The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-12-03
TANNER INDICTED.
Grand Jury Finds a True Bill
Against Governor of illinois,.

St. Louis, Dec. "A special to the
Republic from Carlinville, Ill, says:
The virden- riot grand jury made its
formal report to Judge R. B. Shirley at
$50 last evening. Judge Shirley came
down from Springfield, where he was
holding court. and held a short half
hour session to receive this report.
The grand jury dealt -pertinently with
the affair, as far as it was able to as
certain. and returned true bills against
the principal participants of the trag-
edy of October II, al Virden. Ten in
dictments, involving "a persons were re-
turned Against John R. Tanner, gov
ernor of Illinois, there were three counts
for palpable omission of duty and NAL
feasance in office. Fred W. Lukins,
general manager of the Chicago Virden
Coal company. is charged with man
slaughter on two counts. With Lu-
lkinS, his deputies, Frank Wilder. J. E.
SiclSles and J. H. Smith are indicted for
the killing of Joseph Gitterele, a Mount
Olive miner.
Sixteen Thiel guards are held for riot.
In the Indictment against Governor
Tanner, the complaining witnesses are
John Graham, William Mitchell, VII
liam Wilson, Clarence Ross and Charles
Stewart, employees of the ChicagO-Vir-
den Coal company. They testified that
they were inundated and prevented
from following their legitimate employ
by an armed body of men, numbering
1000 who unlawfully and feloniOusly
were assembled in Virden; that the gov
ernor had been notified by the sheriff
of Macoupin county that no protection
was to be had from the county and was
earnestly importuned for state assist
ance.
Judge Shirley fixed Governor Tanners
bond at $500.
A. J. Roberts, the foreman of the
grand jury, who was also foreman of
the coroner's jury is a Virden police
magistrate He was strongly opposed
to indicting Governor Tanner.
In each of the indictments against
Governor Tanner, the omission of duty
was Identical: Failure and refusal to
respond to the call of Sheriff Daven-
port, of this county. for military aid in
suppressing the riOtOus demonstrations
of Virden coal miners.
The indictments were in brief as fol-
lows:
F1rst-Failure and refusal to send
troops to aid the sheriff in checking the
actions of a thousand or more men who
were preventing certain persons from
entering on their duties in the service
of the ChicagO-Virden Coal Mining
company.
Second-Failure and refusal to send
troops on the call of the sheriff to pre-
vent the samesmen from doing bodily
violence to the same wOuld-be employees.
Third-E'a1lure and refusal to send
troops to aid the sheriff in preventing
and combining to do injury to the
vould-be employees.
ernor Tanner was informed of the ac-
ton of the grand jury at Carlinville, he
received the news with Indifference and
manifested no interest in the particu-
lars. He was asked for an expression
in regard to the matter, but declined to
talk about it, simply saying that he did
not consider it worth while to discuss
the subject.
Attorney General Aiken was asked to
give his opinion regarding the legal eff
feet of the action in view of the sup
posed fact that the chief executive of
state cannot be proceeded against in
that way and cannot be prosecuted up
on the indictments returned, but he de-
clined to say anything about the matter
further than that he had not previously
heard of the action taken by the grand
jury, and was not aware that such ac-
ton was contemplated.
This is not the first time a governor of
Illinois has been indicted. 1t is but
few years since Ex-Governor Altgeld
was indicted in Champaign county as
one of the trustees Of the University of
Illinois, ex-OfficiO, because the sO-called
lag law was not observed at the uni
versity, but nothing ever came of the
indictment, which was soon afterward
dismissed