Copper King Greene aids prosecutions of Revolutionary Junta

N° 80

AHSRE L-E-921 F. 170

St. Louis Daily Globe Democrat, St. Louis, Missouri

2 de diciembre de 1906.

Copper King Greene aids prosecutions of Revolutionary Junta

Four mexicans are indicted in St. Louis on charges of criminal liber-Two of the accused men are supposed to be in Europe-Case before commissioner.

Four members of the Mexican revolutionary junta, who published a paper called Regeneracion at 2645 Lafayette avenue, which was suppessed through the efforts of the Mexican government, were indicted for criminal libel by the october grand jury of the St. Louis circuit court yesterday. The men indicted came to St. Louis about two years ago and first published the paper on Compton avenue, but became involved in suits brought against them for damages, and the paper was suppressed. Those who were indicted are Enrique Flores Magon, Manuel Sarabia, Ricardo Flores Magon and Antonio Villarreal.

The witnesses against the men were W.C. Greene, the copper King and Senator C.M. Chase of New York city. The wives and families of the indicted men live at 123 and 125 Convent street. After Regeneracion was suppressed on Compton avenue the publishers disappeared for a time, but later returned and published the apper at 2645 Lafayette avenue.

Suit for damages was brought against the members of the junta by several prominent people of Mexico, and the men were arrested they left their hotel, ?? a note for the prosecuting attorney and their bonds men, saying than they were forced to flee as they could not figth he suit. The bonds were paid by the men who had signed them. The Magon are supposed to be in Europe.

Sister appeals to Roosevelt.

Of the men indicted, Villarreal is under arrest at El Paso, Tex., were he is fighting extradition on a charge of murder.

He states that the charge was brougth against him for purely political reasons, and protests his innocence of the murder charge. His sister, Senorita Andrea Villarreal Gonzalez, who lives with the father of Villarreal, Prospero Villarreal, at 123 Convent Street, also denies her brother´s guilt. She says she will carry the matter to President Roosevelt, and has already written him a letter, asking him not to allow her brother to be taken back to Mexico, where he will be shot, she says, as soon as he crosses the line, for the part he took in the movement against President Diaz.

Manuel Sarabia, another of the men, is under arrest in the City of Mexico, and is said to have been lured across the line by a Mexican officer, who pretended to be a fried say that he will untoubtedly be shot.

Manzano released without bond.

Aaron Lopez Manzano, the young Mexican connected with the Mexican revolutionary junta in St. Louis last summer, who was arrested by a federal officer November 13, was released on his own recognizance by Commissioner Chase Mordey yesterday. He was ordered to appear January 3 to answer any charge which [?] federal grand jury may find against? The general opinion is that Manzano release without bond means the dropping of the case. He was charged whith taking out a registered letter from the St. Louis post office addressed to R. F. Magon, one of the junta leaders.

District Attorney D.P. Dyer and A. L. Hirsch attorney for Manzano, had a [?] at the hearing over the manner of the prisioners release. Hirsch said that he wanted [?] defendan released outrigth or that he [?] given a hearing at once and the govenment´s evidence presented. Col. Dyer retarted that the prisoner could have a hearing if he wanted it, and then Hirsch discovered that four woman of the Mexican colony at 125 Convent street, his main witnesses, were absent. He asked for a continuance, and the hearing was set for next Wednesday. Later the four women filed into the marshal´s office. The parley was begun over again and Manzano´s conditional release was agreed to.

Manzano is known by the name of A.L. Apple in St. Louis. He is 22 years old and was compositor on the paper Regeneracion, published by the junta at 2645 Lafayette avenue. His release followed that of Librado Rivera, whom Commissioner Gray refused to extradite at the request of the Mexican government, which made charges of attempted murder and robery. The commissioner held that the offense charged appeared from the evidence to be of at political nature, and not extraditable. Both men were arrested secretly and held prisoners in the Iron County (Mo.) jail for some time before it became public.

Librado Rivera, another member of the Mexican colony on Convent street, was released Friday morning. He was charged with murder and robbery, and proved that the accusation against him was purely political, and the case was dismissed.

Mexican Embassy loses hope of extradition

Special dispatch to the globe-democrat

WASHINGTON, December 1. - The state department today was advised of the action of the United States commissioner at St. Louis in ordering the release of Librado Rivera and his refusal to permit the extradition of that Mexican at the request of the Mexican government. The information came to the department from the charge d´affaires of the Mexican embassy. There were indications that the charge was much perturbed at this action and that perhaps his government was not altogether pleased at the failure of the United States commissioner to permit the extradition of the Mexican.

As reported here, the action of the commissioner at St. Louis was based on his belief that the offense with which Rivera was charged was of a semipolitical nature. There is a clear provision in the treaty that extradition shall be granted in no case where a political offense is charged. It is not betrayal of confidence to say that had the commissioner taken another view of the case of Rivera the officials here would have felt obliged to refuse extradition.

The charge was nervously anxious about the case and consulted eminent international authorities here today with a view to evolving some plan by which Rivera could still be detained and eventually handed over to the Mexican authorities. He received no encouragement. Is was [?] suggested to him that his only course was to advise his government that he had exhausted every recourse of law and diplomacy that offered itself.

Grain of comfort left.

The one grain of confort that the Mexican embassy has today in connection with its effort to stamp out the revolutionary junta in thos country, and for whom extradition has been asked, has been caught in Mexico and will be dealt with for his share in the revolutionary enterprise.

It was also learned that because of the complication which have arisen between the state officials of Texas and the state department, it was decided that future efforts at extradition will be confined to an international effort.

Under one of the peculiar provisions of our extraditions treaty with Mexico, the governors of states in along the border of the United States. Such a request had been made on the governor of Texas, but the incidents following proved so unpleasant to the mexican officials that they have withdraw their request of the governor of Texas and the [?] alone will deal with the question.

It begins to look very much as if none of the Mexicans alleged to have been connected with the revolutionary junta in this country will ever be extradited. It also appears that, unless strong and unquestionable cases are established against the Mexicans whom it is sought to deport under the immigration laws, none of them will be deported.

Mexican Official is still after Rivera.

WASHINGTON, December 1.- Senor Don Balbino Davalos, charge or the Mexican embassy, today called at the state department in connection with the dismissal by the United States commissioner, in extradition proceedings at St. Louis, of L. Rivera, one of the editors of the Mexican newspaper, Regeneracion, who was arrested at the request of the Mexican authorities.

The charge sought to ascertain whether there was any recourse from the decision of the commissioner that the offense of Rivera was political and therefore not extraditable. He denied that the Mexican government had thought of shooting the men as soon as they could be got across the border. He pointed out that the men had been in Mexico since their alleged crime and then could have been shot if thie government desired. The charge was disappointed to learn that the commissioner´s decision was final.

Antonio Villarreal, also wanted on a charge of conspiring against his government, and who may be deported as an undesirable immigrant on the ground that he had served a sentence for murder, is yet in the hands of the immigration officials. The department of commerce and labor, it is said, will review the case before he is deported.