The daily sentinel., 1907-05-27
81 Don't Believe
They re Guilty
Sherman Bell

DENVER. May 27.-'I do not be-
Heye Moyer and Haywood are guilty
of conspiracy to murder Governor
steunenberg. I believe they are being
iobbed by a lot of weakIings who
haven't the nerve to try them for
crimes they actually committed in
Colorado and who entered into n con-
splracy with the Idaho authorities
TO have them hung out there II nee
essary | Will go to Boise myself and
see that they get a square deal. When
l mad them under arrest here | gave
them a square deal and fought them
In the open. l don't propose to see
them Jobbed in Idaho by a lot of
So spoke Adjutant General Sher-
man NJ. Bell on Saturday night
General Bell had entire charge of
the military operations during the
Peabody campaign. At one time he
l had LOG men under arrest and was
holding them charged with murder.
The charges covered practically all
ot the crimes that were committed
in Colorado during the last ten years.
One by one the indictments against
/ the men We're quashed and they were
hnally all released and not one was
tried
/ General Bell has never felt salts
/ fled about this. He has always main
tanned that he had the evidence be
fore he arrested the men and that the
Colorado officials got cold feet and
were afraid TO try them. He now
comes out with the remarkable state
ment that conspiracy was entered
into between these cold footed Colo
rado officials to hang the men In
/ Idaho
when I had charge of the militay
campaign in this state continued
{ the general. my greatest trouble was
I In keeping a backbone in Peabody
and in few of the mine owners who
I had signed a contract with me to
| wipe out the Western Federation Of
/ Miners. The mine owners agreed to
support me as adjutant general and
issue the order. Destroy the Western
l Federation | accepted the position
and started out to carry out the or
der. The Western Federation of
/ Miners was no Sunday school class by
any means. As a military man /
recognized IL as an enemy and treated
/ It as such. ! accorded to all OF its
members the courtesy due a common
enemy. I captured its commander
| and put him in prison. ! cut off their
| base of supplies by closing all mines
| in which the workmen contributed to
! the support ] captured several OF
/ the men in the ranks and escorted
them to places of safety in the rear
/ of the battle and kept theme there
] largely as prisoners. They hickman
/ ed this, deportation | called II
under the orders of the governor /
went down the line against them. My
orders We're to wipe EN- off the face
/ of the earth"
In doing this public opinion oil
course went with the under dog and
| the fellows who had promised to put
|up the cash and these shoulder strap
ped fellows who say that ! left the
militia demoraliZed mighty soon gOl
cold feet In fact | was compelled d
number of times to cut off all lines
OF communication in order TO keeT
| from being bothered with them.
During this war number ol
crimes were committed by the Other
side. / arrested the men. put then
in jail and found regular indictments
against them.
wasn't any of these people that haJ
the nerve to hold court to try them
whatever Meyer and Haywood
did out here | don't believe they ar,
guilty of the Stuenenberg affair anC
I / think it's nothing more than righl
/ that they should be given fair tria
in the state whore they committed
the crime. It's certainly unfair tc
take them away ont on desert IN
| Idaho and hang them for "A crime
committee in Colorado.
1T would look as though the ofiic
| iaIs here were afraid that some OF
] their own crookedness would come
out If an attempt was made to holC
trial here. You know there have beer
charges of crimes on both sides anc
| / have said that ! had as much
| trouble watching one side as the
other.
II intend TO watch the Idaho sit
|uation thoroughly and If any of these
/ yellow streaked individuals under
/ take to swear that something happen
ed that didn't happen I'll go out there
| and tell the straight of it.