The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-03-11

coal hreaker. when the mob was stop- ned bv the threatening rifles of the Pinkertons. in the forefront, urging his comrades to kill the officers. was Mo- Kenna, wildly flourishing his thick eshallaIah," evidently the ringleader; The only one of the officers who knew that he was not the wild rioteh that he opposed was Robert J. Lindon cap tain of the Pinkertons. who signal ed to McKenna to get out of the way.
 Mclxenra refused to obey the signal, but Increased his attempt to have the rioters. attack the officers. He later said that he never expected to como out of the fray alive, but he knew that tha Mollies would suspect and kill him If he had shown the white feather, then. Besides, hel thought he had his work near enough completed. with enough evidence in the hands of the detective agency. to insure the conviction of the leading Mollies, even if he should be killed.
 When he left the witness stand a year later. nine members of the compa- ny of Pinkertons told him: T sup posed that day at Shenandoah that you we're the worst rioter of the lot, and I had you covered, intending to kill you if the order to fire had been giv- en.r
 T knew it." coolly replied the de- tective. T could see rifles all along the line aimed at me-"
 But the mob broke before the order to fire had to be given.
 Late in 1875 the Mollies became con. vinced that some member of the lodge was giving information to the officials, for arrests began to be made in man ner that made 1t evident that the off, .s. k< S..ffx a@ stated that if the traitor could be dis covered he would be killed at once, one of those who most loudly advocated such course being McKenna. Punish. ment was meted out to several men who were suspected of being the traitor but still the arrests continued,
 Under Suspicion at Last.
 It was not for nearly a year that sus- picion began to be cast at McKenna, and then his friends, who were among the leaders of the order several Of whom he afterward sent to the gallows. woald not listen to such accusations Such suspicion had existed for some time before it reached McKenna. so that he could take notice Of 1t. He then loudly expressed his desire to be brought face to face with any person who dared insfnuate that he was not a good Mollie, offe~ing to whip or meet any such traducer of his criminal repu- tation.
 When tLese whispers of suspicion. against him continued to be circulated. he went openly to his lodge and de- manded an official investigation, that he might be able to prove the falsity of the charges against him. His bluff was not called, although several mem beps of the order still believed that he was the informer, and secretly sought to kill him after they failed to interest the lodge in their suspicious Several times he narrowly escaped death at the hands of these suspicious persons. who laid many plots to kill him.
 went On Witness stand.
 When he undertook the work 1t was with the understanding that he was not to be asked to go on the witness stand, and if possible the fact that he was associated with the work was new CT to be known except to the few men in the secret. He succeeded In various ways in procuring evidence of the most conclusive nature to prove a large number of men guilty and placing that evidence in the hands of the officials without figuring directly in the case.
 When the trials of the arrested Mol lies began, however, he was so afraid that the evidence in the manner in which it existed would not be sufficient to secure conviction. that at his own request he was placed on the stand as witness in large number of mur- der trials in SC yeraI counties, and by his evidence succeeded in sending twelve of the leading Mollies to the gallows. and many others to prison for long terms, and thereby broke up the worst gang ever organized for crir1e in America, unless. as he now says, the record of criminals of the Western Miners Federation shall be shown to be worse than that of the Mollie Maguires.