The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1911-12-03
REPUDIATE THE M'NAMARAS
LABOR LEADERS HERE PLEAD
To HiIING BEEN NISLED.
Meeting Called TO Help the Brothers
WIN Bc Held. but Is Now without
Programme Employers say Confcg-
siOns " III Better Industrial Relations.

ference. composed Of delegates of unions.
4 principally SoCialirtS. has been holding
meetings and collecting money toward
the Mcnamara defence fund and was 70
have held a mass meeting in the Labor
| Temple. Eighty fourth street near Second
avenue. on Thursday evening to appeal
to organized labor on behalf Of the
brothers.
| Julius Gerber. scCretary of the con-
ference and a Socialist and delegate Of
the Amllgnnatcd Shset Metal Workers
! Union. said last evening that somo kind
of a meeting will he held anyway and
added
Last night I believed there was some
mistake or Misrepresentation and that
the McNamaras had not confessed, but
now have got to believe they were guilty.
! There is no Use in any one trying to deceive
himself as to the guilt Of the two men.
| They would not confess If they were not
/ guilty
Il hope however. that the public will
/ give organized labor fair play and realize
! that organized labor has no symapthy
with crime The fact that these men were
! guilty of a crime does not indicate that
they represent the unions a. a class.
| Il do not know what action will be
taken NJ the meeting on Thursday evening,
! but it will bs a different kind of meeting
from the one We intended TO hold
Calvin Wyatt. general organizer of tho
American Federation of Labor. who on
Friday night said he did not believe the
McNamaras had confessed, said yester-
day that ha had been reluctantly COM
PEELED to change his mind
The confession" he said. leaves no
question that the two men did one of tho
worst crimes ever recorded | cannot
understand why two such men should do
such thing Union labor does not stand
for such acts II Is against crime and
violence
we believed the McNsinaras were
honest and that they were being perse
cuted. and with Mr.. Gompcrs ! believed
il was our duty To stand 10y them through
| thick and thin. do not believe in capital
punishment, but il did, knowing what
know now. would gladly pull the rope
about the McNamaras myself. hope they
will get the limit of the legal penalty"
As to Clarence j. barrow, the counsel
for the two dynamiters. it looked To Wyatt
as If there might have been some hidden
! reason for bringing about the confession
just at this time Yesterday was election
day in Los Angeles. He could not under
stand why Darrow should choose the
eve of election to announce the Mcnamara
| confession A. to the fund Of 5000, ,no0
| collected for the defence. it will he used
! to meet obligations
Rernard Kelly. business agent of the
| Iron Moulders Conference Board, rep
resenting twelve local unions. said
| IL tho McNamaras did tho crimes they
confessed to il shows that there are such
/ men in lahor's ranks. but not that they
represent labor any more than banker
who was a criminal would be typlca
| Of bankers as class.
"Our national union contributed about
sl5oao 10 the defence fund and our loca
uuious were asse ssed ?5 cents for eacn
| man besides and paid the assessments.
| | am not assured that the McNamaras
! were guilty. Men are sometimes in a
position in which. while they are not
| guilty. they cannot escape conviction
| and confess to save their necks from the
! rope
Percy Thomas. president of the New
| York branch Of the Commercial Teleg-
raphers Union, said that the confession
was a blow to labor hut would have its
Uses II would show the unions tho
danger Of trusting too blindlv in such
| Leaders.
Representatives of the large orgahiza-
| tions Of employers in the building and
| metal trades believed that the confession
| Of the NCNamaras will clear IN the sit,ia-
ton in relation to the unions and tho
employers as il has never been cleared
up before and that the lesson will To "a
SOLITARY one To- unions that insist on
standing hv criminals simply because
! they are members or leaders Of unions
! Walter Drew. commissioner OF tn" Ma
| tional Erectors' Association. which en-
| ploved detective Burns and his aides and
| is composed of manufacturers and ercc-
tors Of structural iron and stecl. said
Yesterday that the confession Of tho
McNamarss was a good thing and would
be a great deterrent Of violence in strikes
OF other labor troubles.
Even since the arrest OF the
McNamaras, before their confession he
said, the dynamitng outrages which had
been occurring constantly since the open
shop was declared in the trade of the
structural iron workers had practical lly
cea sed. But the fight has only begun.
| We propose now to find who were the men
behind the McNamaras. In pleading
! guilty the brothers have said that they
we're sent to Los Angeles and acted for
principle II is obvious that the men
representing this principle have kept
| them well supplied with money.
! Compared 70 this the prosecution of
! the NCNamardS is a side issue. The
! National Erectors' Association is not q
/ lot Of Indians We have no persona
malice against the McNamaras and hope
that clemency will be extended To them
We too, are sighting for principle just
| as the MCNamaras say they were The
big principle behind it all on our part is
! the prosecution Of the men who paid the
McNamaras and countenanCei and in
stigated this outrage.
| Federal authorities will continue rigid
| investigation Of tho case. Our aSso ia
tion will therefore give every aid possible.
! and there will be cooperation with the Los
Angeles authorities. This whole thing is
a national issue. and the sooner union labor
frees itself Of the criminal element the bel
ter and sooner the problem will he put on
Is proper footing. We have received
messages Of congratulation from every
part OF the country all morning"
| c, T.. Cheney secretary of the associa-
tion and Of it's local branch, the Iron
! League Erectors Association, said that the
1 \