Los Angeles herald., 1910-10-25
MRS. LAWN MAY
TELL JURORS Of
DYNAMITE CRIME
Nineteen Men viii Meet Today to
Hear Evidence Concerning
Times Explosion
SUSPECTS ELUDE OFFICERS
Mysterious Suicide of Man in
Modesto May Be Connected
with the Case


This morning at 10 o'clock, in Judge
BordwelPs courtroom will be impan-
eled a jury of nineteen men to hear
and weigh the evidence concerning
the explosion that in the early morn
ing of October 1 destroyed the build
ing of the Los Angeles Times and cost
the lives of twenty-one men. Before
this grand jury, it developed yester-
day, Mrs. Belle LAWN, the woman who
is held in prison here on a charge Of
murder because of her connection with
the suspects involved in the Times
dynamiting, will be the stellar witness.
Mrs. LAWN has come through To
Attorney Earl Rogers she has given
a complete statement of all that she
knows concerning Schmidt, the zone
eyed man; BrysOn, his mysterious
pal. and Caplan, the anarchist. In her
story she has related the meeting of
these men with a number of other
men who may also become involved in
the case. She has related conversa-
tions which involve the three sus-
poets with the crime, and her story
affords the link directly connecting the
dynamite buyers with the explosion
and also furnishes what Attorney Rog-
ers considers a strong sidelight on the
motive.
1t was admitted yesterday by Off
cials in the case that if Mrs. LAWN
repeats the story told to Rogers be-
fore the grand jury she will not be
prosecuted on the murder charge.
Rogers himself said: "Concealing a
crime makes one a party to it. This
woman's change of front makes it
probable that she will not be prose-
cuted."
THEORIES OF MOTIVE CONFLICT
Directly connected with the import
ance attached to the testimony of Mrs
LAWN is the fact that although the
San Francisco police and Rogers and
the local authorities are working il.
perfect harmony on the case, the local
| prosecution" and the northern officers
have widely divergent theories as to
the motive behind the crime.
Captain Seymour and his detectives
have evidence which they believe sure
ly points to the Times explosion be-
ing the result of an anarchist plot The
local prosecution" claims the evidence
points to the explosion being due to
the labor difficulties of the Times. In
their efforts to establish this theory
an attempt will be made soon after
the grand jury meets this morning to
subpoena Anton Johannsen, business
agent of the Millworxers' union, O.. A.
Tveitmoe, secretary treasurer of the
State Building Trades council, and
Motion, an assistant of Tveitmoe in
the editing of a labor newspaper.
These men "all deny any connection
whatever with any act of violence
against the Times but Johannsen adj
mits that he employed Schmidt one
of the suspects to build him a house
at Corte MADEIRA, and also was we'll ac-
quainted with the man. This admis-
sion, together with the fact that Jo-
hansen went East to raise funds for
continuing the metalworkers' strike in
this city, will be the reasons urged for
his appearance before the grand jury.
An alleged passing acquaintance of
TVeitmoe and Morton, with Schmidt,
will be the basis of an effort to have
these two men also testify before the
inquisitorial body.
DATA OF NORTHERN POLICE
The San Francisco police do not re-
gard any testimony that these men
can give as important. They have Sc
cured mass OF data showing the an
archistic affiliations of Caplan, Bryson
and Schmidt and of recent meetings
of these three suspects with notorious
anarchists at 1865 Grove street, SAN
Francisco, where the plot against the
Times is said to have been Matched.
John Fox, Emma Parsons and AL
bert Aarons, all alleged to be anar-
chiSts are said to have been assO-
ciates of Caplan and Schmidt and to
have had frequent conferences with
them at 33 Bryant terrace, where Cap
Ian moved from his Grove street adj
dress. The police have secured Il
quantity of anarchistic literature that
Caplan left at the Grove street adj
dress and also letters written by Bry-
son to Caplan that it is claimed strong
ly intimate the two men were members
of a terrorist organization.
When Mrs. Caplan was taken to po-
lice headquarters in San Francisco
one of the first things she volunteered
was that she was not Gn anarchist and
she appeared very much frightened
that she might be considered men,
Der of the 'red" organization.
QUARRY STILL ELUDEs POLICE
The search for the suspects yester-
day brought the police apparently no
closer to their quarry than they were
a week ago.
Robert O'Brian, an Industrial Work
er of the World, arrested in Fresno
a week ago, has been taken to Han
ford, Cal, by Marshal Frederick OF
that city. Presumably O'Brian is sup
posed to know something about the
blowing up of the Times building, al
though officials here deny connecting
him with the crime in any way.
Marshal Frederick went to Fresno and
took charge of O'Brian immediately
after he had returned to Hanford from
Los Angeles, where he placed Morris
Fitzgerald in Jail from where he was
removed to the county hospital
Fitzgerald was released from the
hospital yesterday, as the officials have
become convinced that he had no part
in the dynamiting and that his queer
actions and talk about dynamite were
the results of disordered mind. The
man was allowed 20 go his own way
and the police are making no effort to
keep track of him.
Modesto officers are tracing the pos