The Washington times., 1921-03-21
|M|NC0 JURORS
| OUT AZ HOURS
Defendants Sent Back to Jail to
Wait Trial on Other
Indictments.
VERDICT PLEASES CROWD
Counsel for Defense Sees It as
a Condemnation of
Guard System.
VERDICT PLEAsES CROWD
BY S. d. WEYER.
international News Service.

WILLIAMSON, w. Va, March
21.-Sid Hatfield and his fifteen CO.
defendants in the trigger trial were
found not guilty by the jury at 11:21
o'clock this morning. The jury re-
tired Saturday night and was out
forty-two hours.
Three minutes after the verdict
was read Judge Bailey told the de-
fendants to 60 back to the county
Jail, where they will give bond for
their appearance in court for the in
dictments of numbering six other de-
tectives. He then arranged to allow
the sixteen men to go back to Mate
wan on the noon, train.
GUARD SYSTEM CONDEMNED.
J. J. Coniff, chief counsel for the
defense, made this statement to the
International News Service staff cor
respondent Immediately after the ver-
dict was read by the clerk of the
courts: tF.
IL think the result is what ,Ae .uh-
lie generally anticipates. IL n,cs ma.
In ny sDinisn, that the private guard
systea In West virgins has been o.
trial and been condenneA and tho
legislature now in session should take
notice OF this fact,
The sixteen defendants received tho
verdict without any show of emotion,
except that Sid Hatfield, chief of po-
lice Of Matewan, smiled his perpetual
smile.
After Judge Robert d. Bailey had
told them to 'go back to JAIL" they
crowded around Conifr and grasped
his hands.
CONGRATULATED BY CROWDS.
Then, accompanied by two double
gun deputy sheriffs, they nled out
or the courtroom where they had
sat daily since January rs, and
walked through lines of men and
women congratulating them across
the courthouse lawn to the Jail.
The slayings for which the miners
were acquitted followed a gun battle
between strikers and Baldwin-Felts
detectives over dispossession from
the operators properties of many
Mingo families.
ORDERED FROM HOMES.
When the West Virginia coal
operators decreed war to the finish
against the United Mipe Workers.
they engaged hundreds Of the Felts
detectives to guard their properties
and to protect the workers who took
the place of the striking miners.
Some of the strikers still retained
possession Of the company houses
after the walkout and the detectives
were ordered to dispossess. With a
detail of his men Felts went to
Mingo, armed with warrants which.
1T was brought out 1T the trial. were
forgeries.
The bad blood which had existed
between the strikers and the oper.
ators' guards had long threatened to
culminate in bloodshed and there was
talk of forcible resistance unless the
detectives conformed strictly 10 lne
letter OF the law.
Sid Hatfield was the leader of tho
faction which was acquitted today
and strong sympathizer with the
striking miners. Evidence was con-
ficting at the trial as to Just how
the trouble started. 1t was provep.
however, that Felts had announced
his intention to turn the miners out
Of the company property, and I'm the
dispute which followed his right 10
do this, guns were brought into play.
KILLED BY FIRST SHOT.
Felts dropped with the first frins.
killed instantly by . bullet through
the center of the forehead. Two
loaded guns were fund upon the body
OF the dead man.
In the general gun battle which fol-
lowed the Felts shooting nine men
were killed and it developed at tho
trial that nobody could testify with
authority as to just who fired the
fatal bullets.