Semi-weekly herald., 1913-03-17
FOR MINERS
PLEADS NOVEL DEFENSE

United Press
PAINT CREEK JUNCTION, W.
Va, March 15.-The ethics of man
killing is the real issue before the
military court which is to say whether
the forty-nine union leaders and min
ers are guilty of conspiracy to mur-
der, the charge growing out of the re-
cent riots and killings among the
strikers of Cabin and Paint Creek dis
tricts.
''lf man kills another for personal
sfaction-that's murder as accept
ed by the civilized world But If a
man kills another in warts that mur-
der? Was the battle Of Gettysburg
murder" asks Attorney F. M. Ma
theny, who is representing the miners
That's the defense of the men on
trail--it has been war, not murder IN
West Virginia. The governor in three
proclamations of martial law called it
war Matheny has produced in
evidence these three proclamations.
"The evidence shows violence was
aimed against a system and not in
dividuals," said Matheny. mine
guards were killed as the representa-
tives of the system. The system in
vited warfare by placing machine guns
on the hills. 1t challenged the man
hood of men by the condition it cre-
ated.
whatever happened were acts Of
war and that state of war existed
was recognized by the governor him
self. These acts cannot be judged by
the ordinary rules of law or morality
"Killing is not to be condoned But
was this murder in the legal sense?
"Thus it is not so much law as their
own consciences that mast guide these
soldiers who are trying the fifty de-
fendants."
Three weeks of confinement seem to
have broken Mother" Jones' robust
health. Since her freedom on the
charge Of conspiracy to murder, her
condition apparently has not improved
greatly. She leaned heavily on the
arm Of John w. Brown, the labor
orator, who is still under charge of
murder, as she mounted the stairs
leading to the little Odd Fellows hall
which is used as a court room. But
her spirit remains unbroken. She still
;rAa Ln Iafo,,f aff;t,,Ia 10 I'd
the military escort for the defendants.
Mother" Jones, before her release,
pointed to the action of the prosecu-
tion Tuesday in attempting to force
one Of the prisoners to testify against
himself as one of the chief reasons
for being allowed trial by civil author
tiles.
at is rule of law in Anglo-Saxon
civilization said Mother" Jones,
"gained through centuries Of political
struggle and warfare that prisoner
cannot be placed on the stand by the
prosecution to testify in the matter
in which he is defendant unless he
voluntarily valves that right.
"The constitution of the United
States and of all the states guaran-
tee that right. But look what hap
pened Tuesday. Judge Advocate Wal
lace, prosecutor of the military court,
called to the witness stand Harrison
Ellis, one Of the miners arrested and
demanded that he testify. Can you
imagine anything worse than this ?
We are not afraid to testify, but we
demand that our rights as citizens Of
this republic be recognized and what
ever the military court may say, !
maintain that nobody in West Vir-
ginia has the power To suspend the
constitution of the United States"
The point which Mother" Jones re-
fers to will not be decided until the
next session of the military court,
which probably will be held today.
"Mother" Jones today repeated her
declaration that she is willing to die
as she believed that her execution at
the time Of the "war" would help the
miners cause.
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