The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1930-08-09
JURISTS To BE
PROTECTED IN
BILLINGS QUIZ
Precautions Arranged to
Safeguard Lives on
Folsom Visit.
ANARCHIST is DRAWN IN
Decision en- Pardon Pleas to
Rest Until After Aug. rs
Primaries.
BY MAX STERN,
Times stan correspondent

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 9.-There
will be no decision on the Mooney
Billings pardon applications until
after the Aug. 26 primaries.
This became evident as the list
of witnesses before the seven SUI
preme judges sitting on the Billings
pardon plea began to lengthen.
Governor G. G. Young will await
the action on Billings by the judges
and also that of his advisory pardon
board on Moneys petition before
he takes the two cases under advise
ment.
1t now appears that the taking OF
testimony before the judges will
consume at least a fortnight yet.
This will relieve the Governor of
the necessity of acting before the
Republican primaries settle whether
or not he is the nominee After
that he feels the pardon pleas will
be safely out of politics. for who
ever gets the Republican nomina-
ton in California is assured of cleo
ton.
Thursday next is the tentative
date set for the visit of the judges
to Billings at Folsom prison, some
100 miles from here, across the Sac
ramento valley. Plans are being
made for hearing Billings in one Of
the prisons larger rooms and re-
stricting the audience to newspaper
men.
Safeguard Judges Lives
Precautions were arranged today
TO safeguard the lives of the seven
members of the supreme court when
they meet in the prison.
It is believed the prison session
will be the first of its kind in the
United States and it is generally ad-
mitted there is an element of risk.
The hearing is necessary because
the court ruled that Billings should
testify personally. The attorney
generals Office decided Billings
could not be taken from prison, SC
the court is taking the hearing in
prison.
Anarchist Drawn In
One question stands out-will the
judges permit the alleged conspir-
acy matter. offered by ex-Assistant
District, Attorney Ed Cunha, to be
introduced? This matter relates tt
activities of the anarchist, Alexan-
DER Berkman. and his paper, The
Blast, in trying to prevent the Pre-
paredneSS parade.
According to Cunha, this ''evi-
dence" connects Mooney directly
with the Berkman group and Bill
ingS indirectly. All this matter was
kept from the Billings trial by a
ruling Of Judge Frank Dunno, who
pointed out that since the prosecu-
ton was building its case on direct
evidence, it could no try the case
also on a conspiracy theory.
Now that the Fickert-Cunha-
Brennan prosecution finds its direct
evidence destroyed by the tangled
webb" woven by john Macdonald
and EsteIle Smith, it is eager to fall
back on the conspiracy theory.
story Branded Fancy
Two more witnesses" of the 1916
prosecution may take the stand and
undergo the ordeal Of croSS-exami-
nation by the defense attorneys.
These are Mrs. Nellie EdeauS and
her daughter, Sadie.
These two. who testified they saw
Mooney and Billings at the bomb
ang scene with their astral bodies, -
are anxious to go on the stand
again. Their stories have been
branded as fanciful.
Thomas Stout. tailor. says now
that the women were working beside
him in an Oakland clothing factory
on the Preparedness parade day.