The Columbus weekly dispatch., 1907-05-16
A Celebrated Case
From the Memphis Commercial Appeal

's3'ss's3' s3'3st's1s>tstSTST
alton of Miners has ever been sus-
pected of.
Mover, Haywood and Pettibone are
members of the Federation. None of
them has ever been convicted Of any
of the crimes which they have been
accused by the Mine Owners Asso-
citation. Only on the supposition that
they are guilty of murder are they
undesirable citizens" The presi-
dent very improperly, at time when
they were to be tried for their lives,
practically pronounced them guilty.
Of course the New York Evening Post
commended the president very heart
lily for denunciation of these men,
and it would have them hung for the
crimes that are alleged against all
the members of the Federation. In
this case the president simply made
another of his famous mistakes.
When the president of the United
States, in a public letter, declares
that a man on trial is a murderer,
it is calculated to have great weight.
In this case the president was guilty
of an indefensible use of his influ-
ence against three men who had been
deprived of the rights to which the
humblest American is entitled. We
believe the president realizes the mis-
take he has made, but his weak effort
to repair it cannot of course be taken
seriously.
The Haywood and Meyer case is,
we believe, without a parallel in
American Jurisprudence. These cit
izens of Colorado were indicted in
Idaho at the instigation of the Mine
Owners Association on testimony col
lected by Pinkerton detectives, the
worst band of criminals unhung and
INHALED The prosecuting attorney
deliberately perjured himself when
he attached his name to an affidavit
charging that they were fugitives
from justice in Idaho. The govern
ors of Idaho and Colorado, both tools
of the Standard Oil, were parties to
the conspiracy to kidnap the accused
! Il.
tistically accomplished. Meyer and
Haywood were quietly arrested IN
Colorado, denied the privileges of
seeing relatives, friends or attorneys,
hurried to a train which had been
engaged to make no stops, and were
carried into Idaho, where they have
been in prison for thirteen months
without a trial. In the meantime
the agents OF the Mine Owners AS
sociation have apparently been en-
ufacturing evidence against them,
the manifest purpose being to break
the back of the Western Federation
of Miners. The accused men go into
trial in a strange State without know
ing just what accusations they must
meet and without prompt facilities
for securing evidence to refute those
accusations. 1t should be remember
ed that none of these men had the
slightest motive for desiring the
death of Steunenberg. He had pass
ed out of the controversy some years
ago. Since his retirement from the
gubernatorial Office he had been llv
ing the life of farmer, and no doub
even his connection with the Coeu1
d'Alene mining troubles had beer
forgotten by the Federation. Th'
man Orchard, who actually assassin
ated him, had a positive grievance
but it is difficult to see how Moye
and Haywood and Pettibone coult
have had any.
Being arrested under these high
handed and unusual circumstances
and badly handicapped as they are
l the accused men are entitled to fai
2 trial and a suspension of judgment
President Roosevelt did cruel an
l unmanly thing when he PRACTICAL
!, anticipated their guilt at a time whe
4 they were entitled to the benefit o
the doubt.