The Blackfoot optimist. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1907-1918, 1912-07-18
Morrisons Nomination and Election Means
Reputation Of All for Which Governor
Stuenenberg Gave His Life---,+.e~~.

may understand something about
luano great struggle in the Occur
q Acne country it will Ne necessary
Ior NE to repeat briefly the history
VI LnaC Struggle That led up to the
ASSASSINATION OF Ex-Governor Stuen-
enDerg, together with a short story OF
Lne Trials and John Y. MOrrlsOn's
with Clarence barrow,
who is now on trial at Los Angeles
tor the greatest crime that any citi-
zen can be guilty OF.
door DisOrutrs III the Occur
Il Alene District.
The Occur d Alene mining country
. AUCateu III onVsnono CVunIy, III
what is called the Pan Handle OF
Idaho There are to be found the
greatest producing silver lead mines
IN all the world. That camp alone
has furnished at times fully So per
cent OF all the lead that is produced
the United States.
For many years labor disorders
an riot in the Occur d'Alene coun-
try and the great struggle between
apilai anu LABOR IN Occur u Acne
cached it's climax on the morn
ing OF April 29, 1899, when a thou
sans miners with their sympathizers
assembled on Canyon Greek, took
forcible possession Of the Northern
Pacific train and after breaking into
powder magazines and taking several
tons of dynamite powder, boarded
their train which was run to Wallace
where they were joined by several
hundred miners from Mullan and
other camps, then proceeded to Ward
ner Junction.
Many OF the men on the train were
masked and practically all Of them
We're armed. The great mills OF the
Bunker Hill and Sullivan mine at
Warmer junction were their point
III attack. These mills that had cost
more than a quarter of million
dollars were blown up and destroyed.
A number OF men were driven out of
the mines and John Cheyne, an old
and inoffensive citizen. was taken
out, maltreated and then forced to
run and was shot down as he ran.
The good citizenship Of the
Occur dAlene country was ter
rorized and called upon Cover.
nor Steunenberg for protection.
Feeling ran SO high in the Occur
dAlene country that the State
felt unable to cope with SO SER
iOus a condition and Governor
Steunenberg asked the Federal
] Government for assistance,
which was readily given.
Martial law was declared in
that country and hundreds of ar
| rests were made. Out Of these
arrests one man was tried for
his come cti0n with the blowing
up of the Bunker Hill and Sulli-
!
man Cheyne.
This man that was brought to trial
was Paul Corcoran, financial secre.
tary of the Miners Union. He was
tried, convicted and sentenced to sew.
enteen years in the Penitentiary al
Boise. .
From that day Governor Steun-
enberg was marked man. His
enemies missed no opportunity
to impress upon him that his
days were numbered and that
they were only waiting an Oppor-
tunity to take his life. For his
stand in the protection of law
and order in Idaho Governor
Stuenenberg was loved and adj
mired by all the patriotic citiz-
ems of this State. His undaunted
courage in the great crisis that is
now a part of the history of this
State was admired by every true
citizen of the whole country.
During the years that inter-
vened between the closing of the
Occur d'Alene trouble and Gov
ernOr Steunenberg's tragic death
i he admitted to his friends that
his death would be brought