Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-07-08
DIGGs-cAMlNETTI CASE
White Slave Affair That Has As
sumed National Importance.

/
suddenly assumed such proportions
that the entire country has become in
terested. Out of 1t grew a demand for
the resignation Of a member Of Presi-
dent Wilson's cabinet, the presidents
intervention and special meeting Of
the cabinet to discuss the affair."
Originally, the only persons init
mately concerned in the affair were
Drew C. Caminetti and Maury I. Diggs
i young men widely known in Sar
Francisco, and Miss Marsha Warning
ton and Miss Lola Norris, young girls
the two men lured from their homes
lAlthough both Caminetti and Diggs
are married, they had carried on q
lengthy Irritation with the girls and f.
nally induced them to leave their
homes and go to Reno, New. By cross
4 ing state line with the girls they
made themselves amenable to the
Mann nti-White Slave law, Federal
enactment. All four were arrested and
the young men were taken back home
for trial.
~. Father a Wilson Appointee.
So far there was nothing unusual
about the case. But It happened that
Anthony Caminetti, father Of Drew
Caminetti had recently been appointed
commissioner general Of immigration
under Secretary Wilson of the depart
ment Of labor. The elder Caminetti is
a close friend of Secretary Bryan, and
the appointment was made at the lat
ter's request One of the duties of the
commissioner general Of immigration
is the investigation of white slavery.
John L. McNab, United States dis
trict attorney for California, had
charge Of the prosecution Of young
Caminetti and Diggs. TIE case was
almost ready for trial when McNab re-
ceived an order from Attorney Gener-
al McReynolds directing that the case
be postponed !}st, istlst
Angered by this postponement, Mr..
McNab, who is Republican, issued a
statement charging that the elder
Caminetti was using his influence in
the presidents cabinet to protect his
/ son. ~ y-sE' iir'ff 4G.3l..
The president at once called special
meeting of the cabinet to Investigate
the affair. Attorney General Mercy
nolds told the president he had or
dered the postponement of the trial at
the request of Secretary Wilson. Sec
retary Wilson, in turn, said that he
had asked the postponement so that
his new commissioner of immigration
could remain in Washington and be-
come familiar with his duties. Mr..
| Caminetti had asked for leave Of alb
sence to go west to attend the trial of
his son, and Secretary Wilson said he
considered it more important for Mr..
| Caminetti to remain where he was.
Wilson Upholds McReynolds.
| Mr.. McNab, asserting that the delay
was intended to defeat the ends of
| justice, President Wilson sent him the
following telegram:
greatly regret that you should have
acted 80 hastily and under so COM
plete misapprehension Of the actual
circumstances, but since you have cho-
| sen such a course, and have given
your resignation the form Of an mex
cusable intimation Of injustice and
wrongdoing on the part Of your SUPER
Tor, release you without hesitation,
and accept your resignation, to take
effect at once.
WOODROW WILSON.
Bound up in this same controversy
are the cases of certain officers Of the
Western Fuel company, who were in
dicted for conspiracy to defraud the
customs. t...
Mr.. McReynolds explained that such
postponement of criminal case is
not an unusual proceeding and he had
no thought that any malign motive
would be attributed to him.
Clayton Harrington, Federal investi-
gator of white slave cases for the de-
partment of justice, who gathered
evidence in the Caminetti-Diggs cases,
called upon President Wilson to re-
move Attorney General McReynolds
from office For this he was suspend
ed. The suspension was to give an op-
portunity for explanation. it was said
Wilson Orders Quick Trial.
In accordance with his desire to have
the cases go to trial Immediately,
President Wilson has appointed Thorn
as ]. Hayden to succeed Mr.. McNab as
United States district attorney for the
northern district Of California. Matt T.
Sullivan has been chosen as special
prosecutor in the Caminetti-Diggs
cases and the Western Fuel company
cases.
The four involved in the sensational
white slave cases became acquainted
at the state capital, where the young
women occasionally did clerical work
The fact that both Diggs and Caminet-
ii were married and had children does
not seem to have been any obstruction
to the course of action which the men
adopted. They called on the young
"OlIlcu lhCll iioiiiCot tOoh lhChi Ava
motor rides and entertained them in
various ways.
When the identity Of the men was
found out by the girls, things had gone
so far that the relations Of the four
were continued. Diggs and Caminetti
told the girls that their wives knew Of
the indiscretions and that warrants
were out for the arrest of the girls. In
this way the girls were frightened into
consenting to go with the men to
Reno. Warrington and Norris got war
rants for the arrest Of Caminetti and
Diggs In Reno the couples had gons
first to the Riverside Hotel and later
had taken a cottage out In the city.
There they were found by the chief OF
police of Reno and deputy sheriff.
Il want to see these men punished
H., In ooca of n