The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-12-02
GUILTY---BLEW UP
THE TIMES.
CONTINUED from Page 12.)
HOW IT CAME -ABOUT.
Circumstances Leading Up to the Con-
fessions of the NcNamaras.

Circumstances Leading Up TO the Con.
fessiOns of the McNamaras.
Los Angeles, Dec. asked as t.
when the compromise agreement fin
ally was settled upon by which the
McNamaras were to plead guilty as
they did, District Attorney Fredericks
declared today that 1T never was set
tied till it happened"
Frankly, 1 did not know that it was
really going to happen till the last
minute, though had every reason to
expect it" no declared. II have
learned never to say I have a thing
until il is actually in my hands and
did not know but that after all the
negotiations the defendants would fail
to confess.
He added that strong pressure was
brought to bear upon the defense in
the last twenty-four hours before the
confessions, but would give no details.
Informed that business interests were
reported to have taken a hand in set
Ting the trial. the district attorney
was inclined to minimize the report.
We gave them our uItimatum that
both must plead guilty" he said.
They were guilty and they knew 1t.
They had pretty good idea of some
of the things We knew about and they
perhaps saved many revelation by
their action"
What the district attorney chiefly
desired at all times was that both men
plead guilty. 1t was said that James
B. was ready to confess earlier if he
could clear his brother of all charges,
but the prosecutor was unwilling the
state should overlook the matter of
John is guilt, though it might be
more merciful in the recomm endation
for sentence.
Cared Little for His Life.
For long time it has been appar-
( ent to those who have studied the case
Athat James B. cared little about his
A9wn life and gladly would have gone
TO his death if by such action he could
have cleared his brother. In arguing
with James 3. counsel showed him
that to stand trial alone and bear a
CONVICTION might not save John J. and
that the easiest way was for both to
confess and to make an effort to get
a liejht sentence for John J. and life
fmpI isonment for James B. Attorney
Scott for the defense today declared !
that J.. J. Mcnamara had been pre-
VALID upon TO plead guilty to the mi
nor charge in connection with the
IleTFellyn Iron Works explosion for (
the sake of saving his brothers life. |
q sn't it a fact" he was asked. that
the entire framework of these confess |
sio1is was to save John J., the brains
OF. the dynamiting conspiracy, from
death ?"
thing for each other. James B. plead |
Sed guilty to the murder charge be- |
Cause it would be waived against John |
j. The elder brother, John J., in turn !
Iyn Indictment because the ultImatum |
was that he, too, must plead guilty to /
the conspiracy charge. If he had not
James B. might have lost his life, for
the state wanted pleas of guilty from /
both or none, as far as recommending |
clemency was concerned"
Business Men Responsible.
That the sentences will be a com
promise is generally admitted. and |
that business men started the compro-
mise talk is also generally accepted
Just how far, however, the commit
tee of business men who gathered in
the hope of suggesting a way to settle
the Mcnamara affair were Influenced
by the gospel and religious principles
which are supposed to have brought
about the entire surrender of the Nc
Namaras, assertions today varied from
one extreme to the other. Many there
were who considered it a moral fac
tor strong but apart from the main
ISSUE, namely: a desire to conserve the
of business; others declared
that the business men realized if one
side conceded a little and the other
did the same, and if the spirit of re-
venge were swept aside and the spirit
of charity applied, bitter fight would
come to an end.
One of the three morning newspa-
pers here gave prominence to the en-
trance of the gospel and the principle
Of the Golden Rule in settling the
trial, while the other two newspapers
gave particular attention to the theory
that the arrest of Burt H. Franklin on
bribery charges forced the confession
of the McNamaras.
Lincoln Steffens Helped.
The Los Angeles Tribune featured
the closing of the Mcnamara case as
having been brought by the gospel of
Christ, and attributes to Lincoln Stef-
fens, the magazine writer, the credit
Of having brought local business men
together to suggest the compromise
The Los Angeles Examiner announced
that the NIcNamara defense crum bled
as a result of the arrest of Burt Frank
lin, while the Los Angeles Times, the
newspaper whose plant was destroyed
and 81 employees killed, spread across
It's front page that the McNamaras
we're forced to confess through abso-
ute proof and likewise dwells at
length on the theory that the Frank
in arrest was too much for the de-
'ense.''
The confessions were received with
much interest in labor circles here
and the central labor council issued
he following statement:
1.-THE central labor council of Los
Angeles in its relations to the McNa-
mara case stands on its fundamental
principles that it assumes in all the
asses where the rights of citizens are
involved 1t is against 1awlessness
and disorder of any kind and stands
tor the uplift of society. When the
were arrested and illegal
v deported from Indianapolis to Los
Angeles organized labor believed that
+ was a violation of law and under
he circumstances a. fair and impartial
rial was impossible. Believing in the
innocence of all unproven guilty, it
anne to the aid of the accused with I