Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1911-12-13
LINCOLN STEFFENS
DENOUNCED BY JUDGE
Given a Well Deserved Scoring
Following Mcnamara Verdict.
Steffens Sought to Take Credit for In
ducing Dynamiters to Plead Guilty
at Los Angeles.

shut behind James b. McN amara,
sentenced to live his life out there.
and John J. Mcnamara, his brother,
doomed to fifteen years confinement.
until the men have appeared before a
federal grand jury here on Thursday
and disclosed the innermost workings
of their war of dynamite.
Even while Judge Walter N. Bord-
we'll was pronouncing the sentences
that cut off their liberty, Oscar
Lawler, special prosecutor in charge
of the governments probe into the
conspiracy to which the McNamaras
had confessed they played part, was
talking with Ortie McManigal,
through whose confession they were
forced to admit their crimes.
BORDWELL'S STATEMENT CLEARS AIR
While this conference was being
held Judge Bordwell, who has kept
silent during the trial, issued a
striking statement in which he con-
filmed the story of the prosecutor that
no bargain had been made and
declared that the disclosure that
bribery Of jurors had been attempted
by the defense in the Mcnamara trial
was the real reason that led to the
plea of guilt entered last Friday
suddenly terminated the great murder
trial. incidentally he declared
emphatically that Lincoln Steffens, a
magazine writer whom he referred to
as an anarchist, had played no part in
the final settlement of the case.
The judge scored the proposition of
the defense that James B Mcnamara
be allowed to enter a plea Of guilty
and take the consequences even of
death, to save his brother. Com
menting on it he remarked Ism t
that a proposition that would make
the blood run cold. -
WHY DEFENSE GAVE UP
Judge Bordwell S statement follows
In a spirit of indifference to
everything in the Mcnamara cases.
save the facts and the law applicable
thereto 1 deem it due to the court
and to this community that [ should
make a brief public statement re-
garding circumstances attending the
abrupt close of the case, together
with a sufficient comment to indicate
my views as to such circumstances.
This is done in the hope of correcting,
if posi- BILE, some misconceptions due
to erroneous publications and particu-
larly to an article which appeared in
a local newspaper over the signature
of Lincoln Steffens.
END NOT DUE TO OUTSIDERS
In the first place. the claim or
suggestion that the termination OF the
cases was due to the efforts of him
self and other outsiders who under
took to influence the officers of the
court-other than the judge-is with
out justification IN fact.
IT wish also to denounce the claim
of that gentleman, and OF other
pereOns for him that the change of the
plea in these cases from not guilty
to guilty was due to his efforts. as
grCundless and untrue. He is correct
in the statement that the court was
not a party to any negotiations for
what he terms compromise of
these cases, but there is no ground for
any claim that he induced the
prosecution to come to an agreement
in the matter. The district attorney
acted entirely without regard to Mr..
Steffens and on lines decided upon be-
fore the latter appeared on the sceene.
BRIBE DEVELOPMENTS REAL CAUSE
LAS to the defense, the public can
rely on it that the developments last
week as to bribery and attempted
bribery of Jurors in the j. B. Nc
Namara case was the efficient cause Of
the change of pleas which suddenly
brought these cases to an end. The
district attorney could have had j. b.
McNamaras plea of guilty long ago
if he had been willing to dismiss the
case against his brother, but he re
fused, insisting that the latter was
guilty and should suffer punishment.
The first proposition from those
interested in the defense was that j.
B. Mcnamara should change his plea
from not guilty to guilty on con-
dition that he should not be sentenced
to death and that his brother should
go free. The district attorney would
not agree. Afterwards emIssaries
from the defense brought to the
district attorney the proposition that
J. b. Mcnamara would plead guilty
and be sentenced to death, if the