Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-05-05
Calls Blowing Up Of Times "Out-
rage Of OastardIy Iniquiiy."
DeCTieS Conduct Of Labor Lead
ersWhO Are Defending Suspects.
Appeals to Law Abiding laboring
Man" 10 Take Right View.

New York, May 4.-Ex-President
Theodore Roosevelt will have a signed
article entitled Murder is MURDER" in
the outlook this week, dealing with the
dynamiting of the Los Angeles Times
and the arrests recently made by De-
teetive Burns. Mr.. Roosevelt says:
"There is one feature of the develop
ments as regards the arrest of certain
alleged labor men. in connection with
the dynamite outrage perpetrated
against the Los Angeles Times, to
wi7iell especial attention should be call
ed. If the explosion was not an acct
dent. but the deliberate act of any man
or men, it was an outrage of dastardly
iniquity. for it was one of those crimes
in which the murderer, in order to
crafty his spite against an individual.
not merely wrecks that individuals
property. but with callous indifference
takes the lives of scores of innocent
people as an incident to the achieve
ment of his sinister and criminal pur-
pose. The men responsible for dynamit-
ing the Los Angeles Times building. are
responsible not only for the wreck OF
the newspaper offices, but for the loss
of many lives.
THE arrest was made in conse-
quenee of testimony secured by Mr.
Burns, who has been Mr.. Haney's
right hand man in bringing to justice
grafters who violated the law of the
United States in Oregon and grafters
who violated the laws of California in
San Francisco. He has proceeded with
impartial severity against the most in
fiuential politicians and the city bust
ness men. 1t happens that the men
whom he has now arrested are men,
bers of labor organization, just as
men whom he formerly arrested were
members of the Republican or DEM
ocratic parties or of great and wealthy
corporations.
1T would have been a wicked thing
in the former cases with which Mr..
Burns had to do for leading Republic
cans or Democrats to combine to break
him down and support the accused
merely because the accused belonged
to their political parties, and it would
have been wicked thing for big CAPT
talists and big business men to make
common cause with the capitalists
against whom he proceeded merely be-
cause they were capitalists. Wherever
any politician of either party or any
capitalist did actually take this posi-
ton, whether in the case of the men
prosecuted by Mr.. Burns or in any
other case the Outlook. unhesitatingly
and severely denounced them. In ex-
actly the same spirit l state the con-
victions of the Outlook in expressing
its hearty reprobation of the conduct
of those labor leaders, who without
waiting to know anything of the facts
of the case. have at once flown public
ly to the defence of the alleged dyna-
miters whom Mr.. Burns has now ar
rested and who talk about the arrest as
being part of a conspiracy against
labor unions.
NO worse service can be rendered
by labor union leaders to the cause of
unionism than that which they render
when they seek to identify the cause
of unionism with the cause of any
man guilty of murderous attack of
this nature. ! have no idea whether
the men arrested on Mr.. Burns state
ment are or are not guilty; the labor
leaders in question have no idea
whether or not they are They are
entitled to an absolutely fair trial. If
they have no money to provide counsel
for themselves, then it would be en-
tirely proper for any body of men to
furnish them the requisite funds. simp-
ly as an incident in securing them a
fair trial. But it is grossly improper
to try to create public opinion in
favor Of the arrested men simply be-
cause the crime of which they are ac-
cused is committed against capital
list or corporation and because the
men who are charged with committing
it are members of a labor union. This
is an equity as gross as it would have
been If, when three years ago. the
sugar trust was indicted for swindling
operations in the New York customs
house. the forces of organized capital
had been put behind the indicted men
on the ground that the attack ON capi-
talists guilty of crime meant an at
tack on all capital.
Undoubtedly there nave been in
! the past repeated cases where rep
resertatives of capital have TINS on
deayored TO prevent successful as
saHlt or abuses committed in tbe
interests of capital: and in every smell
cases, no matter how wealthy or in.
/ fluential the offender The Cutlool, ba.
lieves that he should be condemned
1t ne'Y takes The same attitude vher
scontlnned on Page Four)