tion about the Molly Maguires. He did much to prevent murders which the Mollies had planned. He soon gathered enough information to destroy them. The turning point in the Molly Maguire investigation was when John P.Jones, a coal company official, was shot and killed by three men at Lansford on Sept.3,1875. His murderers, unlike previous Molly killers, were caught. They not only confessed but also confirmed the reports of McParlan about other murders. After the confessions of these murderers the arrests of the Mollies began. On May 5,1876, John Kehoe and eight other Mollies were arrested for assault and battery with intent to murder William Thomas. McParlan was announced as a prosecution witness at their trail. The prosecuter was Franklin B.Gowen. McParlan took the stand and described his two and a half years as an undercover agent working within the Molly Maguires. He admitted that he knew of three murders before they were carried out, but said he could not warn these people because the Mollies were with him on those occasions. This trial ended in a mistrial when one of the jurors died of a heart attack. A second trial was held from July 6 to July 24. All of the defendants were found guilty. In 1876, fifteen of the Molly Maguires were hanged, a number of them were imprisoned, and others became fugitives of the law. John Kehoe was convicted in the death of Frank W.S.Langdon even though the evidence was confusing and circumstantial. John Kehoe proclaimed his innocence up to the moment he was hanged on December 28,1878. Many believe Kehoe was framed by coal-company owners to try to stop the labor movement. In 1977, Kehoe was pardoned by then Governor-Milton J.Shapp. After the defeat of the Molly Maguires, the mine owners continued to run things in the coal fields the way they wanted to. In 1890 the United Miners Workers were organized. This union was successful in negotiating agreements between mine laborers and mine owners for bette...
