The copper era and Morenci leader., 1919-08-08
TAXES OUT I. W. W GARD ID ASSIST J. $.


 Douglas, August 7th-The prelimin- ! ary hearing of Dr. N. c. Bledsoe, chief | surgeon for the c. & A. Mining com ! pany, charged with kidnapping as the | result of the Bisbee deportations in l the summer of 1917, was resumed in Justice w. c. Jacks court this morning and completed shortly before noon.
 The majority of the testimony giv- en by the states witnesses, on direct and cross examination, related to in- cidents which led up to the deporta- tions, the l. w. w. strike in Bisbee and the attitude of the witnesses re- garding the methods used during the strike.
 John Ercek, an Austrian, one of the witnesses for the state, offered some unique opinions on the I. w. w. strike during cross examination by counsel for the defense. Ercek, ,who is not citizen, said that he joined the I. W. w.. three days before July 12 1917, the date of the deportations. because he believed he could help out the United States by assisting in 'the strike. His explanation of this was that he believed that if the men were granted the 15 cents 8 day increase in wages, which was pne of the de
 mands of the l. w w, they would
 work harder to increase the produc-
 tion of copper and that more men
 would come into the district to help
 dig copper for the government. This
 was the reason he testified why he had
 become an I. W. W.-because he
 wanted to help the United States all
 he could, and, incidentally get the 15 cents increase in pay. At the re-
 quest of the defense he took out
 note book and figured out for him.
 self that if the 15 cent day increase
 had been granted it would mean an in
 crease of but $4.10 a month in his pay
 whereas by remaining out on strike
 flor 15 days he lost more in that time
 than the increase would am ount to in
 year. Ercek insisted, several times during cross examination that his mo-
 tives in joining in the strike were, in
 the main his desire to help the gop-
 ernment.
 No Demonstrations Allowed.
 Ercek's statement that the copper
 companies should have acceded to
 the demands of the I. w. w. as soon
 as the demands were presented,
 evoked vigorous applause from the
 group of men and women strike smy- pathizers who filled the courtroom. The applause subsfded, however, when = Justice Jack announced that any fur c ther interruption of the hearing would a. result in the courtroom being cleared g of all spectators.
 s Ercek testified that he was taken [ from his room on the day of the de. d portations by a Bisbee citizen, who V he said, took $50 away from him at t the point of gun when he, Ercek e was placed under arrest.
 Ercek's testimony regarding Dr
 Bledsoe's actions on the day of the t roundup was that he had seen the t surgeon armed, at the Warren base o ball park. c Richard Denning, another deportee S told of having seen Dr. Bledsoe al t the park on the morning of the de | portations. Various descriptions oi T the arms carried by the defendant e were given by the different witnesses l. Denning said Bledsoe was carrying z u Kragg rife, a six shooter, belt o. 5. pistol cartridges and two belts o g. rife cartridges at the park. Anoth e CT witness testified that all the doctor T. carried was ''an automatic six-shoot T. er.''
 Testimony of William Blackburn u who said he had formerly been an or Il ganizer for the l. w. w. and still be - lieved in the doctrines of the organi zation although no longer an active ~- member, against Bledsoe, was to tht y effect that he had seen the defend u ant at the ball park on July 12th ~ When he saw the doctor, said Black :" burn, Bledsoe was asking the deport ees, individually, if they wanted t. 'N go to work. Those who were willin; ,e to go to work, said Blackburn, wer ~ taken out of the line by the docto T ], and those who refused to work wer placed in the line of men who wer DA deported.
 The hearing of William White o r Bisbee was started early this after
 noon.
 ul IS A SOCIALIST BUT NOT 'g |. w. W. STATES WTINES