El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-02-11
SALTER IT. WORDEN.
Extraordinary Efforts Being made to
Save him From the GaIlOWS

1LAt1 oOA ALhuA DSAh3 hAesNO W
Save him From the GallOws
This was the date that had been
finally set for the execution of Salter
T. Worden, who was convicted OF
participation in the wreck of train
near Sac anne tod ,rin t e great Ame"-
ian Railway un on strike in 1894. Elk
traordinsry efforts have been put forth
to save Worden from the gallows. His
case was carried through every court
up tt the supreme court OF the Urited
States, but in each and every case the
decision was against the conde mned
man. The sympathies of President
Cleveland were enlisted and twice he
b ,sought Governor Budd to exer:iss
clemency. Not long ago Mrs. Mary
Jones, the mother of the A. r. IT,"
presented to President Mckinley q
petition signed by thousands of peO-
pie in all parts of the Uuited States
and APPEALED to him to use his good
offices with Governor Budd. The
president promised to invest gate the
case, but in the meantime Governor
Budd announced his intention of grant
ing a respite until next summer.
This will no doubt be carried out, and
on the 9Th tinst, with the view of re-
ceiving q commitation of the death
sentence to q term of the imprison-
ment, WO-den made full confess
sion of'-his crime to the governor.
Meanwhile the commission Apo nted
to determine Worden's sanity is taking
evidence. With the exception of the
famous case of Preller, the ST. Louis
murderer, where the federal authorities
at the instance of the Brit sh am
bassador, urged the desirability of
srnor of the state, the present is the
only other instance known in which
he interpretation of q president was
vouchsafed in behalf of a man ur der
state sentence to death. Wha' ever
may be the ultimate fate of Worden,
his case will be memorable one if
only from the nature of the appeal
ssued in the behalf quite recently by
Eugene V. Debs as president of the
Social Democracy Of America This
appeal, to which even yet signature 8
are being attached in many parts of
the country, was couched in language
of virulence seldom used nowadays.
In part, it said:
THE conspir acv to wreck the train
was concocted by detectives in the en-
ploy of the Southern Pacific railway
Company, and the crime was instigat ed,
if not actually comm tied, by these
hellhOunds. Worden, at the worst,
vas a tool in the bands of these cold
blooded and conscienceless creatures.
He was intensely in ear lest in his sup
oort of the strike, but there was no
murder in his heart. He had been a
delegate to the American Railway
inion convention, and was one of the
local leaders of the strike, which ha ,
sriumphed in California without blood
shed, and had a tremendous hold on
the public sympathy in that state.
'Worden was the very ma to eutrap
in the meshes of corporate conspiracy,
and the diabolical plo, was carried out
A train was wrecked aud chain o.
eliminating evidence WAS forged about
the helpless victim. AS if by magic the
pub ic sentiment turned against the
strikers and over balanced the strike
with defeat. The corpora ion was
triumphant and labor was ouce mere
in letters. This was the obi CT of tn,
conspiracy, and as necessary part of
he crime poor WOrden is to be strapg-
led to death on the gallows. The gov
ernor cannot be in ie norance as to the
zeal facts in the case. Nor is be igno-
rant of the fact that the Southern Pa
ciic company controls the politics and
politicians of the state as absolutely as
the Gear of Ru. STA controls his serfish
subjects. 1t is not good 20 itics' to
antagonize the Southern Pacific COM
pany, and this brutal corpoi alton in
sis's upon Word iog hanged.
know that this colossal plunderer
kuo, as the Southern Pacific ~.ilroad
company, has power en- ugh in Califor-
mia to control legislatures, courts,
press, pulpit, and even to silence pro-
test among merchants, doctors, lawyers
and the people generally.
LET every conceivable influence be
brought to bear upon the governor to
prevent the approaching tragedy. He
alone can prevent it; it is his duty to
do it, and we believe be shall do it. He
knows how conviction was secured and
what influences are behind 1t He
knows whence. comes the de, and for
WOrden's execution. He cannot be
ignorant of these facts, and if be fails