dispatch reports that Police Chief James C. Yates released Browder and four associates from Terre Haute jail that day after their arrest the preceding morning. It individually identifies novelist Waldo Frank, national election-campaign committee member Seymour Waldman, Indiana state chairman Charles Stadtfeld and party worker Andrew Remes. Browder’s vagrancy arrest at the train station prevented his planned speech. Attorney David J. Bentall announced an intention to sue the mayor and police chief for false imprisonment; that statement is not proof that a suit was filed or damages awarded. The overnight confinement is actual custody; the account does not itself measure a precise number of hours.
