The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-12-06
JUDGE BORDWELL
TELLS OF FINISH
Issues Lengthy Statement
Explaining Arrival At
Compromise
SAYS STEFFENS HAD
NO HAND IN FINALS
Mcnamara Brothers Not Ia
Go to Prison Until They q
Testify Before Fed
eral Grand Jury

Los ANGELES, CAL. Dec. E~
The great doors of San Quentin prie.
on will not clang shut behind James
B. Mcnamara, sentenced to live hlD
life out there, and John Joseph Mo-
Namara, his brother, doomed to df@s
teen years confinement until the
men have appeared before q Federal
grand jury here on Thursday and
! disclosed the innermost workings q
their war of dynamite. E@
Even while Judge Walter N. Bords
well was pronouncing the sentences
that cut off the liberty OF these TIVE
| men. Oscar I.awler. Special prosecu.
| tor in charge of the governmental
probe into the gigantic dynamite con4
| spiracy. was talking with Ortie Mo-
Manigal, through whose confessiou
they were forced to admit the&x
crimes. ME-
Afterwards Lawlor held q confer.
enee with Fredertcks and then a moro
| hurried one with Deputy United
| States District Attorney Edward Re-
gan and it was decided that the Mo-
Namaras should appear before the
Federal body on Thursday. SUBJ
| poenas will be served on Sheriff W.
A ,Hammel. commanding him to pros
| duce his prisoners on that day.
! Judge Issues Statement.
| While this conference was being
held Judge Bordwelf. who has kept
silent during the trial, issued a strik.
ing statement, in which he confirms
! ed the story OF the district attorney
that no bargain had been made, and
| further declared that the DISCLOSURES
that bribery of Jurors had been at.
tempted by the defense in the Me-
| Namara trial was the real reason that
led to the plea of guilty entered last
Friday. suddenly terminating the
great murder trial. incidentally he
declared emphatically that Lincoln
| Steffens. a magazine writer. whom hO
| referred to as an anarchist. had play
ed no part in the final settlement o3
| the case.
| The judges statement was made It
the insistence of newspaper men AZ.
| ter the whole case had ended, the
| sentence had been pronounced and
tn court room that had been jamme0
with interested spectators had been
| cleared.
| When he was convinced that he
| should make statement he pre-
| pared 1t deliberately and revised i
before he allowed 1t to be used. The
judge scored the proposition OF the
defense that James B. McNamarA b.
allowed to enter plea of guilty au9
take the consequences. even Of death.
to save his brother. Commenting On
1t. he remarked:
Isn't that a proposition that would
make the blood run cold?"
Bordwell Gives Facts
Judge Bordwell's statement was -
follows:
I'm a spirit Of, Indifference to ev-
erything tn the Mcnamara case. save
the facts and the law apphoAble
thereto, deem 1t due to the court
and to this community that l Should
make a brief public statement regards
ing circumstances attending IT,
| abrupt close Of the case. toEothae
with a sufficient comment to indico40
my views as to such circumstances
This il done in the hope OF correces
ing, II possible. some misconcopston0
due to erroneous publications An4s
particularly to an article which A.
/ peared in q local Newspaper on tn
Cd instant over the signature Of Linz
coin steffens.
IN the first place. the claim or sueSs
| xestion that the termination Of tn
| cases was due to the efforts OF ntnar
| self and other outsiders who undeSs
| took to influence the officers OF IT,
court-other than the Judge. In with
out justification in fact.
IT wish also to denounce the clal0
/
| sons for him that the change OF th0
pleas In these cases frem mot quilts
| 10 "guilty'' was due to his efforts aT0
| xroundless and untrue. He Is corroQ4
/ in the statement that the court 49,
not a party to anv negotiations 10
| what he terms compromise 81
these cases; but there Is no ground TO-
any claim that he induced the PROS
I cutfon to como to an. agreement. In I'll
matter. The district attorney acte3
entirely without regard to Mr.. Ste4A
fens and on iires decided upon befo90s
| the lattere appeared on the scene. Al
Jury Bribery Brought Pleas.
AS to the defense. the public G.
| rely on 1t that the developments ~
| last week as to bribery and attemptA
| bribery Of Jurors in the j. b. McNQ@s
| mara case were the sufficient can1A
| for the change Of pleas which su1
| denly brought these cases to an e14f
| The district attorney could have H.
J. B. McNamarn's plea OF guilty lon4
ago II he had been willing to disn44
/ the cases against his brother: but ANi
| refused, insisting that the latter w.
| guilty. and should suffer puntshmeM
| The first proposition from those intgs
ested in the defense WAS that j. "
| Mcnamara should change his pt4
4 from mot guilty to guilty. on Co.
] dition that he should not be sentence
/ to death, and that his brother sho01
\ 20 free. The district attorney wool
not axree. Afterwards emissartes 64q
| the defense brought to the di9kx10
| attorney the proposition that J. n M
| Namara would plead guilty ana
sentenced to death. IL the court r.
ordered, provided that his brCtn
| should be saved. But the distrtct r.
| torney still would not agree. -
! interested IN the defense continued
/ urge his acceptance Of the last pgS[
| sition for ten days or more and m
| the bribery developments rsveale4
| desperation Of the defense and pg
| lyxed the effort to save J. J. Nd
| mara by sacrificine his brother. X
| It was that the change Of p3oa6
1 these men was fnrthc0ming.
! 1.-THE motion preached n tn
FMS article that tn Mclxnnno1qx
the commisaacn q es4mea - ~
~ tham ay6 stWo 11so6mp r