Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1907-03-04
THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS WILL
&c SPENT FOR DEFENCE
AND PROSECUTION.
GREAT MURDER CASE
Mine Owners Determined thsE Prls-
oners Shall BE Convicted, While
Workinamen Aid lrnperiled Leaders.

Boise. Id. March 4-.'This is jus
an ordinary murder trial. pure ant
simple. II the indicted men are In
nocent they will be acquitted: If the,
are convicted they will be hanged b,
the neck until dead. That is all ther,
Ii to it
This II the opinion publicly express
ed by Governor Frank n. Cooling oI
Idaho In regard 10 the trial OF Charles
II. Meyer. president. William d. Hay
wood. secretary. and George Petit
bone, exexecutiye board member oi
the Western Federation Of Miners. foI
the murder Of former Governor Frank
steunenberg. set for tomorrow a.
Caldwell.
Just an ordinary murder trlai-and
laboring men In every Industrial cen
ter OF the United States have held
mass meetings denouncing the arrest
Of the federation leaders and have
raised hundreds of thousands Of dol
lars for their defense
just an ordinary murder trial-and
the state legislature Of Idaho has al.
ready passed an appropriation bill for
s54.516 10 cover the expenses OF the
prosecution OF the indicted men. OF
this sum. sl3,0l5 went to the Pinker-
ton Detective agency. Of which James
Mcfarland, the chief figure In the
prosecution, Is the western head. e.
lio.t W. +. Borah. who today became
a United States senator. received s.
900 for his legal services In the case.
and the balance was distributed
among other attorneys.
Innocent or guilty. the Socialists OF
the country are determined that the
indicted men shall be acquitted. In
nocent or guilty, the mine owners are
equally determined that they shall be
convicted. Back of the former are
the organized workingmen of the
country, forgetting all differences In
the face of a common peril which
threatens TO bring union labor into
disrepute. Back of the latter are the
great financial interests of Wall
street, eager to overthrow any insti-
tuition which threatens dividends.
Fiends incarnate are Meyer. Hay
wood and Pettibone, according to
their enemies-members Of the mys-
terious inner circle" of an anarchis-
tic organization, their word law. their
law assassination Saints and angels
they are said to be by their defenders,
men OF noble lives and most exalted
morals.
Story Of the Crime.
Frank Steuenberg was assassinated
at his home at Caldwell on the night
of December 30. 1905. A dynamite
bomb was attached to the gate lead
ing to his residence. and when 1t ex'
ploded the body of the ex-governor
was torn to pieces. Two days later
Harry Orchard was arrested in his
room at a Caldwell hotel. Powder,
fuses, and other discriminating evi-
dence was found in his room, no Ell
fort having been made toward con-
cealing the material. About three
weeks later james Mcfarland, .
Pinkerton detective, publicly announc-
ed that he had made confession,
embraced in a typewriter document
of 10000 words, admitting his guilt
and declaring that he had been hired
to do the deed by Meyer, Haywood
and Pettibone. 1t Is said that in this
he also admitted to twen-
ty-six other murders.
Although the method OF the arrest
of the accused men has been declared
legal by the supreme courts of Idaho
and of the United States, It occasion.
ed a great deal of criticism. Acting
upon the information of Detective Mo
Partland, County Attorney o. NJ. Van
Duyn of Canyon county filed a com.
plaint against Meyer. Haywood and
Pettibone, swearing that they were In
the state of Idaho at the time Of the
murder of Steunenberg. and that they
were fugitives from the state. It has
been repeatedly charged that the
county attorney wilfully committed
perjury In swearing to this statement,