Biography
William F. Kruse was appointed at age 21 by the SP National Executive Committee in July 1915 to direct the Young People's Socialist League; held that post through June 1918 and edited Young Socialists' Magazine. Youngest defendant in the Chicago Trial of Five; conviction vacated by Berger v. US (1921). Later worked in labor and film distribution (Amkino, importing Soviet films) and Communist Party-aligned organizations.
The June 19, 1929 Chicago account of the June 15 International Labor Defense demonstration arrests describes an intervening cash-bail appearance, a jury-trial demand and Judge Lyle’s questioning about Communist views and citizenship. Collective property bail was raised June 18, followed by orders for readmission June 19 and investigation of bondsmen. Attorney Bentall invoked the earlier Grant Park injunction. These bail interruptions do not establish an uninterrupted June 15–21 custody interval. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1929/1929-ny/v06-n089-NY-jun-20-1929-DW-LOC.pdf#page=2
Custody correction: The February 20, 1919 Roseburg Review dates sentencing. The February 27 Wagoner County Democrat confirms bail furnished for all five. Sentencing is not prison admission; the unsupported 711-day custody span is removed.
Separate June 1929 Grant Park protest prosecution
The November 1, 1929 Daily Worker explicitly names Wm. F. Kruse, described as the Chicago Communist district organizer at the time of arrest, among defendants arrested on June 15 during a Gastonia-defense protest that moved from Washington Park to Grant Park. The report says they met with several thousand others in Washington Park and describes the change from breach-of-peace allegations to sedition. It does not establish a bail release. A planned re-arrest following habeas-corpus proceedings is not treated as a completed custody event. This is separate from the older federal prosecution; exact physical admission, physical release day and duration remain unknown.
Daily Worker, November 1, 1929, pages 1, 3. Contemporary allegations are attributed to the newspaper.
Actual Chicago bail release, not a continuous six-day stay
The June 21 Chicago dispatch printed in the June 22, 1929 Daily Worker reports that the 27 Gastonia-defense demonstrators were out on bail that day for the third time. The continuation explicitly names William F. Kruse, Chicago Communist district organizer, among the released prisoners and describes habeas corpus and individual bail of $50 cash or $400 real estate. This is an actual release report, unlike the later article’s prospective re-arrest plan. June 15 identifies the original protest arrest, not the last jail admission; earlier bail gaps and the final readmission remain undated, and no continuous six-day term is calculated. The older federal prosecution is unchanged.
Daily Worker, June 22, 1929, original PDF pages 1–3 (printed pages 1, 2, 5). Contemporary allegations are attributed to the newspaper.
