The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1908-08-12

/ hOnOred and the stars and stripes
! hooted and was among those pres
| emit at the mass meeting of the l.
! w w. when the refrain, Damn the
Constitution; down with the flag"
well and clearly eXemplified the
principles of that organization.
Then came the strike OF March,
1907. Practically the only oppOsi-
/ tiOn offered to the Western Fedora
| ton of Miners, which was absolute
/ ly controlled by the Industrial Work
ers of the World. up to that time,
| was by the American Federation of
! Labor, with whom the carpenters
were affiliated The Western FEEDER
alton demanded that the carpenters
! join their union and the latter re-
fused and declared that they recOg-
nized no authority in labor matters
| but that of the A. F. of l.. Then
! the restaurants, nearly all of which
were employing l. w. w. help, were
ordered not to feed the carpenters
Antoine Silva, who conducted a lit
tie restaurant on Ramsey street, just
off of Main, ignored the order and
He was promptly boycotted, not, it
was claimed, on account of feeding
the carpenters, but because he was
alleged to have held out SO in set
Ting with a former emplOye.
Murder Of Silva.
On the night of March 10th. Pres
ton was on picket duty in front of
Silya's restaurant. He was now a |
business agent of the Western Fed |
Grafton. With him was Joe Smith, |
another business agent, and a man |
utterly without scruples. Silva came |
to the door of the restaurant-some |
say he was enticed there-and after |
a few words was shot and killed by !
Preston.
1t has been both claimed and de-
MED with equal vehemence that the |
killing Of Silva was the result Of
plot cOncOcted by the leaders of the !
l. w. w. Certain it is that the mo-
ment the shot that slew Silva was
fired Preston am Smith ran to the
corner Of Main street, where they
were met and surrounded by a crowd
Of union men and hurried to the
Miners Union Hall, half a block
away.
But Preston was known to have l.
fired the shot, and after a few min
utes he came out and gave himself
up to the police. Smith was arrest
ed on suspicion, but released that
night, only to be rearrested the next
day.
The trial, which was begun at
Hawthorne, then the county seat,
and completed at Goldfield was long
drawn and hard fought The &C.
Tense claimed that Silva was armed
and threatened to shoot Preston
The prosecution eudeayOred TO show
that Silva made no threats and vs.
not armed The Judge presiding at
the trial received note threa eniUg
him with vengeance if Smith and
Preston were convicted. The union
leaders promptly declared that the
note was a hoax perpetrated by the |!
Mine Operators Association. The
outcome of the trial was a verdict
of manslaughter Preston was SEN
fenced to serve 25 years and Smith
ten years in the penitentiary at Car
son. TIE supreme court upheld the
Judgment
When Preston was sentenced he al
most broke down, and his foster
mother and sister, who were in the
court room, were greatly affected.
1t has since developed that Preston
was becoming tired of his socialist
associates in the l. w W., and was
leaving town when he
was detailed to picket duty in front
of Silvas restaurant. For months
after their conviction and sentence
'he union continued to pay Preston
and Smith s. a day, but finally the
Unions funds got low, and the pen
sion was cut off.
Preston was a little man, about
five feet five, and weighed about 1870 !
pounds when he entered the prison. |
He now weighs around 100 pounds /
and seems happy and healthy.