Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1900-03-31
MORE sTEUNENBERG TESTIMONY.
Denies Inaugurating a Reign of Terror in
the Coeur d'AIene.

Den1eS Inaugurat1ng OF GerrOr In
the Occur d'Alene.
Washington, March 81. - Governor
Steunenberg resumed his testimony in
the Occur dAlene investigation yes
terday. Replying TO SGiZer he said there
was no agreement with General Mer-
riam that the labor organizations were
to be broken UP, nor was there any
talk of suppreSSing them. When SulZer
referred to the reign OF terror you
inaugurated" Governor SteunenberS
answered emphaticalIy: IL did not
inaugurated a reign of terror. 1t was
there before l got there, and has eX-
listed there for the last seven years"
He said further to Lentz: Il know
that county has been hell on earth
for the last ten years.
Then the examination dropped into
politics. The governor said he was
elected as a Democrat in ashland 1895
Did You support Mr.. Bryan?' asked
Dick. Il did
Would you support him again 2"
Most aSSuredly; if he is nominated
again will support him by all means"
Dick inquired if Bryan had ever
written or expressed any protest or
disapprOval of the governors course.
SulZer and LentZ protested. and Hay
of Virginia objected on the ground
that Bryan was not president. But he
will be SOOn," remarked LentZ. who
added that Bryan would not declare
martial law
The committee voted to allow the
question as TO whether Bryan had pro-
tested. and Governor Steunenberg said
he had never heard from Bryan in pro-
test or otherwise. Has any proSpec-
tive vice presidential candidate on the
Democratic ticket protested to you?"
l. lnYr tor n
rected toward SulZer. The governor
saId there had been no such protest.
The governor then proceeded to deny
in detail. or practically deny, all the al
legged cruelities at the bull pen"
Where he did not deny these things he
said he had never heard of them until
they were testified To here and had
heard of no complaints. Many persons
who visited the prison expressed as
tonishment and said they had been led
to believe by the newspapers that the
prison was a ''hell on EARTH" whereas
they found it orderly and clean. Sena-
tor Shoup made such n statement and
others were specified by the governor.
On the charge that the free press was
suppressed the governor said the only
interference was with the Mullan Mir
ror, because of seditious and infiam-
matOry publications calculated to
arouse further trouble. He denied that
meetings of labor unions wer e pro-
hibited. There were many union men
in the district and they were free to
hold meetings
Governor Steunenberg presented the
findings of n grand jury in 1894 setting
forth the lawlessness prevailing and
the depredationS of mobS and masked
men. Governor Steuenberg's closing
statement attracted much. attention for
it's vivid recital of a series of lawless
depredations in the Coeur dAlene.
which he said spread terror through
the community. He stated that the
house of the judge of the First district
Judge Mayhew-had been entered at
night by an armed and masked man
who wanted to know how Il ruling of
the court was to be made. On another
occasion an armed mob waited on a
judge and told him he had ''better rule
right The governor said fifty citizens
had told him that their lives would be
worth nothing if it became known that
they had disclosed acts of lawlessness
which occurred.