The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-11-23

IN MOONEY CASE
Report of Densmore to Secre-
tary of Labor Wilson Brands
Hall of Justice as Hall
of Anarchy.
SINISTER INFLUENCES
Inspiration Following Preparedness
Parade Bombing to Charge
Crime Against Union
Labor.
SINISTER INFLUENCES

United Press Leased Wire Service.)
SAN FRANCISCO. Nov. 23-Friends
OF Thomas ]. Mooney. who is under
sentence Of death In connection with
the San Francisco preparedness pa
rade bomb outrage, professed today
to see in the report Of Director Gen
oral of Federal Employment ]. b.
Densmore. verifcation OF their con-
tenton that MONEYS conviction was
the result Of conspiracy.
Densmore's report followed an in
vestigation undertaken at the In.
stance OF Secretary of Labor Wilson.
1t was on It's way to Washington to-
day. It contained sensational charges
directed at the office of District At
torney Chas. M. Fickert, who prose
cuted Mooney.
Densmore assumes the role OF
prosecutor rather than Judge in his
report. He interspersed it with vio-
lent charges against Fickert-
At one point he declares.
I'm the strictest and most literal
meaning of the word. anarchy reigns
in the office which Is supposed to be
dedicated to law and order"
Another statement Is: 'eFickert is
seen throughout this report as pros
iSetihS LILO OllISO Ill oCICl CdSc5 pIS-
cisely as he prostituted it in the
bomb case. and If previously there
was any doubt that any prisoner
could receive a fair trial at the
hands of Fickert, there is now no
doubt about the matter whatever"
Introducing his evidence, Densmore
sums UP the history Of the Mooney
case. He declares sinister influ-
ences" backing the district attorney
had the inspiration following the
fatal bombing of the preparedness
parade on July %, 1916, to charge 1t
ali against certain union labor lead
ers in an effort to discredit union
labor.
Densmore reviews the attempts
made to gain new trial for Mooney
after he had been sentenced.
After Warren X. Billings was found
guilty and sentenced to life impris-
and Mooney had been found
guilty upon the additional testimony
OF Frank @. Oxman, 1t was demon
strated beyond shadow of a doubt"
to Densmore, that Oxman,
the prosecutions star witness, had
to perjure. The cases
against the other defendants. includ-
ing Mrs. Rena Mooney, then col
lapsed and Oxman's testimony was
not used again.
Fickert said the whole thing struck
him "as a desperate attempt by the
friends of Mooney to make a demon
stration that will divert the public
mind from his guilt"
Every court in the land has re-
fused to set aside the just conviction
said F1ckert.
He said parts of the reports showed
the defense knew the prosecution had
new evidence involving
others beside Mooney. He character
lzed the report as such tumble that
no one could answer it off hand.
Assuming all the telephone conver-
sations true, they prove nothing fur
ther than that the district attorneys
office was leaving nothing undone to
prove MONEYS guilt and show the
people what kind of public menace he
was
VIM. Mccarthy foreman of the San
francisco grand jury. said that If
careful study of the Densmore report
disclosed municipal corruption he
would have majority investigation.
He is going over the report carefully
with Prosecuting Judge Edmund Mo
gan.
w. F. Hetzshaw, former Justice of
he California supreme court, who
vas charged in the report as being
he brains" of the antilabor element
n the state and who was named in an
alleged confession embodied in the re-
,ort as accepting brite in a will
case, declared the report as 1t refer
ed to him was absolutely, viciously
'alse"
Immediate Investigation.
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 23.-An i'm
mediate legal investigation will be in
'tftuted into the charges against Dis
.rict Attorney Fickert and others con-
aimed in the report of Director Cen
sral of Employment Densmore to the
secretary of labor.
This announcement by Judge Ed
ward p Mogan, together with SEN