The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1906-03-17
WESTERN Miners CASE
RESTS ON CONFESSION
Bulkeley Wells Says Charges
Against Men Are Based on
Orchards Confession.
Colorado Mine Owner Takes Live
ly Interest in Arrest of
Meyer and Hayward.

| possession OF perhaps most OF the IN
side facts on which the arrest of Moy-
er, Haywood and Pettibone was made,
I can only say we must wait and see
what the future will bring FORTH
Adjutant. General Bulkeley Wells
made the above statement after he had
gone over in detail the more important
events Of the past week.
| Il don't know. don't think anybody
can know as to their guilt he con-
tinued. Il believe there have been as
many as fifty offers made to me for
information concerning the killing of
Arthur Collins. have investigated
most Of them myself, and soon learn
ed their worthlessness. I am natural
ly skeptical of confessions.
I'm the case Of Orchards confession,
supported as it seems to be by cor
roborative evidence. I will say tina,
there are now to my mind for the first
time appearances against the Western
Federation officers which are gravely
discriminating. But with it all. am
waiting for the trial. with my mind un-
formed and unprejudiced."
General Wells explained his part in
! the arrest Of the federation officials
| by protesting a desire to learn at first
hand all facts possible to be gained by
! accompanying the Idaho officers on
their mission. He wanted it made
clear that he was acting in a private
capacity all through, and emphasized
this fact by saying that he had applied
for and had been granted a leave Of
! absence from Colorado.
Were the arrests Of miners officials
made as q result Of the Orchard con-
fession?" was asked him.
Yes" he said, after he had checked
| up on some of the statements he had
made. He then told me of digging up
the bomb in Judge Goddard's yard.
That long statement alleged to be
a confession signed by Orchard was
given Governor Mcdonald with the ap-
plication for requisition papers for the
three men cannot be denied. This
| statement went into details concerning
| alleged attempts to assassinate former
Governor Peabody, Justices Gabbert
and Goddard of the supreme court,
Sherman Bell, D.*:<H., Moffat, Dennis
Sheedy and others. 81. !z:%.5E
Yets DetectiYeT mcfarland knows
nothing Of the confession and has not
worked on it, according to his state
ment. = "a
1t is claimed by John O'Neill editor
of the Miners Magazine and one OF
the members Of the executive board Of
the federation. that the accused Or
ficials will be able to prove their in
| nocence.
"The charges are ridiculous on the
face of them." said ONeil. They
claim that We planted a bomb under
Justice Goddards front gate. But with
/ that claim their stories begin to differ.
| MCFARLAND claims the bomb was plac-
ed there last May. Governor Mcdonald
claims on the authority Of this Orchard
confession, that it was placed there last
November. There's an error in the
| start. ~
But ignoring that, why, if tho bomb
failed to explode, did the federation on
| the inner circle fail to send some one
to fix it so it would work? Why did
! they not send some one to dig it up
rather than have it left in the Goddard
yard to be found some time or other?
And why did we hire Orchard to do
these things when he had, according to
| his won story, failed so frequently in
carrying out the alleged designs?
1T would have been a comparatively
easy thing for the sPinkertons to plant
a soap box filled with harmless sub
stances in the Goddard yard and then
dig it up in all safety. I cannot UNDER
stand why such secrecy was maintain
ed when it was dug up. Only the de-
tectives and Wells were present. Yet
there could have been no special rea-
son for secrecy if the machine were
really there.
! LAS for the Gabbert episode, it does
seem strange that the men who placed
it there were foolish enough to believe
that they could leave pocketbook at
tached to two bombs in frequent path
across two city lots in the expectation
| that Justice Gabbert and no one else
would pick it up. Orchard testifies in
| this alleged confession that he placed
! the bomb ON the path several hours
| before VALLEY came along, and yet no
one was expected to pick up the pocket
book but the trusting Justice Gabbert
LAS nearly as I can learn, the Of
ficials in Idaho know nothing of this
confession Of Orchards, while the men
mere seem 10 KNOW all ABOUT II. IL
looks to me as though the confession
had been prepared by the Pinkertons
| and trumped up for no other purpose
than that of getting the federation's
officers out. of Denver and Colorado
without q hearing" "'.,
When Manager James MCFARLAND of
the Pinkertons was told of O'Neirs
statements, he gave a snort of mingled
rage and disgust and said he wasn't
going to waste any more time talkin.
about the case against the federation
men-he was going to hang them with.
out more explaining. ~
Its not for John O'Neil nor anyone;
else excepting the judge and jury to
decide said Mr.. Mcfarland, pound-
ing the walk with his cane. II gues,
my reputation is good enough to stand
up against anything o'Neil or anyone
else may say. think know some
thing about criminals, and II Haywood
and Meyer and the rest Of the bunch
aren't criminals Fiji cParland
didn't say what he would do.
Smoke tPuradorA Cigar Clear Havana.
Union Label and Home Made,