The Indianapolis times., 1930-08-12
BY MAX STERN,
Times stan Correspondent


SAN FRANCISCO. Aug. l2.-The
battle to free Warren Billings and,
incidentally Tom Mooney, now wag-
ing before the seven supreme court
Judges Of California, entered It's
second phase today as sessions we're
r,sumed after a five-day recess.
The first phase has been a drive
led by the Mooney Billings volun-
teer counsel to destroy the entire
prosecution structure, to impeach
its last two witnesses. John Mac
Donald and Estelle Smith, to batter
down their perjuries by the invinci-
bic testimony of clocks, cameras and
logic.
The new phase is defensive. 1t
took the form today of a fight by
LAWYERS Edwin Mckenzie and Frank
p. Walsh to keep the case from
being tracked through intro
duction Of irrelevant matter and
conlne the testimony to the simple
question of guilty or innocence OF
the pair.
Evidence Was Barred
It was the obvious intention OF
the 1916 prosecution chiefs, Charles
Fickert and his two former aids,
Banker Ed Cunha and Attorney jim
Bremen, to seek again to try Moo
nev and Billings in the newspapers
by means of new evidence" con-
Cerning alleged radical activities OF
the two laborites prior to their ar
rest.
The final phase will be a counter
offensive by the pardon crusaders to
wipe out the last struggling yes
tige of credibility of the Fickert-
Cunha-Brennen witnesses through
charts. conflicting evidence and di-
rect witnesses. In this phase the
almost perfect alibis of the two will
be presented in detail and rem
forced by witnesses.
BY the prosecutions own wit
nesses we have destroyed the states
case against these men," said Nc
Kenzie. Now We are confronted
with alleged evidence that was
barred from the Billings and Moo
ney trials and which adopts an en-
tirely new theory. that of con-
Spiracy.
Met Berkman Twice
This evidence" purports to link
Billings to a radical conspiracy.
can prove Billings never saw copy
of The Blast. nor did he meet the
anarchist Berkman, except twice,
once when introduced to him in
saloon and once when he went to his
house to deliver something to him
at some one else'S request.
"All this stuff is part OF the same
sort of propaganda that went out
10 the world to brand Mooney and
Billings as radicals. 1t did not then
have the slightest relation to the
bombing crime, as Judge Dunno
then ruled it. 1t has none now.
Billings and Mooney we're convicted
by two things-perjury and preju-
dice. Now they want to keep them
in Jail for life by the latter means"
Mckenzie had Cunha and Bren-
nan on the grill in a blistering
cross-examination today. He re-
minded the former of his fatal ad-
mission that the pair. though he
considered them guilty, should be
paroled.
He reminded the latter of his
even more revealing admission that,
though guilty. they should be par
doned for reasons Of social ex-
pediency." He also reminded them
OF their remarks that the two de-
PENDANTS had been tried on their
general regulations and outside
circumstances.
The climax of this weeks hearings
will come at Thursday afternoon
when six out Of the seven judges
will sit for the first time inside
bleak Folsom'S walls to hear the
story from Billings own lips. Justice
Richards will be absent on other
business, but Justices Waste, Pres
ton, Shenk, Langdon, Seawell and
Curtis will be there. The hearing
will be held after the lookup Of
the big prisons 1900 inmates. II
may be that the questioning will
last far into the night and the un-
usual session may have to be con-
tinued until Friday night.