Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1911-10-11


in the prisoners bar.
. At 10 o'clock both John J. McNa-
mara and his brother, James b., en-
tered the court room with Clarence
Darrow, their chief counsel.
Both men were smiling and shook
hands with many attorneys at the bar.
The brothers were handcuffed when
they left the Jail and during the walk
across the street, through to the csurt
and into the Hall of Records.
Scores of photographers took snap
Shots but few other persons gathered
to see the men. They were accom-
panied by Jailer George Gallagher and
an assistant and were followed by
seven deputy sheriffs.
Court convened at 10:15 o'clock, hav-
ing been delayed in opening by the ar
rangement of seats District Attorney
Fredericks and Clarence S. Darrow
greeted one another and began allot-
ting seats
The prisoner is 20 years old and
unmarried.
He is charged with causing the death
of nineteen of the twenty-one men
/ who were killed in the explosion and
| fire which wrecked the Los Angeles
| Times plant. Not only did Mr.. Fred
| eric6s elect to try James. rather thar
! his brother, John j.. secretary of the
| International Association of Bridge and
! Structural Iron Workers, but he de-
| cided to go to trial on the indictment
| charging the prisoner with the death
of Charles j. Hagerty, a machinist,
whose body was found close to the
| spot at which the explosion is alleged
| to have occurred The site of the old
| Times building lies almost within the
shadow of the unfinished Hall OF
Records in which the trial is being he'd
and the whistles of engineers working
on the foundation of the new Times
building sounded from time to time
through the open windows of the court
room, Counsel for the defense gath
cred about the prisoner, headed by At
torney Clarence s. Darrow. of Chicago
Associated with him sat Joseph Scott
Lacompte Davis and Job Hartman. all
of Los Angeles. Mrs. Darrow sat near
her husband,
District Attorney Fredericks handled
! The prosecution, aided by the assistants
regularly employed in his office.
A delay seemingly interminable to.
eager spectators occurred at the open
ing of court, while a procession of
veniremen explained to Judge Bord
well why they should not be asked to
serve. This was the end of prelim~
mary hearing, in which the Judge rap
idly weeded out over half the first
venire of 1875 men before the trial for
mally opened.
The McNamaras were brought into
court together and remained until
James B. Mcnamara was selected for
trial, when John j. was returned to
his cell in the county jail.
After a few minutes parley Attorney
Lecompte Davis faced the waiting
veniremen and made the first speech
of the trial.
THE court suggests that I inform
you that when you enter the jury box
you will remain there or be locked up
until the end of the trial" he said
IF you want to see your wives or
attend to your business, you had better
do so before this afternoon"
Recess was taken at 111O until p m
OF the venire of 1876 men summoned
on Monday AZ names still remained.
but it was considered not improbable
another venire, and possible third
would be required from which to make
a final selection.
tOllOWlHB d conferences DelWSeH CouAt-
sci for the McNamaras the defense
yesterday decided Of to press it's mo-
tion for a change of venue when the
trial opens tomorrow.
Attorney Clarence Darrow, chief
counsel for the defense, overruled his
associates and declared he was sat
sfed with Judge Bordwell's refusal to
grant a change of venue, He said he
expected to wait until the initial venire
is exhausted before making serious de-
mand for the change.
barrow insisted that the preliminary
examination of veniremen showed the
impossibility of the McNamaras OBJ
tanning a fair trial in Los Angeles
County, but added that he wished to
fortify the record with irrefutable evil
dence of prejudice before making a mo-
ton which Judge Bordwell had already
indicated that he would refuse.
This trial, which is the most I'M
portant labor case in the history of the
country, has aroused widespread at
tention from the Atlantic to the Pacific
II is estimated that the trial VIII
cover a period of six months. The at
torneys and witnesses are preparing
to hold themselves in readiness Tor
that length of time. Witnesses from
fifteen States have been summoned,
and now are in Los Angeles, where
they can be called at any moment