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About The times. (Portland, Or.) 191?-19?? | View Entire Issue (March 2, 1912)
THE TIMES PORTLAND, OREGON, MARCH 2, 1912 Vol, I. No. 20 EXTREME CAUTION BY EAST SIDE MARKS SELECTION OF JURYMEN IN THE WORTMAN MURDER CASE Great care is being exercised in the selection of a jury for the trial of Bert Hicks, accused of the mur der of W. A. Wortman last De cember. The attorneys on either side are losing no oportunity to the very best they can to select a jury, but at best it is but a slow and tedious operation. The court only sat four days last week in the trial of the case. Thursday, being Washington’s birthday and a legal holiday, pre cluded the possibility of any con sideration o f the matter that day. The court sat again Friday and a little progress was made. Satur day intervened and Judge Gatens, as judge o f the Juvenile Court, had his time fully occupied. Up to that time five jurors had been passed for cause. William Can ady, a retired restaurant proprie tor and Ernest Balgeman, a con tracting carpenter, were passed on Monday last week. On Wednesday Geoige W. Gambie, paying teller of the Ladd & Tilton bank, was placed in the jury box on Wednes day. On Friday, William Eckles, a carpenter, aVid Elbert R. llall, a laundry wagon driver, were se cured. This made five, and was the condition of affairs Monday morning, when the bailiff opened Judge Gatens’ court for business. The usual wrangles between the attorneys marked the progress of the trial Monday, so jealous was each side of any possible advant age to be gained by the other. Judge Gatens’ rulings are fair to all concerned, and there is no doubt but that the court will see to it that all the legal rights of the accused are fully protected. E. S. Park, a streetcar conduc tor, and George O ’Brien were passed 'by both sides. In search ing for suitable jury material, the sheriff’s deputies brought in JohD E. Landed, a contracting plas terer; Gustave Jacobsen and Ja cob Campf. Having failed to be come citizens o f the United States, they were cast into the discard. H. Schade and H. J. Schade. ex amined as to their qualifications as jurors, developed a decided an tipathy to capital punishment, against which their faces were ‘ set like a flint Zionward,” and they had to be excused. Fred A. Jacobs, a traveling salesman, and William Palmer, an employe o f the city street clean ing department of St. Johns, passed the test and took their places alongside the seven already selected. A. R. Mann and Guy Hamaker were conscientiously opposed to capital punishment, and so they were not accepted. Then, again, there was another objection to Hamaker, on the part of the de fense, and that was that he is a member of a labor union. The latter objection tallied against George Schenk, O. B. Raser, a strike picket, who was also a wit ness of the shooting, was not available. Henry Maier, who conducts a saloon on Union avenue, was un able to understand the purpose of the questions asked, and was excused. The defense has 12 preemptory challenges and the state six, when the jury box shall finally have be come filled. In case those passed for cause come through this or deal successfully, a jury of ‘ twelve men good and true” will finally sit in hearing. Such was the situation of the case at the close of court Tuesday. Wednesday was not marked by any particular progress along the jury-getting line. Karl N. Ran- zenbach was placed in the inquisi torial chair at 9 :30 in the morn ing, which position he occupied until 3 P. M., when he was ex cused on a challenge from the de fense, when Bruno A. Schaar, a lathing contractor, succeeded him. It was not until Thursday fore noon that Schaar was finally ac cepted. Frank Cepell, a collector for an East Side lumber company, suc ceeded him, and was passed— making the eleventh man and leaving but one more to wrangle over. Because they are opposed to capital punishment, and do not believe in the death penalty, II. B. Schederman, B. G. Walace, O. I. Neal and F. II. Hall were excused. It turned out, on cross-examina tion, that Richard Campbell, a carpenter, is not a citizen of the United States, and so he was ex cused. Thursday afternoon John F. Logan took Dan Malarkey’s place in examining prospective jurors on behalf of the defense. The Ruler of Nepal Gives A Baby Zoo to King George O held by the attendants. The other Is a young rhinoceros of the variety which is plentiful in Nepal. This native state, which is described ns “ within the Indian sphere of influence," enjoys a large measure of independence. A Brit ish resident lives at the capital, but does not interfere with the internal affairs of the country, which has an army of 45,000 men. The inhabitants are Mon golian in type, though the ruling family is Hindu, and complimentary mis sions are seut every live years to China. United States Troops A re Guarding the Rio Grande MONTREAL, Quebec. — That the Quebec disaster, August 17. 1907, which killed 74 men and caused a loss of millions of doll ars, was due to an explosion of dynamite placed there by agents of dissatisfied bridgeworkers, is the theory on which detectives are now making exhaustive inves tigation. The bridge, which was to be the longest cantilever span in the world, was being erected by the Phoenix Bridge Company, of Phi ladelphia. on whose work in different parts of the United States some of the worst McNa mara atrocities were committed. About August 1, 1907, there was a strike of bridgeworkers, (Continued on Page 3 .) STREET CORNER SPOUTERS ARE JAILED BY COPS LABOR UNIONS ARE RETARDING BUILDING PROGRESS IN SPOKANE -CONDITIONS ARE UNBEARABLE As a flagrant example of union ism gone mad to the detriment of an entire city in the exereise of its pernicious principles, the fol lowing special to The Oregonian fully illustrates: SPOKANE, Wash. — (Special.) — Differences between the contrac tors and the unions in the build ing trades in Spokane are at the point where diplomacy and tact are necessary to avert a general labor war. The causes leading up to the dissatisfaction of the contractors date back several years and have become aggravated with each up ward tilt of wages. The increase of wages has hardly kept up with the cost of living, but has now reached the point where in many cases the investor hesitates to im prove his property, being unable to figure how, with regular and special taxes high, and the cost of building heavy, he could get fair interest on a building investment. Contractors are now figuring more closely and the competition is keener, so that any disturbance while the work of building is in progress takes from the contrac to r’s profits. Photos by American Press Association. Disputes as to jurisdictions be NE of the penalties of being a king or a president, especially one of sporting proclivities, Is the certainty o f being overwhelmed with gifts tween unions has tied up a number of animals. Colonel Roosevelt while he was president received bears of building projects in Spokane and there seems to be no method enough—to say nothing of other wild beasts—to stock a dozen me nageries, and King George during his brief reign has made many additions of adjudicating these disputes urn to the London zoo. His latest acquisitions are a collection of baby animals til serious loss has been suffered. presented to him by the maharajah of Nepal, In whose dominions the Imperial All of the building trades in Spo party had such successful sport during the royal sojourn in Indin. Two of kane, with the exception of the the young animals—they cannot be called little—are shown in our Illustrations. bricklayers and stonemasons, ara One is a baby elephant, which King George is seen inspecting as it is I. W. W. INSULT DID M’NAMARAS TWO CLERICS DYNAMITE QUEBEC IN THEIR HALL BRIDGE IN 1907P SPOKANE.— When Rev. E. A. House, of Spokane, and Rev. Isaac J. Lansing, of New York, attempted to inoculate the I. W. W. of Spokane with the Men and Religion Forward Movement, they received a setback that sent them home without uttering a word. First, they attempted to speak to workingmen gathered on the street ‘ ‘ below the line.” The silence was cold and clam my. The clergymen then ad journed with the crowd to I. W. W. Hall, where the Lawrence textile strike was being disi cussed. They left when the speaker, introduced as ‘ ‘ Fellow- Worker Schmidt,” exclaimed: “ I say, to hell with the Supreme Court! To hell with the Star- Spangled Banner! To hell with the Constitution, for it has no provision in the interest o f the workingman, and every bit of it is for the master class!” The presence of the peachers in the hall led to the singing of an I. W. W. song, the title of which i» ‘ ‘ The Long-Haired Preacher.” It was sung with much enthu siasm to the tune of ‘ ‘ In the Sweet Bye-and-Bve.” Is there any wonder that the laws are not upheld when such speeches are allowed to be spoken in public. It is treason. Price 5 Cents members of the Building Trades Council and the city is almost thoroughly under ‘ ‘ closed shop” conditions. The contractors have demanded that they be allowed to settle their affairs with each trade without the interference o f other trades, but have been denied this privilege. Clashes between plumb ers, steam fitters and other metal workmen have gone before the Building Trades Council and thence to internatinoal unions, while the contractors have had to wait. While there has been co-opera tion among contractors, they hav ing their own organization, they are not strong enough to enforce their demands and as yet lack the backing of the investors who give them the work, because the in vestors fear to incur the displeas ure of organized labor and precipi tate a labor war. But the quiet period in building has lasted some time and the contractors are de termined to improve their condi tions, they declare. They will de mand, they say, that they be al lowed lo hire and discharge whom they please, and the unions nat urally decline to yield. It is believed that the matter lias reached a point where (he re duction of wage scales is not so much of an issue as ‘ ‘ freedom” for the contractors, as they call it. A little o f that “ government by injunction” at which rabid union ist labor leaders shy like a hull from a red rag, might tame some of these “ flannel months” . FLETCHER HOMAN, EDUCATOR, SCORES BLASPHEMOUS STREET CORNER SOAP BOX RANTERS Last Sunday Fletcher Homan, president of the Willamette Uni versity, addressed the Y. M. C. A. men’s meeting. In speaking of local street corner ranters, he said, among other things: “ The trouble with many men 'is that they are talking the empty vaporings of uninformed minds. That is one of the troubles I find over at my hotel. In the evening, when my window is open, 1 have been compelled to listen to the mutterings, vaporings and unbe- lievings o f men down there in the street, underneath my window, men who don ’t believe in God. and who are unscientific in their reasoning; men who denounce the country. I have felt some times like going down and telling them. ‘ If you don’t like this won derful United States of America you had better get on a tramp steamer and go to Africa and stay there.’ “ I have a profound interest in the laboring man, and in all hu manity. I am saying nothing, however, against the rank and file of men who stand around in as tonishment at these mutterings of anarchy they hear on the street. When, in a sense, the life of the Republic is at stake; when we are facing the parting o f the ways in this country; when, in some respects, we are facing an economic revolution, there is need that men face squarely the requirements o f their own char acter development. There is need for men of absolute integrity. “ I get sick and tired o f these men who go about patting them selves on the hack and saying, ‘ I don ’t smoke, swear or use in toxicating liquor. I am a pretty good fellow.’ Such men have not known the infinite research to which their minds may go. They are apt to build in a sandy foun dation.” If a million dollars be taken from the public by false pretense, and the public is helpless in com pelling an accounting, what is the duty of the press, especially that part of the press believing in the perpetuity of labor unionismT Is it not the duty o f the press, Now here’s a little aftermath of the McNamara’s ease which the honest newspaper, to ask an comes up like a had smell. The (Continued on Page 3.) following circular reveals 11 little of the true inwardness of the McNamara defense fund, wrested out of the hands of the duped fol lowers o f Big Gazabo Gompers and his dishonest crew : The newpspapers o f the State and the Nation have answered the call for help of the Independent Group of Workiifginen by making ROSKBURG, Or. After delib appeal to the chiefs of organized erating less than an hour a jury labor to give an accounting of the in the Circuit Court Saturday ac funds collected for the McNa quitted Joseph i’owula, a South mara defense. ern Pacific employee, accused of If some corporation had col carrying concealed weapons. Po- lected such large sums (nearly a wula was «rested at the instiga million dollars in California), tion of the strikers, who claimed what would the Government do if taht he drew a revolver without no accounting were made in the provocation. Powula testified matter T that he was attacked by a num If some fraternal order had col ber of railway strikers and was lected like sums and had put the compelled to pull his gun in self- money to illegitimate use, what defense. He also affirmed that would the Government do in the he carried his revolver in a hol matter t ster arid in plain view. THE M ÑAMARA DEFENSE FUND-- ITS AFTERMATH STRIKERS FAIL TO HOLD S. P. MAN FOR ASSAULT Photos by American Press Association. O WING to the reports of widely scattered uprisings against the Madero government In Mexico, it has again become necessary for the United .States military authorities to take measures for the guarding of the Texas frontier. General J. W. Imncau has his entire command of 5,000 men disposed along the Rio Orande ready to take such steps as may be SAN DIEGO. CAL. — Sixteen deemed necessary to protect Americans on either side of it, but strict orders street speakers, who attempt to have been issued that under no circumstances are the United States troops address crowds inside the pro to Invade Mexico. Camping in the open after the fashion Illustrated in the scribed district here, are in jail, lower picture is pleasant enough now In the mild Texas climate, but wbat tbs making a total of 150 arrested soldiers chiefly dread is the continuation of guard duty until the warm weather, since the free speech campaign of which most of them bad experience while the last revolution was in prog- fees Health conditions in the Texas camps, however, are good even In hot was inaugurated several weeks weather because o f the excellent modern sanitary arrangements which now ago. With the exception o f about prevail Typhoid fever, for example, has been eliminated through the vaccina 20 , who are out on bail, all the tion of the troops and the establishment of refuse destructors and the conse speakers are in the city or coiuit- ; quent absence of flies. The upper photograph is of General Duncan and bia staff. The figure of the general is Indicated by a cross ty jail awaiting trial.