Montana news. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1904-191?, 1907-07-04

On Wednesday afternoon w. f.
Davis took the stand. This is one Of
the most valiant and dauntless char
acters in the whole ranks of the West
ern Federation He was accused of
stealing and running the train in the
Coeur d'Alenes at the time the mill
was blown up. The mine owners de-
clared he was on the engine and di-
rected the engineer, and he has been
pursued relentlessly ever since by the
prosecutions of the mine owners He
was a member of the strike committee
in the Cripple Creek district, and was
tried with the other members of the
committee on the charge of attempted
wrecking of a Florence and Cripple
Creek train Davis was dismissed by
the Judge without letting the case go
to the jury He was obliged to leave
the district when the union men were
run out, and change his name in order
to get work
"niic nc was helu III JAIL nio "iiS
and baby both died. He is a big,
noble hearted fellow who has the con-
fidence and sympathy of the entire
Federation. He was moved to tears
when the fact of the loss of his fam
lily were brought out on the stand. He
has jeopardized his freedom by COM
ing here from Goldfeld, as the mine
owners are looking closely for a chance
TO arrest him for the Coeur d'Alenes
difficulties. Orchard implicated him
in the blowing up of the Vindicator
mine at Cripple Creek, where the two
shift bosses were killed. When he
read Orchards p testimony he imme-
diately telegraphed to the attorneys
of the defense that he would come to
Boise and deny the cowardly lie.
He said the Coeur d'Alenes story
Of his leading thousand men to blow
up the mill at Wardner was pure
fake. He was not on the train at all,
or connected in any way, with the
blowing up of the mill. He knew Or
chard only slightly, when he came to
join the union at Altman of which
Davis was president.
He gave a most vivid account Of the
persecution of the union men; how he
was fred for belonging to the union,
and blacklisted because he was a union
man; how he wandered over the coun,
try looking for a chance to work; how
the military officers threatened il
union meetings were held they would
break them up.
He testified that he had advocated
peaceful measures both publicly and
privately at all times. He told of thu
prosperity Of the union in the Cripple
Creek district before il was broker
up by the mine owners, aided by tn,
militia-of its fine halls, worth $50,
900, its four stores, its libraries, it,
hospitals.
The cross-examination proved {
battle royal between Davis and Borah
in which the foxy lawyer went dowr
to defeat before the proletarian giant
When asked why he was blacklisted
Davis filed with indignation for tn,
wrongs of his class, said because HI
had signed a petition with 700 men
; after seven men had been killed il
the mine from rotten timbers givinl
way, for safer and better conditions.
On Thursday morning the battl,
royal between the plain, blunt mine
and the prostituted advocate of capi
talist brutality and greed still contin
ued The timber thief lawyer attempt
ted to mercilessly bulldoze the wit
ness. Darrow was on his feet watch
ing like a tiger that no undue ad
vantage be taken of him.
Again and again Borah tried t.
make the witness say that there wa
trouble in the Cripple Creek prior h
J the troops being sent in. Davis as
} serted that all was peaceful. Boral
tried to draw out that force and vio
leuce were used by the union mel
against the scabs. IL was through
Davis that Borah tried to make
, case against the unions. He did no
succeed Mr.. Davis not only gave hi
testimony that there never was an.
Il