The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-05-22
SUFFRAGETTES HIT
Between EYES
Worst Blow Yet Suffered by English
Women Came When Mrs.
Pankhurst 10 Found
Guilty.
NINE MONTHS IN JAIL
window smashers Haraneued the
Court In an Effort to Escape
Punishment for Their
Crime.

UNITED Press Leased Wire Service
LONDON, May 22.-The worst
blow yet suffered by the militant suf-
fragettes Of Great Britain came today
when Frederick Pethick Lawrence,
barrister, his wife, Mrs. Emmeline
Pethick Lawrence, the joint editors
of Votes for Women and Mrs. Emme-
line Pankhurst were found guilty with (
having between November, 1911, and
March last "unlawfully conspired
and agreed together to commit dam
age and injury to property and with
having aided and abetted and pro-
CURED offenses against the malicious
injuries to property act.
Sentence was Immediately imposed,
the three defendants being sentenced
to serve nine months each without
hard labor.
i They had fought against conviction
4 bitterly, Lawrence, who defended
himself and Mrs. Pankhurst, having
assailed the motives of the govern
!. ment in bringing prosecutions OF
4 political offenses under the criminal
section of the code and Mrs. Pank-
hurst, In two-hours lmpassioned
! speech, having protested against trial
before a male magistrate and jury
z when the representative of suffrage
a was denied her and her assistants.
The three convicted today, with Mrs.
81 Mabel Tuke. were arrested on March
s s. following a sensational raid by the
! police on the offices of the woman's
social and political union at Clements
! Inn, the Strand, In which all of the
books and papers of the militant or
ganfzation we're seized and confiscat-
ed by the authorities. Included in the
warrant was the name of Cristobal
: Pankhurst daughter of Mrs. Pank-
Hurst. but she eluded the police and
has since successfully been concealed.
Mrs Pankhurst served two months In
iail for the window breaking that ac-
companied the alleged conspiracy on
which todav's convictions resulted. as
], did Mrs. Tuke but the conspiracy
charge against the latter was dismiss
ed. The government moved under
!. the conspiracy act because 1t was be-
. Iieyed by such conviction under this
section of the law the individual guilt
;. of the organization directed by the de-
!. PENDANTS could be established and
thus they could be held responsible
h for the actual damages caused by their
4 raids In which hundreds of plate glass
\ windows in the shopping district were
DESTROYED. Some of the funds OF the
organization are now impounded by
the courts. but the biggest amount
which 1t was hoped to get, had been
;, hufrietily drawn by the officers just
n prior to the arrests.
Il The government introduced as evi
denpe against the prisoners docu
n ments and papers seized In the raid
i. on the offices which tended to show
n that the window breaking campaign
+ was part of e general campaign t.
force the authorities to grant womer
n the right of suffrage. In this connec
It tion the crown attorneys demanded 8
conviction on the following grounds
c "That the defendants, by thell
n speeches and writings, Of violen'
and lawless character. stirred up the
d excitable rank and file of lawless
e army they had gathered, to perpe
n trate organized damage and injury tt
/ the extent of many thousands o
pounds upon traders and peaceablt
merchants of London and that. in pur
suance Of the orders and advice o
r. the man and women on trial. there hat
v been brought into the police courts
y to suffer the indignities of prison
" numerous people who, but for the in
" fluence of these leaders, were re
spectacle members of society.
II "That the evidence proved tha
II from recognized and customar.
n meeting place women had gone fortl
armed with identical weapons, al
10 concealed in the same way, to parad
r along the streets of London and a
pre-arranged times and places, witt
/, the approval and under the orders o
these leaders, to smash ruthlessl
r. property worth thousands of pounds
y Unless this method of campaigning
If halted by an example. property an
eventually life. will not be safe 4
England"