The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-06-27
Gov. Altgeld, Of Illinois, Sets At
Liberty the Imprisoned
Anarchists.
He Says They Were Unfairly Con-
vlcted Through the Courts
Prejudice.
Chicago Papers Approve His Clemencv,
but Find Fault with His Comments
on the Matter.

CPH1N6FIELDs ILL.,, JuHe 70. -dOv. AltQcIO
to-day pardoned FieIdsn, Nssbs and
6chwab. the ana rchists who escaped hang
ing for their part In the Hsymatket bomb
throwing of May I, 1886. by having their
sentences comnuted to life imprisonment
in Joliet penitentiAry at the last moment.
lnrRe number Of policemen wore killed
and wounded At the time of the Havmarket
riot. Parsons, Spies. Enael and Fischer
were hanged for their participation IN the
affair. and Louis Ling9 avsrted the same
fate BY blowing his head TO pieces with
dynamite Cartridge the day before the exe-
cution. monument to the dead anar-
chists was unveiled yesterday afternoon.
The secretary Of state received . note this
morning from William +. Dozs. tho gov
ernor's private SEQ etary. transmittinR the
papers pertaining TO the application for
pardon and the executive order granting q
pardon to tho mon. The papers wsrs i'm
mediatsly made ont and given to E. d.
Dryer. who loft on tho noon train for
Joliet. He delivered the papers to Warden
Allen and the men were At once released.
Gov. Altgsld's opinion 10 very lengthy.
After reviewing the history OF the Hay
market riot trial and the conviction of the
mon. he says the people who urged execu-
tive olemency based their appeal on the
ground that assuming the prisoners were
guilty they hnd been punished enough. He
continues: "But othess assert that the jury
which tried the case was packed. and accord
ing to law tho jurors were not competen6
and the trial therefore not legal; further
that the defendants were not proved guilty
of the chargcs in the indictment and that
the stats's attorney declared that there was
no case against Neebs; and that the trial
judge WIS either 10 preiudiced or else so
determined TO win the applause Of certain
| olass that he did not grant fair trial."
After reviewing these reasons the governor
| says that II tho defendants had had fair
| !. ial there should be no executive inter
fs ence in this case.
On tho first proposition the governor
shows that the jury was not selected in the
usual; way. but that men wore s1mmoned
who were known to be preiudicsd against
competency of tho Jurors 10 act az such the
governor quotes from tbs record Of the su
preme court OF Illinois in what IN known a.
tho Cronin case, in which the jurors ans
wering questions almost the Same as in this
case were held to be incompetent. On tho
indictment que estion the governor SAYS it
Ia not known who thew the bomb. He
further shows that the actual throwing was
probably an aot Of vengeance by somo one
who had been maltrested by
Police Captain BonfleId. The gov
also .,s, qaGssss ,ao.
from which 1t appears that it was the policy
of a number of police officials to stir up
sentiments by largely exaggeratinR the mum.
ber and activit; of the anarchists. Eber-
sold ia quoted as saying: II began to think
there was perhaps not 80 much to the an
archy business as they claimed" The gov
ernor holds from this that most Of the So
nj
tions of ollo, officers in search of glory
and reward by subsequently discovering
them.
AZ to Nesbe's innocence tho governor
quotes letter written by Mayor Harrison,
in which 1t is shown there never was any
evidence against him. Rarrison's letter IL
Endorsed by Fred s. Winston, then corpora
tion counsel of Chicago.
In conclusion, the govern or refers to the
conduct of Presiding Judge Gary. showing
that or evory point his ruling was In favor
of tho state and that throughout the trial
the defendants which loft . pronounced
mark ulon the jury.
CHICAGO. June 26.-Gov. Altgsld's action
in pardoning the anarchists created no
urprise here. While IL Was not looked for
to-day it was expected, from tho governors
opinion on the matter. the pardons were
merely a question of time. Ever since the
men were sent to Joliet there has been
strong movement on foot for their releaee.
Few petitions so large as those in their
behalf were ever prepared in this country.
The Times commenting on the pardons
says: ''TheGe men wore wrong, but not
capitally wrong IN the method of their RQi-
tation for the redress of what they consid-
cred grievances. Gov. Altgeld has done NO
moro than right in giving them freedom
for the rest of their days"
The Inter- Ocean says: Gov Altgeld did
not stop with tho exercise of his constitu.
tional urerogative. but he went out OF his
wav to critioise the judge whs presided over
the trial court and the chief detective who
fsrreted out the testimony in the case.