Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-07-23
ACCUSED BY DEBS.
Charges Against a Newspaper
OF the Windy City.
AFFIDAVIT BY THE STRIKE LEADER


support for a Consideration-A Check
Tor $1,000 That Appears To BE a Hoax
sacramento A. Il. U. Strikers Admit De.
feat, But Frisco and Oakland Men De-
cline to Follow Suit.
CHICAGO, July 23.-The latest sensation
In strike news is the alleged attempt Of
The Herald to sell its influence to the
American Railway Union if the A. II. U,
would deposit its funds in a certain city
bank. The charge is made by no less a
person than Eugene Y. Debs, and he
swears to it in an affidavit dated July 81,
1894. In substance the charge is that
about June l2 (previous to the strike) Debs
was approached by "an employe OF the
Chicago Herald" who said he was author
lied to speak to him on the matter of se-
curing the deposits of the American Rail-
way Union in the aforesaid bank, and
asked that he Debs) use his influence to
secure such deposits.
Promised Debs Its Support.
In consideration of these deposits The
Herald empoye told Debs that The Her
aid would support the American Rail.
way Union in the efforts then being made
to secure n settlement with the Pullman
company. This proposition Debs says
was made more than once. What reply
he made at the time Dabs does not state
In his affidavit as published, but later
when The Herald was lashing him he
asked the same employs: 'W hat is the
animus OF these malignant attacks on US
in The Herald?" To which he replied:
on have yourselves to blame for it, If you
had accepted my proposition in reference
to the deposit of your funds as urged you
to do The Herald would have been with
you in this fight"
Charges Against Other Papers.
The affidavit also says that reporters Of
the Tribune, Herald and Inter-Ocean had
told him (Deos) that their reports of what
he had said had been garUled and dis
torted before publication so as to do him
injustice. Debs' statements are corrobo-
rated by Howard, keliher and Rogers.
More 4. Il. U. Men Indicted.
Another installment of men indicted by
the grand jury for partici patton in rail-
road strikes has given bail Five direct
ors of the American Railway Union, WILL
lam Z. Burns, j. J. Doyls, Martin Elliott,
Roy NJ. Goodwin and James Hogan, We're
brought in. Burns was bailed out by Mike
Mcdonald and the others were released on
bail OF $1,000 each on two charges against
them. The indictments charged general
conspiracy to obstruct the mails and in
terstate commerce and interference with
| the constitutional rights of the shipper
j ohm +. McNean, another a. Il. L. Off
ciai, was also indicted, but has not yet
been arrested
Unkind, If 1t Was n Hoax.
During saturday afternoon Debs re-
ceived a check for 81 i,0O0 from Thomas
Shakespeare Tucker, of Baltimore. to aid
in his defense, enclosed in letter of en-
couragement tor the A. Il. L. The check
was drawn on the Howard National bank.
But n telegram from Baltimore says re-
ferrinC to this matter that it is n hoax,
and adds: ''The Howard National bank,
upon which the check was drawn, has no
! such customer and. in fact, Il close search
mas failed to find any one by that name
in Baltimore. The joker combined the
names of Tommy Tucker, OF base ball
| fame, and that OF the late lamented Will
lam Shakespeare.