Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1912-01-12
Alleged Dastardly Plot to
Destroy County Build
ing is Revealed by
Detectives.
TELLS STORY OF
MANY OUTRAGES
Sleuths Also Tell of Labor
Union Plans to Win
Contest by Wreck
ing Crews.
| ASSOCIATED Press DiSbdfch1


Los ANGELES. Jan. l1.-Six la
Dor men. all members Of the COM
mittee which directed the strike Of
the structural iron workers In this
city last year. were charged today
by J. Mansell Parks. star witness for
the state in the trial of Bert II. Con-
ners, with having been parties To- the
alleged conspiracy To dynamite the
county hall of records. Besides Con-
ners, others accused by Parks are
George Gunrey, Z. \ Misne-. Charles
Stevens, now serving two years in
San Quentin for assault on a strike
breaker, and the two jointly accused
with Conners. \. Il. Maple and Ira
Bender
Parks declared Conners said he
and the other five planned the de-
struction of the county building. and
that their meetings were sometimes
attended 10y &. L. Mars and Logan
De Haven. He testified. however that
Conners told him that he and Maple
and Bender were assigned to do the
actual work of placing the dynamite
In addition. Parks. when cross-exam-
ined. said the strikers sent "wrecking
crews about the city at night to
break the legs Of the strike breakers.
50 they would be unable To work.
Parks remark about "wrecking
crews was in response to a demand
by the defense if at the same time
he knew Corners was member OF
the strike committee He replied
that Conners was connected with the
committee about June l. 1870. when
the Wrecking crews began work He
asserted the crews were armed with
blackjacks and pieces of gas pipe. He
named Conners. De Haven Mars.
Stevens. Leo Miles. Fred Rum and
J. Y. Monk" O'Connor as members
Of the wrecking crew. Attorneys for
Corners asked Parks If he hadn't be-
come angry at Joseph Timmons and
other labor officials for discharging
him because. while i'm charge of the
strike roll. he had added many fic-
titious names and pocketed the pro-
ceeds. The witness made an en-
phatic denial.
The day was full Of encounters he
tween opposing counsel. and at one
time the jury was excused nearly an
hour while the admissibility of some
of Parks statements was argued
As the case against Bert Conners
now stands. the facts adduced are:
That Joseph Bishop. one of the states
witnesses, saw Conners take dyna-
mite from the basement of the Labor
temple on the night of Sept s, 1910
That Marshal Parks heard Conners.
say he intended to blow up the Hall
of Records: that Conners was met
at the Hall of Records by a police
man shortly after midnight on the
morning of Sept. .. 1910. few hours
before the dynamite was found. and
that he attacked the officer for which
he was arrested but later released.
According to Parks. others beside
Conners and his partners. Bender and
Maple, knew of the alleged conspiracy
to destroy the county building. and
the state has a Photographic copy of
n letter written by Conners to George
Gunrey, an official of a labor union,
i'm which Conners asked Gunrey for
money so he could beat it, as they
were after him
Bishop and Parks both admitted
they We're detectives in the employ
of the county prosecutors office when
they labored with Corners. Bender.
the testimony of these men is worth
less. ''as they were paid to find what
they found"