The daily times. [volume] (Wilson, N.C.) 1902-1936, 1918-11-29
SENTENCE OF
THOS. ]. MOONEY
Who Was Sentenced to Be
Hanged in Connection with
Dynamite Explosions
10 PERSONS WERE KILLED
10 PERSONS WERE KILLED

Sacramento, Cal, Nov. 28.-The
sentence Of Thomas j. Mooney, SEN
fenced to be hanged on December 13,
for the deaths of ten persons killed
by bomb explosion in San Francisco
during a preparedness parade in
July, 1916, was commuted by Gov.
w. d. Stephens tonight to life i'm
prisonment.
Court action to have Mooney from
the gallows was exhausted by the
prisoner, the Supreme Court of the
United States having recently de-
cided it could not review the case.
Threats of national strike in
case the Governor did not intervene
had been made in various parts of
the country and some time ago it
was reported that President Wilson
had written the Governor to see that
Mooney suffered no injustice. The
trial Judge had also requested a
new trial for Mooney.
Gov. Stephens statement an
nouncing the commutation said that
in considering the case he had had
before him "the urgent appeal of
the President of the United States
that ] grant Communication.
Originally, in January Of this
year, | received letter from the
President asking me If it would not
be possible to postpone the execu-
tion OF Mooney until he could be
tried upon one Of the other indict-
ments against him.
l"Inasmuch as an appeal already
had been taken to the Supreme
Court of California which appeal it
self acted as stay of the execution.
there was at that time no occasion
for action on my part. ! take it
that the President was not cor
rectly informed as to the status of
the case?"
In explaining why he had not felt
called on to act previously, the Gov
ernor said:
"The case as presented to the Cal
ifornia courts was that of murder,
without further evidence OF motive
than the impossible tenets OF am
archists; whose sympathies for the
German cause in the war are Well
known. Their wild pacifist theories
fitted into the widespread activities
Of the Kaiser's agents in this coun-
try.
A number of persons Of pro
nounced anarchistic tendencies were
arrested shortly after the explosion
and of these Warren X. Billings was
convicted and sentenced to life inn
prisonment and Thomas j. Mooney
found guilty and sentenced to be
hanged.
80 long as avenues Of appeal to
the courts remained open to Mooney,
and he was availing hemself thereof,
deemed it improper for executive
authority to interfere"
The statement reviews the case
fully and quotes the two messages
from President Woodrow Wilson, in
which the action now taken by the
Governor was suggested. The com
mutation says the Governor, reduces
the case to the status of that of War
rem K. Billings.
II refuse to recignize this case as
in any fashion representing a clash
between capital and labor the Gov
ernor said, and, he characterized as
absurd the propaganda that would
make Mooney appear as a martyr to
the cause of labor. In support OF
this statement, he quotes letter
from Alexander Berkman outlining
the plan afterward adopted for the
Mooney campaign.
He denies that Mooney was
true friend of labor ad characterized
his previous record as such that it
did not enlist faith in him among
law abiding citizens, but said in con-
clusion that this particular case had
been decided on Its merits.