The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1912-10-01
Are Said to Have Carried Dynamite
on Passenger Trains to Destroy
Non-union Property.
oRTIE McMAN1GAL IS PRESENT
Brought in By Government to Give
Testimony Concerning Wrecking
of Los Angeles Times.

Indianapolis, Ind, Oct. 1.-The
opening today of the trial against the
ffty-one present or former officials of
labor unions, on the charge of COM
plicity in the so-called "dynamiting
conspiracy attracted a large crowd
of spectators to the courtroom of
Judge Albert B. Anderson of the Unit
ed: States DISCREET court Long before
the opening Of the court every avail
able seat in the court room was occu-
pied and the corridor of the federal
building was filled with people who
could not find space in the court
room
During the preliminaries to the
opening of the session general inter-
est centered in United States Senator
John w. Kern, chief counsel for the
defendants and District Attorney
Charles w. Miller and his assistant,
Clarence Nichols, who represented
the government in this trial. They
were on hand promptly, apparently
prepared for the fray. The fifty-one
men. facing trial occupied the places
ASST gned to them. They did not seem
to he worried and, before the court
was formally opened, carried on an
animated chat among themselves.
- fc ind
a federal statute forbidding the
transportation of explosives on pas
senger trains and are charged with
having been concerned in a nation
wide plot to destroy the property of
contractors employing non-union If
onworkers, eliminating in the ex-
plosion in the Los Angeles Times
building, which cost twenty-one lives.
In its report of February 6 last the
grand jury indicted tifty-four men,
but of this number John J. and James
B.. Mcnamara are in San Quentin
prison, California, and J. J. McCray,
former member of the executive
board of the International Assocla-
ton of Bridge and Structural Iron
workers, has not been found by the
federal authorities. Most of the de-
PENDANTS are or have been connected
with the Ironworkers' association,
which. since 1905, has been engaged
in struggle with the National Erec-
tors association, an organization or
structural steel and iron contractors
emnloving non:union workmen. Mem
bers of this employers association
su ffered loss from more than one
hundred explosions from 1905 to
1911.
Following the arrest of John J.
Mcnamara, secretary treasurer or the
| Ironworkers' association, at it's head
quarters in this city, and the arrest
of James B. Mcnamara and Ortle r.
McManigal in Detroit, in connection
with the Los Angeles Times explos-
ion, presentments were made to the
federal grand jury of this district
that officials of the Ironworkers. as
ISOLATION and other labor unions had
been concerned in conspiracy to IN
timidate employers OF unorgan1zea
Ia hor nv systematic destruction OF
| their property.
ortie McManigal's Confession in
which he related that he had been
employed by the Mcnamara brothers
! and Herbert S. Hookin, acting secre-
/ tary treasurer of the Ironworkers' as
Isociation. to dynamite bridges and
buildings in course of construction by
1 non-union contractors, was the OASIS
of the governments inquiry. NC
/ Manigal has been brought here and
lis to be the principal witness for the
government in this trial A mass OF
lletters and other records, seized in
raid on the Offices of the lronWorK-
ers' association, also will be onereo
as evidence of general conspiracy
secretly to convey dynamite and nj
troglycerine from coast to coast IN
campaign against employers OF unor-
ganized ironworkers.
Most prominent among the defen-
dants are Frank M. Ryan, president
of the international Association OF
bridge and Structural Ironworkers
9 Herbert S. Hookin, acting secretary
a treasurer and the alleged head OF the
s adynamiting crew." John T. Butler
(Continued on last page).