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Hellraisers Journal – Monday May 29, 1922
Charles Town, West Virginia – Billy Blizzard Acquitted of Treason
From The Washington Times of May 28, 1922:
By WARREN W. WHEATON.
International News Service Staff Correspondent.CHARLES TOWN, W.Va., May 27.-William Blizzard, alleged generalissimo of the miners’ army which marched upon Logan county last summer and fought with deputy sheriffs until Federal troops were called out, was acquitted by a jury in circuit court here tonight of treason against the State of West Virginia.
Verdict is Popular.
The jury was given the case at 3:27 o’clock this afternoon. Six hours and ten minutes was consumed in attempting to arrive at a verdict, two hours of which was taken out for dinner.
Peaceful Charles Town broke into a riot of noise. The pandemonium which answered the verdict: “We find for the defendant,” extended outside the court room.
Blizzard was given a wonderful reception as he emerged from the little red court house, scene of a similar trial sixty-three years ago.
The jurors as they left the scene of their labors which extended over a month, were likewise cheered.
The little red courthouse is the identical spot where John Brown, famous abolitionist, was convicted of treason sixty-three years ago. Residents of peaceful Charles Town, which has been conspicuous in history since colonial days, flooded the courthouse tonight to await the second treason trial verdict ever returned in calm, quiet Jefferson county.
After the jury had once reported its inability to reach a verdict and court was recessed for dinner, a report emanating from official sources had the jury ten to two for acquittal.
When the jurymen filed out, an over-crowded courtroom in which women predominated, immediately broke into a buzz of conversation. Blizzard seemed least concerned of the big assemblage. He had in his lap his five-year old son, asleep most of the first hour of the jury’s deliberations.
Blizzard Is Calm.
His wife, her little girl clasped close to her, frequently lifted a dampened handkerchief to her reddened eyes in which the tears constantly welled.
Next to Mrs. Blizzard, sat Blizzard’s sixty-year-old mother, a thin, spectacled little woman, a wisp of gray creeping through her once blond hair which stood out conspicuously against the background of black clothing. Mrs. Blizzard’s mother completed the family circle.
As time wore on with no report from the jury, Blizzard went to an ante-room and conversed with friends. His little boy and girl playfully edged their way about the crowd which filled every available nook.
After an hour had elapsed a ripple of excitement spread through the courtroom. A verdict was expected, but the jury asked for a copy of Judge Woods’ instructions, which would shape the verdict and which they neglected to get before retiring.
Kisses His Wife.
Blizzard was among the calmest of the excited throng in the court room when the foreman of the jury announced the verdict. For a moment he seemed dazed and then as the full import of the finding was grasped he leaned over and kissed his wife, who was standing near. Then he shook the hands of his counsel and waved a greeting to the congratulations expressed by scores who have attended every session of the long trial.
Blizzard was given a wild ovation as soon as the jury was discharged by Judge Woods.
The verdict came somewhat as a surprise, for both contending counsel expected a disagreement.
The acquittal of Blizzard probably will mark the end of the efforts of the State to secure the death penalty for the hundreds of West Virginia miners who took part in the bloody “march to Mingo,” which led to an appeal to President Harding for troops after Governor Morgan of West Virginia admitted his militia could not hold the fighting miners in cheek.
It was the defense of Blizzard’s attorneys that the miners were warring against a “system of coal operators’ government,” instead of the government of the State of West Virginia.
May Try Others.
Although defense counsel held to the belief that the freeing of Blizzard would result in the same decisions for the other miners indicted with him, attorneys for the Slate tonight expected to ask for a trial of one of the defendants charged with murder. Court was recessed by Judge Woods until 9 o’clock Monday morning, and it is thought a recess will be taken for at least a week.
A tentative decision was reached by the opposing attorneys to try other of the defendants in August if the State elected to press its charges.
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[Emphasis added.]
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SOURCES & IMAGES
Quote Fred Mooney, Mingo Co Gunthugs, UMWJ p15, Dec 1, 1920
https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=2hg5AQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&pg=GBS.RA23-PA14
The Washington Times
(Washington, District of Columbia)
-May 28, 1922
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026749/1922-05-28/ed-1/seq-1/
See also:
May 28, 1922, Charleston Gazette
https://archive.wvculture.org/history/labor/blizzardwilliam01.html
BLIZZARD FOUND NOT GUILTY
Blizzard Carried On Shoulders in Triumphal
March Through TownCrowds Cheer Verdict and Lift Defendant On Backs,
Carrying Him to Hotel.(By The Associated Press.)
May 28, 1922, New York Daily News
-“Crowds Cheer as Mine War Jury Frees Blizzard”
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102760805/may-28-1922-new-york-daily/
Tag: Billy Blizzard
https://weneverforget.org/tag/billy-blizzard/
Tag: West Virginia Miners March Trials 1921-1922
https://weneverforget.org/tag/west-virginia-miners-march-trials-1921-1922/
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Which Side Are You On? – Natalie Merchant
Lyrics by Florence Reece
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Which_Side_Are_You_On%3F