The Tragic Case of George Farley [Cover title]

Los Angeles, California: George Farley Defense Committee, 1938. Good +. 9” x 6”. Bifolium, printed all four sides. Pp. [4]. Good plus: moderately creased and edgeworn; a few lead and colored pencil scrawls and notations.

This is an unrecorded plea to raise funds for the defense of an African American man on trial for murder. It is focused on his eviction and the “ruthless system of foreclosure which has already laid waste the happiness of thousands of Los Angeles families.”

This pamphlet compellingly sums up the tragedy wherein “George Farley, 54-year-old American Negro, went on trial for his life”:

“On February 17, 1938, Farley shot two men. They were deputy marshals who were putting George and Cora Farley out of the home they had worked all their lives for, the home they had lived in for fifteen years, the home they had lost through an inhuman assessment bond system which speculates in human misery.”

Although the Farleys had paid off their home, a street assessment bond for $49 was issued in 1928; they made payments for four years, reducing the balance by half, but lost all source of income due to the Depression. Foreclosure set in, and a real estate broker sued for possession in 1938 – “Penniless, the Farleys were unable to hire a lawyer. Ignorant of legal procedure, they did not appear in court.” When police came to evict, “Farley acted as might anyone else driven mad from worry, illness, and fear.” A shootout ensued and two marshals were killed. Farley survived five gunshots and was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in San Quentin. This pamphlet was issued by the “Farley Defense Committee” and declared that “If you are a small home-owner, an unemployed, a Negro, a workingman, or just a private citizen who opposes the crushing and ruining of human lives . . . you are interested in saving the life of George Farley.”

Rare ephemera related to the Los Angeles housing crisis, the Great Depression and one African American man's tragic tale. Not located in OCLC.