Articles Regarding Railroad Chinese Smuggling Charge
5/2/1905
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These articles, "Railroad Men Held on Chinese Smuggling Charge," "Railroad Men Accused of Smuggling," and "Prisoners Profess Innocence," provide a summary of the arraignment of four men accused of smuggling. Bail was set for one man. It comes from a file on the U.S. v. Akins & Howell court case. This document was digitized by teachers in our Primarily Teaching 2015 Summer Workshop in Washington, D.C.
Transcript
HELD ON $500 BONDS.RAILROAD MEN HELD ON CHINESE SMUGGLING CHARGE.
Waived Examination Before United States Commissioner at Lordsburg Yesterday - One Man Gave Bond and Attorneys Are Arranging Bail for Other.
The four El Paso Southern Pacific railroad men, Conductors Akin and Wise and Brakemen Howell and Goddard, who were arrested last Friday in Lordsburg on the charge of smuggling Chinamen, waived a preliminary examination yesterday before a United States commissioner at Lordsburg, and were bound over to the grand jury which meets at Las Cruces next October, in the sum of $500 each.
W. W. Bridges, who with George O. Sweeney, is employed to defend the accused, went to Lordsburg yesterday to look after their interests. Mr. Bridgers returned last evening for the purpose of arranging bond for Messrs. Akin, Wise and Goddard, who are now at Deming. Howell gave his bond yesterday at Lordsburg and accompanied Mr. Bridgers back to El Paso last night.
The four accused men decided to waive an examination and thus defer making their defense until the cases come up next October at Las Cruces, for the reason that they did not have their witnesses at hand. The bond of $500, which is an unusually small bond for cases of this character, was agreed to by all partied concerned. The small bond is taken as an evidence that the government has no case against the accused man.
Mr. Bridgers, after a talk with the accused and seeing the hand of the government, says that he will have no trouble in clearing the men when their cases come up in Las Cruces. There is a possibility that they will not be indicted by the grand jury as that body may not find sufficient evidence against them to base an indictment on.
"All the evidence the government has against these men," said Mr. Bridgers last evening, "is that eighteen Chinamen were found in an S. P. box car in Santa Barbara, Cal." Mr. Bridgers will return to Deming this morning supplied with bonds for Akin, Wise and Goddard and who will return to El Paso this evening.
RAILROAD MEN ACCUSED OF SMUGGLING
Several are Under Arrest at Lordsburg on a Charge of Aiding Chinese to Enter United States
[added by hand in left margin above: "Herald May 2nd, 1905"]
Four Southern Pacific railroad men are under arrest at Lordsburg, N. M., on the charge of aiding and abetting the smuggling of Chinese into the United States.
The men all run on the Southern Pacific between El Paso and Lordsburg and their arrest was brought about through the efforts of the local immigration men, in charge of Theo. Schmucker, but all officials here are silent regarding the details, except to admit that arrests have occurred.
The arrests took place Saturday afternoon at Lordsburg, it is known, after the rooms of the men in this city were searched, and information from there today is that they are having a preliminary hearing preparatory to being removed to this city. Warrants for their arrest were issued here before United States commissioner W. D. Howe in this city. The men under arrest are W. B. Akin, C. A. Wise, A. W. Howell, and J. Goddard. It is expected that they will be brought into El Paso today or tomorrow.
For a long time past it has been known that Chinese were being smuggled into the United States at El Paso and only a few weeks ago a carload were arrested at Yuma, Arizona, whom it was stated were smuggled through the El Paso port.
Mr. Schmucker is said to have taken up the matter as soon as he came here as inspector in charge, and has been at work on the case steadily, assisted by some of his most trustworthy men. He declines to make any statement regarding the arrest, or his work on the case, however, until the men are brought to El Paso, saying that the evidence will all come out in court at that time. Inspector Rowe is now in Lordsburg attending the preliminary hearing preparatory to the removal of the men to this city.
The city directory shows that Wm. B. Akin is an S. P. conductor rooming at the Center Block. C. A. Wise is also a conductor with hearquarters in the Center Block. A. N. Howell is a brakeman rooming at 818 North Florence street. I. Goddard is not named in the directory and is evidently a new comer.
PRISONERS PROFESS INNOCENCE
Railroad Men Under Arrest In Lordsburg Say They are Guiltless.
Lordsburg, N. M., May 3. - In the matter of B. W. Aiken, J. B. Goddard, A. N. Howell and C. A. Weise, arrested here on complaint of P. A. Rowe, Chinese inspector at El Paso, for aiding Chinese, they claim innocence.
Some weeks ago a freight car was found at Yuma with a number of Chinamen in it and another similar load in California. It is claimed that these men took these cars out of El Paso and had a guilty knowledge of the presence of Chinamen.
The United States attorney has not reached here and they have not had an examination before the committing magistrate.
The cars in which the Chinamen were found were said to have been sealed at Galveston, the seal being broken, according to allegations, west of El Paso, and resealed with a counterfeit seal. Some of these counterfeits are alleged to have been found when the immigration officers made a search of the rooms of the railroad men at El Paso.
This primary source comes from the Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
National Archives Identifier: 23835655
Full Citation: Articles 'Railroad Men Held on Chinese Smuggling Charge,' 'Railroad Men Accused of Smuggling,' and 'Prisoners Profess Innocence'; 5/2/1905; 14,838/4; Chinese General Correspondence, 1898 - ca. 1911; Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Record Group 85; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/articles-regarding-railroad-chinese-smuggling-charge, June 2, 2023]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.
