Evening star., 1922-12-24
DOUBT CONVICTION
IN MINE RIOT CASE
Seh.Defense Plea May Save
Men on Trial for Her.
rim Killings. :
GUARDS ARE DENOUNCED
Efforts to Prove Aibi Give Way
to Attacks on Gun
men"
GUARDS ARE DENOUNCED
Special Dispatch to The Star.

state has completed Its case against
the first five men accused as perpe-
traitors of the Herrin massacre.
Every man Of the five has been
identified. The prosecution claims it
has shown that each of the defend
ants had a hand in the slaughter of
one or more of the twenty three vic
tins who met their death. some beg
ging vainly for mercy. on that bloody
June day.
Yet the feeling is general that there
will be no conviction. tia. tlc jury.
made up mostly of farmers and
miners, will allow itself to be per
suaded" to accept the defense point of
view, that "Williamson county arose
TO the defense of its homes. and by
this act of self-defense served notice
on American gunmen and those who
would employ American Runmen that
this was not a safe place in which to
send hired murdererS.
Many Witnesses ON List.
When the trial is resumed next
week after the Christmas recess the
defense will have the further oppor-
tunity to introduce witnesses to give
testimony in supposed Justification
of the murders. to show any acts OF
brutality eliminating in the ruth
less murder" of three union miners.
The defense has announced it will call
between 800 and 400 witnesses. 1t
can hardly hope to establish alibis. us
about whom the prosecution had
some doubt. since William Cairns. one
of the survivors. picked him out in
the courtroom as the big. husky.
mean-looking guy" who shot down
one of the victims at close range as
q
Hitler was pictured by States At
torney Duty as one of the most fiendish
members of a murderous crew, a throat
cutter. killer of the worst order. Yet
ing memory for details of the massacre
yulped once or twice and then did not
seem to recall having seen Hitler in the
crowd. Hitler was married in Jail last
Monday to pretty eighteen-year-oldA Anna
Campbell of Marion, but after enter
ding supper. Sheriff Jim Galligan an
nounced that the honeymoon would have
TO wait until Hitler got out. So Killers
adoring bride was torn away from her
cave man and sent back to her parents
Many thrilling stories have been
told about that last march of death
toward Herrin cemetery. Four who
survived that fearful ordeal have re-
lated all they could remember. but
those of them who were not too ter
il were too busily engaged in saving
their own lives to observe what was
happening to the others. Donald NJ.
Ewing. Chicago newspaper man,
reached the scene just in time to see.
Leaving his car Ewing made his
way to the center of the mob and
found six victims lying in the road.
They were hatless, barefooted and
some had their shirts and trousers
partly torn of. SO their tormentors
could tell whether they were really
dead. Three were dead. One was
drawing his last breath. Two were
conscious and In great pain. crying
teebiy for water. According to the
testimony. Bert Grace, one OF the de-
PENDANTS. stood over them. gun in
pleading for water. This poor fellow.
Howard Hoffman. for the murder of
whom the five are on trial specifical-
~. was wounded in the abdomen and
his throat had been cut. The other
man. Joseph ORourke. was wounded
on his neck to the jury.
Water Denied victfns.
Ewing told how he hurried to a
farmhouse and brought back a lard
bucket full of we'll water for the
two victims.
Clear out of here. damn YOU"
titled; you can't give them any water "
ORourke could identify none of his
assailants because his hair was mat
ted with blood and his glasses had
been torn away.
Il opened my eyes once" said
O'Rourke. 'and saw a man bending
over me with a knife. Then felt my
throat cut. I realized that l was ter
ribly thirsty and remembered saying:
II there Is Christian in the crowd,
rriN- vY1n n ri Nf \ n ,ot
remember whether ! got it or not"
How Hoffman died was related dra-
tmatically by DIR. o. o. Shipman Of
IIerrin. The prisoners We're march
ed up the road between two files of
in stocking feet One man was hold
ing his hand to keep the blood in at
a wound in his wrist. Another was
.bolding one forearm which was soak
sdefendants) gave orders to swing
arms. The man holding his forearm
did not swing arms and some one
reached in and hit him.
"A man came running down the
Estreet and directed the prisoners to-
ward the cemetery road. They
stopped at corner near woods.
Some one asked one Of the wounded
sn,en-it was Howard Hofrman-if he
wanted to talk: If you want to
have not long. they were '. s0 marched he'd
little further and came to two
parked autos. One man got n rope
from an auto and put it around Hoff-
mans neck. eel, H. began to loop it
short. and some one called for a
fpieco of chain or barbed wire to
spiece 1t together.
! Told Victims TO Pray.
while this was being done a
sfellow In the crowd yelled to the
sprisoners: II you have never prayed
{before in your life. you better pray
,iered. Nearer, Ny ~ &C God. T1ee Is TRee.e 1S, The
trope was tied and they marched
tdown the read again. Soon after
ward the shooting began and the
prisoners fell in a heap. There were
II recognized four. Joe Carnaghi. Leva
SNfann, Percy Hall and a man named
EGalligar." The first two are now
son trial.
fdoing most of the shooting. shot Hoff :
IMAM. He shot round after round.
borrowing guns from those around
fhim. A small boy gave him cart
ridges. He lifted Hoffman's head up
sslowly and shot him again. The bull
llnen. men. what are you doingr"
1 One Of the little band marched
tdown the road to their doom owes
shis life to his agility. He escaped
without even being wounded. He Is
Robert Ofncer, bookkeeper at the Les
ter mine and University Of Penn.
sylvania graduate.
we mere marched q ways and lined
up before berbed wire fence with the
crowd behind us," Ohicer testified.
Some one shouted. We are going to
give you q chance and the firing be-
gan. fell on my face and went un.
der the barbed wire, taking to the