The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1930-07-09
H. to Unmake a Martyr

Thomas j. Mooney. in San Quentin prison. was in
formed Yesterday that the Governor finally had re-
fused 10 grant him pardon So he made state
nnent. The case Of himself and Warren X. Billings,
he said Immediately will assume an international
aspect and it will not down until both of them are
free.
Again repeat" said Mooney, fate once more
has smiled upon me kindly. feel highly honored IN
the greater service to which have been called for
the establishment Of the principles involved in our
case"
In other words, Mooney feels that now ne IS
martyr and. like most martyrs. he is happy in his
nartyrdon. which would not be important if there
we're not in this country and other countries, mil
lions Of men and women who will share his view,
who also will look upon him as martyr.
Martyrs have made much trouble for the world,
rightly or wrongly. Whether a Joan Of Arc burning
at the stake John Brown Wondering in his grave
or a Mahatma Gandhi jailed in India. martyr Is
not to be reckoned with lightly.
Tom Mooney grown gray and gentle behind prison
bars seems to know that and is happy The Gov
ernor of California seems not to know It, Nor does the
California supreme court the state pardon board or
the strongly intrenched interests who hrSt started
Mooney on his road to martyrdom.
Fourteen years ago Tom Mooney was just hard
boiled labor agitator a two-fsted fighting man with
uenchant for getting into trouble He was an Amer
lean Federation OF Labor man. not an l. W. W. not
an anarchist not Communist. There is no evil
deuce that he knew or cared anything about Com
munism-then.
But as a labor agitator, he capable of bother
ing certain California employers to the point OF throw
ing them completely of balance. The result was that
he and his colleague, Billings. found themselves in
prison for life on the charge that they had planted
the bomb that killed ten persons and injured forty
more during San Franccos Preparedness day parade
It happens that few persons who have studied the
record of their trial and who have knowledge OF
revelations since that trial. believe in the least that
Mooney and Billings planted the bomb The laooreo
statement of the Governor yesterday of the pardon
hoard the day before and of the state supreme
court last week did nothing change the widespread
opinion that the men are imprisoned for crime
they did not commit.
Indeed the state supreme court went lar 10 con-
vince some not previously convinced thaC mooney
and Billings innocent
The supreme court said, in effect: Maybe these
men we're not guilty of the crime charged but if they
were not then probably they were guilty of some
thing else and should be in prison anyhow. Listen
to this language of the court:
1T is fairly inferable from his past and present
Affiliations that Warren K. Billings was familiar with
plots and plans of this group of his most intimate
associates and this being so it was an almost IT.
resistble conclusion that if Warren K. Billings did
not himself prepare and plant the deadly bomb OF
the Preparedness day disaster, he and his intimate
associates and co-defendant knew, and always have,
both before and since occurrence of the tragedy
known who did prepare and plant that bomb and the
deadly purpose for which it prepared and
planted"
There is no use in arguing with the state of mind
revealed by the court in that amazing paragraph
No use recalling that witness after another mas
come forward to confess that his testimony helping
to convict Mooney and Billings was false.
No use to take up the evidences of perjury and the
evidences of deliberate frameup No use to call at
tention to the fact that the judge who presided
the two trials and nine of the ten living jurors who
brought in the verdict have in the light of later evil
dence Joined in asking that Mooney be pardoned.
The court the pardon board and now the Gov
ernor have chosen to ignore all this. They have
chosen to make martyrs of these two instead
With all the wild alarms about radicals and reds
being heard from corner and another Of this
country these California officials apparently see no
danger in the thing they've done They don't I'M
dersand that they have made that two radicals
now will grow where one grew before.
They don't understand that in the steadily de-
veloping conflict between Communism and democracy
for control of the world they have struck blow for
Communism They have done their part to make
millions of disconnected people, here and in other
lands believe that democracy does not safeguard
Justice They have wrought a grave injury, not
merely to California, but to the whole Union of
states.
They have done something that must be undone.
The martyrs they have made must be unmade.
Surely California possesses man big enough to
understand what is going on in the world Surely
the state can provide itself with Governor inteli-
gent enough to know that innocent men are more
dangerous in prison than they are out of prison. 1t
is time California set about doing this.