‘Landlord Mobs of Alabama Attack Croppers’ from Southern Worker. Vol. 1 No. 49. July 25, 1931.

Deputies Murder One, 6 Wounded, 4 “Missing”

Fighting Starvation, Croppers Union Fighting Against Cutting Off Food, For Cash Settlement at Picking. I.L.D. To Defend 35 Croppers Held in Dadeville Jail

“Terror cannot smash our Union,” declared the organizer of the croppers Union of Tallapoosa and Lee counties of Alabama to a representative of the SOUTHERN WORKER.

The organized had succeeded in evading a lynch mob of 600 deputes, landowners and white businessmen of Dadeville, Camp Hill and surrounding towns, after Ralph Gray, Negro cropper, was murdered in cold blood by a gang of deputies; 6 others wounded; 35 thrown into jail, of whom 4 have been missing, probably taken for a ride by the mob, as the landowners made a desperate effort to smash the rapidly growing union.

A Fight Against Starvation

“The landowners would not fight against us so viciously if the Union was not for us and fighting against starvation,” continued the organizer, who had at last reached a place of safety after being sought for by the mob and bloodhounds from Wednesday to Saturday of last week.

“We had already won our first demand and forced the owners to continue giving us croppers food and advances. The landowners and storekeepers had decided to cut out all food advances to the croppers from July 1 to Aug. 15. By the strength of our organization of 800 members and by a wide distribution of the SOUTHERN WORKER, which called upon the croppers, renters and poor farmers—black and white, to organize and demand the continuation of the food advances, the landowners were forced to continue the food.

Are for Cash Settlement

“We are continuing to fight for our next demands. We are fighting for cash settlement when the cotton is picked, our right to sell our crops to whoever and how we please. We are fighting for a nine months Negro school with a free school bus. We are now paying $5 school tax and 75 cents bus tax for three months school, and there is no bus.”

Our comrade organizer gives us an account of what happened in Tallapoosa county, when the landowners decided to use every means to smash the union, and he relates the true facts of how Comrade Ralph Gray was murdered by Chief of Police Wilson of Dadeville. His story which exposes the lies of the boss newspapers is as follows:

Raid Meeting

Wednesday night, July 15, was a regular meeting of the Croppers Union in a vacant house near Camp Hill, at which there were about 80 present. The meeting was raided by an armed band of landowners and deputies led by Sheriff Young with the purpose of capturing the organizer, who was speaking at the meeting. The speaker held back the mob with a gun, while he made his getaway. They arrested one cropper in the house, who was armed, and seized about 20 SOUTHERN WORKERS and a few pamphlets. The newspaper reports that the mob found Union records and a complete list of members of the Union, is a lie by which they hoped to terrorize the croppers by making them think that they knew everyone in the Union.

After the meeting the mob broke into a cropper’s house and beat up the entire family, fracturing the wife’s skull in an effort to obtain information. Ralph Gray was present at the beating and forced the sheriff to stop the beating at the point of a gun.

Murder Gray

On Thursday the mob grew and rode through the country firing their guns into the croppers houses. A carload of mobsmen, with Chief of Police Wilson and Sheriff Young in it, passed Ralph Gray on the road, stopped and opened fire on him point-blank, smashing his legs. From the ground Gray returned the fire, which only wounded the sheriff, who was in the car and forced the car to rush off.

A Negro cropper carried Gray to a house, where he was found by Chief of Police Wilson and a gang of deputies. They murdered him in cold blood while he was lying defenseless in bed. They arrested everyone in the house. The house was burned to the ground on Friday morning.

Croppers Defend Themselves

Short skirmishes took place between the mobsmen and croppers who defended themselves, during which two other deputies were slightly wounded and 8 croppers received wounds. They were thrown into jail without treatment.

If it were not for the defense put up by the courageous croppers of Tallapoosa who were fighting against starvation, the lynch mob would have found dozens of victims, burning and pillaging right and left.

I.L.D. Defends Croppers

The International Labor Defense has sent a lawyer to defend the 35 croppers at present held in the Dadeville jail. Quick action by the I.L.D. in sending protest telegrams to Gov. Miller and Chief of Police Wilson demanding a stop to the mob terror and holding them responsible for the safety of the prisoners, undoubtedly saved the others in jail from a wholesale massacre. The telegram demanded the “immediate cessation of the reign of terror and murder by landowners and officers of croppers organizing against starvation and for better conditions. “We demand the rights of the Negro and white croppers to organize, meet, and defend themselves against lynch mobs. We hold you responsible for terroristic actions reported planned against croppers and their leaders.

The preliminary hearing of those arrested will be on July 28. Dossier Miner, T. Patterson, Willie Crabb, John and Tommy Fitch, Negro croppers are charged with assault murder. The last three are also charged with conspiracy to murder Sheriff Young, Deputy Thompson and Chief Wilson. Twenty-four others are charged with conspiracy and remainder with carrying weapons.

“Cutting Stovewood”

Chief Wilson said that four of the Negroes who had been wounded and placed in jail “went to cut stovewood,” and when asked when they would return answered “They had lots to cut.” The saying, “cutting stovewood” is an American Fascist password which means the same as “being taken for a ride.” It seems probable that these Negroes have been beaten or lynched.

This bloody reign of terror is not stopping the Croppers Union, which also had white croppers in its membership. Workers throughout the country are rising in mighty protest against the landowners terror. Protest this new outrage to the state of Alabama which is also trying to legally lynch nine young Negro boys! Demonstrate on Aug. 1st!

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