Willmar tribune., 1900-10-20

.. F."'. '''' 49, 'r.
= :1ff::sfli{E5j / fIllij :CRY: from 1AHo:,' :. :"
A's'' TsGES nSP?sf oSS n h''0m
First Ersedomi and: sAen Glory When that
Wesl!S, Vice, siop;-despotism at last.
HATH but. One page, T.. By ron.
:: The refusal of the 2house Of repre-
sentatfves to permit the printing of
the testimony given before its ,coeur
d'Alene investigating. committee, was,
from every standpo int, cowardly and
|.inexcnsable. The honest man is not
afraid of daylight. In view of the
fact that the investigation committee
reported against the people Of Idaho
and endorsed the actions of Brigadier
General Merriam and Governor
Steunenburg : in .imprisoning men
whose only crime was their member
ship in labor organizations, it is due
the American people that the testi-
mony which caused this verdict be
published. Why did the majority in
congress wish this testimony kept
from the eyes of the American work.
ingmen? If his position was just
one, as the verdict would indicate,
certainly it could not injure the name
and fame Of General Merriam to have
his actions and the reasons for them
made public. Why are all proceed
ings of the peoples representatives (?)
printed for publicity save the recital
of labor's crucifxion in Idaho? The
reasons were many, and from the
| standpoint Of the Standard Oil Co.
| and its cohorts in Idaho, in congress
and in. the army, they were good rea-
sons.
! The testimony showed many things
the publication of which would have
made the people mad, and their enc
mics uncomfortable. The testimony
showed: -..
That 1000 men were taken from
their employment without due process
of law, and imprisoned without COM
rmitment or trial by jury and not be-
ing charged with any offence.
That the 'bull pen" or prison in
which they were confined repeated the
horrors of Andersonville and the
"blacz hole' of Calcutta, and
wrecked forever the constitutions OF
many unfortunate inmates.
That for long, weary months these
innocent men were forced at the point
of the. bayonet to lie on the damp
ground, in the, filth that the absence Of
sanitary provisions made ever pres.
ent, and to endure vermin of every
4 kind.
That the food served to the inmates
was not properly prepared, and SO re-
pulsive in character as to ruin q
human stomach.
That One of these men was denied
the ministering OF the Catholic priest
to whose church he belonged:-a les
son in inhumanity without a parable
in the history Of civilized races.
That the secretary of the Burke
Miners Union, Paul ,Corcoran, was
ruthlessly taken from his home and is
now serving seventeen years. sen
tence in the Idaho penitentiary for the
commission of a, crime from the scene
Of which he was twenty miles distant
at the time it occurred, and that the
jury which convicted him was com
posed of employees. of the STANDARD
Oil Co. w..
That in one of the dark canons O.
Inaho there, is sad-faced woman tc
whose skirts are clinging four hungr,
children 1.-THE loved ones of this Pau
Corcoran, who is now paying tn,
price the Standard Oil Co. demand!
of men who are loyal to their fellow
men.
That General Merriam has said: {:
WOuIu ouSStSC d law udhluS Jl'
formation Of labor unions crime.''
That the wives and daughters O
these miners homes, whose protector!
were helpless before the guns of Gen
eral Merriam's s troops, were despoile(
by the colored soldiers without inter
ference from their superior officers
and to the delight of the Standard Oh
Co.'s agents.
That poor fellow by the name O
Johnson was arrested and ordered t<
perjure his soul by revealing certain
things against the miners union tina
he knew nothing about. That tht
tortures infected while trying to exac
this information, dethroned the mans
reason, and that he was shot dead by
the soldiers because he had, in his de
lirium, jumped into a river.
That no man was permitted, nor is
now permitted, to seek employment il
the mines of Shoshone county unless
I he has permit to do SO, signed by
the agent of General Merriam anc
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