St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-07-15
DEMPSEY NOT GUILTY.
GALLAGHER AND DAVIDSON CONFESS
TO COMMITTING PERJURY.
NO MEN POISONED HOMESTEAD
Pinkerton Detectives Put Up the
Job and Hold Murder Charge
Over the Formers Head to
Make Him Swear TO His First
Story,

tiary for self-confessed completely in the
poisoning of the workmen in the Home
stead mill, have made q confession, in
which they say they were paid to swear
away the liberty of Hugh F. Dempsey
and Robert J. Beatty, both of whom
they now assert were innocent of the
crime of which they were convicted.
They further state, as tar as they know,
there was no poison administered to the
men in the Homestead mill. Gallagher'S
confession is written by himself and
sworn TO before Squire Egan. David
sons was given verbally in the pres
ence of witnesses.
Attorney Porter, one of Dempsey's
attorneys, has. ever since the trial., beeu
gathering evidence in DempSey's favor.
Six weeks ago he received a letter from
Gallagher. asking him to call at the
peDitentiary. Mr.. Porter called. and.
IN the presence of Warden Wright and
Squire White, Gallagher and Davidson
told their story. Gallagher said the
secret was killing him. He had pre-
pared the confession, and read it to the
gentlemen present, and then made affi-
davit TO it. DaYidson's statements were
simply q confederation of Gallagher's.
Mr.. Porter this afternoon gave out the
Substance of the Confession.
supressing only the names of the men
who Gallagher says were in the plot to
send Dempsey to prison. Mr.. Porter
read Gallagher's confession as follows,
showing the reporter that the paper was
properly signed and attested:
Dempsey and Beatty are entirely in
nocent. l never got any powders or
poison from them, and never adminiS-
tered any in the mill. 1 was told by
Pinkerton detectives. who arrested me.
that if l did not do as they wanted me
to do, they would indict me for murder
and have me hanged. They got me
drunk and prepared a confession for
me. was kept supplied with money
and whisky for fOrty-two days, while
detective shadOwed me all the time. l
was told that if l attempted to get away
l would be shot. After the story got into
the newspapers | was given 4 revolver
and was told that 1 would be justified
in shooting any one. They told me
they were after Dempsey because he
was at the head of the Knights of Labor
and that organization was no good and
ought to be broken up. They said that
if | would testify against Dempsey and
Beatty they would not push a murder
charge against me and that [ would go
Nfan 4 IA
sixty days to satisfy the public. They
continually cautioned me not to get
mixed in my story. but to swear to
what they said and they made me re-
hearse the story. The others had to
take the cue from me and make their
stories corroborate mine"
Dempsey Told the Truth.
What Dempsey swore 10 was true.
He hired US to make reports of the num-
Der of men in the mills. That S25 got
from him was borrowed money. and
was used to prevent my furniture being
taken from me. E. W. Robinson. the
prisoner in jail who testified that | told
him Dempsey was innocent and that
this was put-up job told the truth. |
GlG tell him that. ! was kept supplied
with money, provisions and clothes
while was in jail. the same as when [
was out. They kept continually telling
me to swear the case through and stick
to il, SO as they could not swear out of
it, as in the Critchlow case. IF they got
this case through, they said. that would
settle tha Homestead people. | was
told they had twenty-five witnesses to
bolster up my story. They had me so
badly frightened and kept me drunk so
long that did not know whether l was
living or dead half the time"
Davidson'S statement is about the
same as Gallagher's. Besides these Mr..
Porter has the affidavit of a person who
swears that certain detective in the
atlantis presence told Gallagher why he
wanted to send Dempsey to prison. 1t
was because he wanted to strike a blow
at the Knights of Labor. The detective
also said that the only way TO do it was
to swear Dempsey was guilty and stick
to it to the end. If he did not swear
this, the detective said he would have
Gallagher Indicted for murder. Similar
corrObations of the confessions OF the
convicts is given by nearly a dozen wit
nesses whose affidavits Sir. Porter has
in mis- possession. 1t was also shown
where detectives tried to set others to
do some swearing in the case and where
d4se AeSIEInOnYs
outside of Gallagher and Davidson. was
given at the trial. Mr.. Porter said:
Il do not want any unjust suspicion
to be attached to any one. This work
was done entirely by Pinkerton detec-
tiyes, probably because they wanted to
get even for their defeat on July 6. and
certainly without authority" Mr. Porter
thinks that because other persons who
were connected with the case. accord
ing to Gallagher's first confession, were
not prosecuted, is sufficient and con-
elusive evidence that the whole thing
was plot against Dempsey"
Continuing, Mr.. Porter said:
From the first | have been entirely
satisfied of Dempsey's innocence, and,
more than that. there was never any
poison administered in the Homestead
mill. This is the unfortunate result of
reputable people of Allegheny county
thieves and convicts from
Chicago and other places and
using them as detectives. l have
no doubt but that when we establish
the truth of what we now know to be
true, the pardon of Hugh f. Dempsey
and Robert j. Beatty Will meet with
hearty approval. Tomorrow an order
from court will be secured for the con-
vets IN the penItentiary to give testi-
mony, and the district attorney, togeth.
er with the attorneys for Dempsey and
Beatty, will have Gallagher and
Davidson repeat their confessions, while
the district attorney Will cross-eXamine
them. Then. if they stick to the state
ments already n.ade, papers will be
and an appeal to the board of
pardons will be made al the earliest
possible date. This done. attention will
be given TO the persons instrumental in
depriving Dempsey and Beatty OF their
Iiberty.''