The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1876-08-31
THE MOLLY MAGUIRES.

HE MOLL1 MAUU1 HE'S.
Convection of six of the Defendants for
Aiding and Assisting in the Reward of a
Misunderstanding Testimony by One
of the Convicted.
[Pottsville (Pa) Cor. New York Herald.l
Another Molly Mcguire trial reached
a conclusion this evening. Like all the
other trials the verdict was, "Grilty, in
manner and form as indicted" James
Roarity, Christopher Donnelly, John
Donahue, Michael O'Brien, Patrick Do
Ian, and Patrick Butler were the defend
ants, and they were arraigned &C. for aid
ing and assisting to reward Thomas Hur-
ley for the murder of Conner James. F"
James was q young Welshman, a resi-
dent of Shenandoah. Several years ago
he was arrested and tried for the MUIR
der of an Irishman named Cosgrove,
who was killed in a brawl ct night. A
verdict of acquittal was found and was
deemed just by the general public. But
the Mollies decided that this man who
had been suspected of killing an Irish
man must die. On the 14th of August,
1875, while tending bar at picnic, he
was shot and killed by one Thomas Hur-
ley. So delighted were the Mollies at
the removal of James that they at once
began the agitation of rewarding Hurley
for the murder. On the 25th of August
county convention of the Ancient Or
der of Hibernians was called and as
sembled at Tanaqua. The defendants
were present in their high official ca
pacity.
A friend of Hurley's introduced the
subject of paying him a handsome sum
of money as reward for the murder of
James, and it was decided that $500 was
not too large sum for sucha clean job.
An interruption occurred. A member
of the convention disputed Hurley s
claim to the money, on the ground that
man named McClain had really killed
James. A committee of two, consisting
of McParlan, the Pinkerton detective,
and Patrick Butler, one Of the defend
rnts, was appointed to adjust these rival
claims. The committee met on the Ma
hanoy mountain, near Shenandoah, and
examined a number of witnesses. The
testimony was all for Hurley and the
committee reported to Jack Kehoe,
county delegate, that he was entitled to
however, the officers of the law began
to arrest the Mollies and the money was
used for feeling counsel for their defence.
This story reads like an invention. but is
only tUU true. During the trial the de-
PENDANTS were put upon the stand and
with one exception denied the whole
matter.
Patrick Butler not only confessed the
truth and admitted that he served on the
committee to adjust the claims of Hur-
ley and MCLEAN, but made some startl-
ing developments. He exposed a con-
spiracy, formed in 1873. to kill man
named Ned Burke in Mahanoy City,
which failed because the committee ap-
pointed were too drunk to shoot straight.
Again, in 1874, he was one of q commit
tee appointed to murder man at Jack
sons Patch, when whisky again pre-
vented the crime. The same year COM
mittee was appointed to kill Thomas
Sanger at Raven Run, who was subse-
quently murdered with Uren. He was
applied to once to furnish men to muir
der Capt. Hay and Joseph Reese, mine
bosses at Lost Creek, but refused.
The most startling part of Buffers
story waswhere he connected the National
Board of the A. 0. H., sitting in New
York city, with the knowledge and ap-
proval of murder committed by mem
Der of the order. Butler swore that
Jack Kehoe, county delegate of the A.
O. Ell. in Schuylkill, took Michael Doyle,
one of the murderers of Sanger A. Uren,
before the National Convention of the
A. O. H., in New York city, and said:
"This is a man who has committed
crimes and if you do not send him out
of the country he will go up"
The convention gave Doyle 800 and
he was sent to England. Hitherto it
has been claimed that the Mollies of the
coal regions had prostituted the A. 0.
H. and formed it into local murder
GUS league, but this sworn testimony in
dicates something more. AS the A. O.
FL. is powerful society, numbering in
Pennsylvania alone over 10000 mem
bers, it is of the greatest Importance to
have its true character established.