Arizona silver belt., 1907-09-01
Famous Mob Evidently Con- sisted of One Drunken Cow boy with a Shotgun.
HAS SERVED TERM
 IN PENiTENTIARY
Attorney General Clark Says Request for Troops by the Postal Company Was Posi- lively Absurd,

In the presence of many resident, of Ash Fork, "Speck" Shoot was ar raigned in the justice court there Wed nesday on the charge of shooting int the office of the Postal Telegraph com pany at an early hour Tuesday morning and held to appear before the grand jury under $500 bonds.
 Charles B. Bimmick and a man nameC Smith, formerly night operator in thu Western Union office at that place, wht were arrested on the charge of being implicated in the affair, were released from custody, no evidence being intro duced connecting them in any way witl the affair. Shoot was brought to Pres cott after the trial by Sheriff Lowry and lodged in the county jail.
 Residents of Ash Fork aver that oth CTS were guilty of firing some of tho shots which wrecked the fronts of th' Postal office and the Pits store, anC every effort is being made by the off cers to secure information sufficient to warrant the arrest of the suspected parties.
 Pleads Not Guilty
 When arraigned, Shoot, with Bim mick and Smith, entered plea of not guilty. The defense was represented by Attorney Stevens of Williams anC the prosecution by Assistant District Attorney J. c. Forest. Smith proved that he was acting in the capacity oi bartender in the Old Van Allen saloor when the shooting took place, and Bim mick, who is said to be an inoffensivt man, also established an alibi.
 According to the evidence introduced by General Manager Swain and 0per ator Sutton of the Postal, which was in part corroborated by another witness Shoot fired the first several shots from a shotgun into the fronts of the Postal and Pitts buildings, breaking almost all the glass and damaging the doors. The fact that some pistol and Winchester bullets were found imbedded in the walls adds color to the theory that one or perhaps two, others fired some of the shots.
 Shoot was drunk when the shooting occurred. He is a familiar figure on the ranges around Ash Fork, where he works as a cowboy. He is known to have no interest in the telegraphers strike, and all familiar with the cireum. stances of the shooting are of the opin. ion that he did it while intoxicated and on mischief bent.
 Is an Ex-Convict
 He served a term in the territorial penitentiary on the charge of man. slaughter, for shooting man in Wil. Hams some years ago. He was paroled, but on his arrival in Williams succeeded in getting into 8 serious quarrel, when he was returned to Yuma. He was afterwards pardoned a short time before his term expired.
 The affair at Ash Fork seems to have been used as a pretext by the telegraph companies to invoke federal interfer- enee
 Attorney General Clark authorized a statement of the plain facts to be sent through the Associated Press to the people of the country. His message concluded with these words: "Such a request (for troops) is positively ab- surd. d.'
 MT. Clark was inclined to be vexed over the foolish action taken by the telegraph companies for he remarked to a Journal-Miner representative in Prescott:
 "There was violence and bloodshed nearly every day during the car strike in San Francisco, but even there the situation did not warrant the calling out of the federal troops. What a spectacle it would be to have a troop of soldiers ordered to guard town against a poor drunken cowboy!" kAhkIv EHlEITnn RnT