Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913, 1908-01-18
JURY FINDS mot GUILTY"
In NOTED IDAHO CASE.
Meyer Is Freed Also by Judge Wood
Orchards Trial at Caldwell Next
Torn Of court-simpkins Still at
Large-Pettibone Very Sick Man
Goos to Denver.

with the murder of Ex-Governor Frank
Steunenberg, with the exception of the
cases of Harry Orchard and Jack
Simpkins, came Saturday with the ac-
uuittal of George A. Pettibone. Charles
H. Meyer, president Of the Western
Federation of Miners, was formally re.
leased later, and will return with Pet
tibone in few days to Denver.
The case of Orchard, the self-con-
fessed assassin of Steunenberg, Is in
the hands of Prosecuting Attorney
Van Duyn of Canyon county. No state
ment as to the future procedure IN
that case has been made, but it will be
called during the next term of court
at Caldwell, when it will probably he
finally disposed Of
Simpkins, a member of the execu-
tive board Of the Western Federation
of Miners, who Is charged with COM
plicity in the crime, is a fugitive from
justice, and the charge against him
will stand
When the Meyer case was called by
Judge Wood, James H. Hawley, repre-
senting Prosecuting Attorney Van
Duyn, signlfied the desire Of the state
to have an order Of dismissal entered
Il am satisfied" said Judge Wood,
that the course taken by the district
attorney and decided upon by attor-
neys for the state is the proper course
to be taken In the matter | have
watched the evidence carefully, so far
as the connecting and corroborating
evidence under the statute was con
cerned and its application to this de
PENDANT and there has certainly moth
ing been developed in the cases that
would justify the court IN submitting
the case against him to jury, unless
there was considerable additional con-
Meeting testimony than that which has
been shown in the two cases that have
been tried, and for that reason the
case will be dismissed and an order
entered generating the bail of the
defendant"
MCGEE and Allen Also Freed.
At the request of the state the cases
against DR.. MCGEE and-C. w. Allen.
charged with perjury by reason of tes-
timony given by them in the Haywood
case, was also dismissed. Although the
Pettibone jurors agreed that their de-
alterations should be kept secret, it
has been learned that on the first
ballot the vote was to 4, the major
ity being for acquittal. The second
ballot resulted in vote of to 3. The
third 10 to 2, and so it remained all
through the night. The two holding
out for conviction were finally won
over
Pettibone and Meyer received many
kilograms of congratulation, chiefly
from Colorado friends Petibone, al
though Ill for the last two weeks.
walked to the local headquarters Of
the Western Federation.
No demonstration of any kind
marked the reading Of the verdict
which made Pettibone a free man.
After two years Imprisonment
awaiting trial, the defendant, pale and
emaciated because of his long illness,
merely smiled as he heard of his free
dom, and moment later he was sur.
rounded by his attorneys and friends.
His wife, who has been by his side
at every session of the court during
the trial, wept for joy.
Attorney barrow Happy.
Los Angeles, Jan. Sit is unneces-
sary for me to say" barrow said,
that | am delighted. l am gratifie1
beyond measure. I had. of course.
expected an acquittal."
Mr. Darrow then dictated the fol
lowing message to George A. Petit
bone: Congratulations; come here. 7
have flowers enough for two funerals
Commenting further upon the result.
Mr. Darrow said:
There was never anything to these
cases but Orchard He related a weird
fantastic, exciting story but there was
no confederation of it that tended of
itself to incriminate anybody. The
country had seen in the Haywood trial
what monster liar he was. It was
not safe to take the life of any man
on such testimony In the Pettibone
trial the people had become accus-
toned to the story of Orchard and
thoroughly discredited it. Very little
attention was paid to it.
| Il should think that the prosecution
would now dismiss the case against
President Meyer
Even Orchard testified to very little
against him, and no one else did. The
fact that he was admitted to bail
showed that the prosecution held their
case as being weak"