While today California has a ‘liberal’ reputation, it was the opposite a century ago when anti-syndicalist laws ruled and vigilante mobs roamed. A Young Pioneer camp (largely Jewish and Yiddish-speaking) in Yucaipa, California was raided by police, the K.K.K., and American Legion reactionaries in the spring of 1929. Seven, six of whom were women, were arrested with 19-year-old Young Communist League leader Yetta Stromberg given ten years in prison for flying a red flag. She began her serving her sentence in San Quentin in September, 1931 but was released after a mass campaign led by the International Labor Defense appealed the case to the Supreme Court where they won in May, 1932. Here is her story of her arrest and trial.

‘10 Years of Jail for a Red Flag’ by Yetta Stromberg from the Daily Worker. Vol. 6 No. 214. November 13, 1929.

Tells of Terror–Ku Klux Klan and American Legion Headed Active Forces of Reaction

LOS ANGELES, Cal. (By Mail.) The case of the children’s summer camp at Yucaipa. Cal. concluded at the San Bernardino county court on Wednesday October 23rd with the conviction of six of the seven defendants upon felony charges. One more link has been added in the chain of capitalist justice. The breaking up of the children’s camp and the subsequent arrest of seven of those engaged in the establishment and maintenance of the camp is not separate and apart from the general trend of events, but is part and parcel of the brutal, unceasing, offensive campaign of the bosses against the working class.

Three weeks after the opening of the camp a raid was upon it headed by the American Legion. Literature and general camp material was seized. Arrests were made of the leaders and the adults who had volunteered their services to the cooking, washing, and cleaning for the camp. This took place as a result of the secret observation of members of the K.K.K., the Better American Federation and the American Legion who found that instead of the teaching of boy scout principles the children were being guided along the lines of working-class solidarity. Instead of the patriotic dogmas they were learning about the conditions of the workers and their children and how to better them. These children were realizing that the struggles of the working class are their struggles and as such they too must participate in them. For these reasons the close of the camp was forced and prosecution made of those arrested.

Class Against Class.

The trial of Jennie Wolfson, Bella Mintz, Sarah Cutler, Isadore Berkowitz, Esther Karpiloff, Emma Schneiderman and Yetta Stromberg exemplified the capitalist justice doled out to class conscious wokers by the capitalist court. As a result of the trial all except Sarah Cutler, who was visiting at the camp when arrested, were convicted by the supposedly “unprejudiced” jury composed of bankers, retired engineers and ranchers. During the development of the trial the Communist Party was definitely put on trial. Those on trial were not tried and convicted because of their actions or activities at the camp, but because of any radical thoughts or ideas which they might possess. The actual camp issue became submerged and Communism became the predominant issue.

Fearing the escape of these criminals from the clutches of the law, Emma Schneiderman, Jennie Wolfson, Bella Mintz, Esther Karpiloff and Isadore Berkowitz, found guilty as to the conspiracy charge, were placed under $4,000 bail while Yetta Stromberg. member of the Young Communist League, sent out as the camp director and found guilty as to both charges, that of raising the red flag and conspiracy. was placed under $7,500 bail. After the verdict of guilty was given, a motion for a new trial was flatly denied and an appeal made to carry the case to a higher court made by the defense council. The last act of this mockery called a trial was concluded with the sentence pronounced by the judge: six months to five years for those convicted on the conspiracy charge and one to ten years for Yetta Stromberg convicted on both charges.

Campaign for Release.

Isadore Berkowitz, one of the defendants, committed suicide on Tues- day October 22nd as a direct result of illness contracted while serving in the U.S. army during the world war. His physical condition greatly aggravated by the severe jail treatment while locked up, finally drove him to death.

The International Labor Defense is now planning a statewide campaign around the case. Every class-conscious worker is to rally around these slogans which will form the basis of the campaign:

Fight against attempts to crush workers’ organizations!
Fight against the anti-picketing ordinances!
Fight for the right to teach Communism!
Fight for the repeal of the red flag and criminal syndicalism laws!

The Daily Worker began in 1924 and was published in New York City by the Communist Party US and its predecessor organizations. Among the most long-lasting and important left publications in US history, it had a circulation of 35,000 at its peak. The Daily Worker came from The Ohio Socialist, published by the Left Wing-dominated Socialist Party of Ohio in Cleveland from 1917 to November 1919, when it became became The Toiler, paper of the Communist Labor Party. In December 1921 the above-ground Workers Party of America merged the Toiler with the paper Workers Council to found The Worker, which became The Daily Worker beginning January 13, 1924.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1929/1929-ny/v06-n214-NY-nov-13-1929-DW-LOC.pdf