100 YEARS AGO: YOUNG COMMUNISTS CHALKING ON SALFORD PAVEMENTS SPARK OUTRAGE... ALMOST

A tale of political unrest on the streets of Salford if not the pavements is the following story from the pages of The Salford City Reporter, May 1922.

Ronald Hicks who resided at Peacock Street, Pendleton appeared at Salford Magistrates Court charged with "chalking an announcement on the pavement at Oldfield Road, in contradiction of a Corporation bye-law"

Alongside him was, Yetta Israelite (her real name) from Halliwell Street, Cheetham charged with aiding and abetting.

It was stated that the offence consisted of a chalked advertisement on the pavement for a Communist meeting.

Police Constable Deakin told the Magistrate, Mr F.W, Atkin that he believed that the defendant was the Chairman of the Young Communist Party, Hicks smiled at this at this suggestion and said it was the first time he had heard of such an organisation.

The Magistrate then asked a strange question by asking the Constable if the writing was in English or hieroglyphics? he was assured that it was in English.

Hicks was proving to quite a character, he said he took exception to the Constable saying he was impertinent and asked him, 

"During my questioning you said that you were ignorant and hadn't had a college education like we had, if you are ignorant or an ignoramus, how can you define impertinence?"

Leaping to the Constables defence, the Magistrate said,

" The Constable is not an expert in law, only in that section of the law which concerns police duties, although he may not have had a college education as you say you have, he was carrying out his duty"

Hicks then asked him why he had carried out violence on him by knocking the blue chalk from his hand, which the Constable denied.

Police Constable Wood took the stand and told the Court that he went to the assistance of P. C. Deakin and as they were taking names and addresses, Hicks became abusive and that Yetta Israelite said that her parents were from Russia and that she was born in London adding for good measure, 

"It is only the young Communists who have saved this country from ruin"

I'll bet that went down well with the Court.

No doubt getting tired of the bickering the Magistrate asked Hicks if he wished to provide witnesses to show that the police used violence and that he couldn't say that he used violence on the chalk as that was just silly.

Hicks was just getting into his stride and said the reason he chalked on the pavement was to announce a meeting and at this time he didn't know it infringed a law and that he had been to the libraries and perused certain of the Corporations Acts but could not find any regulation dealing with this matter and that announcements had been chalked on the footpaths, he thought he had good ground for doing so.

Clearly getting annoyed the Magistrate told him that it was a pity he couldn't find the bye-law and perhaps the authorities will in future make such arrangements so that in future inquiring minds will be able to satisfy themselves on points of law.....

Yetta then took the stand and denied aiding and abetting Hicks and that she had met him with a view for going for a walk and that the police hadn't warned them properly and had no idea what they were going to say in Court.

Summing up the Magistrate clearly tired of the case told them.

"You two children must not do this, you were told to stop and being in possession of that most dangerous thing, a little knowledge you were rather offensive to P,C, Deakin, as you proceed to your respective University careers, you may be able to find out what I am doing now may be wrong in law, in which case I give you every facility to appeal against my decision and take me to the High Court to set me right"

He then bound them over in the sum of 15 shillings each to keep the peace for the next 12 months or forfeit the money.

The back story to this is that in Salford at this time there were several meetings at the nearby Hyndman Hall on Liverpool Street which was the headquarters of several left wing societies which was under constant observation by the Salford police.

The Russian revolution had taken place only five years previously and the threat of the same happening here was a constant worry to the authorities, the proverbial Red Menace as it was known and still is by some.

I wonder what happened to Ronald Hicks and Yetta Israelite did they go on to finish their education and become political firebrands?