Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1911-12-14
M'NANARAS TO JAIL
JUDGE SENTENCES JAMES 9. TO
LIFE IMPRISONMENT, BROTH
Err is GIVEN fs YEARS.
CONFESSION Is MADE PUBLIC

0ynamiter Declares He Is Sorry for
Act and Is Prepared to Die to
Atone for Crime-Gov rnmeni
Hopes to Trace Plot to Its Source.
Los Angeles, Cal, Dec. 6.-Judge
Bordwell passed sentence upon James
B. Mcnamara, who pleaded guilty to
blowing up the Office of the Los An
geles Times, and upon John J. Mona
mara, his brother, who admitted hav-
ing destroyed the LleweIlyn iron
works.
Life Imprisonment for James and Is
years for John were the terms i'm
posed.
A big crowd was in the courtroom
and outside the building Los Angeles
had been under excitement all day.
Early in the morning the text OF
James B. McNamara's confession was
made public, and there were rumors
of further drastic action in the case
both here and IN the east.
Judge Pronounces Sentence.
Sentence of the McNamaras was
pronounced at brief court proceed
ings.
Are you ready to proceed?" asked
Judge Bordwel.
THE state is" said District Attor-
ney Fredericks, and read James B.
McNamara's confession amid abso
lutte silence.
as that statement correct?" asked
the court
ut is" said Mcnamara.
Calls 1t First Degree Murder.
Then the court finds" said the
judge, that the degree of guilt of the
defendant is murder in the first de-
gree. James B. Mcnamara, you may
stand. What is your full name"
James Boyd Mcnamara" answered
the prisoner.
The court then began a formal
statement reciting the indictment for
murder of Charles J. Haggerty upon
which Mcnamara pleaded guilty and
asked Mcnamara if he had any state
ment to make.
Il have not" he said.
No Bargain, Says Fredericks.
Have you anything to say?" he
asked.
There has been no dickering or
bargaining in this matter" said Dis
trict Attorney Fredericks.
Counsel on the other side are we'll
aware of the custom of granting elem
ency to persons pleading guilty. This
defendant by so pleading has settled
for all time a question which other
wise would always have been in
doubt. He saves the state great ex-
penditures and serves the state in
other ways"
j. 3. McNamara's Confession.
James B. McNamara's brief confes-
sion penned by his own hand and
bearing many evidences of a man lit
tie skilled in letters, was made pub
lie. 1t is as follows.
Il, James B. Mcnamara, defendant
in the case of the people. having here
tofore pleaded guilty to the crime OF
murder, desire to make this state
ment of facts; and this is the truth:
ION the night of September 80, 1910,
at 5:45 p. m, | placed in ink alley, a
portion of the Times building, a suit
case containing sixteen sticks of 80
per cent. dynamite, set to explode at
one o'clock the next morning"
Says He Did Nos Intend to Kill.
1T was my intention to injure the
building and scare the owners. l did
not intend to take the life of any one.
1 sincerely regret that these unfor-
tunate men lost their lives. If the
giving Of my life would bring them
back I would gladly give it. In fact,
in pleading guilty to murder in the
first degree, 1 have placed my life in
the hands of the state.
JAMES B. M'NAMARA."
To Give Government Facts.
With the announcement of the pro-
posed plea for cIemency came the in
formation that the brothers had fur
nished information of great value in
the investigation of an alleged far
reaching dynamiting conspiracy, and
that the plan was to serve them i'm
mediately after the sentence with
gummonses to appear before the fed
eral grand jury in session here. To
that body they are expected to give
testimony which the district attorney
declared they had offered to him.
The jury inquisition is considered
here of vast Importance It's inquiry,
It is believed. will reach the Allan
tic seaboard, and in connection with
an investigation in progress at In
dianapolis it is believed to constitute
one of the greatest probes along Grim
inal lines ever conducted. It's search
admittedly is for an actual head or
heads to be held responsible for the
long list of dynamite outrages, reach
ing from coast to coast, the intent of
the search being to learn whether
these all were directed by one man.
agement, and if so, what that manage
me1t was