The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-02-28

The following article on the Los
Angeles dynamiting case, written by
Bessie Beatty, and printed in the San
Francisco Bulletin, is reprinted by
The Gate City at the request OF keo-
luk Typographical Union No. 6S:
Free press, free speech and the
right of every man to the presump-
ton of innocence until he is proven
guilty.
The American citizen stands firm
on his feet, squares his shoulders and
SAYS to the world They are my i'll
alienable rights. These three have.
Has he?
In Los Angeles today the existence
OF all three of them is denied.
There is neither free press nor
free speech, and not one man, but a
gigantic organization of men, hun,
dreds of citizens, have been robbed OF
the presumption OF innocence and
pronounced guilty without hearing.
At one O'Clock on the morning of
October / the plant of the Los An
Seies Times was destroyed by an ex-
plosion and % persons persisted in
the fire which followed.
a few hours afterward the Times
issued from the unionized composing
room of the Herald, contained In large
type the statement-not surnise,
but a declaration; 4UNIONIST BOMB
WRECKS THE TINES
At the same time the manag ing edi-
tor of the paper, HarryeAndreWs, gave
out an interview in which he said the
Times building had been DESTROYED by
the enemies of industrial freedom.
That was six weeks ago. 1t was al
most the last expression of free
press uttered in Los Angeles
Men Convicted Without Evidence.
with no more evidence than the fact
that the building had been destroyed
and % persons killed. the Times ac-
cused and convicted the organized
workinemen of America of crime
which, If it was crime committed By
human agency, would be one OF the
most dastardiy outrages of industrial
his.ory.
The Times convicted and telegraph
wires carried the conviction TO the
press Of the entire country. James
GsiIett. governor of California, re-
versed the procedure OF holding a
man innocent until he has been
proven guilty, and declared in pub
lie statement
Whether guilty or not, the union
isis VIII hare 10 be blamed for the
crime Until it has shown that they
are not guilty.
THo rival papers issuing editions
before noon on the day OF the explo-
sion asked that judment be suspend
cd Until an investigation had been
made. Soon afterward q guard vas
placed at the home OF Harrison Gray
Oris and r ]. Zeehandelaar, and then
game the announcement that Detec-
tive Thomas Rico had found z suit
case containing bomb at the Otis
home, closely followed oy the discoy-
cry OF q bomb in the Zeehandelaar
garden
This was al the proof needed at the
time to convince the majority that
the Times building had been blown
up By dynamite and Harrison Gray
Otis had scored a point. The special
investigation committee reported on
October s that the catastrophe had
been caused by high form of ex.
plosire deposited in the ink alley,
and without any evidence to that ef-
feet except the mere surmise, the cor
oner's jury. and the grand jury began
their investigations .
Six weeks have passed since the
explosion and no reputable evidence
has been introduced in proof OF the
dynamite theories. yet there have
been proceedings in Los Angeles o.
which great many OF the resident:
are ignorant and the rest of the worlt
knows little or nothing.
Free Press and Speech Suppressed
The six weeks have developed man.
other things, however, and they have
demonstrated TO fair-minded people
who have been able 10 discover an!
OF the facts that something indisput
ably unfair is going on in that city
that the rights OF free press and FREE
speech are being denied, and that {
grand jury. supposed to be q set o
fair-minded and impartial men, civ
en- authority 10 examine into certain
set of facts. has followed in the foot