Omaha daily bee., 1917-07-08

Stillinger in Tears.
Mr.. Stillinger, who was elected
chairman, addressed his fellow Iowans
and many Omahan's who attended to
hear the unusual proceedings. He
broke down in tears several times,
pausing now and then to regain his
composure.
The theater was crowded in the
parquet and balcony, with scattering
attendants in the gallery. Joe Still
niger is the father of two girls, Lena
and Ina, II and 9 years of age, re-
spectfully, who were murdered in the
Moore home on the night of June g,
1912, when the terrible tragedy oc-
Cured. He told in an impassioned
manner of the bereavement which
scared the minds of himself and wife
and which, he said, he has not been
able to efface from his memory.
Another relative of the ak murder
victims was John Montgomery, father
of Mrs. Joseph Moore. Mr.. Mont
gomery received word Saturday morn
ing that brother was. dying in Knox
vile, Ill.,, but he said he was deter
mined to attend the mass meeting.
Ewing Makes Prayer.
Rev. w. ]! Ewing of the Presbyte-
rian church at Villisca was called up
on by Chairman Stillinger to open the
meeting with a prayer. 1t was "a the
Ewing home that the Rev Lyn G. ].
Kelly stayed on the night of the muir
der. Kelly attended Children's day
exercises with the Ewing family at
the Presbyterian church, returning to
the Ewing home shortly after 10
o'clock, and left during the early
morning for Macedonia.
Among the relatives of the Moore
family present was w. w. Arnold, IA
ther of Mrs. Ross Moore, the latter
being unable to attend with her hus-
band. Prominent citizens of Mont
gomery county sat on the stage. At
torney A. L. Sutton, for the Rev. Mr..
Kelly occupied box.
Crowd With Wilkerson
J. N. Wilkerson, who made the
principal address of the meeting, had
the crowd with him from first to last.
. He has been prominently identified
with an investigation of the ak MUIR
der, covering a period of years, and
it is alleged that the Thompson law,
passed during the last hours of the
last Iowa legislature, was aimed at
him. That law is generally known in
Iowa as the "anti-Wilkerson" law.
Last Saturday night, in Red Oak,
Mr.. Wilkerson sought to address
Montgomery citizens in a theater at
Red Oak, but was restrained by a
writ of injunction served by order of
Attorney General Havner of Iowa.
Determined to hear Wilkerson, cltl-
zens of Montgomery county raised
fund, engaged the Boyd theater here
and came to Omaha en- masse yester-
day, returning at $50 p. m.
Stillinger Asks Backing.
During his talk to the audience,
Chairman Stillinger said:
Il want oask a favor of you Ne
braskans. | just want your silent
promise in your heart, that if it should
happen, now or later, that either my
self or wife should be arrested for
this or any following violation of the
Iowa laws, and we should be thrown
into jail, that you will do your part
to help Us out, no matter what may
happen. We are not going to live very
long on this earth"
: He asked those who would promise,
to raise their hands, which the entire
audience did with enthusiasm.
Safest to Hide in Iowa.
1--WE must not waste any time. We
are here in the interest of humanity"
continued Mr.. Stillinger. "We are
here because ban has been put on
free speech in Iowa. Under the Hav.
ner rule in Iowa it is the safest thing
for a man to do when he wants to
say anything to go into his cellar and
hide his head. You ali know my rela-
ton to this case. l will tell you why
they have put a paddock on our
mouths by this new law. ! was before
the grand jury. | was not supposed
Continued on Page Two, Column One.)