I don't want a pardon, I don't want a commutation.
I want a new trial and vindication.
If you can't give me a new trial,
that's all there is to it.
I don't want anything else.
-Joe Hill
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Monday September 20, 1915
From the Salt Lake Tribune: "Hillstrom is Denied Reprieve by Board" -Part I
At the top of the front page of yesterday's edition of the Salt Lake Tribune we find the following photograph of Fellow Worker Joe Hill along with the caption, "Slayer Joseph Hillstrom:"
Our readers should note that the
Tribune uses the word "bandit" despite the fact that no motive was ever proven for the murder of Mr. Morrison. The murderers stormed into the store, shouted, "We've got you now," opened fire with their revolvers and then fled. The store was not robbed.
We will also note that Joe Hill was not tried for nor found guilty of the murder of the boy, Arlin Morrison.
There have not been "thousands of threatening letters," but only a few among the thousands of letters sent to Governor Spry. Some members of the I. W. W. are of the opinion that the threatening letters were written by operatives of various private detective agencies in order to make work for themselves.
As to anyone preventing the State of Utah from executing Fellow Worker Joe Hill: most everyone agrees, that nothing short of a miracle will prevent the legal murder of the rebel songwriter who was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death upon flimsy circumstantial evidence.
By Ernest Riebe:
From the Salt Lake Tribune of September 19, 1915:
HILLSTROM IS DENIED REPRIEVE BY BOARD
-----
Lives of Spry and His Children Threatened in Letters, Which Demand the Immediate Release of Convicted Murderer of Grocer Morrison and Son;
He wants New Trial.
-----
EXECUTION WILL BE ON OCTOBER 1
-----
Friends of Slayer Declare Appeal Will Be Made to Sweden in Order to
Bring About Another Trial or to Secure Man's Freedom.
-----
The state board of pardons by unanimous vote yesterday denied the petition of Joseph Hillstrom, murderer of J. G. Morrison and Arling Morrison, to have his sentence of death commuted to life imprisonment.
Hillstrom will be shot to death at the state prison in the early morning of October 1. He has twelve days yet to live.
Since the conviction of Hillstrom, and more especially since the supreme court refused to grant him a new trial, Governor Spry, the members of the supreme bench, Attorney General A. R. Barnes and District Attorney E. O. Leatherwood, have received in all thousands of letters making various threats should the man executed. Other letters contained petitions circulated by the members of the I. W. W. Among the letters received by Governor Spry are many which threaten his life, and one which intimates that his children might be harmed should Hillstrom be not freed.
Scarcely anything short of a miracle can now save the murderer's life. Friends of the condemned man last night declared that this miracle would come in the form of a protest from the Swedish government. Hillstrom is a Swedish subject, and Hillstrom's friends insist that the government of Sweden will take the position that he did not have a fair trial and will make representations to this effect to the United States government, to the end that Hillstrom will either be freed or will secure another trial.
The action of the state board of pardons was taken yesterday after Hillstrom himself had dramatically declared to the board that he sought no clemency from it.
Insists on New Trial.
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Convicted Murderer Refuses to Make Statement for Himself
Except to Insist Upon New Trial.
[Declared the condemned man:]
I don't want a pardon...I don't want a commutation. I want a new trial and vindication. If you can't give me a new trial, that's all there is to it. I don't want anything else.
In vain did the governor, the attorney general and the members of the supreme court appeal to Hillstrom to give them some reason why he should be pardoned, some reason for his assertion that he was not guilty of the murder for which he is condemned to die.
[Said Hillstrom:]
I will guarantee that if you give me a new trial...I will conclusively prove that I am not guilty and that I will send for or five perjurers to the penitentiary, where they belong.
All of the members of the board of pardons and his attorneys informed Hillstrom that the board was powerless to grant him a new trial, but that he was free to make any statement which he cared to before the board or submit any evidence he cared to in support of his plea of innocence.
[Declared Hillstrom:]
I've said all I care to say...What does my measly life amount to? What do I care if I have to die? I don't want the humiliation of commutation or pardon. What I want is an acquittal. If you can't give me a new trial I don't want anything. I've stated my position-that's all I care to say.
Chief Justice D. N. Straup suggested that the attorneys for Hillstrom ask to give the pardon board a greater amount of information on which they might base their action. The attorneys said they would prefer that the members of the board themselves question the condemned man. Judge Straup then suggested that he would ask the prisoner certain questions, and the prisoner might answer them or not as he saw fit.
Rejects Opportunity.
Hillstrom immediately said he had nothing further to say.
"Then I am to understand that you would object to my putting any questions to you?" asked the chief justice.
I have stated my position. That's all I want to say.
With this statement by Hillstrom the hearing closed. However, Attorney Soren X. Christensen asked the board to take a recess for five minutes while he conferred with his client. Mr. Christensen and Judge O. N. Hilton of Denver then talked to Hillstrom and urged him to consent to answer the questions that the board might ask him or to make some further statement relative to the case. Hillstrom was obdurate and said he didn't want to say any more.
Mr. Christensen then announced to the board that Hillstrom seemed to consider himself a martyr and was resolved to give the board no further information.
Application Is Denied.
The board went into executive session for a few moments and then announced that it had voted unanimously to deny the application made in behalf of Hillstrom to commute the sentence to life imprisonment.
All yesterday afternoon the board considered the Hillstrom case. Eloquent pleas in behalf of Hillstrom were made by Judge Hilton and Mr. Christensen. A short statement was made by Joseph Rohan [Ed Rowan] of the Hillstrom defense committee of the Industrial Workers of the World, of which organization Hillstrom had long been an active member. Hillstrom himself spoke only briefly.
District Attorney E. O. Leatherwood, who prosecuted Hillstrom, was present not to advise either for or against commutation.
Before the board were several hundred letters protesting against the execution of Hillstrom and several thousand signatures to petitions of the same character. A number of the letters openly threatened the governor and the board of pardons. Nearly all of them demanded his release or commutation of his sentence. Very many of them contained veiled threats against the governor's life. One or two openly declared that the governor would be held personally accountable for Hillstrom's fate and his life was at stake.
Some Vicious Letters.
One particularly vicious letter declared that "labor" would demand "double pay in lives and money for the loss of one of labor's own," and asked the governor what he would think if as a result of the execution of Joseph Hillstrom, the governor's son or daughter were taken as a part of the "double pay" that would be demanded by "labor."
District Attorney Leatherwood told the members of the pardon board that he, too, had received threatening letters of a similar character. These letters, he said, could only have resulted from some gross misinformation respecting the Hillstrom trial that was disseminated throughout the United States and Canada by some Salt Lake person.
Elects to Attend.
At the opening of the hearing yesterday Governor Spry, as chairman of the board, declared that the board was agreed that if Hillstrom wished to be present in person at the hearing he would be permitted to say whatever he cared to say to the pardon board.
Mr. Christensen went into the prison and asked Hillstrom if he cared to be present. Hillstrom said that he wished to attend the hearing, and he was brought before the board.
Evidently Hillstrom was expecting the summons. He was freshly shaven, and as immaculate as possible in his prison uniform. Hillstrom was so thin that the skin appeared tightly drawn over the bones of his gaunt frame. Despite his spareness, there was no suggestion of prison pallor in his cheeks. He appeared to be in good health. His brown hair was combed straight back from his high forehead, after the fashion affected by the modish young men.
Defends Eselius.
During the progress of the arguments Hillstrom sat in a chair between Attorney Christensen and Warden Arthur Pratt. He looked at the floor the greater part of the time. He traced imaginary patterns on the back of one hand with the fingers of the other, or balanced one foot upon the toe of the other, apparently not more than casually interested in what was being done or said in his behalf.
Once, however, when district Attorney Leatherwood made a suggestion as to the value of the testimony of Robert Eselius, a friend of Hillstrom, Hillstrom interrupted, saying:
Now, Mr. Leatherwood, you can cast all the aspersions you want to on me, but I don't want you to insinuate anything against Bob Eselius. He is a good boy, of clean habits, and has lived here all his life. He was born and raised in Utah, and there isn't anything against him.
This article will be continued in tomorrow's
Hellraisers.
~~~~~~~~~~
SOURCES
Joe Hill
-by Gibbs M. Smith
Gibbs Smith Inc, 1984
(copyright 1969)
https://books.google.com/...
Salt Lake Tribune
(Salt Lake City, Utah)
-Sept 19, 1915
http://newspaperarchive.com/...
http://newspaperarchive.com/...
IMAGES
Joe Hill with text,
Salt Lake Tribune, Sept 19, 1915
http://newspaperarchive.com/...
Joe Hill Shall This Take Place
by Ernest Riebe
http://ns210054.ovh.net/...
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Information from Archie Green via Gibbs Smith:
The Industrial Worker of July 1912 reports that the new edition of the I. W. W. songbook (Little Red Songbook) will include "Casey Jones." That edition of the songbook was published by The Industrial Worker in Spokane Washington. "Casey Jones" appeared on page 1.
Casey Jones by Mark Ross
The Workers on the S. P. line to strike sent out a call;
But Casey Jones, the engineer, he wouldn't strike at all;
His boiler it was leaking, and its drivers on the bum,
And his engine and its bearings, they were all out of plumb.
Casey Jones kept his junk pile running;
Casey Jones was working double time;
Casey Jones got a wooden medal,
For being good and faithful on the S. P. line.
The workers said to Casey: "Won't you help us win this strike?"
But Casey said: "Let me alone, you'd better take a hike."
Then some one put a bunch of railroad ties across the track,
And Casey hit the river bottom with an awful crack.
Casey Jones hit the river bottom;
Casey Jones broke his blessed spine;
Casey Jones was an Angelino,
He took a trip to heaven on the S. P. line.
When Casey Jones got up to heaven, to the Pearly Gate,
He said: "I'm Casey Jones, the guy that pulled the S. P. freight."
"You're just the man," said Peter, "our musicians went on strike;
You can get a job a'scabbing any time you like."
Casey Jones got up to heaven;
Casey Jones was doing mighty fine;
Casey Jones went scabbing on the angels,
Just like he did to workers of the S. P. line.
They got together, and they said it wasn't fair,
For Casey Jones to go around a'scabbing everywhere.
The Angels' Union No. 23, they sure were there,
And they promptly fired Casey down the Golden Stairs.
Casey Jones went to Hell a'flying;
"Casey Jones," the Devil said, "Oh fine:
Casey Jones, get busy shoveling sulphur;
That's what you get for scabbing on the S. P. Line."
-Joe Hill
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