p to that time labor unions were within a
classification themselves of criminal conspiracy.

"Knowing that under the charge contained in the information we might be
called upon to meet evidence of conspiracy, we then commenced a careful
survey of all the facts in connection with the Everett tragedy. And
what did we find? We found not a hint of conspiracy!

[Illustration: Dead body of Abraham Rabinowitz.]

"James Rowan had come into Everett without knowledge at the time that
there was any trouble there. He had not been advised that there was any
possibility of trouble. From all the prior history of Everett he had no
reason to anticipate trouble. Thompson had spoken there and many others
had spoken there. Rowan was charged with a violation of the peddling
ordinance. He had been given an arbitrary floater out of town and had
exercised his right to come back, was seized again and taken to the city
jail; the sheriff goes there and arbitrarily demands Rowan from the
Chief of Police. These things happened prior to any acts that by any
remote possibility could be charged to us. There was no literature in
the town at that time other than the Industrial Relations report. What
at that time did we have to conspire about? We had no object.

"And as with Rowan so it was with Thompson, Remick and others. If there
was a conspiracy to violate a city ordinance why did not the city
officials make arrests and charge the men with such violations? The
record is silent. Why wait until Tom Tracy is on trial for murder, and
then at the eleventh hour spring this delightfully specious argument?

"I can almost hear ringing in my ears the impassioned plea of Mr. Cooley
in closing this case. He is going to read this, 'The question of 'right'
and 'wrong' does not concern us.' He is going to say that is the I. W.
W. philosophy. My God, did it ever concern the sheriff of Snohomish
County? Does it seem very much to concern others who are attempting this
prosecution?

"We were told in connection with the argument of counsel that Hickey was
not on trial. They might have said that sheriff McRae was not on trial;
they might have said that Bill Pabst was not on trial; they might have
said that Joe Irving was not on trial; they might have said that the
Commercial Club was not on trial; they might have said that all the men
that have been guilty of all the brutality in that County during the
months of August, September and October were not on trial. We kn