Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1907-08-24
TROOPS INVOKED TO
ROUND Up ONE
COWPUNCHER
LONE COWBOY DID
ASH FORK SHOOTING
Speck SmOOt, Who Was Drunk,
Bound Over 10 Grand Jury
for Attack on Postal TeIe-
graph Office.

In the presence Of many residents Of
Ash Fork. "speck" Smoot was ar
raigned In the justict court there yes
terday on the charge Of shooting into
the office u the Postal Telegraph
company at an early hour Tuesday
morning. and held To the grand jury
under $500 bond.
Charles 49,. Dimmick and Il man
named Smith. formerly night operator
in the Western Union office at that
place, who were arrested on the
charge Of being implicated in the af-
fair. were released from custody. no
evidence being introduced connecting
Smoot was taken TO Prescott by Sher-
III Lewry and lodged in the county
jail.
Residents Of Ash Fork aver that
others are guilty OF firing some Of the
shots which wrecked the fronts Of the
Postal office and the Pitts store, and
every effort Is being made by the Of
ficers 20 secure information sufficient
10 warrant the arrest Of the suspected
parties.
when arraigned. Smoot. with Dim
mick and Smith. entered a plea Of not
guilty. The defense was represented
by Attorney Stevens. Of Williams. and
the prosecution by Assistant District
Attorney j. G. Forest. Smith proved
that he was acting in the capacity %
bartenderNn the old Van Allen saloon
when the shooting took place, and
Dimmick. who Is said TO be an inof-
fensike man. also established an alibi.
According to the evidence intro
duced by General Manager Swain and
Operator sutton, Of the Postal. which
was In part corroborated by another
witness. SmoOt fired the first several
shots from a shotgun into he 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
add color to THE theory that one, or
perhaps two, others fired some Of the
shots.
smoot was drunk when the shoot
ing 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 tel
egraphers' strike and all familiar with
the circumstance OF the shooting are
OF the opinion that he did IL while in
toxicated and on mischief bent
He served a term In the territorial
penitentiary on the charge % man
slaughter. for shooting a man IN VIII
lAAAlH sunni AfNAH NkNf AM q htnhhN' w
a woman of the red light district. He
was paroled but on his arrival In Will
Jams succeeded in getting into a Sc
rious quarrel when he was returned
to Yuma. He was afterwards par
doned a short time before his term
expired.
The affair at Ash Fork is alleged 10
have been used a. a pretext by the
telegraph companies To Invoke federal
Interference. for Attorney General
Clark received a message stating that
both companies had united In a re-
quest TO President Roosevelt TO send
troops to that point. Mir. Clark at
communicated with the sheriffs
office and learned that all was quiet
at Ash Fork and that several men
we're under arrest. Fearing lest such
an unwarranted request 20 the presi-
dent might be construed throughout
the United ate hat lawlessness eN-
isted IN ARIZONA. n that the gov
ernor was unable TO suppress IL, Mr.
CLARK authorized a statement Of the
plain facts 10 be sent through the As
ISOLATED Press 10 the people Of the
country In this message he stated
that the SHOOTING was only done by q
Of drunken cowboys and that
there was no danger % further trou-
Bile His message concluded with these
words such a request tf0r troopsl
IL positively absurd
Mr. clark was inclined 20 be veXed
over the foolish action taken by the
telegram companies. for he re-
marked
There was violence and hloodshed
nearly every day during abe ear strike
In san Francisco. but even there the
situation did not warrant the calling
90 the federal troops What "a
spectacle be would be to have "a troop
% soldiers ordered % guard a town
against a moor. drunken cowboy.
BASE BALL AND BAND CON
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