The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1907-05-09

days afterward. and Meyer, Haywood
and Pettibone. implicated by Orchard
in his alleged confession, were arrested
within eight weeks of the commission
of the murder.
| The delay in bringing the men 10
trial has been advantageous to the de-
Tense, in that it has enabled the Fed
Grafton attorneys to reach Steve
Adams, who was the chief corroborat-
ing witness of Orchard, through the
formers uncle. who was allowed TO
visit him at the penitentiary. Through
the influence of the uncle, Adams was
made dissatisfied. He recanted his
confession, and upon application for
writ of habeas corpus he was given
his liberty and one of the states most
important witnesses was lost to the
state and gained by the defense. Both
of these important points gained by the
defense were the result OF carrying out
careful and well laid plans by the
federation attorneys.
While it was true that Adams was
Immediately rearrested on the charge
of killing Fred Tyler in north Idaho,
and for which he was given speedy
trial, yet as a witness for the state he
is lost forever.
Meyer. Haywood and PettibOne, who
had been implicated by Orchards
confession as the instigators of the
Steunenberg murder were arrested at
night in Denver upon requiSltlon of
the governor of Colorado and hurried
On a special train to Boise. The three
men were charged with being accom-
pliceS of orchard, and under the stat
uteS of Idaho an accOmpllce is held
equally guilty with the principal and
if convicted may receive the same
punishment. 1t was this point that
stirred up so much antagOnism to the
action of the Idaho authorities, as they
later were forced to charge the men
with the actual commission of the
crime, when it was known that neither
of them had been in the state for
months, for if Orchards confession be
true. then under the Idaho law they are
in fact equally guilty with Orchard.
| No sooner had the federation Off
Gals been lodged in the Idaho peniten-
tiary for safe keeping than federation
attorneys from Denver and Spokane,
started for Boise. On arriving here
they sought to release the prisoners by
! corpus. They filed the first application
in the district court, where, after arg
ument, the writ was denied. An APP
peal was then taken to the state SUI
preme court of the United States.
About this time application was made
! for the writ in the United States dis
trict court in Boise before Judge Baet-
ty. After a hearing Judge Beatty de-
MED the writ, and an appeal was taken
to the supreme court of the United
States. making two appeals pending
before the court of last resort.
Finally the court handed down an
opinion sustaining the decision of the
Idaho courts in holding the prisoners
! to answer to the charges and stand
trial in this state.
| Although that decision was rendered
last fall, the mandate did not arrive
until the middle of March.
| For the last six months Meyer, Hay
wood and Pettibone have been con-
fined in the county Jail at Boise. They
were allowed to take exercise on the
court house lawn several times each
day, are in perfect health and look
much heavier than when they were
brought here from Colorado.
Orchard was kept in close confine-
ment at his own request. He was
said to be afraid Of dynamters. and at
his own request he was never taken
out unless accompanied by three OF
four guards While Orchards confess
sion is considered the chief testimony
against the prisoners it is said that
| cipher letters and kilograms from them
found in Orchards trunks in the Cald-
we'll depot a few days after his arrest
may be Of even more Importance than
the testimony of Orchard himself