New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-02-28
THE MoLLIE uAGUIREs or THE WEST

THE MOLLIE nAGUIRES OF THE WEST.
The arrest of the officers of the Western Fed
Grafton Of Miners on a charge of murder has
produced a profound sensation in the West, not
that such an accusation should be brought
against them, but that at last they should be
caught within the tolls of the law. Murder and
wholesale assassination and the OF dynamite
for political ends common gossip has long freely
laid the floors OF the order, but evidence has
always been difficult TO obtain or state Off
Gals have been too cowardly to prosecute the
leaders of powerful a force. Many crimes
publicly charged to federation miners have gone
unpublished throughout the mountain states OF
the West The present arrests in Idaho are due
to the confession of one Harry Orchard a mem
Der of the union. who acknowledges numbering
Ex-Governor Steunenberg of Idaho and dyna-
hitting fourteen nOn-uniOn miners at a railway
station at Independence, Col OF his confession
Governor Gooding Of Idaho says: when IL is
made public in detail 1t will shock ciy!liza ton
Orchards confession as to his own activities
as a murderer has in some degree been made
public He admits the Independence assassina-
ton, and the circumstances connecting him with
that crime were strong that the State of Col
orado long sought him the murderer. Equally
circumstances pointed to him and led to his ar
| rest as the murderer Of the former Governor OF
Idaho. Steunenberg had been active I'm attempt
ing TO restrain violence and sustain the law in
the Coeur d'Alene mining riots. This offence
against anarchy, occurring seven years ago. he
might fairly he supposed TO have lived down
Recently. however. it Is alleged the Western
Federation planned To reunionize the Conur
d'Alene district. and II decided at once to
settle an old score and 10 use the Ex-Governor
object lesson and a warning to the present
state administration. Be that 1t may. whether
from communal from Individual motives
Orchard killed Steunenberg, and his method
typical OF this drama OF crime, deserves descrip
tion. A bomb planted under the gate of
the Governors house. little was at
tached TO the gate and means supplied for max
ing quick connection with a string from the
gate 20 the bomb One end of this string was
tied to the cork of bottle containing suIphuric
acid hidden underground. This bottle was
placed the top of bomb. BY the opening ne
the gate the string terked the cork out of the
bottle. With the cork drawn the acid In tbe
bottle ran out upon one hundred giant cans
which had been saturated with bicarbonata of
potash and sugar The mixture of the cbar,I
cnls started spark and caused the exnlostoD
OF the bomb. which consisted OF many pounds or
dynamite
Precisely the same sort of bomb was planted
by Orchard, according TO his confession under
the gate OF Justice Gabbert OF the Sunrar,a
Court Of Colorado, who had ventured TO vjndi-
cate the dignity OF the law against miners dvna-
mite. II failed work. but the police have
since the confession. dug it up corroborative
evidence. Another machine planted in a
vacant lot I'm Denver usually crossed daily nv
Justice Goddard. OF the Supreme Court In
this case the string Was tied to purse II was