The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-05-19
PLANTERS ARE
FACING THE JUDGE TODAY

declared that the evidence presented
before the grand Jury connecting
Wood with the alleged dynamiting
planting, was of "hearsay nature and
utterly absurd" And they had no
hesitancy in openly asserting that
there would never have been an In
dictment returned II District Attor-
ney Pelletier had not been actively
engaged in a canvass for the nomina-
ton for governor at the time the
grand jury acted.
Pelletier who was to prosecute IN
person, had no comment to make on
these assertions. He said that he was
willing that his case should speak for
itself when 1t was presented to the
jury. The evidence justified the grand
Jury's action, he said, no matter what
the outcome.
Despite the importance of the trial,
the jury was to be selected from the
regular panel. Neither side had APP
piled for a special allotment and be-
cause Of the power reposed by the
Massachusetts statues in the hands
Of the presiding Judge. it was believed
the jury would certainly be completed
today. If the case went to finish 1t
was believed the result would be
known by Friday.
Facing Justice Brown with Wood,
were Frederick p. Atteaux, Boston
manufacturer Of textile mill accessor-
les, and Dennis Collins, a Cambridge
dog fancier. The three men were in
dicted last August by a special grand
jury called to investigate the matter
shortly after John j, Breen, an under
taker OF Lawrence, Mass and school
commissioner at the time. was found
guilty Of planting the dynamite and
was fined $500 after he refused to
take the stand In his own behalf
Before the trial opened today great
crowds Filed the courthouse. District
Attorney Joseph G. Pelletier and his
assistant A. G. Weber appeared for
the governme nf Attorneys Samuel
lsI4. Powers, Daniel H. Coakley and
/ Henry T. Hurlburt appeared for the
/ defendants. Since his indictmen,
Wood has been at liberty on $4,000
cash bail. The same bail was set for
| the other two defendants.
Breen, who was found guilty OF
planting the dynamite on May Is,
was expected to be chief witness for
the prosecution He willingly testi.
| fed before the grand jury which In
dicted Wood. Atteaux and Collins
Earnest W. Pitman, an East Milton
quarryman, and prominent in other
business enterprises, was to have
been another government witness. He
committed suicide, however, on Au.
gust 9th, the day before he was TO
i have testified before the grand jury
Pelletier is understood to have talked
| informally with Pitman about twelve
hours before the latter killed himself
and at that time is said to have got
ten enough information to compel 9TH
ers to testify at the grand jury inves'
tigation.
MS IL WEB uuisllE Viz N'stiS"h 800 -
the historic Lawrence strike that
dynamite was found by the Law.
renee police shortly after Joseph Eft.
ter's arrest late in January. The cry
was Immediately raised that the tex
tile strikers had brought 1t in to dyna.
mite the mills and the courthouse
The dynamite was found" on tip
from School Committeeman Breen, u,
the cobbler shop of Urbano di Prato
in the home OF Joseph Assaf and In
some bushes near the Immaculate
Conception cemetery. 1t was only
after a diagram had been drawn by
Breen that the explosive was found
at the. cemeetry. and 1t took two trips
by detectives to find" more Of 1T In
the cobbler's shop. The discovery
! Of the dynamite occurred on January
10. Breen was arrested January 81,
William M. Wood, the most promi'
nent Of the three defendants is one
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