The
Pinkerton Labor Spy
by
Morris Friedman

CHAPTER XXV.

THE MOYER-HAYWOOD-PETTIBONE CASE,
NOW BEFORE THE PUBLIC PINKERTON CONSERVATISM.

The Moyer-Haywood-Pettibone case is a thrilling chapter of conspiracy, wrong-doing, knavery and persecution; a chapter where we find governors, sheriffs and famous Pinkerton detectives acting to perfection the infamous roles of rascals and kidnappers, in brazen defiance of laws and statutes; a chapter where men are to be tried for their lives on the strength of illgrounded suspicion, distorted facts and perjured evidence; in short, a chapter so full of impossible situations, mischievous possibilities, glaring contradictions and sensational complications, that it reads more like a detective tale of the blood and thunder variety than a narrative of occurrences happening in real life.

This case reveals to us the monstrous spectacle of a man endeavoring to put to death three of his fellowmen on the mere strength of his own personal reputation, a reputation which is founded on the beams of scaffolds and the number of hapless victims who thereon gasped their last; as though the bare word of an executioner is evidence sufficient to convict and punish men accused of crime.

This is a case where the prosecution, in the name of the people of the States of Colorado and Idaho, has prostituted itself most shamefully in behalf of gigantic moneyed interests, to intimidate and crush a great labor organization, by accepting as gospel truth the awful charges of conspiracy and murder which the Pinkerton Agency has heaped mountain-high upon the Western Federation of Miners in general, and under which they hope, particularly, to bury and entomb Messrs. Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone.

In fine, this is a case of such surpassing interest that, regardless of the fact that it has not yet been tried, an analytical study of it will be of considerable value.

As the reader is aware, the mine owners of the State of Colorado, with the aid of Governor Peabody, succeeded in breaking the Cripple Creek and Telluride strikes; but they failed signally in all their attempts to land some of the leaders of the Federation in prison, on trumped-up charges and false confessions.

Again, as the reader will remember, Operative Riddell at Telluride, despite his "brilliant efforts," succeeded no better in finding the "Inner Circle" of the Western Federation of Miners, than did Ponce de Leon in discovering the magical Fountain of Youth. Both failed for the same reason; it is impossible to find that which does not exist. The only difference between these two men is, that while Ponce de Leon believed in the existence of the youth-restoring fountain, the Pinkerton Agency knew well enough that there was no such thing as an Inner Circle in the Federation; and Operative Riddell's absolute failure proves that the Agency deliberately fleeced the Telluride Mine Owners' Association, by virtue of the same reputation which is going to figure so prominently in the trial of Messrs. Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone.

One more episode we would request the reader to recall, is the Florence & Cripple Creek derailing case. During the progress of this trial it was proven conclusively THAT THOSE GUILTY OF THE ATTEMPTED CRIME WERE NOT THE UNION LEADERS IN THE PRISONERS' DOCK, BUT THE EVIDENCE POINTED WITH ALMOST ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY TO THE MINE OWNERS' AND RAILROAD COMPANY'S OWN DETECTIVES, SCOTT AND STERLING, WHO ACCUSED THEM SO BOLDLY, AND WHO HOPED TO SECURE A CONVICTION ON THE STRENGTH OF THEIR REPUTATION, AND ON THE FALSE CONFESSION OF A GALLOWS-BIRD, CHARLES McKINNEY, WHICH CONFESSION WAS COMPOSED FOR HIM BY THE TWO DETECTIVES.

The Florence & Cripple Creek derailing case proves to what a very limited extent the reputations of detectives in the hire of magnates may be trusted. This affair bears such a close resemblence to the MoyerHaywood-Pettibone case, in all its infamous details, that the latter case can be better followed by a clear understanding of the former trial.

The Florence & Cripple Creek case was a good case, or, rather, a good plot. The very simplicity of the proposed outrage made it seem plausible; but the conspiracy was exposed because of the foolhardy actions of Detectives Scott and Sterling.

In our opinion the Idaho case is also a plot, weaker than the Colorado conspiracy, albeit the Pinkerton Agency has done its level best to complicate it and throw a veritable cloud of mystery about it; and like the Florence & Cripple Creek conspiracy, this plot is also bound to fail, because of the bungling and unprofessional work of the FAMOUS PINKERTON DETECTIVES who are playing as ridiculous part in this trial as did Detectives Scott and Sterling in the train derailing case.

As we have already seen, the real reason for the merciless war which the mine and smelter magnates waged against the Western Federation of Miners, was because this organization had in 1903 endorsed Socialism and decided to enter the field of politics. The mine owners hoped that they could check the growth of Socialism by crushing the Federation. But after the Colorado strikes were things of the past, it was evident to the mine owners that their work had been a failure, even as the repressive measures of kings and clergy in the middle ages proved futile, and only served to make men struggle all the harder for their principles and convictions.

The mine owners were smarting from the effects of the two-year struggle and looking for a chance to retaliate on the Federation. As all things come to those who wait, so the very opportunity for which the mine owners were hungering suddenly came, and they grasped it. This opportunity was the assassination of ex-Governor Frank Steunenberg, of Idaho.

On the evening of December 30th, 1905, Mr. Steunenberg was almost instantly killed while entering his home in the suburbs of Caldwell, Idaho. A dynamite bomb had been placed under the front gate of his house, and connected with it by some contrivance, so that when Mr. Steunenberg attempted to enter, the bomb exploded, and he was so mangled that he only survived the explosion by fifteen or twenty minutes.

The assassination of ex-Governor Steunenberg was an awful crime, and it was the duty of the Idaho authorities to discover the fiend who committed it, in order that he might be punished. But week after week went by, and the murderer of Idaho's former governor was still at large.

People began to forget the tragedy when suddenly, without any previous warning, the startling announcement was made on Sunday, February 18th, 1906, that President Charles H. Moyer, Secretary-Treasurer William D. Haywood and ex-Executive Board Member George A. Pettibone of the Western Federation of Miners had been arrested, and sent under heavy guard on a special train to Idaho, on the charge of having conspired against the life of Mr. Steunenberg. Interest in the case deepened when it was learned that Division Manager James McParland of Pinkerton's National Detective Agency, famous the universe over for his marvellous exploits among the Molly Maguires thirty odd years ago, had engineered the arrest of the leaders of the Federation, and would personally conduct the campaign against them.

Much has been said and written about Manager McParland and his wonderful achievements against the Molly Maguires, which resulted in the extermination of that gang of alleged cut-throats.

The Pinkerton Agency claims public consideration for a piece of detective work done over thirty years ago; and on the strength of the Molly Maguire operation has built up an edifice of slander, perjury, graft and treason, the outside walls of which structure are hidden from the public gaze by brilliantly-painted lettering proclaiming the fact that the Agency represents the American Bankers' Association, the Jewelers' Protective Union, the Jewelers' Security Alliance, and the Railway Ticket Protective Bureau.

By virtue of this optical illusion the credulous public still believes the Pinkerton Agency to be a wonderful crime-exterminating institution, and the Agency, taking a bold advantage of this credulity, now comes before the bar of public justice, and insolently demands that its bare word be taken as proof sufficient to send three men to the gallows and discredit and brand as criminals the tens of thousands who are members of the Western Federation of Miners.

We will not enter into any controversy regarding the guilt or innocence of the Molly Maguires, as that case has no connection with the case in hand. It is a ghastly skeleton which is constantly being dragged before the public to serve the mischievous ends of the Pinkerton Agency in the absence of anything else to show which would entitle them to a public hearing. We merely wish to state that James McParland worked among the Molly Maguires for three or four years before he secured the evidence which resulted in conviction. It is well for us to remember this fact, as well as the fact that when Mr. McParland worked on this case he was young and vigorous, and free from the hallucinations sure to plague a conscience so dreadfully outraged as his has been, in the many years that he has served the Pinkerton Agency. We must also bear in mind that Mr. McParland was in a peculiar position to obtain information and evidence, as for over three years he was himself a Molly Maguire and a leader among them at that.

It may not perhaps be very decent, even for detectives, to keep on pointing to the gibbets which they erected thirty years ago; but it is certainly good business policy to do so when those detectives have nothing else to point to. For this reason the Molly Maguires are still being tried and hanged, and the horrible tragedy is in this manner kept forever fresh in the memory of men. No matter what occurs, it is at once compared in one way or another with that long-decayed case. The Pinkerton Agency harps on ancient success and carefully conceals modern failure.

A man may be good in his youth, and drift into bad habits in later, years.

And so it is with Pinkerton's National Detective Agency, the Molly Maguire operation, and the work of Manager James McParland. Be it admitted, for the sake of argument, that the Molly Maguires were a gang of cut-throats, assassins and dynamiters. Be it also admitted that James McParland was chiefly instrumental in ridding the community of this band of desperadoes, and that he generously and unselfishly risked his life in the performance of his duty. Let us freely grant that his work against the Molly Maguires was of such a high order, that both he and the Agency - deserved the lavish praise which was showered upon them, and that in general the work of the Agency in this case was SO VERY GOOD, that they were fairly entitled to the enviable reputation for detective ability resulting therefrom. I

There was once a soldier in the American Revolution. He materially assisted in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga in 1775. He was severely wounded while gallantly leading an assault on the fortifications of Quebec, in 1776. He fought with such dare-devil bravery in the battle of Saratoga, in 1778, that no small portion of the credit for this important victory belongs to him. For more than five years he underwent all the hardships and privations of active field duty. During five years his gallant conduct endeared him to his brothers-in-arms and the country at large. This man forfeited name, honor and glory forever, on that day when he betrayed his country; and, his brilliant record notwithstanding, he is execrated by everyone to this day as "Benedict Arnold the Traitor."

It must be apparent to every intelligent person, that the record of Benedict Arnold, prior to his treason, is a chronicle so full of martial daring and brilliant achievements, that it is almost sacrilege to compare it with the puny Molly Maguire record of James McParland. Nevertheless, as an aid to establishing the truth, we will stretch a few points. Arnold became a traitor, and took the path leading to eternal infamy. James McParland, by virtue of his and the Pinkerton Agency's reputation, boldly marched along the road leading to affluence and fame, and for many years has assisted his Agency in committing a treason against their countrymen, which, in our opinion, is fully as black, damnable and dangerous, if not more so, than the treason which cost Benedict Arnold so dearly, but which, in the case of James McParland and Pinkerton's National Detective Agency, has yielded them both, name, fame, wealth and power.

And as Manager McParland and the Messrs. Pinkerton would undoubtedly feel hurt to hear such things as we have charged, without corroborative data, we shall proceed to complete the comparison between Benedict Arnold and the pack of heartless, conscienceless knaves who, in our day, under the title of Pinkerton's Agency, outrival in lawless acts and treacherous deeds against the people, the ill-starred traitor of the Revolution.

Manager McParland, as everyone knows, is the backbone of the prosecution in the Moyer-HaywoodPettibone case; it would appear that it is solely due to his ingenious work that the State has been enabled to make a case against the union leaders. Manager McParland claims to have secured a confession from one Harry Orchard, in which confession Orchard charges himself with the assassination of ex-Governor Steunenberg, at the instigation and solicitation of Messrs. Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone of the Western Federation of Miners. In this confession Orchard also accuses Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone of a large number of other criminal acts.

Under the laws of Idaho, a person found guilty of being accessory to a murder is sentenced to death. That Manager James McParland knew of this law and was more than anxious to avail himself of it, can be gathered from the following statement which he gave out to the press a few days after Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone had been arrested:

"The officers of the Western Federation of Miners, and those of the executive board, who are implicated in the secret designs of the leaders, will never leave Idaho alive.

"Although they will not leave Idaho, I have information and proof of their connection with a dozen atrocious murders in Colorado that would hang them if they did.

"I worked single-handed in the Molly Maguire case, and single-handed in this, and I know the ins and outs of both gangs. And let me tell you that the most fiendish work carried on by the Maguires was but child's play compared to the plots hatched by the officers of the Western Federation of Miners and carried into effect by their tools.

"I felt it my duty, as a citizen of Colorado, to outroot this gang, and as such I undertook the work. These fellows thought that it was so long ago that I had broken up the Molly Maguires that I must now be in my dotage. They weren't afraid of me. But there is a weak spot in every wall, especially such a wall as that upon which the Western Federation was founded, and that weak spot I found.

"It will cost Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone, and as many more their lives."

Since Manager McParland felt so very positive that he had discovered the weak spot of the Western Federation of Miners, and that the confession of Harry Orchard was so very sure to send Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone to the gallows, WE ARE REALLY AT A LOSS TO UNDERSTAND WHY Mr. McPARLAND DELIBERATELY BROKE THE LAW IN ARRESTING THESE MEN.

On Friday, February 16th, 1906, three deputy sheriffs arrived in Denver from Boise City with extradition papers for Messrs. Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone. They called on Governor McDonald on Saturday; and the successor of Governor Peabody, WHO AT A SUBSEQUENT DATE REFUSED TO EXTRADITE A NEGRO WHO WAS WANTED IN MISSISSIPPI FOR ASSAULT AND MURDER UNLESS MISSISSIPPI WOULD GUARANTEE THAT NEGRO A FAIR TRIAL, HAD NO HESITANCY IN SIGNING AWAY THE LIBERTY OF THREE PROMINENT LABOR LEADERS, AND TURNING THEM OVER BOUND HAND AND FOOT, AND WITH A GAG IN THEIR MOUTHS, TO THEIR MOST INVETERATE ENEMIES, THE PINKERTON DETECTIVE AGENCY.

The Idaho detectives, acting under the orders of Manager McParland, waited until late Saturday night, and at about the hour of midnight the men were seized and placed in the county jail. They were denied permission to notify friends or counsel of their arrest; indeed, it is but a sorry time to communicate with people after midnight. But, while the faithful friends of these men slept, the detectives, whose motto is that they never sleep, arranged with the Union Pacific Railroad Company for a special train, and at 5 o'clock Sunday morning, Feb. 18th, 1906, Messrs. Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone were on board this train and speeding toward Idaho. The special which carried these men had the right of way over every train on the road, the Limited Pacific trains, even, not excepted.

When the prisoners arrived in Idaho they were at once taken to the State penitentiary and not permitted to see anyone, nor was anyone permitted to see them.

The labor world was fairly staggered at the arrest of Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone, and a mighty cry went up from all parts of the country, protesting against the KIDNAPPING of these men, for the only reason that they were leaders of a labor movement.

Governor McDonald of Colorado defended himself by saying that the extradition of these men was demanded by Governor Gooding of Idaho, and as the evidence against them seemed very strong, he signed the papers. It was not HIS business to notify the public of the proposed extradition, and he therefore kept the matter to himself.

The officials of the Denver County Jail claimed that the prisoners were given every opportunity to notify their friends of their arrest, but we need not stop to prove the falsity of this statement. The lie is apparent at one glance.

We have already told what Manager McParland had to say about the arrest of these men; namely, that they would hang.

Not one person connected with the prosecution would admit that Messrs. Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone had been kidnapped, as KIDNAPPING is a CRIME against both the spirit and letter of the law.

Any citizen who is seized by superior force and restrained of his liberty without due process of law, and deported to other States or countries against his will and without a chance to appeal to a court of law for a hearing, is KIDNAPPED, and the persons committing the deed are unquestionably KIDNAPPERS. Consequently, every person participating, either directly or indirectly, in the unlawful seizure and deportation of Messrs. Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone is a KIDNAPPER, and eligible, on account of the success of the venture, to prison or to membership in any of the robber bands that abound in Greece and Turkey.

We charge that the arrest of Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone was the result of a conspiracy between Governors Gooding of Idaho, and McDonald of Colorado. We also charge that the methods employed in railroading them out of the State of Colorado were in flagrant violation of law and justice. We further charge that these methods were invented and developed in the fertile brains of James McParland, and in conclusion we charge that the ENTIRE CREDIT for the SUCCESSFUL KIDNAPPING of Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone belongs to the chief engineer of the coup against the Western Federation of Miners, Division Manager James McParland, of the Pinkerton Agency.

We do not accuse Mr. McParland of having engineered the abduction of the union leaders, for the mere sake of being rude or unkind. Far from guessing, we base our charges on a similar attempt by the Pinkertons to railroad a man out of Colorado in the year 1903; and for the edification of the reader, we will briefly describe the attempt in question.

Some years ago, one Francis L. Burton had sued the New York Central Railroad for damages, for injuries he claimed to have received on their road. The company finally settled with Mr. Burton for $2,500, and the suit was dropped.

It then began to dawn upon the officials of the New York Central Railroad that they had been swindled by Mr. Burton, so they had him arrested on the charge of obtaining money under false pretenses. Mr. Burton furnished bond for his appearance at his trial, and—disappeared. The railroad company put the Pinkertons on his trail, and after quite a search the Agency located him. He was found to be the manager of a mining and milling company at Dumont, a few miles from Idaho Springs, Col. The Boston Police Department was notified, and two detectives, John R. McGarr and Thomas A. Sheehan, were sent to Denver with extradition papers.

As soon as Governor Peabody had signed the papers of extradition, the two Boston detectives, accompanied by Asst. Supt. H. Frank Cary, of the Denver Pinkerton Office, rode down to Dumont, and placed Mr. Burton under arrest. Their plan was to bring him into Denver, and then place him on an East-bound train, without giving him a chance to fight extradi-, tion by an appeal to the courts.

HAD MR. BURTON'S CAPTORS HAD THE MOLLY MAGUIRE EXPERIENCE OF MANAGER McPARLAND, WE HAVE NO DOUBT THAT THEIR PLAN WOULD HAVE CARRIED; AS IT WAS, THEIR INEXPERIENCE CAUSED THEIR SCHEME TO FAIL.

Mr. Burton was disagreeably surprised when he was arrested and told that he would be taken East that very day, and though he wished to fight extradition and present his case to a Colorado court, he saw that his captors would not permit him to do so. He pretended that he was resigned to his fate, and got permission to enter his private office for a minute to adjust a few little matters. Quickly availing himself of this momentary liberty, he called up Attorney Ralph Talbot, of Denver, on the long distance 'phone, told him of his predicament, and retained him as counsel. Mr. Talbot bade him rest easy, and at once took the matter in hand.

He at once called up Asst. District Attorney Smith, of Idaho Springs, on the long distance 'phone, and after retaining him on the case, instructed him to board the same train as the prisoner, and never to leave him out of his sight for a minute; and in case the detectives decided to take him to any other place than Denver, to 'phone or wire him at once, and follow the prisoner. Mr. Smith did as instructed.

Mr. Talbot then hastily made application for a Writ of Habeas Corpus, and soon he had the necessary papers signed by Judge Johnson of the West Side Court. He expected to serve these papers on the detectives when they arrived at the Denver Union Depot, and thus prevent them from railroading Mr. Burton out of the State.

But, somehow or another, the Denver Agency got wind of Mr. Talbot's doings, and wired Asst. Supt. Cary, care of the conductor of the train, that he should not come into Denver, but that he and his party must get off at Arvada, hire a rig, drive to Brighton, and at that point place the prisoner and the two Boston officers on the East-bound Union Pacific train. By this move the Agency expected to outwit Attorney Talbot.

Asst. Supt. Cary did as instructed, and Asst. District Attorney Smith, of Idaho Springs, promptly notified Mr. Talbot what the detectives were up to. Mr. Talbot thereupon hired a light rig, placed the legal papers in the hands of Deputy Sheriff Mahoney, and told him to drive at top speed and overtake the detectives and their prisoner. Mr. Cary had scarcely driven a mile before he was overtaken by Deputy Sheriff Mahoney and served with the order of the court.

This event occurred on Tuesday afternoon, August 4th, 1903.

We are not interested in the result of Mr. Burton's fight against extradition, but we are interested in the unlawful maneuvers of the Pinkerton Agency.

They claimed, in the case of Mover, Haywood and Pettibone, that an emergency existed which justified them in thus secretly arresting and deporting them from the State. We really wonder what this emergency was. DID THEY FEAR THAT A COLORADO COURT WOULD REFUSE TO EXTRADITE THE UNION LEADERS ON THE STRENGTH OF ORCHARD'S CONFESSION AND THEIR DECAYED MOLLY MAGUIRE REPUTATION? WHAT, THEN, IF EXTRADITION WERE REFUSED? CANNOT A GALLOWS BE ERECTED IN THE STATE OF COLORADO, IN WHICH STATE, ACCORDING TO MANAGER McPARLAND'S OWN WORDS, HE COULD HANG THEM HIGHER THAN HAMAN FOR THE COMMISSION OF FULLY A DOZEN ATROCIOUS MURDERS?

And if Manager McParland could convict Messrs. Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone in their home State for the commission of a dozen atrocious murders, why is it, we ask, that this arch-enemy of the Western Federation of Miners chose, instead, to kidnap these men on merely one charge, and that, not a direct charge of murder, but rather an indirect and hazy charge of conspiracy? Is it possible that Mr. McParland is such a patriotic and public-spirited citizen of the State of Colorado that he would rather saddle the cost of an expensive trial on the State of Idaho?

As we know, Operative Riddell, No. 36, who worked for the Agency at Telluride, was the only operative who ever attempted, on behalf of the Pinkerton Institution and the Mine Owners' Association, to gather incriminating evidence against the Western Federation of Miners. His failure to discover anything was most signal. Consequently, Mr. McParland's statement about having information and evidence sufficient tc hang Messrs. Moyer, Haywood and Pettiboae for s dozen atrocious murders in Colorado is merely so much bluster, or, which is truer, it is a downright falsehood.

So far as the case of Burton is concerned, the reader can see for himself that the Pinkerton Agency, without any excuse whatever, did their best to prevent him from appealing for a hearing in a court of law, and they would have succeeded in their scheme, but for the alertness of Attorney Ralph Talbot, of Denver.

Taught by their failure to "make good" in the Burton case, more caution was employed in the case of the Federation leaders, and this time they were successful.

And now, let us for a moment stop to observe the tool of Manager McParland and the mine and smelter interests, Harry Orchard, whose confession is going to play such a prominent part in the trial of Messrs. Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone.

As Orchard's confession charges, and as Manager McParland would have us all believe, Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone not only had hired him to assassinate ex-Governor Steunenberg of Idaho, but had also commissioned him, on behalf of the Federation, to murder Justices Goddard and Gabbert of the Colorado Supreme Court and ex-Governor Peabody. In addition, Orchard's confession implicates the Federation officers with any number of other dreadful outrages and murders.

The reader remembers the degenerate Charles McKinney, who was the star witness of the prosecution in the Florence & Cripple Creek derailing case. As we have already stated, the present case is almost identical, in many of its details, with the Colorado case. The main difference is, that in this case the prosecution is fighting for far greater stakes.

Orchard may well be compared with McKinney, than whom he is craftier and baser. McKinney was a degenerate, mentally. Orchard is a degenerate, morally. The former scarcely realized what he was doing when he attempted to swear away the LIBERTY of three men, while the latter, in the full possession of his senses (though it is lately reported that he is mentally weakening) has no scruple in attempting to swear away the LIVES of three innocent men. But the comparison does not end here. McKinney's mind was worked upon by Detectives Scott and Sterling of the Mine Owners' Association and the Florence & Cripple Creek Railroad, while Orchard, who is now the pliable tool of McParland, is believed, on pretty good grounds, to have been employed as a spy by these very same men during the Cripple Creek strike, in 19031904.

The Florence and Cripple Creek derailing case proved fairly what a precious pair of rascals Detectives Scott and Sterling were. It stands to reason that if Orchard learned his business under their tutelage, and to the best of our knowledge and information he did, then he must have graduated as a master-liar, perjurer and all-around villain; in fine, a fit tool to execute the plans and plots of the DEAN of BLACK SLEUTHDOM—JAMES McPARLAND.

In the Florence and Cripple Creek case the plot of the mine owners failed because of the gross carelessness of Detectives Scott and Sterling, and the too apparent degeneracy of their tool, McKinney.

In the Steunenberg case we find a somewhat different state of affairs, although the result is the same. Orchard, the conscience-struck, repentantly-confessing scoundrel, seems to stand pat. But James McParland, in his extreme anxiety to tie the noose securely around the necks of Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone, overreached himself so badly, that the entire plot of the Pinkerton Agency was laid bare. And now let us see how it came about that Manager McParland exposed his villainous duplicity in this case to an even greater extent than did Detectives Scott and Sterling in the Florence and Cripple Creek derailing case.

Mr. McParland has said, with reference to the Western Federation of Miners, "But there is a weak spot in every wall, especially such a wall as that upon which the Western Federation was founded, and that weak spot I found. It will cost Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone and as many more their lives."

With Mr. McParland's permission we will quote part of his statement for our own purpose and say, "But there is a weak spot in every wall, especially such a wall as that BEHIND which A DEGENERATE DETECTIVE AGENCY CONSPIRES AGAINST THE LIVES OF HONEST MEN, AND UPON WHICH THEY THEN COME OUT DRESSED IN SPOTLESS WHITE, TO IMPRESS THE PEOPLE WITH THEIR SURPASSING VIRTUE." That weak spot we find, and the entire world finds, in the persons of James McParland, and one Stephen Adams, a miner. This weak spot will help not a little in the disillusionment of the people, we sincerely hope.

Manager McParland knew well enough that the confession of Orchard, of itself, would not be sufficient to hang Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone. It therefore became imperative that another person be found, who could be persuaded, by fair means or by foul, to corroborate and confirm the story of Orchard. Such a person Mr. McParland believed to have found in Stephen Adams.

Adams had been a miner for many years, and at one time had been a member of the Western Federation. For several months prior to the assassination of Mr. Steunenberg he had been living with an uncle, on the latter's ranch in Oregon. It was on this ranch that he was located and arrested by detectives from Idaho on Feb. 20th, 1906, on the charge of having participated in the murder of Idaho's ex-governor; and without troubling about extradition papers the detectives brought him to Boise City, where he was at once taken to the penitentiary and thrown into a solid steel cell with Harry Orchard.

As Adams had been removed from Oregon without extradition papers, and as his confinement in the Idaho State Penitentiary was kept secret, his friends had no idea what had become of him.

But on March 2nd, 1906, not a little excitement was caused when the startling announcement was made public that Manager McParland had secured a confession from Stephen Adams which corroborated in every detail the confession of Harry Orchard. The attorneys and friends of Messrs. Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone certainly must have been taken aback at this latest success of the prosecution; and, to be sure, things were beginning to look rather gloomy for the union leaders.

According to the best information obtainable at that time, Manager McParland admitted that Steve Adams had made a startling confession, and that this statement corroborated Orchard's confession in all particulars. This incident created much talk and feeling, and proved that Manager McParland intended to push the case against the Federation leaders to the bitter end. Many people who had at first refused to believe in the guilt of Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone now became inclined to side with the prosecution, and the cause of the miners seemed to be on the wane. However, organized labor, the country over, stood as a unit in their unshakable belief in the innocence of the accused men.

Thus Spring and Summer came and went, without anything new having transpired in connection with this case; but the early days of Fall brought forth sensations of such a totally unexpected character, that even the most indifferent people suddenly took notice.

The first sensation was a statement signed by Stephen Adams and witnessed by his wife, who sumggled it out of the penitentiary and made it public on Saturday, September 8th, 1906, and which we quote:

Boise, Idaho, September 8th, 1906. This is to certify that the statement that I signed was made up by James McParland, detective, and Harry Orchard, alias Tom Hogan. I signed it because I was threatened by Governor Gooding, saying I would be hanged if I did not corroborate Orchard's story against the officers of the Federation Union of Miners.

STEPHEN ADAMS.

Witness: ANNIE ADAMS.

Simultaneously with the above eloquently suggestive statement, came the announcement that the attorneys for the Western Federation of Miners had made application for a writ of habeas corpus for Adams, and that Adams would be an important witness for the defense. But of greater interest was the following story of Stephen Adams, when he was brought into court to plead for his liberty:

"I had not been in the penitentiary but a few days, until I was persuaded into admitting the truth of some of the statements by Orchard in his confession to McParland, first, by threats of the Governor that there was a mob waiting to hang me in Colorado, where they would send me if I did not do as they demanded, and second, because I was promised to go clear if I followed directions.

"After I had been in jail about three weeks, Thiele, a Pinkerton detective, was sent to my place in Oregon and brought back my wife and two children, confining them in the female ward of the penitentiary, and where I was permitted to live part of the time.

"Last June I was asked if I knew a certain location near Telluride, being a spot designated by Orchard as being the burying place of a man named Barnum, said to have been killed there. I said I did, and was then informed that I was to go down and pick out the place.

"The detective took me in a wagon across the country to the siding called Orchard Station, where I was put on the train. Adjutant General Bulkley Wells and Deputy Sheriff Bob Meldrum of Colorado took charge of me, and we went to Telluride, remaining there three days. I found the place described, but there was no grave. I think they expected to find some evidence against Vincent St. John, but after staying there three days I was returned to Idaho and put back in the penitentiary.

"During the time my wife has been in the penitentiary we have been held and treated the same as convicts. We were not allowed to see anyone unless a guard was present, and we had to give the letters we wrote to the warden, unsealed. Letters addressed to my wife were opened and read by the warden before delivered to her.

"Last Monday J. W. Lillard came to me and I asked him to get me some lawyers who would secure my release. I gave him written authority to act, and he secured ExGovernor Morrison, Clarence Darrow and John F. Nugent, the last two being attorneys for Moyer and Haywood. They brought the application for Habeas Corpus, and yesterday afternoon I was called on by Mr. Hawley, the chief counsel for the prosecution. Hawley urged me not to see any lawyer, and tried to induce me to sign a statement discharging the attorneys employed by ray uncle. This I refused to do.

"Hawley said: 'There is nothing against you, Steve. You are not held as a prisoner.' I then asked if I could leave the penitentiary. He said, no; so I waited to see my lawyers.

"After they left, the deputy warden had me taken to the cell formerly occupied by Bond, who was hanged three weeks ago, and after being stripped and searched, I was locked up.

"I WAS GLAD I HAD GIVEN MY WIFE THE STATEMENT TO TAKE AWAY WITH HER WHEN SHE WAS PERMITTED TO LEAVE THE PENITENTIARY, FOR WHEN I WAS TAKEN TO A MURDERER'S CELL, I WAS AFRAID SOMETHING WOULD HAPPEN TO ME."

Previous to discussing the statements of Steve Adams, which certainly have an important bearing upon the Moyer-Haywood-Pettibone case, we should state that the court held that he was unlawfully restrained of his liberty and ordered his immediate release. However, the State was anxious to hide Adams from the attorneys for the defense, so they immediately re-arrested him on the charge of having murdered Detective Lyte Gregory in Denver on May 5th, 1904. Subsequently this charge was dropped, and he was secretly removed by the prosecution to Wallace, Idaho, on the charge of having killed one Fred Tyler, in August, 1905. At his trial on this charge, which occurred in Wallace the latter part of February, 1907, he repeated the previously-quoted charges against Manager McParland, Governor Gooding, and the officials of the penitentiary, and very clearly proved his innocence of the murder of Fred Tyler. Strangely enough, however, his jury disagreed, and he will probably be tried again.

We now have all the data in this case before us ready for inspection and analysis.

Ex-Governor Steunenberg of Idaho was assassinated on December 30th, 1905.

Messrs. Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone were arrested for complicity in this outrage on February 17th, 1906, six weeks after the murder.

Manager McParland insists that he worked singlehanded in this case, and we are willing to take his word for it.

Manager McParland further states:

"THAT THE MOST FIENDISH WORK CARRIED ON BY THE MOLLY MAGUIRES WAS BUT CHILD'S PLAY COMPARED TO THE PLOTS HATCHED BY THE OFFICERS OF THE WESTERN FEDERATION OF MINERS AND CARRIED INTO EFFECT BY THEIR TOOLS."

Manager McParland may have exterminated the Molly Maguires single-handed, as he says, or he may have been assisted by others in this task; that is immaterial. What is MATERIAL, is the fact that it took Mr. McParland AT LEAST THREE YEARS to get damaging information against them. Now, then, if, as he claims, the most fiendish work of the Molly Maguires was but child's play as compared with the plots and outrages of the Federation, it follows that it should have taken a detective fully as talented as Manager McParland at least three times as long to get at the innermost workings of this awful gang, as it took him to unravel the mysteries of the Molly Maguires. That is to say, it should have taken Manager McParland nine years to discover the alleged Inner Circle.

But we are willing to concede that Manager McParland is entitled to a reasonable credit for his age and experience. In giving him this credit, however, we must hold him to his own words. Thus, if we concede, for the sake of argument, that he is a better detective to-day than he was thirty years ago, he must not deny that IF, according to his words, THE WESTERN FEDERATION ARE GIANTS COMPARED WITH THE MOLLY MAGUIRES, THEN, IN AN INVERSE RATIO, HIS ACHIEVEMENTS AGAINST THE MOLLY MAGUIRES WERE BUT PUNY AND TRIFLING AS COMPARED WITH HIS EXPLOITS AGAINST THE WESTERN FEDERATION OF MINERS. Since Manager McParland was a trusted Molly Maguire, it naturally follows, if our process of reasoning is correct, that if it took him three years to unearth the crimes of DWARFS AND PIGMIES, that we are making him a very generous allowance for his increased detective ability when we insist that SINCE HE WAS NOT A TRUSTED MEMBER OF THE FEDERATION OF MINERS, THAT IT SHOULD HAVE TAKEN HIM, EVEN WITH EXPERT ASSISTANCE, AT LEAST ONETHIRD AS LONG TO GET AT THE SECRETS OF THIS GIGANTIC GANG OF MASTERCRIMINALS.

From our reasoning it follows that it should have taken Manager McParland AT LEAST ONE YEAR OF BRILLIANT, UNPARALLELED DETECTIVE WORK TO GET EVEN QUESTIONABLE EVIDENCE AGAINST THE WESTERN FEDERATION OF MINERS. BUT MR. McPARLAND CAN DO WONDERS WHEN HE TRIES, AND IT THEREFORE SEEMS THAT HE SUCCEEDED IN ACCOMPLISHING A TRULY HERCULEAN TASK IN A PALTRY SIX WEEKS.

Of course, Mr. McParland's position would be utterly untenable in the face of these deductions. He therefore backs up his Moyer-Haywood-Pettibone conspiracy-murder-dynamite fairy tale with a most startling confession sworn to by Orchard, and witnessed by himself and sundry high officials of the State of Idaho.

Well and good. A confession is always an interesting document, particularly so in this case. And, with the theory of Manager McParland's wonderful detective ability exploded, it now behooves us to see what weight and importance, if any, should of right be attached to this document, which is the trump-card of the prosecution.

We are perfectly willing to believe that Orchard signed a confession badly implicating Messrs. Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone. The EXISTENCE of such a confession is not the issue at stake, but rather whether the confession is TRUE or FALSE To determine these facts, the following data should be taken into consideration:

Harry Orchard, the alleged author of the famous confession, as far as we know, was employed as a spy during the Cripple Creek strike by Detectives Scott and Sterling of Florence & Cripple Creek Railroad derailing fame.

In his confession, Orchard implicated Adams in the Steunenberg assassination, which gave the prosecution a chance to arrest Adams and bring him to Boise City, Idaho. When Adams was brought to the penitentiary, he was placed in the same cell with Orchard. And here the plot of the Agency becomes noticeable.

As a matter of fact and truth, Adams did not participate in the Steunenberg tragedy, and had no intention on earth of confessing to anyone that he did. It was also far from his mind to implicate others in a crime of which he knew nothing. Yet Harry Orchard, Manager McParland, Governor Gooding of Idaho, and the warden of the Idaho State Penitentiary did their best to induce him to make a false confession, and thus become a perjurer and murderer. As Adams refused to become a scoundrel, notwithstanding that the Governor of Idaho threatened to turn him over to a Colorado mob if he remained obdurate, the above guardians of the public morality and safety took a step unparalleled save in the annals of the Dark Ages. They incarcerated Adams' wife and children in the penitentiary, and held them there the same as convicted felons, in order that for the sake of his family Adams might agree to become the hangman of Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone.

Adams was unable to withstand the awful pressure, and permitted McParland to compose a confession for him, which he signed. Mr. McParland now had two confessions, and in his mind he was already witnessing the execution of the hated Federation chiefs.

We do not know how Mr. McParland felt after Adams told his pitiful story, nor do we know how he will get around Adams' REAL CONFESSION. But we DO KNOW that if Adams had remained true to the prosecution, MANAGER McPARLAND WOULD HAVE SWORN BY ALL THE SAINTS AND EVEN BY HIS MOLLY MAGUIRE REPUTATION, THAT THE CONFESSION OF ADAMS WAS THE GOSPEL, HANGING TRUTH, and on the strength of Orchard's confession and ADAMS' CORROBORATIVE STATEMENTS HE WOULD HAVE DEMANDED A CONVICTION.

Manager McParland was willing to have the world believe the word of Adams, when he thought that this word would help convict the Federation leaders.

If Adams' word was truthful enough for the prosecution, who offered him liberal rewards for his confession—it is doubly truthful and convincing when he voluntarily tells the world, without hope or prospect of reward, that he and the Federation leaders are innocent of wrong-doing, and that the confession which he signed, implicating himself and others in the assassination of Ex-Governor Steunenberg, was wrung from him by a cruel and long-continued process of mental and physical torture.

If Adams' word suited Manager McParland because that word would help send three innocent men to a shameful death, then that same word is doubly and trebly acceptable to a just and intelligent world, when it points a sternly-accusing finger at Manager McParland and his associates, and charges them with crimes even worse than murder.

In fine, if Adams' word was good enough to enable the law to take three lives, it is a thousand times better when it enables the world to tear the mantle of virtue from the shoulders of scoundrels.

Admitting, therefore, the UNDENIABLE TRUTH of Adams' charges against Manager McParland and the prosecution, it follows that a critical inspection of Orchard's confession should bring interesting developments to light.

Orchard apparently was a spy in the employ of Detectives Scott and Sterling during the Cripple Creek strike. Orchard is a bad man. His reputation is not improved by the fact that he helped Manager McParland torture Adams into making a false confession.

ACCORDING TO MR. McPARLAND'S OWN ESTIMATE OF THE ABILITY AND SHREWDNESS OF THE LEADERS OF THE FEDERATION, MOYER AND HAYWOOD CERTAINLY OUGHT TO HAVE KNOWN THAT ORCHARD WAS A SPY FOR DETECTIVES SCOTT AND STERLING DURING THE COLORADO STRIKES.

THAT THIS KNOWLEDGE WOULD NECESSARILY PRECLUDE THE BAREST POSSIBILITY OF FRIENDLY RELATIONS BETWEEN ORCHARD AND THE OFFICIALS OF THE FEDERATION, IS A TRUTH WHICH EVEN McPARLAND CANNOT GET AROUND.

IT FOLLOWS THAT IF THERE COULD BE NO FRIENDLY, LET ALONE CONFIDENTIAL RELATIONS BETWEEN THE FEDERATION AND ORCHARD, THAT THE LATTER'S CONFESSION MUST BE FALSE FROM THE BEGINNING UNTIL THE END.

His confession being false, we can readily understand the desperate efforts of the prosecution to secure a corroborative confession, and we can also easily perceive why Orchard helped Manager McParland so zealously to torture Adams into signing a false statement. We also believe we are striking the nail squarely on the head when we now charge that Orchard's confession was composed for him in its entirety by Manager McParland, and is as false in all of its infamous details as the confession which he composed for Stephen Adams. The only difference is that Adams' honesty triumphed over his fear of Idaho injustice, while Orchard is true to his evil reputation, and prefers to remain a blackguard and well-protected tool.

In view of our analysis, the sum total of our deductions is that Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone are not being PROSECUTED but PERSECUTED.

The only REAL achievement of Manager McParland against the Western Federation of Miners was the KIDNAPPING of Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone. All his subsequent talk of what he DID and INTENDED to do, is merely so much BRAG.

The confession of Orchard is a document which has no more claim to truth than have Harry Orchard, James McParland, Governor Gooding and ex-Governor McDonald to decency and respectability. And to perfect the claims of these distinguished gentry to all the honors due such a precious crew of villains, we refer them to the disclosures of their unfortunate victim, Stephen Adams.

Since our analysis is not based on theory, but upon facts, we confidently believe that the trial of this case of right should result in the acquittal of Messrs. Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone.

Some of our so-called conservative American newspapers have bitterly deplored the radical attitude, charges and statements of the friends of the defense, which, in the opinion of these conservative mouthpieces of reaction, tend to cast serious reflections on American justice, and which are merely harmful efforts to prejudge the case in favor of the accused men.

We also believe in being conservative, but logically so. And since the prosecution has done its level best for over a year to secure false evidence, arouse a hostile public sentiment and prejudge the case in favor of the mine owners' side of the contention, we cannot see that the friends of Moyer, Haywood and Pettibone are doing anything more than their duty in giving this case the greatest possible publicity, in order to insure fair play at the approaching trial.

But we will finish our comparison between the traitors of our day and the traitor of the Revolution.

Arnold, as we all know, only PLANNED treason. A just Providence frustrated his terrible projects. But that the intention was as bad as the deed is definitely settled by the place which Arnold occupies in history.

Pinkerton's National Detective Agency is a veritable traitor factory; the biggest of its kind in the world. The traitors it turns out are not, as yet, military traitors, to be sure. But, is there then any difference between one brand and another?

Is military law the highest law? Is it military law which makes our country so strong and great? Or is it not, rather, the individual honor and integrity of our citizens which is the REAL LIFE OF THE NATION? And if this is so, we ask: If treason to the uniform is such a dreadful crime, is not treason against the public honesty and mora ity a greater crime? Or is treason against the public honesty and morality no crime SIMPLY BECAUSE THERE IS NO PENALTY PRESCRIBED FOR IT AS IN THE CASE OF TREASON AGAINST THE UNIFORM?

And if it is conceded that the virtue of the public mind is a greater factor in advancing the strength and prosperity of our country than the military law (which is only created for the purpose of protecting the former), we ask, how can a man who is false to his BROTHERS IN TIME OF PEACE, BE TRUSTED IN AN ARMY TO DEFEND THEM IN TIME OF WAR?

Are we making too fine a distinction? No, we don't think so! We hold that a man who will break his oath and word of honor to a union, for eighteen dollars a week and expenses, will not scruple to betray his brothers-in-arms TO AN ENEMY for a greater amount of money. Once a man has been taught to break his oath and word for a money consideration, he is a menace to the community in time of peace, and a positive danger in time of war.

There are many detective agencies who are manufacturing traitors, but Pinkerton's National Detective Agency is the pioneer in this business, and has a bigger output than all the other agencies in the United States put together.

Why do we denounce a dead traitor and in the same breath honor a worse live one? Why do we revile a dead traitor, WHO ONLY PLANNED MISCHIEF, and allow ourselves to be blinded by this far more dangerous gang of LIVE SCOUNDRELS, who for years HAVE BEEN AND STILL ARE ENGAGED IN THE ACTIVE EXERCISE of their dastardly treason? Why should we execrate a dead traitor, about whom there are at least some noble, redeeming features, when we have nothing but praise for an Agency that is corrupting thousands and tens of thousands of our young men, robbing them of their honor and their country of honest citizens?

Is not the treason of Pinkerton's National Detective Agency against our individual honesty, collective integrity and national morality far blacker, fouler and much more dangerous to progress and civilization than the treason of Benedict Arnold in 1780?

The main question is, how long will the betrayed majority of workingmen in the United States submit to an underhanded tyranny that cheats them of their rights as citizens and makes them impotent before the will of a few? The cunning that represses free speech and liberty is not the statesmanship to preserve a republic.

Chapter XXVI. The People Of The United States Vs. Pinkerton's National Detective Agency.