The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1907-07-13

on MS domestic happiness.
of mind we described in the beginning
of this article made US suspicious. The
reasons why we opposed the prosecu-
tion were reasons that would hold were
Schmitz twice as guilty as they said.
We did not have sufficient information
one way or another to form q reason
able judgment; for that reason we COM
mited ourselves to no opinion up to the
present. But now, as far at least as
concerns the charge he was tried on,
after careful study Of all the evil
dence, we have come to the deliberat te
opinion that schmitz Is not guilty.
The first reason on which We base
that opinion is that the evidence put
forth in the trial was not such as to
convince an intelligent and fair-minded
man of Schmitz's guilt. Schmitz was
accused Of conspiring with Ruef to
make the French restaurants ray up a
certain sum OF money; to be divided be-
tween Schmitz and Ruef. The facts
about which nobody doubts are: First,
that the licenses of the French restau-
rants were held up for a time; second,
that .Ruef got sum of money from the
restaurants for appearing before the
commission in their behalf, which he
claimed was legal fee; third. that the
restaurants; got their licenses. =
Let Us remember that these facts are.
not naW;;sstl, NOT one OF them ii crtrn-.
Ina and that til comIit1n ity sof HE1nS
4ranciscn passed Judgment 81 them u
year ago last November. ~,
The whole question OF Schmitz's guilt
Or Innocence depends on what is the
real explanation Of the first fact: "Why
were the licenses held up?"
The licenses might have been held up.
for several reasons:
F'irst-They might have been held up
for the purpose, Of extinguishinE the
French restaurants altogether. for high,
moral reasons.
second-They might have been held
up for the purpose of compelling the
removal Of certain Objectionable feat
ures.
Third-They might have been held up
for the purposes of revenge or for the
purpose of coercing the proprictors into
some mode Of action.
Fourth-They might have been held
up to force the proprietors to pay Ruef
and Schmitz ransom.
BY general consent we may eliminate
the first supposition. Which of the
three Is the true explanation? The
prosecution claims that the last is, and
it is plain that only if the last be true
Schmitz is guilty.
Now A. to the Evidence.
But the evidence, and to the evidence
we have to conf1ne ourselves. shows as
plain as daylight that the real motive
for holding up the licenses was a COM
bination Of suppostions two and three.
We don't think anybody doubts Rca-
gan's honesty, when he testtf1es that
he believed the places were bad. He
comes to the mayor with his story, and
the mayor. tells him to go ahead and
investigate, and he says what anybody
would say in the premises, If they. are
bad, shut them up"
Then there is HUTTON. Hutton is one
of the "disloyar commissioners. HIT
ton is no friend Of Schmitz and there
fore 1T Is not reasonable to suppose that
he was instigated by Schm!tz to attack
the restaurants. Hutton is no angel.
and therefore 1t Is not reasonable to
suppose that he was acting for motive
number one, namely, for high moral
reasons. The facts appear to be that
Hutton was acting just as REAGAN was
acting-the French restaurants were
going beyond the beyonds, and it was
h1g time to bring them up with a round
turn. We believe that the evidence
shows anything that Hutton and Rea-
gan were animated by the perfectly
legitimate reason number two
But there was a complication, There
were labor troubles in the restaurants.
The walters were on strike, and natur-
ally they looked for help from a labor
union administration. They went to
the commissioners and tried to make
trouble for the owners. What eventu-
ally happened is not material. Nobody
denies that motive number three was
present, and whatever may be thought
of its legality or it's morality schn,tz
was not being tried for it, anyhow.
Labor Troubles Enter the Quest,on.
Here, then, we have a condition of
affairs that it is plain to any unpre1u-
diced man arose in natural way from
the natural conditions Of great citv
The licenses of the French restaurants
are held up to compel the. proprietors
to remove certain Objectionable feat
ures and to compel the recognition Of
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