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THE LABOR TRIAL OF THE CENTURY

The Bombing

The trial of William D. "Big Bill" Haywood for the murder of former Idaho governor Frank Steunenberg is one of the most notorious trials of this century. The former governor was killed by a bomb rigged to the gate in front of his home in Caldwell, Idaho, on 30 December 1905. Shortly before he died from gaping wounds in his back and side, Steunenberg asked, "Who shot me?" There were no witnesses. The next day a reward of $15,000 was offered by the state and the Steunenberg family for the capture of the murderer(s). At the request of Idaho governor Frank R. Gooding, the investigation was headed up by James McPharlan, the head of Pinkerton Security, an established strikebreaking organization.

The Union Accused

Initially a prounion politician, Steunenberg was never forgiven by the Western Federation of Miners (WFM) for calling out federal troops after an uprising at a lead mine in Couer d'Alene in 1899. Union members, imprisoned in bullpen conditions for months, were left feeling betrayed and bitter. Thus suspicions fell immediately on the WFM. Harry Orchard, a planted spy working for the mine operators, posed as a union member and virtually campaigned for arrest by publicly divulging his knowledge of the crime. Once arrested on 1 January 1906, Orchard reportedly endured ten days of grilling by McPharlan before he confessed to the killing. Orchard stated that as a member of the "inner circle" of the WFM he had been paid $250 by some members to kill Steunenberg. He also admitted that he had committed other crimes for hire on behalf of the union. The three people that Orchard falsely informed on were William D. "Big Bill" Haywood, secretary of the WFM; Charles Moyer, president of the WFM; and George Pettibone, a blacklisted miner. During the next month Orchard and McPharlan created and refined the details of the crime. Orchard was removed from the jail and given a small house to live in, frequently socializing with McPharlan, who saw this crime as his second career opportunity to discredit the union after his success in disbanding the Molly McGuires in the 1880s. On 17 February 1906 the three WFM members were arrested without a warrant in the middle of the night in Colorado with the permission of the Colorado governor. The accused men were extradited via a special train to Boise, Idaho, where they were jailed for months in the death house section of the prison.

The Trial Begins

The arrests created solidarity in the union movement. Haywood's defense, led by Clarence Darrow and E. F. Richardson of Denver, had the unprecedented support of the WFM, the Industrial Workers of the World, the Socialist Party, the Socialist Labor Party, and the American Federation of Labor. Public sympathy for the defendants was evoked when President Theodore Roosevelt, in an uncharacteristic remark during a presidential address, called the three WFM members "undesirable citizens." The next day thousands of supporters donned placards that read "I am an undesirable citizen." The hoopla was such that Boise was dubbed "Murder-town" because of the industry that had sprung up around the murder and the trial. Initially, several motions were made to release the defendants on writs of habeas corpus, but these pleadings were rejected by the Supreme Court. The trial of Haywood got underway on 9 May 1906.

The Verdict

Under the prosecution led by former governor James Hawley and future U.S. senator William Borah, Orchard was the star of the trial and gave three days of well-rehearsed testimony. In a series of crucial moves, however, Darrow managed to get Orchard to confess that he had perjured himself in previous trials and had in the past admitted to crimes that he never committed. Borah and Darrow were both excellent, articulate attorneys, but Darrow's eloquent eleven-hour summation overwhelmed the prosecution. After nearly three months in trial, Haywood was found not guilty by the twelve jurors on 29 July 1906. In the trial aftermath Moyer was released on bail, and Pettibone was later brought to trial on 26 November 1907 and acquitted on 4 January 1908.

Mine Owners Discredited

Orchard's story soon unraveled, and the involvement of the Mine Owners' Association in framing the union was made public. Many other crimes that had been blamed on the union also came to light as ploys by the operators. For example, it was Orchard who had blown up the train station in Independence, Colorado, and killed fourteen nonunion miners in 1904, an accident initially blamed on the Western Federation of Miners. Though he had committed other crimes for the Mine Owners' Association, the killing of Frank Steunenberg was Orchard's own idea. Ultimately, the duplicity of the mine owners' attempt to discredit the union through conspiracy worked against them in the press. Revelations of their underhanded dealings shocked the public and gave the union movement much needed support in its continuing battle for recognition, a battle it would finally win in 1935 with the passage of the Wagner National Labor Relations Act.