The San Francisco call., 1907-06-29

with them in the union hall when the
statement was made. Easterly recalled
the talk a little better than Davis did,
and remembered. that he made some re-
ply to Orchard in casual way. telling
him that he was a vindictive, revenge
full man to hold a grudge SO long for
such thing.
After the battle at Altman Easterly
went up to Denver and there met again
the genial, whole souled. free hearted
George Pettibone. the gentle joker, who
threw the dynamite down the Ben
stock Frisco mine and then retired to
Denver to furnish homes for lame dogs
and stray cats. He was very
friendly sort of man." was Easterly's
comment on Pettibone.
After wandering around for a while
and visiting his old Illinois home, East
erly went to Pueblo, Colo, and there
saw Orchard again in the spring of
1905 Billy Vaughn was with Orchard
and they were in the insurance bust-
ness. The next thing Easterly heard
of Orchard was when he had found
work at Silver City, Haywood's old
home. That was in the fall of 1905.
Jack Simpkins came there on an or
ganization trip in November and said
that he had just left Orchard in Cald-
well. He told Easterly that Orchard
was selling hail and life insurance and
also mining stock. Soon after that
Orchard wrote to Easterly and asked
him to come over TO Caldwell and go
into business. Easterly declined and
Orchard wrote again and then tele-
phoned. Easterly always refused. Or
chard wrote and telephoned under the
name of Hogan, but that was not sig
niicant to Easterly.
QUESTION OF PEACE.
While Simpkins was with Easteriy
in Silver City there was no sugges-
tion of crime or violence in the talk.
In fact, in no conversation wherein
Easterly took part was there the
slightest suggestion of criminality.
Then Darrow sprung the formal i'm
peaching question which in Idaho is
like the hypothetical question that they
put to insanity experts in New York.
After that Easterly fell into the
clutches of Borah. The mental engine
of Senator Borah is of amazingly high
speed. 1t turns out questions with the
rapidity of bullets from an automatic
gun. And il can shift direction with
the same facility. He pounds away at
one point with lightning like blows
until the attention of the witness is
entirely concentrated there, and then,
without the least warning. shifts iu-
witness who is trying to remember
a manufactured story dazed and be-
wildered as to his exact location.
1t was just In this fasion that Borah
went at Easterly. He first developed
the fact that Easterly knew Steunenberg
by reputation as an enemy of the west
ern federation Then he took up the
impeachment question and when East
erly had repeated the conversation
r&2 AnI fre
pressed by Orchards threats.
yes, somewhat" replied Easterly.
''You thought he meant it?"
"I'surely did"
"And you thought he was vindictive
and revengeful and likely to carry out
his threat?'
"Yes, I did," said Easterly boldly, in
his way, but ignorant of his destina-
ton.
A dozen more rapid fire questions
emphasized the point and then Borah
changed direction.
When did you first talk with the
lawyers about this?"
Willis UNDER CRoSSFIRE
Rap. rap. rap, the questions went in
and Easterly, answering without time
for recollection, had soon sworn post
lively that he had first told Nugent
about it some time in February or
March, 1906, after Orchards confess
sion had been talked of in the news
papers. Nugent lived in Silver City
and had been employed in the defense
Of Orchard at first on telegram from
Haywood. But when Orchard confessed
and implicated the federation leaders,
Easterly remembered this talk in Vic
tor and Orchards threats against
Steunenberg.
Step by step Easterly went on en-
phasizing the fact that he had never
spoken to a soul about the talk until
Orchard blew on the federation off,
cials.
Then Borah developed his real OBJ
ject. Why did Easterly fail to notify
steunenberg? Why had he never
spoken to the authorities? He knew
Orchard was in Caldwell, he knew that
Steunenberg had been threatened. He
believed that Orchard meant his
threats. yet he had kept still until
Orchard turned against the federation.
'-It was not my business" replied
Easterly, feebly. Running 500 reco!-
lections to the minute Borah ripped in
the questions, demanding always TO
know what explanation Easterly could
make for his failure under such cir
cumstances to tell anybody of Steu-
nenberg's danger. Once Easterly pro-
tested that he did not know that SteU-
nenberg lived in Caldwell. Instantly
Borah was demanding why he had not
informed the authorities.
IN WOEFUL TANGLE
It am not. an informer on those
lines" declared Easterly, with the air
of having scored a great point
But you became an informer as soon
as Orchard confessed" ripped back his
inquisitor. Would you ever have told
but for that?'
'I had no occasion to tell mumbled
Easterly. Borah then turned suddenly
and went back to the days in Colorado,
asking questions that laid foundation
for rebuttal. Then he quit and Darrow
started in to help Easterly out of his
difficulties. He asked only a few ques-
tions, but Easterly saw the point and
concluded that he had fixed at too late
a date his telling Nugent about Or
chard's threats. So he changed 10
within a few days of Orchards arrest,
apparently forgetting the reason that
he had given Borah for telling at all
When Darrow finished, Borah took
Easterly again like a whirlwind. In
a minute Easterly had punched the date
of his talk with Nugent back to the
first 10 days ofsJanuary, 1906.
Then 1t was not Orchards confes-
sion that recalled it to your mind o'