The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1911-03-09
WHY PARDON
WAS REFUSED
IN HARLAN CASE
REASONS GIVEN BY PRESIDENT
TAFT FOR NOT GRANTING PAR
DON BEFORE HARLAN WAS
SENT TO PENITENTIARY-cAsE
is REVIEWED.

In the general newspaper reports Of
the efforts of the friends of w. S. Har-
Ian to secure a. pardon for him pre-
vious to his confinement in the federal
penitentiary at Atlanta, President
Taft's reasons for refusing the pardon
never seem to have been published.
The case excited a great deal of in
terest all over West Florida and
Southern Alabama and the signed
statement by the president will there
fore be read with more than usual in
terest 1t is as follows:
The Presidents Reasons.
In re application for the pardon Of
W.. s. Harlan.
w. S. Harlan is the manager Of a
great lumber and turpentine company
doing business in Florida and Ala
barna With two or three other en-
ployes of the company he was indict-
ed in the United States court for Flor
ida for conspiracy to violate the peon-
age statutes-that is, to compel Ia
borer against his will to return to the
company and work out a debt owing
by the laborer to the company. He
was tried and convicted with two
others, and was sentenced to eighteen
months in prison and to pay fine of
$4,000. The judgment was carried for
review to the United States circuit
court of appeals of the Fifth circuit,
and was there affirmed, one judge.
Judge Pardee, dissenting. An appli-
cation to the United States supreme
court for writ of certiorari to review
the Judgment was denied.
Upon application for pardon, I
signed a memorandum directing the
- ~ INV
signature a formal warrant committing
the Imprisonment part of the sentence
be committed to six months. A pro-
ceeding in habeas corpus was then be-
gun and carried to the supreme court
to test the validity of the sentence col
laterally, and the sentence was upheld.
Application for pardon has now been
renewed.
Mr.. Harlan is a man Of great enter
prise and of good business reputation,
and has invoked and secured the sym
pathy and assistance of all who favor
the Industrial development of the
country in the neighborhood of his ac-
tivities in the south, as well as Of
many prominent citizens of Iowa where
he was born and lived for large part
of his life. They have interviewed with
much earnestness in his behalf. All
this has led me to examine the case
with great care.
Mr. Harlan was indicted on two
charges of conspiracy. He was tried
twice on different indictments. He
was convicted on the first Indictment
and acquitted on the second. The two
cases covered the same general sub
ject matter and the records in the two
cases embraced 1900 printed pages of
evidence. I have read the records in
full in each case.
Origin of the Offenses.
The offenses charged grew out of the
effort of Mr.. Harlan's company to Sc
cure one hundred and eighty laborers
from New York, including quite a
number of recent Hungarian, Bull
garian and other immigrants. They
were brought in parties of from
twelve to twenty-five by sea to Sa-
vannah, and thence to the company's
plant, situate partly in Alabama and
partly in Florida near the line between
the states The contract of the COM
pany with each laborer stipulated for
certain wage per day and provided
for a repayment to the company out
of wages earned of the cost Of his