The daily sentinel., 1908-07-15
FOUND NOT GUILTY

l Nearly thirty years ago it was when
| the first prospectors went into San
Miguel county. There they discovered
the treasures of the hills, and began
| doing just what you are doing. the
effort to secure competency for
themselves and their families. Capital
came along. and through the joint ef-
forts of capital AMI labor Telluride has
been made one of the best mining
camps in Colorado.
For Years No Trouble.
For years there We're no misunder-
, standings between employer and en-
ployees. There was no open trouble
until these people (with a gesture
towards the defendant and his attor-
neys) came in July, 1901, when armed
men undertook to assert what they
called their rights as against the rights
of the owners of the property. Bitter
ness was engendered the clash had
come. the mines were closed, and then
| opened again.
"And then Adams appears. He hnd
| been In Cripple Creek. engaged in ways
cannot now discuss. Before he left
| Cripple Creek II was understood that
he and Diston and Minister should go
to Telluride and take the life of Mr..
| Collins. 1t is not clear what Adams
did Immediately after his arrival in
Telluride, but we know that in October
| he was employed on the Smuggler-
Union. on November IL he himself
| tells you that he quit the employ of
the. company. and his testimony is
| |corroborated by that of Mr.. Hanson.
and the evidence of the pay roll. Then
| he went to town.
| "And here we have an interesting
point that / wish you to notice. Mrs.
Mccnnn in her testimony sworc thnt
Adams boarded constantly with her
through October md November. Yet
| ON these pny-roiIs yoti Will find that
| while Adams working the
| SmuglsIcr- q nion there WIS deduction
| mndc for hi. board. Did Adams pay
| board to Mrs. Meenan and to the Snug
gler-Union both? or did Mrs. Meenan
lie when she said Adams boarded with
her all the time? And Miss Cassiday
and Miss Woodford also say Adams
was continuously at the boarding
house.
How many men do You know. in
| Adams circumstances. who would pay
board in two places at once? Yet the
payroll, which he himself signed,
shows that he paid board at the Snug
gler- Union.
ut is not disputed that for some
time prior to the tragedy Mr.. Collins
|
Union mine. And the defense has been
kind enough to spare him any denun-
Citations. when the defense did not de-
nounce him. IL means that there was
no ground whatever on which de-
nunciation could be founded. There
has not been any attempt whatever to
disprove the fact that he shot
through the back with a charge of
buckshot while he was sitting unsus-
piciously in his own house. playing a
social game of cards.
"I didn't think they would shoot me
in the back he said. when his friends
were carrying him to the couch. The
use of that word they is Significant
| shall show you it's Significance later.
Like most men he was probably will
ing ito meet his enemies face to face.
We can sometimes feel some regard
for murderer who meets his victim
like II mnn, gives hin, n chance for his
life, hut assassination such this IL
too Ionthsomc even for Imagination.
II cannot imagine how any man
could do such deed on his own ac-
count to serve his own ends, And no
one man did do it, acting alone and un-
supported. when Collins, dying, used
that word 'tbcy' here referred to the
men who had fired his employees.
who had driven them bnrcfooted over
the mountains, who had caused NIL the
trouble and turmoil of the district.
'"rhe first clue to the murderers was
the finding of the empty shell the next
morning. The next was the finding of
the gun. At that time no one was
even under suspicion why should
the she'll have been placed where II
was found. and the gun where 1t was
found? What motive could there have
been?
Now to the confession. The court
interfered with the presentation of a
large part of the evidence we wished
to Introduce along that line, and In
my opinion IL wns not the only time
the court should have intcrfered. II
was decidedly unpleasant to me. l as
sure you. to be compelled to be alway.
objecting to the unfair argument OF
counsel But enough of the confession
has been introduced to show thai
Adams did make a statement impllcat-
ing himself.
'Mr. Wells has testified as to ths
facts concerning that confession, Mr.
Hilton attempts to discredit Mr.. Wells
but did Wells even once hesitato tC
answer one of Hilton's questions Die
; he not admit that he had been IL Den
. yer with the Piukertons before goinl
to Idaho, and did he not admit he haC