The Mena weekly star., 1911-04-27

were arrested J. J. McNamara, and Tn Detroit, J. B. Bryce, alleged to be James McNamara, brother of ]. ]. McNamara, and 0rtie E. McManigle. Daybreak this morning found the bridge and iron workers officials and their counsel in controversy with William J. Burns and his op- eratlves, the local police and At torney Drew of the Erectors' Association as to whether a search warrant held by Burns vested in him the power to seize the books of the association.
 Superintendent of Police Hyland finally determined to remove the books to police headquarters, where, It was said, transcript would be made of receipts and expenditures made by authority of Secretary McNamara in the last two years. Mir. Drew said these entries would be offered as evidence when the ac- cused was brought to trial at Los Angeles.
 The books were taken from a safe in the association offices after an expert had cut the locks. presi- dent Ryan and other officials of lhe international union said Me Namara, who had been taken from the city immediately after his arr rest, was the only official who knew the combination.
 After five hours work the locks yielded over the protests of the officials of the union and their coun- sel, Detective Burns, Attorney Drew and Assistant District At torney w. J. Ford of Los Angeles began an examination of the books, which continued for several hours, when 1t was decided to take the books to police headquarters.
 The custodian of the building in which are the offices of the iron workers association, told the police, the latter said, that Me Namara had asked him for per mission to build the compartment in the basement in which the explos- ives were discovered last night. Here the police found old books and letter files of the association, piled indiscriminately about four bundles of dynamite.
 The police sergeant guarded the dynamite all of Saturday night and Sunday, pending it's removal. Busi- ness men whose offices are in the building or in neighboring buildings made indignant protests against the great quantities of explosives being permitted to remain in the business center of the city, but the police had difficulty in determining on a safe method of disposing of it.
 Declaring that the police had kidnapped" John J. McNamara, and that the finding of dynamite in a storage compartment, belonging to the offices of the Association of Bridge and Structural Iron Workers was not proof of McNamara's guilt, because detectives often had ere ated" evidence against labor unions, Frank M. Ryan, president of the Iron Workers Association last night issued a statement on behalf of himself and the executive board.
 MT. Ryan said the organization is emphatically opposed to the use of any explosive for the destruction of life and property in labor dis putes," and asks the public to with hold Judgment in the case until the facts are known. The statement praises McNamara and continues:
 "To the public it may seem that the finding of explosives in vault supposed to be in his sole control is evidence of his guilt, but to those who know, as we do, that in times gone by private detectives, in the employ of manufacturers, have willfully created such evidence for the purpose of convicting labor leaders, and that such facts have been established in our courts time after tmie, the mere finding of ex- plosives will not prove so convlnc- ing.
 "Already there is evidence in our hands that strangers had access to the vault in which the dynamite is said to have been found.
 ITO us it seems strange, indeed, that the police should find 1t neces- sary to kidnap Mir. McNamara and take him to Chicago in an automo- bile, when, as they assert, they have an abundance of evidence on which to convict him"
 COs1PFRS CALLS IT UNJUST.