The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-09-10
ROMANO AN OLD
TIME CRIMINAL
Union Miners Deny That He
Belonged 10 the Federation.
WELL KNOWN IN COLORADO
WAS SUSPECTED OF GRIMES AT
VICTOR.

= Denver. Colo. Sept. e.-President >
y Charles Fl. Meyer and Secretary y
William d. Haywood Of the Vest =
= ern Federation of Miners declare =
= that T.. :. Slagel alias Robert RO- =
y maine. who has made a confession =
= at Topeka duplicating union min =
? ers in two explosions at Cripple =
= Creek. which killed fifteen non =
= unionists. WAS never a member Of y
y Free Coinage union Of Altman. y
> or any other union connected with =
y the federation. They utterly dis =
= credit the mans alleged confes- =
= sion.
Topeka. Kan. Sept. g.-B. r. Slagel.
alias Robert Romano. a prisoner I'm the
Shawnee county Jail. has made a con-
fessiOn before TIE county attorney Civ
ing details of the preparations to blow
up the Florence & cripple Creek rail-
road depot at independence. Colo. and
also the plot for the carrying out OF
the plan 10 blow up the Vindicator
mine. The depot was destroyed by nj
trO-glycerine on June :. 1864 and thir-
teen people were blown 10 pieces. and
the Nindicator mine was blown I'd
Nov. q. 1903.
Romano mas served sentences i'm the
Kansas and Colorado penitentiaries.
He was arrested in Topeka July by
Sheriff Lucas FOR robbery. In part,
Romano said:
Convict's Story.
4 left Canon City and went TO Grip
PIE Creek on the ST. OF October. 1902.
and hung around there unti along the
first part of November. and went TO
work on the Golden Cycle mine unde,'
Superintendent Holman
The next night after I went 10 work
1 got i'm with gang Of fellows wSo
asked me TO join the union and act as
a spy around the Golden cycle and
indicator mines. They were after Su-
perintendent Holman. / could not find
any way 10 get in there as they wanted
and told them so. But a few evenings
after the NindicatOr mine was blown
up by q dynamite machine furnished
by me.
About tie middle OF May returned
10 Canon City aud got a can of glyce-
rine and 500 feet of wire that ] had hid
there. On the night of June ii was
planned TO blow up the Cripple Greek
depot, 50 the next evening 7 got The
glycerine and wire and with an iron
prong about ten inches long and about
four inches wide ~ the top. with two
holes In there far enough apart TO catch
pistol back OF TIE hammer. so that
you could tie a string 70 the hammer
and not interfere with il.
How 1t Was Done.
II and another man erept under the
platform and fixed things. running the
wire 10 the Delmonie6 shaft 200 feet
away. We fooled around until the 10
( O'Clock train came liz L saw some Of
my friends there. and realized thai
they would be killed / did my best 20
would not go of. and when they saw
what I was trying 20 DO one man
grabbed me and struck me with his pis
tOl on the eye and again behind the
ear, where ] have scars now from those
blows. and I was knocked unconscious
for a short time. When I came to
again every body in Cripple Creek was
around there and there was great ex-
element Then + got out OF the tow
as quickly as possible. That was the
Sth. and on the night Of the 9th we ali
walked down TO Colorado Springs an3
got there about ) or o'clock the next
morning Three of the men bought
tickets for Pueblo. and ] think they
went west. On the night Of the 9th.
at $50. I took the Santa Fe train for
the east
Confession Sworn To.
Romaine's confession was made be-
fore County Attorney HunEaie ami
Sheriff Lucas and sworn 20 before H.
T. Laycock. notary public. Following
are the names Of miners which Ro-
maine declared were confedeTated with
him in the dyramiting OF the Vindicat-
or mine and Cripple Greek depot This
includes the entire list save two. the
names Of which the Topeka sheriff re-
fuses 10 give out:
jess Waters. - Foster. ~ Mckinney.
Louis TOssel. Jim Hicks. Carl Nelson.
nj L am, falnr, - 81 Id