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Show Editorial Comment on Hillstrom Case j Following are some eastern editorial com-! com-! meats upon the execution of Joseph Hillstrom: I NEW YOU K TIMES That Joseph Hillstrom, the man whose life was ended by a firini; squad in the prison at Salt Lake City yesterday, was guilty of the crime of murder for which he died, seems to be as nearly sure as anything can be in a world that for the most part has to get along with something some-thing less than absolute certainty cer-tainty for the basis of action. ac-tion. He was fairly nnd carefully tried, he did not lack for competent legal defenders, de-fenders, and of the local public" sentiment, at least the most articulate and vehement ve-hement portion that which may be said to have exerW "pressure" on the courts was in his favor, not against him. The evidence of his guilt was of convincing quality qual-ity and therefore sufficient, and against it was practically practical-ly nothing except 11 i II-strom's II-strom's own assertion that he could prove an alibi if to do so would not bring dishonor dis-honor on a woman's name. Improbable as was the plea, however, it was ingenious in that it.s falseness could not be conclusively disproved to those who for reasons of their own were, determined deter-mined to believe Hillstrom the victim of capitalistic persecution, and presumably there will grow up in the revolutionary group of which he was a prominent member a more or less sincere sin-cere conviction that he died a hero as well as a martyr. NEW YORK GLOBE The attempt to make it appear that Joe Hillstrom of Salt Lake City is a victim of a ' class war has not succeeded. Nothing has been brought out to throw serious doubt ; on the fairness of his trial or to suggest that he was i accused of murder because ; of his membership in the I. ; W. W. organization. The jury returned a verdict of guilty after a careful trial. ; It is conceivable that the jury erred in its verdict. : Circumstantial evidence is seldom wholly satisfying, but, even so, the capital and ; labor question does not seem : involved. Yet the I. W. W. organization has endeavored PI to import class war into the case. So doing, it will be made more difficult for I. j: W. W. men to secure justice ', when unjustly accused. NEW YOKK SUN The in- j tervention of the president : brought to Hillstrom a res- : pite, not of hours or days, ; but weeks, in which a for- ; mal, open hearing on his ! case was held, at which he I and ewry other individual ; interested in his fate might ; have been heard. The Swed- ish minister had nothing to i offer in his behalf except a ; plea in the names of "hu- manity" and "comity of na- j; tions." Hillstrom presented I; nothing in his own defense ; and Woodrow Wilson was ; not present or represented. ; Subsequent to this hearing ! thirty-three days elapsed I before the man's execution, ; and in that period Mr. Wil- j: son produced no evidence, j: drew attention to no facts ! and apparently remained si- ; lent with respect to the ; Utah murderer, except for one telegram transmitted ! November 17, in which a i purely f-entimental appeal ; was made for further post- ; ponement, an appeal that by its own terminology was : robbed of force and vitiated. ; Governor Spry and the au- p thorities of Utah opened j: their minds and accommo- j dated the legal machinery : of their state to his con- ; venience, and awaited pa- ; tiently his disclosure of the grounds on which he inter- ; posed himself between a ; murderer and the punish- ; ment the law decreed for that criminal. p DETROIT FREE PRESS : Governor Spry of Utah dc- ; livered a needed and de- j served rebuke to President Wilson in his communica- : tion to the chief executive ; explaining why he would not j interfere in Joseph Hill- : Strom's behalf. The Pres- ; ident's insistence on new de- ; lay amounted to an attempt p to dictate arbitrarily and '; without warrant of law to : a state government. Gov- : ernor Spry was quite right p when he turned down the : president's second request j for a reprieve. |
