Norwich bulletin., 1915-11-19
Telegram Received by President.


 Washington. Nov. Ex-Governor the White House tonight without com ment- Officials indicated that the president felt that he had exhausted his resources in behalf of Hillstrom and that no further steps would be taken.
 Review of History of Case.
 Reviewing the history of the case and particularly the presidents ac- ton in connection with it, the gov ernor says in his telegram:
 September 90 you requested a stay of execution of the sentence to give the Swedish minister an opportunity to present this view of the case. Upon the sams day, at your request only, on the assumption that you were in . possession of facts not presented to | the board, I granted respite until October 16, especially requesting that the Swedish minister personally in vestigate' the case and appear before the board. Under date of October 1st, You advised me that your only reason for interceding was the request of i the representative of a foreign gov ernment. ctober Is, at the regular | board meeting, an open hearing was had in further consideration of the ! case. Hillstrom's attorney advised the board that there was nothing further | present. I clined to appear before the board I again. The only representation in the convict's behalf was a short telegram from the Swedish minister requesting communication of sentence. not by req son of any new thing in relation to the case, but as he expressed it, for | the sake of humanity and comity usu- | ally practiced between friendly na- | tions' ecause of the absence of any | showing the board terminated the re- II A- \ ton. The convict thereupon was on Il the 18th day of October re-sentenced | by the court to be shot November 19. Forty six days after the granting of
 the respite and at the eleventh hour you, as the president, without stating any reasons therefor, again wired. urg- | ing thorough reconsideration of the case because of it's importance and the justice and advisability of such course.
 Your interference in the case may have elevated it to an undue impor- tance and the receipt of thousands of threatening letters demanding the re- lease of Hillstrom, regardless of his
 guilt or innocence, may attach pe-
 culiar importance to it, but the case is important in Utah only as estab- fishing, after a fair and impartial trial. the guilt of one of the perpetrators or
 one of the most atrocious murders ever committed in this state It IS also lIn-
 portant by reason of the fact that this lease has had more careful and pains
 taking consideration at the hands of the people of Utah than any other like case in the history of the state.
 "As to your suggestion that justice requires further consideration of the case I earnestly submit that the im-
 putation contained, not only in yorr message to me, but also in your mes sage to the president of the Ameri- can Federation of Labor, that this con- vict has not had justice in the courts of this state, is not Justified Three groups of attorneys have represented , district court and the supreme court and the board of pardons.
 1 "The first group was employed by
 Hillstrom to conduct his defense. The second group was engaged during the progress of the trial, participated in the defense represented him before the supreme court and before the board of l pardons. The third group. am in- formed, was employed on Hillstrom's s behalf by the Swedish minister. NO fair-minded person acquainted with the record has any doubt o1 l Hillstrom's guilt. The board of par
 dons with most painstaking care has l investigated every rumor, every sug- gestion and every clue that might tend l to establish the innocence Of this mar and has most earnestly pleaded with
 him to shed any light on his move , ments and whereabouts on the night of the homicide. During every day |. |. of the 23 months since he was charged 3 with. the crime, the board has stood . and even now stands. ready to mak' ' fulther investigation and give due con | sideration to any tangible fact or cir ! cumstances that would tend to estab . Eiish Hillstrom's innocence. It is [ Insignificant fact that those only ar
 appealed to who have no knowiedg a of the facts and those only dernan t clemency who are either prejudice e in Hillstrom's favor or who demand hi s lrelease regardless of his guilt y "I am fully convinced that your re 1t quest must be based on a nisconcep
 ttion of the facts or that there is som