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THE DAY BOOK
500 S. PEORIA ST.
398
TEL. MONROE 353
Vol. 1, No.288 Chicago, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 1912 One Cent
MILLIONAIRE, FORCED TO LAY BIG BUSINESS
METHODS BARE, TAKES OWN LIFE
Boston, Aug. 28. The meth
ods of Big Business in its war on
trade unionism will be dragged
' out into the open here.
Yesterday, Ernest W,. Pitman,
millionaire- head of W. W., Pit
man Co., one of the largest mill
construction cojnpanies in the
country, shot dnd killed himself
at his home in Andovej, Mass
Pitman killed himself because
he had been- forced to'confess his
part in a conspiracy against trade
unionism, and, because he had
been summoned before the grand
jury fo tell what he knew.
Pitman and" three other mil
lionaire mill men met in Boston
during the Lawrence, Mass.,jtex
tile strike to consider how to beat
the strikers. , ,
It was suggested at that meet
ing that if dynamite were found
in the strikers' headquarters,
fheir causcwould be so discred-
ited that they would be forced to
abandon the strike.
So these millionaire mill men
decided that dynamite, wpuld be j it' would "hurt business."
found Trf the strikers' headquar
ters, and planned the planting of
the explosive.
John J. Breen, former school
commissioner of Lawrence, was
picked a? the man, to plant the
dynamite for the owners. Breen
did his work and did it well.
But the strikers raised such a
cry of treachery that an investi
gation was made, and Breen ar
rested. Breen refused to testify at his
trial, but the evidence showed
that the real plot was hatched by
prominent men in Boston. Breen
was fined $500, and District At
torney Pelletier, of this city, be
gan a rigid investigation.
That investigation reached a
climax when Pelletier had Pit
man arrested, and brought to- this
city and sweated.
Pitman maintained his inno
cence for some time, but at last
broke down. He confessed every
thing, admitting that he himself
had bought the dynamite that
Breen, planted in the headquar
ters of the strikers at Lawrence.
Then th millionaire mill man
wept and begged District Attor
ney Pelletier to call off the probe
into the affair, pointing out how
Pelletier was unmoved by Pit
man's plea, and before allowing
Pitman to return to his home, he
subpoenaed him to appear before
the grand jury.
Pitman went to his hottfe, and.
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