Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-11-29
MONEYS LIFE SPARED,
SAVED FROM GALLOWS
Sentence of Alleged Bomb Con
spirator COMMITTED; to Spend
Remainder Of Days in Jail.

Sacramento, Gal Nov 20 The sen
,ence of Thomas ] Mooney, sentenced to
he hanged on December Is for the dcat hs
of ten persons killed hy bomb explosion
IN San Francisco during a preparedness
parade in .lulv. 1915, was conunutcd hy
Governor " ~ Stephens last night to
imprisonment Tor life Court action to save
Mooney from the gallow. had been cN-
hausted, the supreme [ ,onri ot the United
States having recently decided 4 could
not review the case
Threats of a national strike IN case
the Governor did not intervene had hccn
made III various parts ot the country.
and some time ago il was reported that
President " wilson had written the COY
ernnr to sec that Mooney suffered no
iniustice The trial judge requested =
new trial for Mooney
Governor Stephens statement an
noinrinr the Communication said tha, IN
considering the ease he had before him
the urgent apvcal 81 the President of
the United States that ! grant .commuta-
tion"
'Orxmsny, IN January oi this year,
said the governor u received letter
from tho President asking m" Il II would
not nc possible to ptrstpouC the execution
of Mooney until nc could l'c RED upon
one of the other Indictment against HIM
InaSmuch a. an appeal alTsadN haj been
taken 10 the Supreme Court q 'aitarlna
which appeal itself acted stay ~
execution there was at that tune no
occasion for action on my part ! take Il
that the President was not correctly IN
formed as Ia the Status ot tHc caSc
In explaining wh> he had mol irlt
called on TO act previously the .aHern"r
said
The case rs presented ~ the C.l
fnrnia courts was that ot murder WITH
out further evidence of motive than the
irr?T~oSsIhle tenetS Of anarchists vh,ec
ym ,athics for tho German cAue Ia the
~ -c we'll known Their Wild paclt~t
, :, rles fitted INTO the widespread actvi-
ties of Tho Kaiser : aGentsin this country
- number oi persons OF pronounced
anarchisfIc tcndrnciCS were arrested ~holj-
~ after the explosion. and of these
Warren h Billings was convicted and
sent enced ~ life impFi~onmcnt :.nd
Thomas J Mooney found guilty ard son
fenced 10 he hanged 30 long rs ave
nucs Of appeal 10 the courts remained
open TO Mooney and lie was awaiting
himself thereof ! deemed Il improper
for Executive authority 10 Interfere
The statement reviews tho case fully
and quotes the two messages from 2 esl-
dent Wilson. in winch he ctIon now
taken nv the governor was suggested
The Communication says the governor
reduces the case to the status of that of
Warren X. Billings
Washington, Nov * The com
mutation Of the sentence of Thomas J
Mooney 10 life imprisonment was dis
appointment tn labor Leaders hcrc VII"
had hoped for ncw trial upon winch
they expected the convict Ell labor man
would he acquitted
Commenting upon the aclion of Gov
rrnor Stephens tonlghf LOUIS T Pas
Assistant Secretary ~ Labor said
III seems u mc that The governor
action does NJ really help the matter
Whether Mooney was guilty or not gull
". manifestlr he did not have 4 far
trial He was tried ard convicted upon
evidence that Wa cnnfessedlv perjured