Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 28, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 December 1898 — VIRDEN JURY REPORTS. [ARTICLE]

VIRDEN JURY REPORTS.

Indictments Returned Against Both Gov. Tanner and Manager I.nkens. * The grand jnr.v called in special session at Carlinville to inquire into the cause of the Virden coal miners’ riot, which took place in the city of Virden Oct. 12, finished its labors Thursday and made a report to Judge It. B. Slilrhjy, who came down from Springfield. The jury indicted fiftyfour persons, among whom were Manager Lukens of the Chieago-Virden Coal Company and John R. Tanner, Governor of the State of Illinois. There are three counts against Mr. Lukens for alleged murder and manslaughter, and those against Gov. Tanner are “for palpable neglect of duty as an officer, and malfeasance in office.” This latter indictment recites the whole trouble at Virden, how the sheriff called for troops, the appeal the manager of the Chieago-Virden Coal Company made to the Governor to send troops, the riot that followed, and the killing of the fourteen men. F. C. Lukens, superintendent of the Chieago-Virden Coal Company, is.indicted on two counts on a charge of “willfully killing and murdering Ellis Smith,” and with manslaughter, in the ease of Joseph Gitterlie, Frank Wilder, J. E. Sickles and J. H. Smith. One hundred and seventy-five witnesses were examined by the grand jury. Nearly 1,000 pages of the coroner’s jury evidence was read and reread, and many prominent men were examined, many of them conflicting in their statements. The grand jury was in session twenty days and the coroner's jury fourteen days. The vote on indicting the Governor stood thirteen to ten in favor of the indictment. The vote on the indictment of'F. W. Lukens stood the same in number* as that of Gov. Tanner. Judge Shirley fixed the bond of Gov. Tanner at SSOO and that of Mr. Lukens at SI,OOO in each case. In the minor cases the bonds were made merely nominal in amount. The closing scenes in the grand jury room were full of dramatic interest, and the jurymen were glad that the work was at an end. During all the time the jury was in session each witness was rigidly examined and cross-examined, and every word uttered was minutely sifted.