IDAHO MURDERS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 151, 20 March 1908, Page 8

IDAHO MURDERS.

ORCHARD'S CONFESSION.

COURT BELIEVES HIS CHARCES. DEATH-SENTENCE COMMUTATION RECOMMENDED. - ■ BT TELEGRAPH—riIESS ASSOCIATION —COPYRIGHT. (Bee., March 19, 8.35 p.m.) ; New York, March 19. Harry Orchard,has ifeen sentenced to death f<?r riiurdering ox-Govornor' Steiinoiiberg. ' Tho Court expressed' tho" .conviction'that' Orchard's allegations ,as to a conspiracy ; officers Millers' Federation to assassinate- Steunonberg!'are ,fto exact .truth.;' Tho Court '.therefore ■ re- : that the .'death sentence.be commuted, for' life.' ■ ' "

PRISONER'S NARRATIVE,

v 1 JIUEDEES FOE MONEY- ' ' j : Harry Orchard, .of 21 murders, v. Is probably unique among .the criminals of all : -*??■,-.V'V^ ls ' confessions .wore'. "tlie principal jsudence agiinst the officials. of the Western . Miners, Federation,- Haywood, -Moyeiy-. and : *£!£iooe0; ;but',it ; failed to sccurei f theft* .con- •• Vl 9^°^ ; -' Instead,.,it; has. secured the. death-' . gcntonco. of Orchard',himself./ ;' ■ n'H' 'I 1? ®? 11 }? tiiiie,'- the Court which scritcnccs Orchard, believes : his allegations against.-the ollicials;. and, because ' J ! ! .■|M,;kept!Ws.- .with .tlio. S'tate when, '. .. turned. State ' ovideuce"-i'ecomraends' that - "\ s , death-sentence bo commuted to imprison- ' inent for life. -- : " -/

"I Shot Him Thrice Mi'seif." - - " - ' uaconcorned voice - Orchard con'cssed in Court :to. having -committed ; a • long . murders -at the .bidding ■ of : the .' .Western 1 Federation - of- Miners. : : " for example,;that. Haywood'and . him to assassinator Mr. Peabodv, aoverrior- of Colorado.' 'He and' a ; man called ; Adams .tracked' Mr. Peabody forlhree weeks, , • but;. abandoned . the " pursuit ; in- . order' ; to .-' kill 7 Mr. Lyte* Gregory (a'Denver detcctive , who .disappeared), whose ..death • was considered .to-.' bo- . of;more' immediate!importance. • "I shot him • thrico myself ; and killed-Inm/' , said Orchard.' Ho was, ie alleges,*,'paid foV all murders, i; . and; for of mining property. , When* he railway - station at liivdcpendcnco, .Colorado;-ho.killed: twelve or four- , 'teen', men.' •>. ' Did Not Care Whom'* Ha Killed. Tne trial of-, Ilnywootl took place in Boise City, . Idaho. Mr.: Richardson; the-, counsel : for, Hay wood,, sought to show, that Orchard's terrible story was an effort of..the imagination, ... !nstigated,..b.v- the enemies of:.','the -Western- :' Miners . Federation; but;'.despite .all his-arci- ■ joes,:,'lie was Unable .to shako 'the;.evidence . {iven .by Orchard: : . . : .- ■ :Again; and again the self-confessed' mur..derer/was .-called-to repeat' the- sickening details of the'2l crimes of which he declared ■he had been the; perpetrator at the instigation of the.-"inner .circle," but .in no single instance ■ did the cross-examination result in -a v * contradiction ,of ' the evidence he' gave during. his Dxamination-in-chief..;' . ■,■■■■ Ho. -seemed almost to glory in "the callousbrutality of his deeds. The whole , tenor of his. evidence, may be summed un in his reply regarding the 'of Fretl' Bradley, a iriine manager. •• ' ■ . "I did: not: «ire,";ho''said, "if : I killed the whole family—fatter; mother, baby, and-'the three servants." \ ; ■- •; ■ , Haywood-was charged .in' i'par'tidular- with .having employed Orchard 'to kill Mr. Steunenbcrg, formerly Governor of Idaho. "Orchard swore that ho had been hired by Haywood' and 'other members; of the Federation Uo. mirder; all who .w-ero obnoxious to the , MmoK^'Uiiiori,\whether they!, were mino 'officials :oi-- 'blacklegs!'. "He had" received money for tuesa, acts, and ,to effect his pnrpose he , .had employed not only dynamite, the bullet, and the bomb, but- ho had had recourse, even to . .poison.'. 'The' prisoner Haywood's defence' was a denial -in toto of the -made by Orchard,, who' .himself is under senterico for the.murder!of the ex-Governor." '

Steunenberg and tha 5 Strike.

Tho becdnnings or tho trouble that led up : 'to the death(of the ex-Governor are thus re- ■ ferrcd to by tho " Ontlook": . . _ "In-..order;.'tof clear . tho situation it , is necessary, to tako up the story at; tho x beJ .' ginning. x Prank Steuncnberg had . few«lcnown enemies. -He elected .Governor of Idaho ; ,as • a Populist in! 1897; .largely by the-;votes' • of the miners whose accredited leaders are now, on trial charged with, complicity ■ in liis murder./ During a striko'-in the Coeur d'Alene ; district ■ in 1899. a mill.at .Wnrdrier was blown '.up bv a mob', of union miners.. . y .. • :: "The sheriff of :: the-, county, sympathised'- • with the strikers and made no effort to bring -.. the ringleaders to justice. Governor. Stounen- ■ : .berg:was appealed to. ' The' State Militia wasserving ;inthe./Philippines,' and President .M'Kinley -sent- Federal"troops to' the -district. . ' Lawlessness Was put down.'by tho most drastic . measures. ' ■, ; ::. .; ;, ■ V '.: ' "Men were 'arrested and thrown into a 'bull-pen*, in'.;hundreds. , Others were driven • the, district by." the military forces. , Governor Steuhenberg,' , I .'tlio . union'- printer," v. was held responsible by"'the miners.' . Tho |strike was;forgotten by all except those directly interested. ' / ' ■■' "Other> industrial conflicts had-, arisen be-

a 5 tweon the.mine-owners: : an(btho miners.' Other : acts of violence had been/committed,': and order •;-V'-had again been, restored ; at; the 'point ,of tthe . bayonet. Stounenberg:-;had/-returned ; -,to-,i)riyato v liie, and his connection with ,the strike had V apparently-been forgotten,. when ; . tho country, -.was shocked by the news of bis : assassination.'- ~ "It was - a cruel, cold-blooded .murder.' A ' bomb, had been placcd under the gato leading .. -to his residence in ; a little suburb'-of: Cald- : well, ', and so arranged that the ; victim - in- • opening, -the • gate fired .the, infernal, machine : . . that blew : hfin'.into; eternity.", :; , Two Murders for £100. • •'•v !, An ,instance/of the casual ,'wav in 'which Orchard narrated liis exploits, is provided by his stovyvof what ho. did-in Cripple Creek, in ■1002. He said:. ; ~ ■ "I -had- bcen.-.-'higb-grading.', m the ' Vindicator .Mine; that.is, .stealing high grado ore. We had come powder ia the mine, and I .' reported the fact:, to F.* '.W;..Davis,"president of'the local union, who .had been with ■ as in the Idaho troubles. IHe : oStrei mi' ' to .. blow:,up .tho. miHe. Ths -Uaitn men : had all -, been,called out on strike. r •.. - : "Tasked a companion .liamcd Scholtz if'ho ; ; would. like ,to go in with-Die, and he said' .. 'Ail right,' and- that " : K6' thought, we. were -justified.to, tho' mine arid , took ;ti . , couple of shots at .tho man who was running I the cage. . He ran into tho tunnel.' ;\76'did not ■:' find.-the powder, and calne. out o: the mine unmolested. . '. - "In':November,; Davis'and Sherman Parker, who wero in .charge, of . the, strike, .camo and ■ ; , ''Eskcd- me if we could not 5 send .a-'bomb,' into the' Vindicator' Mine and' ruin' it; They said they would give me .£IOO for doing it. I went to Schbltz; but he did ■ not", want to undertake it, ns he had-not bepri paid for the last time' he went into'the mine.' •" A'man named Ackerman-then-said-that ho would help me. I got 501b. of-Giant powder, - and arranged it with Giant caps, which wero -Bet off by lifting,: tho-guard-rail; as tho.cago ; , : passed- the seventh • level. -We : placed ; the - . bomb, but did not hear, anything, of it for ~ 'a week, when it finally exploded. The superintendent,«M?Cormick,\ and Mel Beck, the . shift 'boss,', were killed." . I-. ■ ~ ■ ■ ■ . ■--■ Acquittal of Haywood. ■: i After. twenty hours', . deliberation, the jury f -V acquitted. Haywood. -As each 'of- the jurors f ' ' Jcft - the: box-Haywood shook hands with. them. , At(tho first • ballot of the -jury- eight ..were ' a for acquittal and four, for .'conviction for, mur- \:\ der in- the;first : degree.,.'.-There seems :to, have t::\ been .little' talk'of a compromise. The' jiidgo's »£'■ charge had probably '.more' to 'do with the ' : verdict'tllari anything-'else. • : A juryman, Mr. M'Bean, in speaking afterwards, said': - - " His Honour's charge persuaded us that wo had no' right to convict, on,'the evidence, be- .. fore ,us. There ..was,/in ( fact, .not sufficient testimony. to connect Haywood directly, with .. the conspiracy against the life of; Mr. gteunenf.'.-.*. berg.' There. was' not. sufficient.' corroborative evidence to . justify; Us in'crediting the story , told by'Orchard,-who had turned State's evi,deuce. . '• ' •-■ " One result' • of." the acquittal," commented (ii newspaper.at the time, "seems to be cer- '- • • tain, namely, that Orchard; himself, will be hanged.- whatever the State's'plans regarding him may have been;before. It'is also likely that the cases against Mover and Pettibone, i two other officials of the federation, ■ will not : : bs 1 proceeded. with." ' 1 i Throughout - the- trial .; of Haywood, most * elaborate precautions had to be taken to pro- , , ; - test. fMmjthetMolenco^fvjtiaßWXdLl