The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1912-03-16
PLEAS or NOT GUILTY.
TRIAL OF ALLEGED DYNAMITE,
CONSPIRATORS OCT. 1.
All Demurrers of Defence and All
Efforts 10 Quash Indictments ON
Techmcalities OveTuled by Court
I'm Opening of Trial at Indianapo-
Is-Granted Until October to
Prepare Defence.


Prepare Defence.
Indianapolis, Ind, March 12.-"Not
guilty" was the plea Of forty-six men
arraigr this afternoon in the Fed
era' here on indictments charg-
II . .plicity in the alleged conspira-
~ lawfully to transport dynamite
~ I'm State to State Judge A. B. An.
lderson overruled all demurrers of the
defence, but granted thirty days for
the filing Of exceptions to his ruling.
motion to consolidate the eases,
made by United States District At
torney Charles w. Miller, was sus-
tanned, but the Court consented to
hear attorneys for the defence tomor-
row If they decided TO petition for
separate trials. The Court instructed
that the defendants appear when pre-
sentation in the matter is made. The
trial was set for October /.
When Judge Anderson announced
he would overrule the demurrers to
the thirty-four indictments, he turn
ed to the defendants. for whom seats
had been arranged in tiers, and said:
Gentlemen, do you know the nature
Of the charges against you?"
I'VE do" came in a heavy chorus.
Then one by one the indicted men
present, former labor union officials
from many sections of the country
and headed by Frank NJ. Ryan, pres
ident Of the International Association
of Bridge and Structural Workers,
arose as their names were called by
the clerk and responded: Not guilty"
Attacks from any angles were made
upon the indictments charging the de-
PENDANTS with aiding and abetting
Ortie E. McManigal and John J and
James B. Mcnamara in the transpor-
tation Of dynamite on passenger
trains, with being principals with Nc
Manigal and the McNamaras in the
illegal acts and with having conspfred
to violate the statutes prohibiting
such transportation.
That the Statute of Limitations had
run against the offence of conspiracy
alleged and that the indictments iii
not aver violation Of law because &C
n1It h 1<F n
mislabelled packages of explosives
they were alle~e to have carried on
passenger trains, were the two prin-
opal contentious of counsel for tie
defence, Elijah Zoline and Patrick
ODonnell, of Chicago; Walter Ball,
of Muncie, Ind. and w. y. Harding.
of this city.
Il am unable TO see the merit ia
these interpretations" said Judge An
derson in overruling the motio7s to
quash.
LAS read the Acts of 1866 1908
and 1909 on the subject. il is plain to
me that it is unlawful for a man to
carry explosives on any vehicle. train
or vessel Of a common carrier that
transports passengers for hire"
In refusing to accept the theory of
the defence that the Statute of Limi-
tations had run in the case the Court
approved the argument of District At
torney Miller that the conspiracy as
alleged was a correct one and the
limit Of time had not expired for the
reason that though the conspiracy is
alleged to have begun in 1906, overt
acts are alleged to have been commit
ted in furtherance as late as April.
1911.
Motions to quaSh We're not made as
to the indictments against eight of the
fifty-four defendants that did not ap-
pear in Court. Among them were the
Mcnamara brothers, in San Quentin
prison, California, and Ortie McMani-
gal, in Jail in Los Angeles.
District Attorney Miller attempted
unsuccessfully to have the trial Sc; for
May.
KILLED BY CNIOADEn GIN