OCR Text |
Show THE BLAME FOR IT. No one has charged that .the infamoun murder of a shift of miners at Independence, Inde-pendence, near Cripple Creek, was tho work of union miners; but on the contrary, con-trary, the first opinion has naturally been that it'wae the. work of desperate criminals who have no humane feelings and no human ainiiatlons. Such characters charac-ters naturally drift into troubled regions re-gions wherever they arc, and seize the occasion presented to exercise their depraved instincts and perpetrate ll fill- hnrl-lfvltir- nrlmnr. But this does not Mem to be the opinion of Vice-President Williams of the Western Federation of Miners. He seems to be of the opinion that the awful crime must have been perpetrated perpe-trated by one of the two forces represented, repre-sented, and lie hastens to charge it upon up-on the mine owners. That is, he charges that the mine owners, In order to fix the stain of an indelible, atrocious crime on the Western Federation Fede-ration of Tdlners, committed that awful crime themselves; elcw their own employees, em-ployees, whom they were claiming to back against the union miners. This claim, thus put forth, is such a one as must necessarily bring down suspicion upon v the Federation. The proposition that the mine owners did this tiling is unthinkable. According to Mr. Williams, then the union minors must have done it. We do not agree, with him. either in his premises or his conclusions. But his -unwarranted declaration will have a tendency to discredit the examination which the committee appointed by him to investigate the occurrence may make. For if Vice-President Williams correctly voices the union opinion, any Investigation that a committee might make which enters upon Its work with such preconceived opinion, must necessarily neces-sarily be a malignant farce. We certainly trust that the truth of that dreadful, horrible atrocity may be found; but It cannot be found In such manner as this; by any committee or any person who is determined In advance ad-vance that tho search shall have a certain cer-tain form and reach a certain result. It Is to be hoped that there arc shrewd, level-headed men at the scene who arc able to get to the bottomof this bloody crime; but Vice-President Williams is certainly not one of them. |