When the case finally came up for trial the prosecution had no evidence to sj. eak of, and all the accused were given their liberty.
But even after the accused union men were formally acquitted, the allied forces still charged the Federation with the a-ime, and to this day they will hold up their hands in norror, and tell you the blood-curdling story how the Western Federation of Miners blew up the Vindicator mine in 1903.
The only thing to be said as to the assertions of the military and Mine Owners' Association is this: If, indeed, they had information as to the identity of those men who blew up the Vindicator mine, and intended to blow up the rest of the Cripple Creek district, it was their duty to give this information to the public authorities, so that the guilty parties could
92 The Pinkerton Labor Spy.
be hanged for the murder of Mr. McCormick and Mr. Beck. The refusal of the mine owners and military to divulge this information, makes them accessories to the crime; or if, on the other hand, despite their claims, they did not possess any evidence, it simply shows them up to be liars.
Henceforth the military became so active that people ceased speculating as to what they might do next.
General Bell, doubtless prompted by an abler mind than his, got up one plan which was certainly very shrewd, and dared he have executed it, the strike would have been quickly broken. This plan was known as the "Vagrancy Arrest Scheme."
Over two thousand miners were on strike, and rcr ceived support from the Federation. Many of these miners owned property and had funds of their own, besides the relief given them by the union. These facts were well known to the mine owners and military, but not in an official sense.