The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1912-01-04
Labor Leaders Were In
formed of Dynarniting
lcontinued from FIrst Page.l

well, asked me in a haunting way If I
had learned who blew up the build
ings. I was irritated those days, be-
cause myself had received threaten
ing letters and had to have a guard at
my home for sixty days. so I answered
rather holly. Yes. and could put my
hand one one of them without leaving
this car .
Asked whether he told any one else
beside Mcnamara of what his inves-
tigation had disclosed. he said Yes,
1 told a score of labor leaders what I
knew. and that the iron workers were
to blame. You see. I know all the
labor union boys.
what did they say when you
blamed the iron workers.?
There are lots of good men in
union labor and they always have de-
nounced acts of violence. think some
Of them said it was a damned
shame
Did any of these men tell Mr..
Gompers that suspicion pointed
strongly to the guiit of the iron work
ers?'
Il don't know whether they told
him or not, but Gompers is one of the
best informed men in the country
Bookwalter said that Gompers>visit-
ed Indianapolis several times subse-
quent to his own conversations with
the labor leaders, both before and
after the McNamaras confessed and
that he (Bookwalterl met Compers
himself twice while with labor union
men, but that no reference was made
in his presence to the explosions.
THE only remark / made about
labor matters to Gompers,'' said Book
walter. was to tell him that we had
strike when the city hall was built
and that the unions had made me
acceded to their demands
He denied that he was intimate
enough to have discussed the question
because of an alleged business asso-
citation.
7 don't know Mr.. Gompers we'll
enough to talk about these things"
exclaimed Boolxwalter. TITS true that
my partner, Hugo Thortsh, is q close
friend of Gompers, having known him
for twenty years"
do you think Mr.. Gompers knew
while these explosions were going on
who was responsible for them
GoMPERS DID NOT INQUIRE.
sGompers is the general of a great
army and, like a general, he did not
inquire when any of his men were
engaging guerilla warfare. But if this
were called to the attention of the
general, naturally he would rebuke
them.'
DO you think he could have
stopped it had he tried?''
Il do not, as the iron workers were
only an allied organization to the
American Federation of Labor. John
]. Mcnamara was not the kind of man
to take orders from any one"
Bookwalter asserted that his inves-
tigation convinced him beyond doubt
that Mcnamara and the iron workers
were guilty. He said the inquiry
though lasting only As days, was a
thorough one, and was dropped be-
cause his term as mayor expired.
7 myself had financed much OF the
work. said Mr.. Bool1wa1ter, "and
when 1 left office I had no further
interest as a public official in the mat
ter"
Mr.. Bookwalter shortly after this
became identified with large printing
house patronized chiefly by big labor
unions. He denied that Mr.. Gompers
had any interest in the concern and
said the sole owners besides himself
We're Hugo Thorsch, Frank w. Ball
and Leo Rappaport, counsel for the
International Assertion of Bridge and
Structural Iron Workers here.
Rappaport defended John ]. Nc
Namara in the extradition proceedings
prior to his removal to California.
William J. Burns, who is here in re-
Spouse to subpoena to testify be-
fore the federal grand jury, admitted
that his detectives were working on
the details revealed in the investiga-
ton by Bookwalter and the circum-
stances that attended the dropping of
the inquiry by city authorities.