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like California." He further ordered me to "shut up," as he was busy, and he said he had a "fix" in with the District Judge in Southbridge, Mass., so that the judge would do anything he said. He continued his search and found a metal document box, which was locked. He told me to open it. I told him I still thought a search warrant was in order. He then got angry, went in the barracks, got a screw driver and broke the lock on the box. In the box he found among our personal papers, contracts, insurance policies, a copy of the September 1960 issue of "Mattachine Review," also a letter from the Boston Area Council of the Mattachine Society, signed by S. Pierre, stating where we could find hotels suitable for us, since we were an interracial couple traveling together. He also found a copy of the book "Physique Pictorial," after which he immediately stated we were in possession of obscene literature. The officer took me, Harmon H., inside the barracks, to a separate room, and said he was contacting Sgt. Gerald Crowley, of the Mass. Bureau of Pornography in Boston. It was approximately 1:00 p.m. then.

In the meantime he called and arranged to obtain a tape recorder to play the tapes. Upon playing them, he said he was disappointed that they were not lewd party tapes.

At about 9:00 p.m. Sgt. Crowley arrived. He questioned us separately and stated that the Mattachine Review was obscene in his mind, and that he was going to put a stop to such activity. He declared that we were coming into Massachusetts to recruit homosexuals since that was the main idea of the Mattachine Society..

He then proceeded to ask us personal questions about our being "gay" and was it "more fun being an inter-racial couple."

Sgt. Crowley said he had never had the "pleasure of arresting an interracial pair" before and was going to make an example of us.

the

Then the two state troopers flipped a coin to see who would write up case. Trooper Crocker, who first stopped us, was the winner. We were then taken to the city jail at Southbridge, Mass., and booked, to be held for District Court on the following Monday, Sept. 12, 1960.

On September 12, we appeared in District Court at Southbridge, Mass. The Judge requested that the state police take a continuance until September 23, 1960. He set bail at $5,000.00 each. We were then taken to the county jail and house of correction at Worcester, Mass. to await further hearings. We were first both placed on what they call a "trial tier," then Edward was moved off this tier to another part of the jail. When we questioned as to why this move was made the officer in charge stated that many visitors pass on the trial tier and it was their policy not to cell Negroes on the tier for this reason. The jail regulations permitted one letter each week to a relative or personal friend which was closely censored, and could not contain

mattachine REVIEW

any information about the case or jail. The cells were small, equipped with

a bed, table and stool, one man to a cell. There was no toilet or water in the cell. The jail was operated on a strictly "silent" system. Prisoners were given four cups of water per day and allowed to walk and talk one hour outside of the cell each day.

On September 23 we appeared in District Court at Southbridge, and during the testimony of the State Trooper after our plea of "Not Guilty," the judge asked the trooper if this was the case he had discussed with him the day before.

The Trooper replied, "yes."

Our attorney asked that it be bound over for "Probable Cause" as the judge had already reviewed the evidence. Bail in the amount of $5,000.00 was continued on both of us.

On October 8, we were informed that our case was bound over for the January, 1961 session of the Grand Jury.

On October 25,1960, we petitioned for a reduction of Bail to $1,000.00 each and the petition was granted. However, we could not make the bail as no bonding company in Los Angeles, California, would write a bond, not even the Nation-Wide Bonding Co., as thay said the courts in Massachusetts were "uncertain in their procedure."

On January 5, 1961, we were indicted by the Grand Jury.

On January 10, 1961 we were arraigned in Superior Court, and pleaded "Not Guilty."

Then on January 12, 1961 we appeared in Superior Court before Judge Edward J. De Saulner, and charged with "possession of pornographic literature for the purpose of display and exhibition," with District Attorney William T. Buckley prosecuting.

Sgt. Crowley stated his case, in that "we were in possession of the Mattachine Review" and a "letter," and that "while it was a legal publication, it was an obscene and undesirsble book in his mind and should be so judged and banished in Massachusetts." The copy of "Physique Pictorial" he stated was legal and not obscene in his mind.

We were found guilty as charged, and when the matter of the 125 days we had spent in jail waiting was brought up, the District Attorney stated he did not feel it had any bearing on the matter. We were fined $250.00 each and were released.

(We could not get any cooperation or aggressive defense from our attorney, Thomas M. Simmons of Meyers and Meyers, Attorneys at Law, 262 Washington Street, Boston 8, Mass., as he said they felt the same as the court and stated they thought we should not have had the Mattachine Review in our possession and were lucky to get only a fine.)