Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1915-11-26
l. w. w. ANARCHISTS.


|TyHE people of Utah are to be Congratulated
upon the outcome of the Hillstrom case; tnat
the Governor of the State had the courage OF his
convictions, and that in the face OF the dis
annroval of the President of the United States he
refused to be frightened or ntimidated into inter-
fering with the machinery of the law in behalf OF
a murdeder. who, on account of his membership
in the Industrial Workers of the World organiza-
ton has been shielded and protected to the last
ditch from receiving the deserts of his crime.
We cannot understand the attitude of Presi-
dent Wilson in this matter. 1t was possible that
through Misrepresentation and false claims on
the part of the friends of the condemned man,
he was sincere in his belief that additional time
should be allowed in which to produce evidence OF
a character advantageous to the criminal, but al
ter the lapse of thirty days and nothing having
been brought out tending to alter his case, then
to send second request causes one to suspect the
Presidents motives, and to wonder whether ne
was merely playing politics for the votes OF the
working man. or whether there is something IN
the claims that on account of membership In the
same lodge or fraternal society, he was bound by
the obligations thus assumed to rally to the aid OF
fellow lodge man, even though ne be guilty OF
the henious crime of murder. This may be all
fallacy but there must be some better explanation
of the Presidents attitude than appears on the
surface.
In no uncertain terms Governor Spry voices
his opinion of the people and tactics of the !. W.
w. organization as manifested during the trial
and prior to the execution of Hillstrom The Gov
ernor does not hesitate to pronounce the members
of this organization as undesirable citizens, and
announces his intention of Kidding the state OF
them so far as possible even If it is necessary to
call upon the state MALTA Evidently the friends
and sympathizers of the murderer "barked up the
wrong tree" when they sought to scare Utah's
chief executive into pardoning or committing his
sentence from death to life imprisonment.
The expressions made at the funeral of the man
executed for murder, were disgrace to our gov
ernment-a reproach upon our flag and country
and serve to show the extent OF the abuses that
are possible under our much boasted freedom of
speech and freedom of press. 1t is wrong, entire
ly wrong, when set of men are permitted to raise
a red flag in defiance of the national emblem, and
threaten the destruction of lives and property if
their wishes not acceded to in matter of this
kind. The Governor is right, and he is backed up
by the great majority of the people of this state,
whose citizens would not hesitate to volunteer to
wipe blot such as the /. w. WIS threaten to be-
come, from the face of our fair land
When the working class of this country re-
sort to measures so criminal and reprehensible in
their nature for the purpose of gaining coveted
end, and rally to the support of man convicted OF
murded by jury of his peers and with every
reasonable opportunity afforded for proving his
nnocense if he could they lose the sympathy of
honest and well-meaning people generally, and do
an irreparable injury to their cause.
The good Lord knows that the laboring men
have hard enough time in this world; they are
too often the victims of INSCRIPTIONS, cruel and
dishonest employers who would grind them under
their heels like worms if they could, and it is an
absolute necessity that the workers should organ
ize in the centers of population for mutual pro-
lection and emancipation. For on the other hand
the combination of large capital is the order of
the day. But the workers must maintain just as
profound respect for law and order as the capital
istic class, and must frown down crime and dis
regard for law and order if they are to get the
sympathy of that great, independent middle class,
the farmers of this country, of which they stand
in so much need Every act of lawlessness, each
murder or arson charged against them, loses for
them respect sympathy and aid on the part of
this great balancing power, and tends to degrade
and bind them down rather than to elevate and
improve their position in society.
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