Montana labor news., 1936-04-02
Sensational Testimony
at Mooney Hearing

San Francisco, NJ. D. c. = When the
hearings reopened after two months
recess Except for one day when for
mer District Attorney Brennan was on
the stand), the petitioner by stippula-
ton was allowed TO present three more
witnesses.
The first of these was a really re-
markable character. George W. Grim
mer, alias Honsberger, alias Anderson,
who for many years was a labor spy
for street car companies all over the
United States, and who graduated from
that to be president of the civil service
commission of Los Angeles.
Grimmer was hired by the United
Railroads in 1906, with instruction from
President Patrick Calhoun to join the
garments union and "holler strike from
the housetops." I'VE want to force a
strike and lick hell out of Them" Cal
houn told him. As there was no fund
to pay for this special work Grim
mer acted as a regular conductor as
WELD, he was instructed to hold back
fares to any sum within d%ecency."
When the strike came, he was asked
to take out the first night car on II
line, and warned that something might
happen, there might be a little explos-
ion" He refused to take the job.
In 1916 Grimmer was again in San
Francisco, and asked the new presi-
dent Of the United Railroads, Lillien-
thai, for a job. Lillienthal sent him to
Melnotte McCants, assistant general
manager. MdCants told him he could
use him. We've got a number of no
good men in this city" he said, whom
we want to run out Of the state or
across the bay meaning to San QUEEN
TIM. Mooney was one OF those he nam
ed another was Edward Vandeleur,
now head OF the Central Labor Coun-
Gil. Grimmer Swallowed Mooney for
a few days, but got nervous about the
assignment. DO you want to frame
them?" he asked McCants. OF course
not" McCants answered sarcasticaliy,
Nobody likes to hear the word frame
We just want you to be at the same
place where Mooney is, at the same
time, if anythink happens Grimmet
refused to go on with the assignment,
and McCants gave him $500 and told
him that was the last money he would
ever get from the United Railroads.
On the day of the explosion he was
on a California Street car and heard
the blast. 81 guess that's going to be
pinned on Mooney" he remarked to
the conductor and to the Inspector al
the end of the line. About a week
later, when he was on another car,
three men came UP to him and said,
you've been throwing up your CUTS
about this case. The best thing you
can do is to beat it." Scared, he left
and went to Los Angeles.
In the 1907 strike Grimmer became
acquainted with a strikebreaker, a half
breed Indian named Jos. Daugherty.
This man had shot two or three per
sons who tried to raid his car, and had
"crawfished out OF it" In 1920 Grim
mer met Daugherty again in Los An
geles, very nervous, and expecting TO
be shot or stabbed any minute" Grim
mer asked him, Who do you think pull
ed off that stunt at Steuart and Mark
ct? Mooney 7" Daugherty put his
hand on his shoulder, and said,
That wouldn't have the CUTS. I
could put my hand on the mans Shout
der that pulled that stunt. Mooney had
absolutely nothing TO do with it"
Daugherty was later murdered in Chi
cago, his head cut off. (This was con
firmed by Chicago dispatches.)
The second witness was George Mil
Ter, now a Fresno insurance man, for
merly a special policeman for the
Southern Pacific. As such, he helped
to hire $50 scabs for the 1917 United
Railroads strike. On the basis OF this,
he struck the United Railroads for a
job in 1919, and was taken to the same
Melnotte McCants NOW dead. Nc
Giants said to him one day, miller,
Mooney and Billings are going to re-
main in prison as long as the United
Railroads can keep them there. We
know they're not guilty, but they're
agitators, and cost us a million dollars
in this strike Cleary decided not to
risk cross-examining Miller at all.
The third witness was Draper Hand,
a former San Francisco Police Of
ficer, one Of the Bomb Bureau in 1915,
one Of the frame-up gang, who con
fessed to Fremont Older in front of
Mayor Cater Governor James Dolph
in 1920. Since then Hand has been in
difficulties he is now on parole on a
grand theft conviction, and the proba-
ton officer tried to haul him up for
not reporting regularly, in spite of the
fact that he had been promised no
harm would come to him if he testi-
fled in the Mooney case.
Hands testimony was sensational,
and he plainly enjoyed batting Cleary,
He told how he staged a "%demonstra-
ton" of the Eilers Building roof scene
with the witnesses, so as to synchro-
nize their accounts of when the Moon
eys came on the roof. At the end,
Assistant District Brennan said, I'VE
have the wrong person - Mooney was
up on that roof. We're going along
the wrong line" Later Duncan Mat
heson came to Hand and told him to
watch Brennan, it looked as if he had
sold out to the other side.
Then he told about the Edeau wo-
wen, about Mrs. Edeau's first story
of being at Steuart and Market thro-
ughout, then how she came to the
Bomb Bureau and said she really had
been with her daughter in front of