Weekly journal-miner., 1915-05-19
PROTEST AGAINST HANGING MADE
 BY MEXICANS
WANT REPRIEVES GRANT ED AND QUESTION OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT RE-SUBMITTED.

PHOENIX, May 17. - Protesting against the execution of the five men whose reprieves expire May 2S, over 500 Spanish-American residents of the city met last night at the city hall, at the call of the Liza Protectora La tina. The meeting, which was ad- dressed by officers of the league, was almost unanimously in favor of plans for statewide campaign to save the men, and the first of a number of petitions to the board of pardons and paroles was signed by over 500 per sons at the close of the meeting.
 Two members of the organization, it was stated last night, would start today to other parts of the state with copies of the petition, which reads as follows:
 To the Honorable. Board of Pardons
 and Paroles:
 We, the. undersigned, supreme off cerS and members of the Liza Pro tectora Latina" Spanish-American organization, organized in the State of Arizona, for the mutual protection of the SpanishAmerican citizens and residents, knowing that the general election in November 1914 registered the sentiment of less than half of the voters on the capital punishment is sue; believing, also, that the majority of the people of the State of Arizona are strongly opposed to the inilctlon of the death penalty, and being, more over of the opinion that the holding of legalized executions would bring lasting discredit upon our state do most earnestly urge and petition the board Of pardons and paroles, in fair ness to the thousands of citizens, who are against the death penalty, to rec ommcnd such extended reprieves for the condemned men in the state pris- on as will permit the electors to ac- curately record their feelings towards capital punishment through resub' mission of the question under the in itiative at the next general election.
 We believe as law-abiding citizens that men who commit crimes should be punished, and we feel that the sen 4..,..- of tt,oro ,,,o- rop1y;cted Of fip crime of murder, should be commut- ed to life imprisonment.
 Gentiemen-we beg of you, for the sake of your sacred families, to be merciful to your fellow men.
 Respectfully submitted,
 LIGA PROTECTORA LATINA. By Teodoro Olea, secretary; Ignacio
 Espinoza, treasurer; Pedro c. de la
 Lama, president; J. NJ. Melendrez,
 vice-p-esident; Julio Mancillas. Car
 los H. Fully, Ramon Leon, Gre
 gorio A1barado, Francisco C. Der
 nal.
 Graves Being Dug.
 FLORENCE, May 17-In spite of predictions that he will resign rather than carry out the sentence of death week from next Thursday, Robert B. Sims, superintendent of the state prison here, is already making prep aTations for the executions. A new rope for the trap has been ordered by telegraph to replace the old one which has not been used for several years.
 A force of men was assigned yes terday to the grewsome task of dig ging the graves of the five Mexicans who arc to be executed May 2S. and other preparations are being carried out as rapidly as possible. Whether the five men will all meet death on one large scaffold erected in the pris- on yard, or whether the executions will take place one at a time inside the death chamber has not yet been announced.
 Under the statutes the warden is required to invite the presence of twelve reputable citizens to witness an execution, and unde- this provi- sion, it is pointed out, he may require sixty of the most prominent men in the state to attend the hangings.