Los Angeles herald., 1909-10-24


This was done simply at the behest
of the detective, without authority of
any kind. The constitution clearly says
that a warrant must be issued unless
felony has been committed, and the
officer has sufficient evidence to war
rant taking the offender. But the
prisoner must then be taken before
magistrate.
"This thing is going on all over the
country, and it will continue unless
something is done to protect the peo-
ple."
When Judge Works finished the
meeting broke into tumultuous APP
plause, which continued for several
minutes. When Chairman Blight had
restored order he introduced Mrs. De
Lara, who sat on the platform at the
speakers right.
When the wife of the imprisoned
liberal faced the audience, now aroused
to the highest pitch of intense emo
tion, every man and woman present
arose and accorded her tremendous
ovation of applause and cheers.
Mrs. De Lara, who was simply
dressed in a light silk gown, thanked
the audience briefly but feelingly, al
most overcome by her emotion.
Tells of Persecution
Job Hartman, the next speaker in
troduced, gave a resume of the case
of the Mexican liberals, now impris-
oned in Tombstone, Ariz., with whom
De Lara was arrested and later re-
leased. He reviewed the incidents in
the persecution of De Lara by the
Mexican government, touching upon
the charges of theft made against him,
disproved in the Arizona trial.
"They want this man." he said. "be-
cause he dared to tell the Mexican
Of fI,o of
Indians by the Mexican government.
They want him because he dared to
make public the story of slavery and
oppression in that nation"
Old Defender Speaks
Job Hartman, one of the attorneys
who defended De Lara when he was
arrested some two years ago, when a
persistent effort was made to get the
liberal across the Mexican border,
was the next speaker. Mr.. Hartman
took as his topic for discussion 1.-THE
Abuses of immigration Laws" He
showed the various steps taken by the
Diaz government to get hold of De
I Lara and said in part as follows:
1.-THE enmity of Mexico so persist
emily expressed dates b ok beyond his
| arrest a week or two ago. In fact, it
dates back several years when this
man wrote a book exposing the graft
existing in Mexico. From that day to
this he has been bounded by spies of
Diaz. That book was based on facts
and it was a terrible indictment but,
truth or not, it reused Diaz just as
my friend Turner's articles have again
aroused the Mexican despot.
De Lara was forced to leave Mexico
because he had told his countrymen
that the elections in Mexico were
farces, that the workmen were held
in bondage and that slavery existed in
certain parts of Mexico. He came to
the United States, where he believed
he would be safe and where he in
tended and did carry on his campaign
Of education.
Marked at the Border
"As he stepped across the border he
was marked man for in every city
along the border and in most every
city in the United States there are So
called Mexican consuls who are paid
to spy upon their countrymen. What
is a consul's duty? AS we know it, it
is to foster business of his home gov
ernment. But the Mexican consuls are
not for that purpose. They are hired.
agents who send regular reports of
every act of their countrymen in the
United States. 1t was one of these
consuls who informed Diaz of the
WubT6dDOulS OI LIE Lara ana WHO
started his persecution.
"De Lara was arrested, charged
with having stolen a cord of wood
valued at $11. 1t so happened that
De Lara was the attorney for Mex
lean lady who owned land adjoining1
that of the Greene Consolidated Copper
company at Cananea. Col. Greene
wanted that land. De Lara had or
dered some of the workmen on the
estate to cut the wood and take it into
the city. When the case came to the
Mexican supreme court, it was thrown
out of court. But that was not the
end of the persecution.
Perjured Testimony Alleged
Through perjured testimony, De
Lara was again arrested charged with
the same crime, only this time the
price of the wood was raised. We
proved that under the treaty, even
though the offense had been COM
mitted. De Lara could not be taken
back to Mexico for trial.
''It was perjured testimony that sent
Magon and his associates to prison.
And 1t was through perjured testimony
that they sought to send De Lara to
Magoon and his associates to prison.
are innocent, as was admitted through
the man who perjured himself to send
them there. The innocent are in pris-
on. The perjurer is allowed his free
dom.
"The immigration laws are such that
a political reformer seeking a haven
in the United States no longer can find
find 1t. There must be something radi-
cally wrong with the legal order of
things which allows this.
"De Lara's greatest offense against
his government has been raising his
voice for the weak and oppressed. His
mission has been one to the poor. Is
that a crime? Meek and gentle, a
scholar and lover of liberty-that is
the man who is now in the county jail
charged with being an anarchist. If
he be an anarchist then every man and
every woman who protests against gov
ernmental abuses Is an anarchist. We
must protest, and we do protest, for
we know we are in the right"
Abuses Pointed Out
Mr.. Harrimans remarks were pune
tuated with applause from the moment
he began until he ended. He showed
the hundreds of abuses there are in
the present immigration laws, and
pointed the finger of accusation at
members of the police force. Every
word he uttered he said he would be
responsible for and would be ready to
back up with proof at any time.
following Mr.. Hartman, Frank I.
Wheat made an eloquent appeal for
contribution to the defense fund. AS
a result of Mr.. Wheat's words nearly
5000 was raised.
Resolutions protesting against the
,fn no T 20. /