The Kendrick gazette. [volume] (Kendrick, Idaho) 1892-1968, 1908-01-10
MINERS
FREED
VERDICT IN PETTIBONE
CASE AT BOISE.
MoYER NOT TO BE TRIED; THUS
ENDS NOTED IDAHO
CASE.

Boise, Idaho, Jan. 5.-The end o
the prosecution of the men charge,
with the murder Of Ex-Governor Franz
Steunenberg, with the exception of tn,
cases of Harry Orchard and Jacl
Simpkins, came Saturday with the &C
Qulttal OF George A. Pettibone. Charles
ii. Meyer, president of the Westcr,
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 IL
the hands of Prosecuting Attorney
Van Duyn of Canyon county. No state
ment as to the future procedure !,
that case has been made but it will be
called during the next term of court
at Caldwell, when it will probably lie
finally disposed of.
Simpkins, 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 bv
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 cours..
to be taken in the matter l have
watched the evidence carefully, so far
as the connecting and corroborating
evidence under the statute was con-
cerned and it's 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 a 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 ties.
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
lty being for acquittal. The second
ballot resulted in vote of 9 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 free man.
After two years imprisonment
awaiting trial, the defendant, pale and
because of his long illness,
merely smiled as he heard of his free.
dom, and moment later he was sur
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,
/ i0l |
beyond measure. l had, of course,
'xpe cted an acquittal"
Mr.. barrow then dictated the fol-
owing message to George A. Petit
zone: Congratulations; come here. I
nave flowers enough for two funerals
Commenting further upon the result,
Mr.. Darrow said:
There was never anything to these
'ases but Orchard. He related a weird.
antastic, exciting story, but there was
10 corrobOratiOn Of it that tended of LIS
tseif to incriminate anybody. The s
country had seen in the Haywood trial
What monster liar he was. 1t was
lot safe to take the life of any man
IN such testimony. In the Pettibone !
rial the people had become accus- t
omed to the story Of Orchard and
thoroughly discredited it. Very little 7
attention was paid to it. G
i should think that the prosecution f
would now dismiss the case against t
President Meyer.
Even Orchard testified to very little a
against him, and no one else did. The c
act that he was admitted to bail
moved that the prosecution held their ?