The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-07-22
TRIES TO SAVE
HER SONS LIFE
Abe Majors Mother Before
Board of PardOnS.
%
EFFORTS TO HAVE THE
SENTENCE COMMITTED
Fate Of Convicted Murderer to
be Decided Saturday.

The supreme court room was a sobei
and somber place yesterday afternoon
The board of pardons which met there,
considered eighteen cases and among
them that of young Abe Majors. who
is in the state penitentiary awaiting
death on the charge of killing Captain
William A. Brown of Ogden.
Mrs. Wagner, Majors mother, was
there, a forlorn and pitifuI object
broken down in health and spirit She
tIembled as if stricken with palsey
her hands shook and she hung hel
mead IN agony. She did not cry
aloud for she has gone past that stage
OF grief. She held her handkerchief to
ner eyes and looked at the floor all
through the proceedings excepting that
tlme when she spoke to the board for
a moment.
Miss Lulu Johnson of Iowa, a writer
VINO took interest in the case a long
time ago was there with Mrs. Majors
also two ladies Of the Christian Science
church who have been the leaders in
| the movement to have Majors sentence
committed. Miss johnson is going to
write statement of the case in full
in few days.
Petition For Communication.
Many other cases We're considered
! before the plea of Majors for commu-
tatlon OF his sentence from death to
NE Imprisonment was taken up. Then
clerk stephens of the board read the
petition in the case and many other
papers. One of the papers filed yes
terday was petition for Communication
signed by G. G. Goodwin, H. p. Hender-
son, Z. w. Duncan, George S. Gannett.
M h Walker, Alfred Rordame. H. B.
Prout, Ellis Bishop, j. S. Fordyce. f.
Mehesy, Jr., w. S. Henderson, 0. j.
salisbury and E. w. Wilson They
asked that the sentence of death be
commuted TO life Imprisonment.
Ihere were two affidavits of i'm
portance in the case and they furnish
the testimony on which the defense re-
! lies chiefly Tor success. One Of these is
made by Vern Phillips of Brigham
City, in which he declares that he
I heard William FOsgFen, one of the
jurors in the case say before he was
chosen that Majors ought to be hanged
Aces Brother the Murderer.
The other is by Constable George G.
! wells of Brigham City, who was on
the chase for the two Majors bows
/ when they were caught. He said that
when the firing began he was 45O yards
/ away and looked at the officers and
! men through a field glass He saw
! archie Majors fire one shot but did not
/ see Abe fire at all. This is a coutradic-
ton Of the testimony on which Majors
was convicted. He declares that he
/ was told by the county attorney to
/ keep quiet and that is why he said
/ hothlng. His testimony was not taken
at the trial
/ Mr.. Thomas Fitch did not arise to
/ the heights Of eloquence in his speech
IN Majors behalf. He probably
( thought that before such a body as the
/ board of pardOns it was out of place.
1 He said that his appearance was un-
| compensated and that it was a work
: OF mercy. He maintained that Majors
/ did not have fair trial and that the
/ affidavit of Phillips showed the bias of
] the jurors or at least one of them. He
/ went on to argue that it was not Abe
but Archie who fired the shot which
/ killed Captain Brown.
Mrs. Browns Feelings.
/ During the course of his remarks he
/ read from a statement that had been
written by two ladies who have aided
Majors, that Mrs. Brown, the widow.
did not ask that he be shot and that
! she had no feeling of revenge
Attorney +. NJ Allison, ir., of Ogden
represented the Brown family County
| Attorney B. H. Jones was not there.
Mr.. Allison replied to Mr.. Fitch at
length. One of his statements was
quite striking.
! we of Ogden feel that we have no
/ more lives to give the state of Utah if
/ Majors sentence is committed" he ex-
/ claimed dramatically.
/ He declared that no effort had been
! made TO keep quiet the testimony of
! Constable Wells and that it had not
! been used because it was worthless.
/ Concerning the affidavit of Phillips he
said that, if true, he admitted that it
/ proved that there was not a fair trial
/ He wanted time to get counter affidav-
! its from the persons who are said TO
/ have heard FOsgren make the state
/ ment.
Claim of Unfair Trial.
Justice Baskin asked him if the
| Phillips affidavit were supported by
| others if that would not show that there
was not fair trial and with great
| candor he said that it would.
During the argument of Mr.. Ali
! son, Mrs. Wagner and her little son
1 Ralph, who is but 10 years of age, sat
/ mOtionless and almost in tears. She
! shivered and shook at times as the at
| for he made strong and clear argu-
/ ment. once she reached down to the
! floor for her parasol which had faJ
! len. Her hand trembled and it w.
| with great effort she could rema
| steady enough to get it. The little DO,
| who is half-brOther of the prisoner
| seemed to realize the situation thor
| Oughly and he was almost as sorrow
| full as his mother.
The Mothers Plea.
But the most pitifuI scene of all came
when Mrs. Wagner rose to say few
words to the board. She could hardly
/ walk across the floor and as she came
| forward she wavered and stumbled tin
| it seemed that she would fall. She
caught the back of a chair and spoke
in almost inaudible tones
| Those shoes which he was talking
about that Abe had on / bought NV
self, she said in a husky voice that
was herd by the members of the board
| only when they reached to listen. And
another thing, lady in Brigham Citv
wrote me, and ! have the letter. that
the officers wanted to shoot nv how
when he had the handcuffc on him.
Il don't want you to look at me as
mother. L don't ASH fer mercy. 7
want justice. He never killed Can+aiD
Brown, and if my other son was alive
| he would say so | don't ask 10 have
| him saved because he is my son. am
not asking for mercy. / want YOU to
look at me as justice"
She could say no more. She trem-