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Columbus, Texas, Sept. 1, 1915

Hon. William Spry,

Salt Lake City, Utah,

My Dear Sir:

Please do not have Joe Hill shot! Commute his
sentence to life imprisonment, please. You did not give him
life and you have no natural right to take it, and for the
STATE to murder is a million times more reprehensible than the
diabolical act of one individual murdering another. "Things
equal to the same thing are equal to each other" is a mathematical
fact.

I think the I.W.W's are unreasonable but justice should come
from us measured by us not what the other fellow does.

For years capital punishment has looked to me like cold
blooded, malace afore thought, legal murder and plenty of the
best thought in the country think the same thing.

Let me pray you in the interest of Justice, conscience
and humanity please commute the sentence of Joe Hill. I Know
nothing of Joe Hill's acts and do not endorse the I.W.W. people in
the least.

Yours fraternally,
J. B. Gay