The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-29

McManigal, the self confessed dvna- hitter, for weeks occupied the witness stand, relating calmly. deeisively and without any apparent concern for himself, a narrative of violence seldom equalled.
 Antecedents of the Trial
 And what were the antecedents of this trial?
 Back in the summer of 1905 dynamite was found at New Haven, Conn, on a job on which non-union workmen were employed. Later the iron workers union called strike on several contractors, ard the strike became general. That was the beginning, according to the govern ment, and it spread until McNamara or eanized a dynamite crew. Altogether l0e explosions occurred. those at Los Angeles being among the number
 Two striking coincidences attended the trial
 Che was that on October l, 19l1 exactly one year after the Los Angeles Times btilding was blown up, with a loss of 2l lives, the federal authorities at Indian apolis first considered the possibility of for illegal interstate shipment of dynamite and nitroglycerin on passen- ger trains, Ortie F. McManigal's confess sion, obtained after he and the McNamara brothers had been arrested, implicated FAftA4t7 piosives in suiteases on trains, or as hav- in, entered into a conspiracy This indi- cated, in District Attorney Charles w. Miller's opinion, the necessity for q grand jury Investigation. Indianapolis was the headquarters of John J. McNamara. secre- tary of the iron workers union, and the point at which. it was charged, the con spiraey was entered into and from which the explosives were carried.
 of, began on october 1, 1912. the second of the Times explosion. The federal grand jury. after several months investigation, returned indict- ments against 54 union labor officials Before the defense began it's case this number had been reduced to Il on ac- count of various eliminations.
 Strike Motive of Explosion
 As a motive for the crimes charged the government referred to the strike against employers of non-union labor. of bridge, viaduct and build ing contractors who maintained an topen shop policy, employing workmen regardless of whether they belonged to the union or not This strike never has been called off. It was alleged that a warfare waged by the union spread all over the country until violence was itSDIltQ ibs or, dS WAS SldIeu, Dltktl- ing spread to slugging, slugging to dy- namite and dynamite to nitroglycerin."
 McNan1ara, at the headquarters of the union in Indianapolis. although later named by witnesses as the active per petrator of the explosions, was then umsuspected by the contractors. But the advent of McManigal and James B. Me Namara, brother of the union secretary, as regularly hired dynamiters, working under John Us direction, and, as Me Manigal charges, with HoclNins leader ship the explosions became so bold as to arouse suspicion that they were the work of an organized band.
 Detectives already had been working on the case when the killing of 2l peo- pie in Los Angeles by bomb set off at 1 o'clock in the morning. showed that the desperation of the dynamiters had reached the murder stage.
 Much of the evidence that was pre- olcded at Los Angeles by the pleas of guilty by the MeNamara brothers came out here. Federal Judge Albert B. Anderson ruled that while the specific charges were illegal transportation all other evidence relative to explosions might be offered as showing 8 motive.' The testimony was that the destruction of the Times building was not strictly a part of the campaign against non-union iron and steel work, but was done in an effort to unionize various trades In Los Angeles. James B. McNamara. who set