Connecticut, P-R, 1833-1991, Undated

PARSONS, Martha, possibly hanged 3-30-1647.

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT DATA SHEET

CONN 7402
STATE INVENTORY #

OFFENDER: SOURCE OF DOCUMENTATION
NAME: MARTHA PARSONS (TITLE, DATE AND PAGE#!)

RACE: W History of New England

SEX: F Vol. 4 py 97

OFFENSE: WITCHCRAFT The Early History of New England
DATE EXECUTED: May 30, 1647

COUNTY:

AGE:

VICTIM:
NAME:
RACE:
SEX:
AGE:

RELATIONSHIP
TO OFFENDER:

BACKGROUND
INFORMATION:

DATE CRIME
COMMITTED:

DATE OF
SENTENCING:

DAY OF THE
WEEK EXECUTED:

OFFENDER
RESIDENCY:

MEDIA ACCOUNT

OF CRIME: ‘ |


SAMSON
CCOM

By
HAROLD BLODGETT

DARTMOUTH COLLEGE
MANUSCRIPT SERIES NUMBER THREE

Published by Dartmouth College Publications, Hanover, N. H.
MCMXXXV

“eases = een fet me nS


VIII

The Moses Paul Execution—The Oneida Plans

The years following the English venture—when Occom was
contending with debts, preaching without official sanction to the
Indians of his neighborhood, and regarding with suspicion the
labors of his master—these years must have held many days of monot-
ony and discouragement. But late in the year 1771 occurred an
event which was to put Occom in such a light of publicity as he had
not received since the day he preached to a vast audience in White:
field's London tabernacle. The event was murder.

On the evening of December 7, 1771, one Moses Paul, a vaga-
bond Indian, was ejected from the tavern of a Mr. Clark in the
town of Bethany. His drunkenness had been so disorderly that he
had been refused another drink by the proprietress, Mrs. Clark. He
swore revenge and, waiting outside the door, aimed a terrific blow
with a four-and-a-half-pound flatiron (he asserted afterwards that
his weapon was a club) at the first person to come outside. The un-
fortunate victim so stupidly assailed was a highly respected citizen,
Moses Cook of Waterbury. He died a few days later of a fractured
skull. Moses Paul was quickly apprehended, committed to jail,
tried for murder in February, and sentenced to be hanged in June.

The General Assembly of Connecticut, however, granted him
a reprieve of three months, and preparations were made to make of
his execution the customary solemn and affecting occasion. This
meant that the moral significance of the act should be duly dwelt
upon by a sermon preached at length to the condemned wretch and
his audience just before the adjustment of the rope. Who could be
more appropriate for such a service than Samson Occom? Who but
him could better point out the ruinous effects of rum? Moses Paul,
thus woefully brought low, had been a Christian Indian, trained in
the home of John Manning, of Windham, and afterwards had
served in Colonel Israel Putnam's regiment during the French and 7
Indian War. He then became a sailor on a man-of-war, a life which
had only ‘confirmed him in those evil habits which he too easily

138

PAUL, Moses, Indian, hanged at

December 7 to 13 1771 E the Subscribers being Ap-
pointed a jury of Inquist and
Sworn According to Law to Inquire
into the cause and manner of the Death of one Moses Cook of Water-
bury in the County of New Haven, Now lying Dead before us at the
House of M* David Clark, inkeeper in New Haven in the Parish of
Bethany and having Viewed the Body of the s* Cook and examined
the Evidences find that on the Evening of the 7“ Day of Instant Dec?
he the s* Cook Received a Wound on the left Side of his head which
fracted his Head the length of which fractor was about Six Inches in
length Extending from the crown of his Head to his Ear the film of his
Brain being broke and his Brains kept a Spewing out by which Wound
he Languished at s* Clarks till the 12% Day of S* Dec. at Evening
and then Dyed Which Wound We Suppose was made by a stroke of a
flat iron which weighed 414 lb S* wound we judge to be the Cause of
his Death.
Dated at New Haven this 13% Day of Dec. A.D. 1771

December 17 1771 Superior Court holden at

New Haven in the Colony of

Connecticut by Adjournment, on

the Third Tuesday of December, being the 17% Day Anno Domini

1771 In the Third Year of the Reign of George the Third of Great
Britain &c King...

The Grand Jurors of our Soveraigne Lord the King-for.the County
of New Haven upon their oaths present that Moses Paul a'trainsiant
person, now confined in the Common Goal in New Haven in the
County of New Haven, Not having the fear of God before his Eves
butt being moved and Seduced by the Instigation of the Devil, on the
Seventh Day of December in the Year of our Lord one Thousand
Seven Hundred Seventy one, at New Haven in the County aforesaid,
With force and Armes, made an assault in and Upon one Moses Cook
of Waterbury in the Said County of New Haven then and there
being in the Peace of God & of Our Said Lord the King; and that the
Said Moses Paul at New Haven aforesaid in Said County, Did,
feloniously; Wilfully and of his Malice forethought Strike and wound
the Said Moses Cook with a Flat Iron, of the Value of three Shillings
Lawful money which the said Moses Paul had and held then ard
there in his right hand, and did feloniously; and of his Malice fore-
thought at New Haven in Said County, Give to the Said Moses
Cook one mortal wound, with the flat Iron aforesaid in and upon tre
Left Side of his Head, whereby the Skull of the Said Moses Cook Was
fractured from the Crown of his Said Moses Cooks head to his Lez:

Ne ae Ne

Ear Six inches in length; of Which Said Mortal Wound the Said
“THE SAD TALE OF THE CHRISTIAN INDIAN, Published by the
Nattatuck Historical Society, 119 West Main St., Waterbury,

©) C)
ale v f


REYNOLDs & TELLER, hanged Hartiorad,

—_——— ene om,
UrisON.—Oa the

HANRTFCRD WEEK

THE. STATS

FROM THE

nn

MURDER AT > of the pris
2 eg | ‘kina, one of the prison
night of Tuesday last. a Mr. emered by four convicts un-

hirsheld, was mu at
ppalling circumstance % lt ray be we il to

state thatthe cells arc in one soli + faa one ri
hean outer building, berween, whieh ang bi :
d ’

ats
nn : walks his lonely round” in
a Ww ‘ihe centrv
\arge area where otry

ryards at Wet
er the most a

: s being locked in about sun-

ris s

- night ecason, the yer the guard had heen rcheved and
i nat uclave night, a convict whose naine is Teller,

ing neat the Southeast corner of the block,

8
nose cue haba pwcigeee Ch
oon wrnene uring on the inside of lus door, directly against
to his.

Coveck et a bit which he had eontrived lo convey
cell AP par at dinner tme or during the ufternoun.— |
He-*”. rnade a hole ahout two inches in diameter, he, sce |
otal in pushing back the bolt wit and as soun |

; ha wire;
fs Hoskins had pasaed on his round, Teller weat toa coll |
occupied by Cesar Reynolds, a black, who handed out
through the sina.$ zrated opening near the top of his door,
a ekeieton key, with which Toller unlocked Casar's door. |
They then followed Floskina silently and at diaiance until |
thes cama to another accomplice whose cell they unlocked,
and with whom they continued to follow on diwectly after
the guard, till they came toa fourth.—They tomediately
released him, and the four then nois-lessly traversed the en-
tire circuit of the area, keeping the same distance behind
Mr. H. end xo managcing their infernal plot as not to be
suspected by him, ull théy carne to a fifth whose cet! thes
came to a:fifth whore cel] they opencd, and whoin they
threatened with violence unless he would instantly join
them, Fearing the consequences, he refused, and they left
him, as the guard had walked more than hall way round
‘again.

Two ef the vi

Ndjas armed with a stcel bar 18 inches long
and two thick, then proceeded on ata quicker pace after 1
Mr. Hoskins, while the other two taking the same direction
repaired to Cegar's cell near the North west corner of the
block, wheré they awaited until Mr. Hoskins had approach-
ed to within ten ortwelve fees—they then stepprd out in |
font of him. Alarmed at their eudden und unespected ap-
pearance; he halted and enquired what they were about,

~ avhen one of tho two in his rear struck him with great vio-
lence on the top of his head and broke his skull. As he

. fell he exclaimed ‘don’t kill me,” and a stifled ery of mur-
der vras heard—on+ of the monsters having gerung upon
him, and covered his mouth with his hund. - The unfortu-

- nate‘guard probably survived but a few moments, and after
the monsters had deliberately felt his pulse and ascertained

his death, they advanced toa emall iron door, through
which the provisions of the prisoners are passed to them
from the kitchen, and with another skeleton key attempted
toopenit. Fortunatcly one of the wards of the key was
broke off in the attempt, and as they found it impossiblé to
turn the bult with the remaining portion, they cndcavored

rt

Ul

to pry the door open or break it with the stccl bar. This

9/6/1833.

they could not do, The female apartment is scparaicd from
the male apartment bya thick stone w+"!, and the entrance
frora the letter is sccured by a massive tron ck.d door.—
During the attack upon Hoskins and the efforts to escape
which uminediately followed, the noire as heard by a fe-
malt convict, who in a most praiseworthy manner, called
out tothe mitten, that the prisoners were loose end al-
tempting to eif <t an entrance into the female apartment.—
She succeeded in awakening the inatron, who instantly re- :
paired to the door,-and drawing the slide perceived four
eR rE, at liberty in the arca and working atthe sinall door
Icading ints the cock room. Without loss of time she
seashed the vard wall and went round on that to the euard
bom.—Teller, meantime, had put on Hoskin’s grent coat
ad hat, and promenadiny the area, inutating the decez
Inbje walk-and crics. ’ 1g the deceased
: The deception wss complete. A
60 ns the warden an fuarde were notified ee * is ”
evcyts they rushed into the area and hastened t en passing
‘'Thaliberated convicts, however, soon got wi 1. Pics
movunent and instantly made for their cella © ve r _
a blatk, by the name of Johnson, was locked j "b on
‘and Caesar required the samc favor but Teller wea t eller,
take ciro of hiniself, ‘They awaited the approac} an
guard Without emotion confessed the whole of the
wilful murdér, and declared that it was not the. Fen a
ty have ‘killed Hosking, hut only to have disabled
aeeins by their confeSaion wat they have been devision a
-Rcheme fo csaage “for the pact two scars, anda Gert 7
since prepared fylse keys for that purpose. How or when
. they worg made ig tnyrteriour, for the prisoners whil .
work are all closely watched by thew overscors. The fe i
grit apie Si ene :n their.cells. . our
. + Casnr wassentenced some three or four years
Ife. : J ohngos for fonr years only, and his hie ton ay
Jive expired in one year—the third, a white mun by the
ngme of Reynolds, for fonrtern years, and ‘Teller for tifteen
“2: Teller ts the same individual who came frou New Vek
‘fn this city in Aasust, 1830," and very adroitly paused off a
‘Vitae aiimier sf bills op the Union bank altered from ones
th tens. * Carrying hig’ speculation a little too far, he was
‘errested and convicted. hile in this city, he called him-
‘self, "Joba Scott, and after his release froin Sing Sing in tho
batcerpatt of 1829, he wont in New York by the name of
AVWaorT..Evanas His real nume is Willian Teller. Very
soon after i

ig? ne dis-cormmitment to oun state rison t
my a) Wy See sions prison be attempted

a

New Haven, Connectitut,.
POTTER, William, white, hanged/June 2, 1662,

"One such indicent (of animal executions) is contained in the
records of Cotton Mather, the fiery theologian and writer of the 18th

Century. And it didn't happen in Rurope, It happened here,

"On June 6th, 1662,' wrote Mather, ‘at New Haven there was a most
unparalleled wretch, one Potter by name, about 60 years of age,

executed for damnable Bestialities,'

"Mather mentioned that Potter had been a member of the church for 20
years and was noted for his piety. He was 'devout in worship, gifted
in prayer, forward in edifying discourse among the religous, and szea-
lous in reforming the sins of other people. :

"'¥Ye this monster, possessed by an unclean devil, lived in the most
infamous...for no less than 50 yearse.e.

"'Together at the rallows there were kiled before his eyes a cOw,

two heifers, three sheep, two sows, with which he had committkdhhis
Beatialities.,,'"

"This Little Pig Pleaded Guilty!" by Loy Warwick; TRUE CRIME DETICTIVE
MAGAZINE, April, 1969, page 36.

POTTER, Andrew P., white, hanged New Haven, Connecticut, on July 20, 186,

"Andrew P, Potter, convicted at New Haven of the mrder of Lucius P, Osborne, has been sen-=
¥RMAMA +enced to be hung on the third Monday of July next. The only motive for the

murder was the desire to secure Osborne's watch, A meeting was deliberately

planned by Potter, who professed to be his friend, adn at the appointed place the

murder was committed, An attemt was made to prove Potter insane, and the trifline

nature of the temtation to crime was urged as a proff, It failed to have any effect upon
the jury." RHECISTER, Raleigh, N. Ceyll-11-18))5 (1:1.)

Cf O} B PF Pott f :
ee} fustoe BEE : Orne ok Enet NER dTeRa peseey Fhe 88688 » and'é 9 ger Bg

inely werned all os men to -evee of the temptation ee them, it was

had first led him astray, and einalay brought him to a premature end XEAKAWZAX
ignominious death." WEEKLY REGISTER AND NORTH CAROLINA GAZETTE, Raleigh, NC,

April 9, 187 (2/3.)


The Case of the |
Wayward Son

(Continued from page 27)

These bitter thoughts tortured her mind
as she waited at detective headquarters,
dabbing at her tear-stained cheeks with a
damp handkerchief and wondering how
the tragedy would end. iar

Policeman Keen, the bandit’s father, had
taken a leave of absence for the day. He
had gone to his home on Drexel Avenue,
there to await in grim silence the report
of his fellow officers on the trap he ‘had
set for his son.

And at the cottage on Wallace Street, the
seven officers likewise waited tensely ... .

Aros: five o'clock that afternoon the
telephone in the cottage rang. -
“Answer it,” said Sergeant McCabe to

Alice Moerbeck. “If it’s Harold Keen,
tell him his wife is here waiting for him
and the coast is clear.”

Alice went to the telephone and put the
receiver to her ear.

“Hello?” she said.

A man’s voice answered. “That you,

Alice?

“Is Angeline there?”

“Yes,” said Alice. “She’s here waiting
for .you.” :

“Any cops around there?”

“Of course not. The coast is clear.
Are you coming over?” j

“Yes. Tell Angeline I’ll be there pretty
soon. Tell her to have some hot water
and rags ready. This bullet wound is
giving me hell. We've got to change the
dressing on it.”

“She'll take care of it,” said Alice.

_A pause. Then the man said in a con-
ciliatory tone: “I’m lamming out of
town tonight, Alice, and I won’t be bother-
ing you and Sally again.” Then he hung

up.

Alice passed the word to Sergeant Mc-

Cabe,: and the sergeant relayed it to his
ambushed men. All of them tightened
their vigilance. It wouldn’t be long
now....
_ Returning to the cottage, McCabe mo-
tioned to a closet adjoining the kitchen
and said to the young woman: “You'd
better hide in there, Mrs. Moerbeck—in
case there should be any shooting.”

Then he walked back to his chair near
the kitchen door and sat down again,
facing the garden walk, with the Tommy
gun resting on his knees. .

“He ought to be here pretty soon, Al,”
he said to Detective Huntington.

But the minutes dragged on. Five-
thirty came, and still no sign of the man
they were waiting for. Six o'clock...
six-thirty . . . Would nothing ever hap-

n

Tense and cramped in their positions,
the seven watchful detectives began to
fidget uneasily. Perhaps Harold Keen had
somehow been tipped off about the trap
laid for him. Perhaps he was even now
making his getaway, again mocking the
efforts the police made to catch him.

But a few minutes before seven o'clock,
every one of the hidden detectives .came
to rigid attention. A young man came
into sight, sidling across the neighboring
vacant lot, coming toward the Moerbeck
cottage.

From his post at the door, Sergeant
“McCabe spotted him. He was a_pug-
nacious-looking youth, clad in a flannel
suit, and in his right hand he carried a
traveling bag.

He stole across the vacant lot, looking

Bids aid
sy

INSIDE DETECTIVE
warily about in all directions, and stealth-
ily approached the picket fence. .

Sergeant McCabe, who had risen from
his chair at first sight of the youth, now
tiptoed across the kitchen floor and
whispered to the young woman hiding in
the closet. :

“Quick! Take a look at that fellow
out there. ,Is that Harold Keen?” |

Alice Moerbeck, her heart pounding,
peeped from her hiding place.

“Yes,” she whispered. “That's Harold.”
She slid back inside the closet and

quietly closed the door.

GERGEANT McCabe, with his Tommy
gun under his arm, stepped to the
screen door that opened upon the kitchen
porch. Beside him stood Detectives
Huntington and Pearson. Their eyes were
fastened on the young man who was now-
inside the picket fence. ‘

He stood there for a few moments,
glancing nervously about as if he sus-
pected a trap. But he saw nothing to
warrant suspicion, and he started up the
brick walk that led through the small
flower garden.

Abruptly he stopped again, keenly eye-
ing the cottage, and shifted the traveling
bag to his left hand. His right hand slid
into his coat pocket. ' .

With a quick jerk, Sergeant McCabe

- flung the’ screen door open and stepped

out upon the kitchen porch, followed by.
the two detectives... His machine gun’ was
cradled in his arm. : .
“Take your hand out of that pocket \"
he shouted. “Put yout arms in the air!
We're police officers.”
- But Harold Keen’s threat had not been
an idle one. He pulled his hand from his’
pocket—and with it he jerked an auto-
matic pistol. He aimed the pistol at Ser-

_ geant McCabe. But he never pulled the

trigger.

A deadly drone, like the clatter of an air
riveter, rattled from the Tommy gun in
McCabe’s arms. Mingled with it was
the barking of guns in the hands of Hunt-
ington, Pearson and the four men stationed
outside. The quiet flower garden echoed
with a clamor of death. .

Harold Keen emitted one choking cry.
The traveling bag dropped from his hand,
and so did the pistol, He took a faltering
half-step forward, then pitched headlong
to the ground. ‘

He was dead before they reached him.
He lay face down near a bed of scarlet

peonies, bleeding from seventeen. bullet

’ wounds ....

It was Lieutenant Teeling’s tragic duty
to telephone the’ boy’s father, Policeman
Keen, and tell him what had happened.
When .Officer Keen, grim-faced and silent,
heard the news at his home he said noth-
ing for a moment. ;

“It had to be done,” he said finally.
“T’m thankful that no officers were killed.”

A policeman to the last!

But the response was altogether differ-
ent when two detectives at the Bureau~

+ went to the room where the slain bandit’s

bride sat weeping softly into her hand- -
kerchief. She caught her breath sharply
when they told her the truth, and her eyes ~
widened for an instant.’ Then she, buried

her face in her hands and uttered a wild - —the pardon board set her free.

hysterical sob of anguish: ‘0
_ “Our poor baby! Oh, why did it have
to end this way!” °

Two days later, Harold Keen, the way-
ward som whose crimes had_ brought
death for him and tragedy for his yom
wife and stricken father, was cremate
at Oak Woods Cemetery. The son had
reached the bitter and inevitable end of
crime. But Patrolman Ernest Keen’s
name will be forever engraved among..
the heroes of Chicago’s police force,”

- of “innocence, detectives held her on a
‘charge of first degree murder, declaring

-. (Continued | from ba ge 32), 4

Find th e Woman! .

she had conspired with Plew. Certainly, 209

she seemed to have ample thotivation.

Ne sage f
has A FEW DAYS Plew was picked. up
at nearby Middlebury and was returned.
to Bristol, where he confessed. On his
plea of guilty he was sentericed to the

noose, and Jim -Plew was hanged early . 3

in 1914. Bey ten

The court appointed counsel to defend
Bessie. Like many another sinning woman,
she found her chances were slim not so
much because of the murder evidence
against her as the fact that she admitted
adultery. The rock-bound New Englan
morality, a stern reminder of ‘colonial

times when witches were burned at the

stake and the scarlet ‘letter’ was em- 4%

blazoned jupon erring females, ‘spelled her
doom. — ;

to swing from, the gallows tree.

7

About this time the ‘suffragette move-*

ment was at its peak in the nation. Femi- <°

nists were fighting tooth and nail for recog- ~

nition, and in the case of Bessie Wakefield

they found a Cause. One of the women
working in her behalf was Mrs. Thomas
Hepburn, mother of Katharine Hepburn,
the actress. Hundreds of suffragettes
petitioned the governor, raised a defense
fund, declared the underprivileged young
mother was being “persecuted.” .
Finally Bessie won a new trial. The de-
fendant again heard herself stingingly de-
scribed as a woman of immoral: character,
“Would any woman who committed adul-
tery hesitate to commit murder?” the.

prosecutor thundered, The defense again

laid all the blame on Plew and cited this
statement that Bessie had known nothing
of his intentions on the fatal night.

This time Bessie was convicted in the

second degree, and the judge sentenced her

to life. The gates of Weathersfield State~.
Prison clanged behind her. She was now ©

*

twenty-four, She stayed at Weathersfield
for. seventeen years, then was transferred

to the “model” prison farm at Nianti¢. She ._
was, according to prison attendants, an ex- —
cellent inmate, a cheerful and obedient. ~

worker.

But the battling. feminists had not for=)

gotten her. In certain measure, Bessie”
Wakefield became a counterpart of Tom’
Mooney. Suffragettes all over the country

ceeding governors and parole board mem-.
bers: were bombarded -with ‘letters, peti
tions, demonstrations... ste

Eighteen times the aging. Bessie ap-

peared before the board seeking release. +

Again and again the crime was re-hash

and. the long-departed Jim Plew was,”

damned as the’ sole plotter. ©

Finally, under the administration of :

Governor. Wilbur Cross’ in. the fall of

1933—twenty years after’ the. bleeding ©
corpse was found in the Cheshire woodlot *
Nearing ~

,

tures, Bessie Wakefield I
supporters to a town in- Pennsylvania, .
where employment
| promised her. ; ‘ E id
Taking up a new life under a different ’
name, Bessie Wakefield tried to forget the
past. But never will she be able to eradi-.
ate completely the memories of her hus- »
band’s brutality, Jim Plew’s caresses,
',the grisly shadow of the hempen noose.

*

The jury convicted her, condemned her ©

banded into clubs in her name; the suc- os

J

forty-five, no longer a lissom girl but a #
matronly figure with heavy, placid fea- ~;
was taken by her ;

d a home had, been

ne

%

*

Ps

>


SUTVeY Of tne street lighting situa-
tion) The survey will be made in an
effort to provide better lughting to
some sections of the city.

NEW TRIAL OF
_ PALKA SOUGHT

‘State would press murder ac-
cusation against him

Bridgeport. Conn., April 14 Ww

for Fairfield County, asked the su-
perior court today that Prank

of Buffalo, N. Y., be tried during the
, present term on a charge of first ,
| degtee murder in connection With -
| the fatal shooting September 30th |

Palka is serving a life term tn!
' State's prison, having been convicted |
j tast January of second Cegree mur- j
der in connection with the shooting |
of Police Sergt. Thomas Kearney. :

Officers Kearney and Walker were
killed while they were pursuing a
Suspected music store burgiar. The
indictment on which Palka was tried
in January was based only on the
Siaving of Kearney

Prosecutor Comley told the court
today “Justice will! never be satis-
ff Sed unul this man pays for the

crime with his life."

Judge Newell Jennings said he
would decide on Comlev's request
tomorrow morning or else name a
Gate at that time when his decision ;
will be rendered. ~ j

ink |
Sneak Thief Gets Pockethook .

A pocketbook containing $9. a*

house key and a bdankbook were
sneaked from a bedroom in the

hame of Mrs. Frances Menton. 26
Copse wood Place, between 8 and 830:
Dp om vesterday. according to police.”
The purse was taken by sonieone
who entered through an unlocked
Window I: belonged to Mrs. Selina |
a Hodges of the same address i

es

SWAYS
id Concrete Construction

“ork State Highway Spes-! oa:

(ENTS IF DESIRED

Compensation Insuran e .

DALL CO., Inc.

MIN and SWAN STREP OS
Telephon,

ons

——- |
, Wilkam H. Comley: state's attorney '

Palka ,

| of Policeman Wilfred Walker. i

r
Ss
So

Co Se Sree:

rere areas ' Tr MUS snes ee
man Jaeckle Will board a train foc
New York to attend a meeung o!
the state committee tomorrow a:

iwhich state officers will de chasen. |

Reports from downstate are that
iMeivin C. Eaton will be re-elected
{as state chairman. Pending a con-
i'fefence with upstate leaders, Mr.
| Jaeckle declined to state whom he
, Will support. He has been vigorously

<ppased to the Eaton ‘leadership.

j an”. py
seeds ddd

—. —..

Boy Snatches Purse

Mrs. Beth Monroe, 464 Bird Ave-
_ nue, reported her purse snatched by
fa doy about sixteen years old in
‘front of S80 Massachusetts Avenue
[last night. Mors. Monroe told Police
| the boy wore short pants and a dark
| lumber jacket. The purse contained
‘$4 and a woman's watch.

{

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A leila
~ Castuin Shug
MRUSSSESTSCTSSCLTSTCSICSTTSTTITYITETTS RAARAAARLeegy

The

SLUMBR:

The Slumbrero is a new and fer eng

Pajama
SUCCESS.

crew neck patterned in bright horsonca’
toms are

button

deep tone colors. Pertect tor sleeping.
the house oc even tor beach wear cs scum

To the Tadies’  D\an':

th

tor them”

The KLEINHA?

Alemmhens Corner

Modern Pajam
for Modern Me

$1.95

@ Kautted Jersey Top
@ Broadcloth Slack B

'

thar has mec with an unmec..
The top isa tine knitted fabric x

ANON spore

designed like regis!
top, parrkets, {iv and cutis of se

ese tor vourselt

'
tae

Mosa.

DEX
“ys 1-2-5-4-7
3-9-13-18-24
. Page 8
Pages 10-11
Pages 16-17
19-20-2]-22
Pages 14-158
Pages 18-19

BUFFAL

AQy.

HS

Buffelos Best Newspaper

Rep.ste

ced OU S$ Patent. Ofc .c0o

BUFFALO,

N. ¥., THURSDAY MORNING. APRIL 16,0 1956

be


or t .
4 ? & | went A t :
(ies a 4
a ant AAMAS tte esc \ bee |
ccoteiianineatdtename sae oe : |

ded

why Oct euler ! oe aah “ir

a

Warmer, Rain Tonight »
cooler Tuesday

Bridgeport’s Family Newspaper BRIDGEPORT, CONN., MONDAY, SEPTEMBER, 30, 1935 A

9,000,000 FIGHTERS AWAIT ©
CALL TO VAR BY SELASSIE orF JAMAICA

~|‘No ’ Danger,’ Rotterdam’s
2 0:  Bridgeporters Aboard’ Capen Han Ate Ae

of The GC: r ounded Rotterdam. _VESSEL AGROUND

No Fear Felt for - Safety “e Heads icant

. for Liner’s Passen- -‘icane’s Wake.”
"94 + gers.

ym €*P yueds SONY

T

‘9uu0D peqnooz3409TH fog £09

gene bee TS a7
cae Dorccneeges (Copyright, 1085, Asecelated Press)
a Dhere- are _ Bfidgeport resi NEW YORK, Sept. 30—The

sistas “ene ey bor Tt Idy uo (PTST Tate Tz) qnoTtT

te me Ag! ‘dents among th e@ 600 passengers fon British steamer Ariguant waa
arp. | the Rotts atts som ace — = http sea Seige!
sig to take the passengers ‘of >
atts off. reese or: No far was |. :
Oe; : ry $i SA a Og Rotterdam, fMagship of thd .,
i 4 r : me” ee ‘ f Ea
_ : ¢ : 1 :
; { x } gf : pee f
Zs Bie Se Po : : | te, bs > j y 4 i J bi
te 3s ak Ay § at 4% : i: . x: pee: .
i i on -# i foes
s > € x z )
it be bee Pa fi ] f ee : bi
vt t “ 4 ry ¥ : :

a Mother Leaves in Tears

Only one oshock. of E! minperes
was appled, bliett said
The witnesses, who had entered

the prison proper at 9:58 had reach-

ed the warden’'s office on the return
trip at 10:10, Before the, left the
prison a few minutes later Palka’s

body had been delivered over to the
undertaker,

Palka wore blue. woolen trousers—
and a white shirt, with blue socics |
and black felt slippers, the regula- |
tion execution garb, He had been |
thus attired when he was taken to!
the condemned cell in the death |
house at 4:30 p. m. after bidding A |

tearful farewell to his mother andj' the Palka family telephoned to
| warden during the evening and af-

two brothers.

; ter the execution.

Liste
nnd
shortly
and she broke
wns received that
last hope to halt the execution, a,
plea to Chief Justice William M. !
Malthie to grant a stay of execution |
|
|

oe a oe
leather

before

Viptkoa SAO
Fenther bap as
Palka
left
word

Cars ys,

his |
down |
the ,

jorned
mother
when

/ on a motion to reopen the case, had

heen turned down at the Supreme
court in Hartford,

Palka, who had been resigned to’
his fate for more than a week, ex-,
emotion when the news,

hibited no

was broken to him but his brothers ,

were visibly affected. Members of.
the

The condemned yout. was  sup-|

Mrs, Palka left the prison in tears
at 4 p.m. after Warden Walker had |
extended the time of her final fare-
well from.one to two hours.

While she was at the prison the
Very Rev. Justin Figas, O.M.C., pro-
vincial of Polish Franciscans in the
United States arrived there. He was
the only person invited by Palka to |
attend the execution under the law
which permits a Gondemned man to
invite three male adults to be wit-
nesses at his death.

Father Figas and Father Grady
joined in bringing spiritual solace to
Palka in his last hours, The con-
victed slayer had received Holy
Communion from Father Grady in
the morning and the last rites of
the church from Father Grady in
the afternoon.

Plays Cards With Priest
Palka spent his last hours chatting ,
and playing cards with Father
Grady in his cell where Warden
Walker informed him at 9:25 p. m.
that his execution would take place
within a few minutes. |

Father Figas sat in the spectatore
benches during the execution, his
Hps moving in prayer. He was)
brought to the prison by the Rev.:
Vitalis Pikor, O.M.C., of St. Mi-|
chael’s) church, sridgeport, where |
Father Figas spent the night as the,
guest of the Very Rev. Charlies B.
Ratajczak, O.M.C., pastor of the
church and New England provincial
of the order.

Palka spent his last day quietly,
Warden Walker said. He arose as us-
ual at 7 a. m. after what was de-
scribed by prison. officials as “a
good night's sleep,” and received
communion. He ate the regulation
prison breakfast and spent most 0?
the morning talking with Father
Grady.

His mother and two brothera ar-
rived at the prison late in the fore-
noon but on being told that they
could only visit him once during the
day, elected to return jin the after-
noon. "

Eats Regular Prison Fare

Palka ate the regulation prison
lunch but the exércise period in his
cell block was dispensed with on his
last afternoon, Warden Walker dls-
closed.

In the afternoon he met his moth-
er and brothers, saying farewell to'
them through a screen around a |
cell which prevented direct contact |
between them. Guards maintained |


Prosecutor to Take A ppeal
|| From Palka Jury’s Verdict

-—

District attorney not satisfied with second de-

| gree murder in Buffalo man’s case
oy 7

JD
Bridgeport, Conn., Jan. 27 (~~ | Kearney, who with Patro!man Wile .
‘| State's Attorney William H. Comley ; fred Walker was shot to death as

ithe officers answered a radio store |
will ask Judge John A. Cornell to- burglary alarm on September 30th.

| morrow for permission to appeal: The appeal request, which may be
|

a ee
—_— —
~

Bae

from the second degree murder ver- | made only to the superior court |
dict in. the case of Frank Palka, judge who presided Over the first- |
| convicted of the slaying of a Bridge- degree murder trial, wil] require but |
port policeman. The request will be | a few minutes. |
& rare one in the annals of Con-; Palka was indicted on charge of
necticut jurisprudence. | first degree murder in connection |

Palka, 23-year-old Buffalo youth, | with the Slayings of both officers,
Was convicted by a jury last week of | but was tried only on one indict-
shooting to death Sergt. Thomas | ment.

SEWER SYSTEM FOUR MILLIONS
GHARGEON ITY ARE RETURNED |
ING.0.P.BILL TOPROGESSORS.

Republicans unite on measure to AAA reversal leads judge to re- |
take fram Authority power turn funds in escrow: Wash-

to levy local taxes burn-Crosby gets most
Courterk&rpress Albany Burean Rochester. Jan. 27 UP — Approx!-

Elimination of the power of the | mately $4,000.000 in AAA processing |
Buffalo Sewer Authority to make | taxes were returned to ten Western
Ocal assessments for the construc: | New York processors here today. |
“On Of sewers incident to the local! The funds represented money im- i
sewage disposal system features the} poundei in the federal court pend- |
dill which was agreed upon yester- | ing the recent Supreme Court de- |
day by the local Republican mem-/; cision which held AAA unconstitue |

2ers of the Assembiy with County ; tional},
Chairman Edwin FP Jaeckle. | Federal Judge Harlan W. Rippey .

The new proposal reads that the | at a special term here today signed
208t of the new system must be paid | orders for the tax returns.
2yY general bonds issued by the city, | Assistant U. s Attorne-;

With ‘provision being made in the i J. Doran of Rochester represented |
annual] budget for bond Principal | the g0Vernment and. acting ;

i
'
b
!
!
{

Manner and Circumstances of the said Cook’s Death and whereby
your Petit’ was then convicted of the abominable Crime of Murder,
was by the Honorable Court and Jury Either in Fact grossly mistaken;
Or was such as ought not to be Regarded as full Proof in a case of so
high a Nature; for that your Petit" can now prove by those very
witnesses who then testified in said Case, in Regard to any Threaten-
ings on the Part of your Petit" that he never gave out any threatening

Language excepting only while the said Cook was beating him; that

your Petit’ after having been beaten and bound with Cords & dragged
by the Heels out of Doors and flung down a Declavity or Precipice
into a large Bank of Snow and after having lain there in the Bitter
Cold Season for a very Considerable Space of Time and after being

_ then again severely whipped was permitted to Return into the House

of Mr. David Clark where the affray happened and then behaved
well until he was again ordered out of Doors having made but a few
moments Stay in s* House and that being ordered out he went without
making any Resistance being followed out at the Door by said Cook,
and that whatever was done by your Petit* to occasion the Death of
said Cook was then done upon your Petit’s stepping out at the Door
instantaneously or at least as soon as he could have had Time to have
turned himself around, and without a Moment’s Consideration; and
that they did not upon said Trial say, or at least did not mean to be
understood to say, that your Petit’ lay in wait at the Door, watching
for the said Cook any space of Time whatsoever. Whereas your Petit’
says, that he can prove by the Evidence of some of the Honorable
Court, & some of the Jury who tried said Case that they understood
from the Evidence upon s* Trial that your Petit’ did in fact give out
Threatening Words the Last time he was in s* House against the said
Cook, and did in fact lie in wait at the Door watching fpr the said
Cook after being put out of the s* House the last Time-for the space
of Eight minutes or more, which Occasioned his being found guilty
and Sentenced as for the heinous Crime of Wilfull murder. And your
Petit’ further Begs Leave to say that the Real Truth of the Matter is,
that having been used in a most Inhuman, cruel and barbarous
Manner, and having born with a great Degree of Patience the worst
of Treatment, and hearing these words, at the instant of his being
put out at the Door by the Person who then put him out (who he did
not at that Time know was the said Cook, there being Two more Men
present) Viz “Give me Hurlbutt’s Staff and I'll Still the Dog.” Your
Petit’, immediately thereupon Struck, without a moments Time for
Consideration meaning Nothing more than to give a Blow in his own
Defence, and without any Design of Murder in his Heart, or Intent
to do more than to defend himself from any further Insults or Bar-
barous Treatment, which he was then Justly apprehensive was im-


PA ae a en ieee gens ot»

Moses Cook at New Haven aforesaid in Said County Languished
untill the Twelfth Day of December in the year of our Lord one
Thousand Seven Hundred Seventy & one, and the said Moses Cook
at Said New Haven in Said County, on Said Twelfth Day of December
in the Year of our Lord one Thousand Seven Hundred Seventy & one,
of the Said Mortal wound Died and Deceased. And so the Said Jurors
upon their Oath aforesaid Say that the Said Moses Paul on the Seventh
Day of December in the Year of our Lord 1771 aforesaid at New

. Haven aforesaid in Said County, Did feloniously Wilfully and of his
Malice forethought, Kill and Murder the Said Moses Cook in Manner
and form aforesaid Against the peace of our Said Soveraign Lord
the King his crown and Dignity as p* Indictment on file. And now
the Said Moses Paul being Arraigned for Tryal before the Bar of
this Court; And on Such his Arraignment being put to plead; pleaded
Not Guilty, And for his Tyral put himself on God and the Country
which Issue Depending between our Said Lord the King and the Said

‘Moses Paul the Prisoner at the Barr; with the Evidence being given

in charge to the Jury Duly Impanaled and Sworn to try the Same.
They the Said Jurors upon their Oaths Do Say that the Said Moses
Paul the Prisoner at the Barr is Guilty of the Crime in Said Indict-
ment Charged against him; Whereupon it is considered by this Court;
And this Court Do Sentance and Against him the Said Moses Paul
Give Judgment that he go hence to the Common Goal from Whence
he Came and from thence to the place of Execution and then and

there be hanged up by the Neck between the Heavens and the Earth
untill he shall be Dead.

May 14 1772. G eneral Assembly of «he Gov-

ernor and Company of the

English Colony of Connecticut in
New England in America, Holden at Hartford in said Colony on the

Second Thursday of May, Being the Fourteenth Day of Said Month
Annoque Domini 1772.

Upon the memorial of Moses Paul, an Indian, confined in New
Haven County Goal under sentence of death for the murder of Moses
Cook, deceased, representing that the time of his execution draws
nigh, and praying that his execution may be respited for a longer
time to give him time to Prepare for death &c., as per Memorial on
file; Resolved by this Assembly, that the execution of said Moses
Paul be and the same is hereby ordered to be Stayed and respited
until the first Wednesday in September next: and the warrant al-
ready for his execution is hereby suspended accordingiy, and the
Sheriff of New Haven County is hereby direezed to conform to this


order, and the superior court are also hereby directed to issue their
warrant for his execution on said first Wednesday in September

accordingly.

August 26 1772 o the Honorable Superior
Court to be holden at New
Haven in and for the County of

New Haven on the Last Tuesday of instant August.

The Petition of Moses Paul a poor distressed Prisoner now confined
in said New Haven County Goal under Sentence of Death for the
supposed murder of Moses Cook humbly Sheweth; That he is a
Native of New England, and one of the Descendants of that Loyal
Tribe of Indians living at and near Cape Cod, who upon the first
Arrival of the English into that Harbour fell in with and assisted them
in their first Settlements, became their Friends, and Allies, and Loyal
Subjects of the Crown of England.

That he and his ancestors have always been faithful leige Subjects
as afores’, that his Father was in the Service of his late Majesty King
George the Second, and the first man that was killed at the Seige of
Louisburgh Anna Domini 1745; and that he himself faithfully served
in the late War under the Command of Col" Putnam. He recei-red the
Benefit of a Christian Education with an English Family at Windham
in:this Colony where he lived from his childhood (for which he has
abundant Reason to bless God) and always supported a good Charac-
ter, had a friendly Disposition towards all English Subjects, and was
never want to pick a Quarrel with any Man. He is not one of those
fierce and barbarous Tribes of Northern Savages against whom the
English are very justly prejudiced and incensed; but a true protestant,
born in a Christian Land and Educated in a Christian Manner; and
one who has always treated his Fellow Subjects with all due Bene-
volence. 2

These things, Your Petit’ was under no advantage of shewing
upon his Trial before this Honorable Court, and knows not but that
he was then taken to be one of the Descendants of those Northern
Savages and looked upon as a Malicious, Quarrelsom Fellow; for
that his said Trial came on very soon after the sad Catas:rophe,
before he had Opportunity to get any Assistance from his acquaixtance
and while he had neither money nor Friends about him; but emong
Strangers greatly incensed at the Death of said Cook and befcre the
Temper of his s* Cooks particular Friends had any Time to co-] and
while the Voice of the Populace was; Hang the Indian! Hang him!
Hang him!

Nor is this all; but upon his said Trial, as your Petit™ has since
discovered, the most Essential Part of the Evidence Respectizg the


mediately to befal him, imagining that his own Life was in eminent
Danger. But so it was; your poor Petit’ instead of being found Guilty
of Manslaughter which he teally Thinks to be the Heighth of his
Crime, was found Guilty of the heinous Crime of Murder! and by this
Honorable Court Sentenced to be executed in the month of June last
leaving him no opportunity to petition to the said Court for a New
Trial, whereupon your Petit" preferred his humble Memoria! to the
Genl Assembly of this Colony at their Session at Hartford in May last
praying for Relief in the Premises, who were graciously pleased so
far to interpose as to pospone the Time of his Execution to the Second
Day of Septem’ next, (which, alas, is now very near at Hand:) thereby
giving him Opportunity to bring this Petition, and that the Sole
Reason why the said General Assembly did no more for him, your
Petit" supposes to have been for want of the Evidence referred to in
his said Memorial, which he then failed of getting only for want of
Friends and Money And your Petit" further begs Leave to Observe to
your Hon™ that upon his Trial afores he being a Stranger in this part
of the Colony and having none of his particular Friends and aquaint-
ances to assist him was under very poor advantages to make his
proper Challanges to the Jury, and that he has since discovered that
several of them were of the N eighborhood of the said Cooks Particular
Friends, and had heard much said upon that Side of the Question

O-8 © 8 0 O1e 066.0 0.0 0 e 0.8

casion as to say that if ever an Indian deserved hanging he your Petit'
deserved it, and that in Case he should not be hanged ’twas not worth
ver, or to the Same
Effect, which Evidence your Petit, has discovered since the s* Trial
and since the Setting of the s‘ General Assembly, and knew nothing of
before; and also by new discovered Evidence can prove that Many of
the Jury upon s* Trial understood the Evidence in the manner as
herein before represented in Regard to your Petit's Threatening and

And that his Hon’ Judge Dyar who was then one of the Assistant
Judges of s* Sup" Court upon s* Trial understood the Evidence in the
same Manner as afores* is Evident from what your Petit’ has been
informed his Honor Reported at the Trial of said Memorial at the said
Gen! Assembly unless your Petit” has been misinformed viz that he
understood the Evidence to say finally that your Petit" did lie iz wait
at the Door for the space of Eight minutes or more watching for the
said Cook before the fatal blow was given which (tho’ many things


/ = 262-«=—— TELLER AND REYNOLDS.

days I was discha

Te observed, although I

~~ him to heave ah

a

_ closely

» in the steamboat Saratoga

fe

\

~ full into his old scenes among his old and guilty asso-
~_ ciates.

** About the last of February, Joseph L. Hayes arrested
me in a house, where he happened to be looking for

~~ William Reed, and the magistrates committed me to
_ Bridewell, presuming, I suppose, that if nothing had,

» something would appear against me. But in three or four |,
rged. T tamedintely linked in with -

two pals and roamed the city for game, nor were we long

+ in finding it. 1 entered in the day timc into a boarding-
~ honse’in

arl street, the outer door of which stood open,
and went directly up stairs to a chamber occupied by a
Quaker. ‘There [ seized a trunk and left the house un-
and near which a lady sat reading. In the street I found
a negro and hired him to ca :
Eldridge street 208 by an old washer-woman, ordering
» while I followed on the opposite side
ready to slip off at a moment’s warning. Havin reached
the house, and sent off the negro, I broke open the trunk
and found in it $150 in good bills and some broken bills,

| together with considerable clothing. On my way I must
> have been dogged, for that night as I was abont enterin
n officer

the yard a attempted to seize me, but I esca
rsued. The
and finding part of the clothes, arrested the old woman
and one of her daughters. They were afterwards tried,
but by some means or other got clear. vf

“I then assumed the name of William T. Evans, and

the next afternoon, with two pals, embarked for Albany

he divided with me in consideration of my loss.” For a

week or more we pursned the sneaking business advan-
and accumulated considerable money and —
We then fell in with two other priga, and in ~

tageously
jewelry.
company with them proceeded across the ferry to Green-

bush and stopped at a tavern. ° Unbeknown to me, (wo

a room with the door ajar .

the prize to a house in |

then broke into the house, ~

. At night I was robbed in my ©
berth of $19,94, all the money I had. We took lodgings -
. at Briggs’ tavern in Albany, near the capitol, and the next | -
_ day one of my pals sneaked $40 ont of a house, which

TELLER AND. REYNOLDS, * :

of the gang sneaked into the house of a Ca Ingraham,
broke open a trunk with a false key, took therefrom a
long bag filled with eagles, half eagics and dollars, and
rejoined us, when we m
the ferry. This booty was divided in an open field. My

portion, except two half ay Ep was exchanged for ae at : : :
} pair o false ee:

the Troy Bank, by myself, disguised by a
whiskers, and a red i while in the bank I
was careful to kee ey hat o
should be noticed. We remained at Albany about a —
month, succeeding beyond our most sanguine expectations, ©

and supposing ourselves secure, when one evening three
of us were unexpectedly arrested by constable Meigs and

his poase, at the circus, while the fourth was taken at the _

tavern. That sane night we were all examined, and as
sundry half cagles were found upon us, were for want of ©
bail fully committed for trial. In a week we were brought

Up and indicted, and the cases continued till the June

term of the court. Two of the gang were afterwards
scut to Troy for trial aud condemned to ten years hard

labor in the state prison at Greenwich village. My pal. - :

in Albany was soon bailed out by his father and thus
escaped Justice. For myself I set about making friends
with the turnkey, and studying the plan of the building. I
gave him a diamond ring, and finally got him to play

. cards with myself and an old prig by the name of Smith.

I then bribed an old fellow, who waited on the prisoners,
to unlock a door leading to the cupola, from whence there
was a free passage to the apartment occupied by the
family, and leave it in that situation. In a day or two,
towards night, the turnkey came up. I asked him to
play, and he consented, leaving the key in the door. Un-
der some pretence I went out, and leaving him at cards
with Smith, seized my clothes and passed through the
unlocked door, down a pair of stairs to a hall, where [
met the jailer's daughter. She asked where ] was going.

I answered, ‘to take a short walk,’ and pushing on swifily,

reached the outside, jumped down a descent of twelve or
fificen feet, and before the pursuers had taken the scent,

crawled under the stoop of an old untenanted house. At

forthwith and recrossed Bo ie

in order that the red hair

I ee

: ie Having performed

- carried away by the owners.

“came alarmed, but my pal, Wi
~~ eure me, and ran immediately toa shop ucar by. Inafew
~ moments he returned with a pint of gin and an ounce of ~
~ black ground pepper, mixed in a mug, and I drank nearly.

- TELLER AND REYNOLDS.

“Not lon
street one afternoon, and betook mysclf to a bed-room up

© stairs.. While I recomnoitred I heard footsteps and forth-
I had scarcely made a safe ©
n her toilette. —

~~ with crawled under the bed.
retreat before a lady entered and be
her ablutions, she laid out her d
combs and jewels, and then passed across thé entry
went below. No sooner had she gone than I gathered nu

the items in a handkerchief andstarted with all possible |
despatch. Just ns I reached the outer door, I heard her

going back to her room, but I ptt without detection
and that same night sold the articles to a girl in Chapel
street. I was then fourtcen years old.

During the summer the yellow feverprevailed. Many

> of the streets were almost entirely deserted and others —
- feneed up. Consequently the field of my operations was

enlarged. Hasdly a sof passed, that I did not break into

a house whose inmates had Icft it and locked it up, but
the booty which I mostly coveted had gencrally been
I broke into a deserted
~ mansion owned by a sea captain, and after rummaging it

= | from garret to cellar, urloined only a pair of silver mount-
— © © ed pistols, which I offered to sell to a gun-smith in Water -

~ -. street, who suspected they were stolen articles, and there-
— fore detained them.

As may be supposed I never called
I was suddenly

for them. © One Saturday afternoon
Then I be-

attacked in the street by the ital fever.

Very soon I felt able to be led tom
Find-

the whole of it.
lodgings, and in a few hours was as well as ever,

ing the sneaksman’s trade, rather dull, 1 purchased, for ©

seventy-five cents apiece, a considerable number of

counterfeit two dollar bills on the Phanix Bank, NY,

e well executed, which I run with Bill Collins on shares.
As 1 had attained a due degree of felonious celebrity, the

_ police myrmidons arrested me, on no charge whatever, |
* and kept me sixty days in Bridewell, lest I should annoy ~

i

ce cnpaahaeet dns oA ALD ON DN

afterwards, I sneaked into a honse in Dey BS the oe

liam Reed, swore he could —

ow

TELLER AND REYNOLDS, |

After the fever had abated they discl
but, felon asI was, I could not bear hace hameieeal

innocent.

tiker, through the intercession
of my attorney and my sister, sentenced me only three
days to the city prison. [ presume, also, that he paid

some regard to the lack of proof against me.

‘In the month of March following [ entered in the day

time a house in Duane Park and travelled directly 4" g S

stairs to a bed-room, where I found a trunk, which
shouldered and carried deliberately down, and proceeded

Turnin
catchpole, full in the’ face. Instantly he attempted to
seize me. A scvere struggle ensued, and he soon over-
powered me, and conducted me straightway to the police
office. There I claimed the trunk as my property, and
told the magistrate that when arrested I was going to the
steamboat. He asked me what the trunk contained.

Here was a damper, but I answered, shirts, some other | :
To prove my assertion they —

clothing, and a little money.
opened it, when they discove
statement.

a discrepancy in my
They found neither shirt nor money. They

advertised the trunk, and the next-day the owner ap- ~

peared, and I was re committed to await trial at the
coming sessions. At that time I was tried and convicted.
My father and sister, however, interceded in my behalf,
and the court agreed to suspend the sentence on condition
that I would go to sea. My father accordingly looked
about for a vessel, and shipped me on board the brig
Rebecea and Sally, for Curacoa. Meantime I was de-
tained in Bridewell till the brig sailed.”

Teller not finding this mode of life congenial with his

ropensitics, again returned to New York on the 12th of

anuary 1826, and within one week was again ushered

esa saeicli . mons Fa it te

ORES ty if
SE 261

~ my liberty. “ > ages
“In the autumn following they arrested me for an) >

alleged larceny in the house of one Smith, of which Iwas

Nevertheless all offences began to be laid to ~

’ my charge, and presuming I had committed this, the jury
~ convicted me, but Tudge R pasdnesion

“yy

~- to Grand strcct in search of a place to examine my prey. © —
a corner I met Joseph L. Hayes, a first-rate. -

ees

a
=

a ! oS a <a


are Pe...

~ to his ri

TELLER AND REYNOLDS.

night the moon shone and I kept snug, till Inckily it be-
came clondy, and I escaped. Before morning I arrived
at Saratoga, and, crossing the river, took a circuitous route

=, to Hudson, and embarked on board of a sloop for New
_--- York. It was now May, 1826. :

“On my return I found two old prigs, William Reed

‘and JamesGallagher, and we commenced breaking houses

in company. From this time till the middle of June we

had great success, so much that I kept a mistress, and

had always a feo for a lawyer in one pocket and plenty
of change in the other. Picking pockets we seldom un-
dertook, for it was too hazardous and often too unprofita-"
ble. But one night three of us went to a fire, near the
Rowery, of a cabinet-maker's shop, and soon sclected an
elderly man among the crowdas our Victim. I advanced
te: t side and noticed that he wore a watch, the
chain
lessly. Reed stood at my right ar

upon the old man. In the attempt to recover himself I
suddenly seized his watch and passed it to Gallagher, who

forthwith mado off. We were not long in following, and
found the prize to be a gold repeater. We afterwards _
sent it to Philadelphia and sold it for 100 dollars. On ~

_ | another occasion at a fire I assisted in robbing a man of
. + his pocket-book, much in the same way, containing about —

oe and sundry papers. ‘The money we retained, but

ve We 4s

~ “Soon after I rade to a tavern just north of Rodgers’ on

the Blooming! ale road, in company with a girl, amt wane ae

into a room where I found a bureau and the lady of the

house. [ took a chair and sat with my hack to the

burean, giving my companion the wink and telling herto ~~
between me and

2

pocket-book away in Canal street.

and corer. She then stood up
the woman, diverting her attention, while 1 o a

«

which seemed to be dangling about rather care- _
Gallagher behind.
~ © Ina fow moments a movement made by an engine caused _
a little bustle, when Roed, as if by accident, pushed me

drawer and abstracted six silver tea-spoons. rode
ef undetected. ? ae
“On the Saturday following I crossed the ferry at the

foot of Catharine street with Gallagher, who had

re

ma
me!

TELLER AND REYNOLDS.

cently pardoned out of the state prison, aud put up at the ae
Broo ya Mansion Mouse. In the middle of the night Lo
llc was asiceh) and

entered the landlord's bed-room.

two pistols lay within reach of him. I stepped silently

to a trunk near the bed and took from it a finen shirt, a9 7
sinall turtle-shell box containing two doubloons, a pocket- |

book with $36, and I alsv took a silver watch, which

lay by the pistols. About day-break we shoved off and)
After we reached home I divided
the $36 with Gallagher, but slanged him out of the gold, -

recrossed in a skiff.

The sume day V banded the duubluons iv Smith Davis,

who kept a porter-house by the becf market in Grand

strect, to get exchanged, and the next forenoon called on
him for the money. It seemed that Davis had proved
traitor, and given information at the police office of m

movements. It was concerted between him and high
constable Hayes, that the latter should be on hand in a

crrataeset k as soon as I had reached Davis’ he went out
with a pail ostensibly after water and gave the signal.
In an instant, the posse sprang upon me unawares and
secured me without resistance. They immediately escort-
ed me to the police office, with a watch which I had
stolen from a store in Greenwich street. Fearing the con-
sequences of finding the watch upon me, I took it out and
told Hayes I would make him a present of it. He re-
ccived it apparently as such, but- directly exhibited a
note describing the watch and its loss. ‘This was enough
for my committal. At the next sessions, knowing it
would be useless to stand trial, I pleaded guilty, for the
first and only time in my life. re state attorney then
called up the conviction which took place before I went to
sea, and on both 1 was sentenced to the state prison’ at
Greenwich threo years.

“In June, 1829, my sentence expired, and I was re-
leased from state prison—twenty-four ycars of age—versed
in almost every species of wretchedness—bold, daring and
cee cogatae as a non-pareil in crime, and hunted

_ grocery near by, and on my arrival at Davis’ he should _ ‘
. go tga pump across the street aud commence pumping.

a Bake Cae Ee

a s eetatied


‘TELLER AND REYNOLDS.

- _» like a stag by the policemen. But I again breathed free-—

ly. Liberty was sweet. I walked the face of earth a

= _ hew creature, changed, but from bad to worse. Mankind,

/ especially the officers of the law, I considered my sworn

“~~ enemies. I resolved to live a finished villain, and in that
way to revenge oh sieg ‘for my loss of liberty and charac- |»

~ ter, let what woul

be the consequences.
“I returned to my father's house, where very soon the

: advice and affectionate treatment of my friends, and ~

/ especially the tears of my sister, almost succecded in

Eas shaking my resolution. I began to work yarding wood,

and continued with him several days, and then quit him
and betook myself to my former companions and practices.

“On the night of the 3d of July T entered the cellar of
a grocery in Broome street, by breaking the padlock with
.which it was fastened. Having ascertained previously

how things were situated, 1 went up through the trap |
door into the store, and directly to the money drawer, —

which I took and returned to the cellar, pulling down the
. trap door after me. I then struck a light, picked ont the
pene and oe: This adventure furnished me with
cash for the 4th. 3

** Several nights after that, I resorted with a palto a
tailor's shop in the Bowery, and while he dccoyed away
the watchman, I stole round to th

fastened it, raised the window and crept in. There I se-
kected $300 worth of the most saleable articles and escaped
undetected, secreting the 3 in a wond-house connect-
ed with my lodgings. Just before day-light I packed
“them in a large trunk and in a tea chest, and when the
steamboat left, took them in her to New Brunswick. For
some weeks I was engaged in that neighborhood peddling
them out. 7
“On -my return, understanding that the owner of a

> China ware store in Gold strect sometimes kept a large

amount of money there over night, I directed my steps to

Bake — the place with satld ape They sere look out, while I
i 8 1

had to cross two yards and pe a high fence. When I

had reached the back part o

e rear of the shop. bored |
into the window shutter with a bit, run in my hand, un-

the store, I found that there —

TELLER AND REYNOLDS.

was no chance to get in either at the door or windows,
without making too much noise. I therefore, with a

chisel, jack-knife and an old punch, dug out, after some “
_ considerable toil, a brick, and by degrecs-another, till I

had made a hole large: enough to creep into. I then ©
crawled through and struck a light, and proceeding to the

desk broke it open, and to my surprise found only @15. —
Considering the difficulties I had to encounter in getting
in, I thought this sum too small, but 1 retained it, pot-
withstanding, and bore the disappointment tolerably well. .
Pocketting the money, I Jeft by the back door, whieh,
hearing some poise in the street, I left open in my harie
to depart. The next day I learned the following result
from my negligence in leaving the door open. It so hap- ©
pened, that two mules, used as I understood for turning
some machinery, were loose in the P io and on my egress,
perceiving a free opening for themselves, deliberate!

walked in. A noise was soon heard “ the watch near —

by. He advanced to the store and distinet footsteps
inside. Cautiously he summoned some of his brethren,
found the owncr, surrounded the establishment, and then
nerving themselves for a contest with at least half a°
dozen prigs, entered pell mell into the store. Instead of
thieves tney found mules. These animals, it seemed, had
destroyed several hundred dollars’ worth of Port:
Reaching their noses about, first one thing wou land
then another, till the asses, frightened at their own doines,
began to flourish and kick round, when the evil was in-
creased ten fold.

“ From one a ee myself and Place learned
that a large quantity of Italian sewing silk was to he sold
at the Messrs. Howlands, 50 South street, and detennin-
ed to share in the article, though in a way not exactly
legal. To do this effectually, it was necessary to examine
the premises in the day time, which he did twice, and
thought it useless to eanyattempt. It was then, if I
recollect right, towards winter.

‘S We then put our heads — not wishing to let the
opportunity slip by, for the silk bronght a great price, and
could not, as we thought, be easily identified, should it be


PALKO, Frethk_J., white,elec. Conn. SP (Fairtrorae : ae ae

4/12/1938, © Piast ol aes :

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16

Patrolman Wilfred Walker little
realized he was walking to his‘
death when he entered the alley.

CHILL wind ‘stirred refuse in

the gutter and skidded a news-

paper crazily across the prowl

car’s path as it turned up Fair-

field Avenue in Bridgeport,
Connecticut.

Ruddy-faced Sergeant Thomas

‘Kearney was at the wheel early that

winter morning. Seated at his side,
his alert eyes sweeping the streets
that passed in panoramic parade,
was his buddy and fellow officer,
Patrolman Wilfred Walker.

As Golden Hill Street loomed at
the approaching intersection, Walk-
er Suddenly tensed and put a re-
straming hand on Kearney. Di-
rectly ahead of him, he saw a coat-
less woman standing under a street
light, her hair flying wildly in the
wind:

“What’s wrong?” Walker de-
manded as the police car drew up.
The distraught woman rushed to
the side of the auto and spoke in
excited tones. 3

‘Someone just broke into Gil-
man’s Radio Store from the alley,”
she gasped. “I saw him from my
apartment at 240 Fairfield.”

“The alley, eh?” cut in Kearney.
“I know where you mean.”

He spurted the car back into
the street, and then let it roll to a
silent halt at the next corner, out-
side the yellowish circle of light
cast by the street lamp. Jumping
out, the officers tugged loose their
hip guns as they cut across a wide

. lawn and then drew up at the en-

trance of the alley. It was narrow
and darkened. There was no sign
of movement anywhere. But tak-
ing no chances, the officers hugged
the building wall as an initial pre-
caution. ;

A moment later there was a pat-
ter of footsteps about 100 feet down
the alley. Then the alert patrolmen

. glimpsed a shadowy figure running

in the opposite direction, weaving
desperately. Kearney swung his
gun upward. “Stop!” he com-
manded. ‘

Then, like. an elusive shadow
caught in sudden light, the figure
melted into the right side of the
alley. Kearney fired once, and the
bullet crashed into an iron barrel.
Both men instantly shifted posi-
tions, realizing that the orange
burst of gunfire had- made them
easy targets.

From his new spot, Kearney fired
again. And once more. At the
third shot he sprawled to the rough

fy ‘q vy
=O’
a

*s

WRT

bas eseree

pavement and crawled ahead a half
dozen feet.

Seconds passed. Uneasy silence
enveloped the scene. No movement
from the person down the alley.
Nothing to indicate that he wasn’t
there, waiting, perhaps, for the
opening into which to pour his
death-dealing lead.

Then it happened! There was a

-t

Go ogee

he-wisp assassin

scurry of footsteps behind the offi-
cers, and then the sharp crack of a
pistol. The bullet drilled Kearney
in the small of his back, twisting
him grotesquely on the pavement
and spilling the gun from his limp
fingers.

Caught completely unawares,
Walker made a desperate attempt
to defend himself against. his un-

waitin.

steps out of the

seen assailant. But it was in vain.
Even as he wheeled around, gun
chest high, another shot rang out
like a clap of thunder. The revolver
toppled stupidly from Walker’s
numbed hand. A wracking cough
escaped his lips and he hunched
his shoulders to ease the piercing
pain. Then, as the agony became
more acute, he clutched his stom-

night and shoots

Bait eek


tered Lieut...

ilack-covered
esk. “I found
ted. “It’s the

Reilly for a
atly: “You're
man. If you
r indictment
. You know

rubbed per-
Chen, almost

> do with it,”
e policemen.

spoke briefly.
he ordered,

eft the tavern
\lings. Palka
nd they both
it. The land-
se he went up
\fter they fin-
aid he’d walk
-cause the kid

<a was carry-
tended to rob
n home when
| done. That’s
I didn’t want
when he was
ongdoing.”

derstandingly.

ooming: house
gun under his
rk pants and
is. He threat-
ell you he was
t morning he
ck and was ex-
. That’s when
‘+r and revolver
jefferson ferry

.?” asked Bray.
com a friend of
»b Handy. He

ng.

{ka told him to
before leaving
ing his letters
imply reversed
red each letter
ved the officers
- “25-12-25” was
)-12,” spelling
ne.

oded the letter.
ka had found a
information on
e.
and Gerrity es-
ski into Bray’s
borated Reilly’s
il. Both youths
3; material wit-

alo officials of
ike port and re-
ng his own ar-

o the following
y to a long grill-
denied knowing
onted with his
y and the possi-
d, he broke.

sac cain MeL aa ageeiabaibatsis tags neal

!

“T'1] tell you,” he whined. “Palka is
hiding out on Niagara street.” }

A half hour later, Lieut. Bray and Buf-
falo Detectives Richard Conroy * and
George Beyers quietly ‘mounted rickety
stairs in a slum district house bordering
the Erie canal.

The Connecticut officer placed his ear
to a door on the second floor and listened
intently.

“Snores,” he said tensely. “Let’s break
it in.”

The three officers put their shoulders
against the door and shoved. It yielded.
Bray snapped ona light. A sleeping man
lay on the dirty bed, a half-finished bottle
of liquor beside him. Moving quickly, De-
tective Conroy seized the man’s arm and
shook him.

“Come on, Palka,” he shouted. “We've
got plans for you.”

The fugitive slowly sat up. His face
was unshaven and his eyes were flushed
with drunken sleep. He looked stupidly

at the detectives, then asked dourly:-

“What do you want?”

Conroy gripped him tighter, while
Bray, recalling Palka’s penchant for con-
cealing weapons under his pillow, reached
out. The lieutenant took possession of a
fully loaded .38 caliber revolver.

The killer was jerked to his feet by
Conroy and Beyers. He swallowed heav-
ily and swayed a trifle. Then he attempted
a feeble grin. His voice was hoarse when
he spoke again.

“Well, I guess somebody squealed,”
he blurted:

“Get dressed, Palka,” Bray ordered
gruffly. “You're going on a trip—a trip
that leads to the chair.” ~

White as death, the disheveled: Palka
obeyed. ;

Lieut, Bray deposited his prisoner in
the Fairfield county jail the following day,
after Palka had waived extradition from
New York state. “i

Sheriff Platt immediately dispatched a
deputy to Buffalo to escort Bob Handy
to Bridgeport. He was jailed as a ma-
terial witness. ‘

Meanwhile, State’s Attorney. Comley
offered Reilly and Prynikowski complete
immunity if they would testify in court
against Palka. The youthful pair readily
agreed. The state’s attorney also declared
that Bob Handy would not be prosecuted.

Frank Palka faced trial fér double
murder in Fairfield county superior court
on Jan. 20, 1936, before Judge John A.
Cornell. : :

Despite the copious amount of evi-
dence against the defendant, the jury
could not agree on a verdict when he
pleaded he was too drunk to remember
anything. A second trial was ordered.

Palka faced a new jury and judge, Ar-
thur F. Ellis, Aug. 27. State’s Attorneys
Comley and Lorin W. Willis handled the
prosecution in such conclusive fashion
that there could be no doubt in the minds

of the jury. After two hours’ delibération, -

they returned a verdict of guilty without
recommendation for. mercy.

Frank Palka was sentenced to death
the following week. He paid the supreme
penalty for his ruthless crime on the
night of Oct. 16, 1936, in the electric chair
at Weathersfield state prison.

(The names Horry Brandt, Harry Prynikowski,
George Reilly and Bob Handy as used in this story
are not real but fictitions.—Ed)

California’s Weirdest’ Love Murder

[Continued from page 19]

justice agent started to explain the na-
ture of the visit when Mrs. Schick, who
had hastily joined the group, interposed:

“I told them just the truth as I know
it, Drew,” she said anxiously. “Hope I
won’t make any trouble for George if
he’s still alive, but I’ve got to know
what’s happened to him.”

“That’s all right, sweetheart,” Clark
said gently, patting her shoulder. “Now
you run along into the house. I don’t
think you should hear the story I must
tell these gentlemen.”

Sarah Schick turned her luminous eyes
on Drew Clark in a look that’ was as
starkly revealing as if she had \ em-
braced the man, then went obediently
up the garden walk, one hand idly touch-
ing the tops of the chrysanthemums.
Clark seemed a bit embarrassed.

“Mrs. Schick’s baby is due the first of
the year,” he explained, shoving both
hands deep into his pockets, “so we tr
to make things easy for her. You under-
stand?”

“T think I do,” said Pross as he watched
Mrs. Schick pause and stroke the head
of the shaggy dog. “What were you going
to tell us, Clark?”

Drew Clark removed his glasses and
polished them thoughtfully. “Peter
Hawkins came to see me in town the day
after his talk with Mrs. Schick,” he said
after a moment’s thought. “What he
told me about George was pretty ghastly.
I don’t want Sarah to know. You see,
Schick didn’t tell the truth about this
trip. He really went to Mexico on an
unlawful enterprise. Some native mine
workers had high-graded a mine and they

had hidden the stolen bars of gold. Schick
and the Russian, while ostensibly working
the property, were to ship out the stolen
gold and divvy the spoils with the native
miners. Pretty crooked, don’t you
think?” :

“Go on,” said Pross noncommittally.

“Well,” stammered Clark, “this is what
I didn’t want his little wife to know—
Schick tried to doublecross the whole
bunch. His Russian pal as well as the
native workers. He tried to make a
getaway with the bars of gold and was
rowing across a lake when the workers
discovered him. Hawkins said the na-
tives shot Schick and that his body
plunged into the lake where the sharks
finished the job.”

“Pretty tough the way it ended up,”
said Pross coldly.

“Terrible to be eaten by sharks,” re-

’ plied Clark, shuddering. “But, in a way,

he had it coming to him. A man who
would. doublecross a pal is a skunk. Don’t
you think so?”

“Want to know what I think?” George
Pross stepped close to the portly Clark.
“T think you're a liar. You are after your
friend’s property and his wife, too. He’s
been gone eight months and you say
she’s to have a baby in about three more
months. I suppose you want us to be-
lieve Schick shipped the baby up in that
rowboat.” :

Then as Clark sputtered that Schick
had been back home secretly during the
first few months after his disappearance,
Sam Maloney asked softly, “You say that
mine is located in the jungles south of
Mexico City?”

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houghtfully. “The
d slowly. “I can’t

who was here?”

y.

agerly. “Most of

st missed the gun

it night. Because
of everyone in

were regular cus-

bar for a minute

the regulars knew
It must have been

DARING

“Tell me,” ordered Bray with delibera-
tion, “was George Reilly, Frank Palka
or Harry Prynikowski here then?”

The proprietor’s face brightened.
“Reilly and Palka were here,” he said
quickly. “They were with a kid named
Harry Brandt.” '

Bray looked puzzled. “Brandt?” he
said. “He’s a new one. Know where he
lives?”

The bartender said he thought. the
youth lived at a Stratford address. The
investigators were astounded. The house
was the home of Harry Pryhikowski.

A flood of hope filled them as they hur-
ried to the home. Were they closing in

DETECTIVE

While one detective slipped
handcuffs on the wrist of the
killer, the second sleuth
reached under the pillow and
found a loaded revolver.

. WY
SS Wy
Ds WY a

-at last? Was the unknown Brandt the

vicious killer they sought?
Harry Prynikowski answered Bray’s

determined knock.

“Where’s Harry Brandt?’ demanded
the lieutenant.

The youth smiled. “I’m Brandt,” he
said calmly. f

“You're who?” the officers chorused in
astonishment.

Prynikowski nodded. . “My family uses
that name sometimes because folks find
our own difficult to pronounce. No harm
in that, is there?”

“There might be,” retorted Lieut.
Bray. “Either you, Reilly or Palka stole

a .32 caliber pistol from a_ tav-
ern last July. You took it, didn’t
you?”

The youth froze momentarily. The
detective felt certain that he had
scored a direct hit.

“T admit I often go there,” the
youth said nervously. “But I swear
I didn’t steal the gun.”

“Palka or Reilly took it, then,”
Bray raced on. “You were there.
You must have seen them. Come
clean, kid, while you can or we'll
hold you just as guilty.”

The ‘youth couldn’t meet the ofh-
cer’s gaze. He shook his head. “I
didn’t see them take it,’ he said
weakly. “It must have been some-
one else. The place was pretty
crowded.”

Bray pounced on the statement.
~ “How do you know that?”

Realizing his mistake, the youth
made an obvious effort to control
himself. “There’s always a crowd
there,” he answered weakly.

“IT ought to run you in right now,
Harry,” Bray declared sternly. ‘But
I’ll give you a chance to think things
over and come to me voluntarily.”

When the officers left, Bray ad-
dressed Sergt. Carroll. “I’m con-
vinced that he’ll talk before Reilly
or Palka. And he’ll do it of his own
accord.”

Carroll nodded. “We'll keep an
eye on him, anyway,” he declared
as they headed for Reilly’s place.

At first, the detectives were elated
to find Reilly alone in his room. They
felt that they’d get further with him
minus the strong-willed Palka’s
presence. But, despite lengthy in-
terrogation, Reilly emulated Pryni-
kowski’s stand. He refused to admit
any knowledge of the missing death

un.

“Where’s Palka?” asked Lieut.
Bray suddenly.

“He went to New York last
night,” Reilly replied casually.

, STRAINED silence ensued
while the detectives digested
this amazing news.

Reilly read the query in their eyes.
“Frank said he was going down
there to join the ‘army,’ he con-
tinued.

“What time did you leave?” asked
Bray.

“About three-thirty this morning.”

“Okay, Reilly,” Bray said finally.
“The same holds good for you as Pryni-
kowski. You'd better decide to help.”

Back at headquarters, Lieut. Bray and
Sergt. Carroll compared notes on recent
developments in the case.

“I’m betting Palka is our man,” the
lieutenant\declared. “His sudden flight
certainly implies guilt. We'll soon find out
if his story about enlisting is the truth.”

“If he was lying, it may be tough to
catch up with him. That’s why I decided
not to jail Reilly and Prynikowski. He
may try to communicate with them and
[Continued on page 64]


—

 ————

Trailing New England’s Cop Killer

tip off his whereabouts. We'll have their
mail watched. And the telegraph offices
and newspaper personal columns too.”

“Good idea,” agreed Carroll.

“Here's something else,” Bray offered.
“Palka won't enlist if he killed eeueiey
and Walker. The army fingerprints all
recruits. If he’s the guilty man, Palka
knows his were on the radio.

“T’ve got another hunch,” Bray went

on. “Reilly and Palka are from Buffalo.

and may have records there. I'll wire
New York state authorities and the FBI.
Meanwhile, we'll print Prynikowski just
to make sure.”

The latter willingly submitted. But,
later, the identification officer reported
that his prints were not those of the killer.

On Oct. 8, the evidence eagerly awaited
by every officer of the Bridgeport force
arrived at headquarters. Commissioner
James W. Higgins of the Buffalo police
informed Lieut.“Bray that Frank Palka
had done time in Elmira reformatory for
housebreaking in his own city.

Moreover, his fingerprints perfectly
matched those found on the stolen radio.
The FBI corroborated this immediately
afterward.

Bridgeport’s nocturnal cop-killer had
been unmasked.

Lieut. Bray lost no time in getting into
action. “Wanted for murder” flyers de-
manding the arrest of Frank Palka were
sent to every law enforcement agency in

. [Continued from page 45]

the country. The War office in Wash-
ington was asked to advise every army
recruiting station to be on watch for the
fugitive. :

Bray journeyed to Buffalo and with
the aid of local officers searched the kill-
er’s former haunts.

Sergt. Carroll hurried to New York
City and with the aid of a dozen detec-
tives, made a five-day tour of its numer-
ous rooming houses and flop joints. Be-
cause of Palka’s known addiction to
intoxicants, hundreds of taverns’ were~
also covered,

A reward of one thousand dollars for
information leading to his arrest was,
posted. Immediately afterward a host of
tips and rumors sent every available offi-
cer in Bridgeport scurrying out on duty-
tours which covered hundreds of miles.

And still there was no trace of Frank
Palka.

Then, on Oct. 28, the awaited break
occurred. Bray seized it eagerly, hoping
that this was the beginning of the end.

It began when local postal authorities
turned over to him a letter addressed to
George Reilly. It bore a Buffalo post-

mark. On the enclosure was written ten ©

long series of numerals. The series “25-
12-25” followed where a signature should

be.

“A code!” Bray cried elatédly to Sergt.
Carroll, “Bring in Reilly.”

A few minutes later, the sergeant and

Robbery of the music store, top, set the stage for the double slaying of Sergt.
Thomas Kearney, left, and Patrolman Wilfred Walker, center, by the hard-
faced killer, right, shown in a prison photograph used in the manhunt.

64

the white-faced youth entered Lieut.
Bray’s office. |

Carroll tossed a‘ ‘tiny, black-covered
notebook on his superior’s desk. “I found
this in his room,” he reported. “It’s the
kéy to the code.”

Bray stared at the shaken Reilly for a
few moments, then said quietly: “You're
going to talk now, young man. If you
don’t we'll place a murder indictment
against you as an accessory. You know
what that means.”

Reilly’s trembling hand rubbed per-
spiration from his brow. Then, almost
eagerly, he began to talk.

“T didn’t have anything to do with it,”
he said. “Palka killed: the policemen.
Prynikowski was with him.”

Bray jerked up a phone, spoke briefly.
Then, facing Reilly again, he ordered,
“Go on.”

“Prynikowski and Palka left the tavern
early the night of the killings. Palka
bought a pint of liquor, and they both
went to our room to drink it. The land-
lady didn’t see Harry because he went up

‘the stairs ahead of Palka. After they fin-

ished the whisky, Palka said he’d walk
Harry to the bus station because the kid
was’ pretty drunk. + ~

“Harry didn’t know Palka was carry-
ing the gun or that he intended to rob
the music store. Harry ran home when
he realized what Palka had done. That’s
another reason I kept quiet. I didn’t want
him charged with a murder when he was
totally innocent of any wrongdoing.”

Lieut. Bray nodded understandingly.

“All right,” he encouraged.
, “Palka returned to the rooming: house
right after me. He hid the gun under his
pillow and threw the dark pants and
sweater under the mattress. He threat-
ened to kill me if I didn’t tell you he was
there ahead of me. Next morning he
told the foreman he was sick and was ex-
cused after an hour’s work. That’s when
he threw the pants, sweater and revolver
off the Bridgeport-Port Jefferson ferry
into Long Island Sound.”

“Ts this letter from Palka?” asked Bray.

“No,” Reilly said. “It’s from a friend of
his in Buffalo named Bob Handy. He
knows where Palka’s hiding.”

Reilly declared that Palka told him to
use the code he devised before leaving
Bridgeport when answering his letters
through Handy. Palka simply reversed
the alphabet and numbered each letter
from 1 to 26. Reilly showed the officers
that the signature number “25-12-25” was
simply “B-25” and “O-12,” spelling
“Bob,” Handy’s first name.

Later, Lieut. Bray decoded the letter.
Handy declared that Palka had found a
safe hideout and desired information on
police progress in the case.

When Sergts. Matera and Gerrity es-

corted Harry Prynikowski into Bray’s
office soon after, he corroborated Reilly’s
statements in every detail. Both youths
were then locked up as material wit-
nesses.
_ Bray. advised Buffalo officials of
Handy’s address in the lake port and re-
quested his arrest pending his own ar-
rival there.

Bray arrived in Buffalo the following
day and submitted Handy to a long grill-
ing. At first, the prisoner denied knowing
Palka. But when confronted with his
letter addressed to Reilly and the possi-
bility of being prosecuted, he broke.

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A half h
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“T told
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Sarah S
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e took a dramatic upswing.

became student of theology. <i

ach. He stood like that for a few
unbearable seconds before he sank
slowly to his knees. He emitted an
agonizing gasp and sprawled full
on his face,
inutes later, drawn by the re-
nding gunfire, a couple on their
home after an evening of rey-
ry, reached the scene of violence.
Kearney was motionless, his hands

* ple’s story. But they knew little,

a

iw .
Sat
&

Like a messenger from hell, this conveniently parked two-door sedan
carried the kill-crazy murderer from scene of his berserk fusillade.

outflung. But Walker still breathed.
As the horror-stricken youngsters
bent over him, the patrolman’s red-
flecked lips slowly formed words:
“T-Two—me-men.” He coughed;
his head Sagged to the side. He
was dead.

Lights Snapped on in surround-
ing houses, In the distance
sounded the high, shrill] wail of a
police siren. Then, from another
point, came a second. Then an-
other. Three minutes later several
carloads of detectives were crowd-
ing into the alley. Slender, tight-
lipped Superintendent of Police
Charles A. Wheeler led the way to
the bodies,

Pausing only long enough to
learn that the frightened couple
had not witnessed the killings,
Wheeler ordered his men to fan
out through the neighborhood in
search for the fleeing gunmen.

ITH the dragnet swiftly in mo-
tion, Wheeler took down the cou-

print man,” put in Bray. “I’ll put
in @& call for one +++ while you
fellows keep everybody back.” “He
indicated the radio, “Better handle

it easily. There may be prints on
it.”

Less than three minutes later, the
detective lieutenant had put his
headquarters call through from a
police box at the intersection of
Fairfield and Golden Hill Streets.
Then he started back to the murder
scene. But after a half-dozen quick
steps, he came to an abrupt stop.
He was staring up at a second-story
apartment in a large building
across the street and directly op-
posite the entrance to the alley.
Curtains were pulled low over the
lighted windows, but vague shadows
moving across the shades indicated
that several persons were inside.

“A party,” Bray decided, half-
aloud.

He frowned. Why weren’t the
people in that apartment displaying
any interest in the shooting? It was
hard to imagine that they had not
heard the gunfire or that they were
unaware of the resultant excite-
ment.

Deciding to find out first hand, he
cut across the street and entered
the building. He hurried up to the
second floor corridor, and soon
knocked at a door through which a
thread of light penetrated.

except that Walker had whispered
something about two men,

The police ambulance arrived,
and took the bodies to the city
morgue. Wheeler’s gray features
reflected his shock and sOrrow as
he returned to the blood-spotted -
pavement, where two of his finest
men had been slain. Never before
in Bridgeport’s history had double A slender, tousled youth in green-
murder struck the Police depart- striped pajamas opened up. Behind
ment. . him was a smoke-polluted room. In
A siren announced the arrival of it were three other young men
another police car, and a moment lounging around.
later Detective Lieutenant James Bray said casually: “I’d like to
H. Bray and Detective Don Carrol talk to you a moment.”
rushed up. Wheeler told them what “Sure thing,” said the youth, and
he knew. his eyes rested a brief second on
“But what were the boys doing Bray’s star-pointed shield, before
here? How’d they get in the trap?” he stepped aside.

Square-jawed Lieut, Bray asked As the detective explained about
quickly, . - the shooting, the four young. men

As though in answer, a detective exchanged surprised glances. Then
appeared in the alley with a small the pajama-clad youth said: “We
radio under his arm. haven’t heard a thing. We were

“Found it behind the radio store. just sitting around here gassing,
Looks like a break-in there,” he ex- Since midnight.” He hesitated,
plained. grinned. “Maybe I’m partly to

The officers hurried to the rear blame, getting the boys so wrapped
entrance of the Gilman store. The up. You see, I was torturing their
beam of Wheeler’s flashlight: re- ears with some poetry I’d written,”
vealed the empty frame of a Bray glanced around the room.
smashed window. “They must’ve Then he looked back to the Poet,
tried to get the guys climbing out “Too bad. Else you might’ve seen

here,” said the superintendent, the rats. What’d you say your name
“but were a couple seconds too was? Just routine, you know,”
late.” “Frank Palka,” said the outh,

“That means we need a finger-

Bray tramped out of t @ room,

‘nificant?

Sergeant Thos. Kearney did not
have a chance to defend himself
as gunman stole up behind him.

disappointed because the lead failed
to materialize, By the time he
reached the alley, he had all but
forgotten the incident. More im-
portant matters called for his atten-
tion behind the store. The finger-
print expert had arrived and was
searching the premises for a tell-
tale clue.

Wheeler strode up, rubbing
chilled hands. “One helluva note,”
he complained tersely. “None of the
boys could find a trace of the killers.
I’ve got them routing out residents
around here. Someone may have
seen the birds clearing out of the
alley.”

HE superintendent stomped
through the back door of the
store. Gray, cold dawn was creep-
ing across the leaden sky.

and most
a would be safe in some hide-
out.

Bray’s glance idled over the pave-
ment. Suddenly he yanked out his
service flashlight and threw the
beam on the small Piles of glass
that had fallen from the window.
In a moment he was on his knees,
combing gloved fingers through the
glass fragments, After a while he
straightened up again, a curious
light of excitement in hig eyes.

“Gun butt composition,” he
breathed, fingering a few Pieces of
hard, dark shavings. Obviously
the stuff had come from the killer’s
weapon when he smashed the win-
dow. But was this discovery sig-

Kneeling, Bray searched the glass
again. After some five minutes he
had more of the composition splin-
ters. Then he talked to Superin-
tendent Wheeler, “Maybe a gun ex-
pert can make Something of the
stuff,” he suggested.

“He might,” Wheeler conceded,
but there was little enthusiasm to
his words. “At least you can give
it a try.”

Full daylight had come when
Bray exited from the office of
Bridgeport’s leading gun expert to
whom he had handed over the butt
chips. He drove quickly to head-
quarters. There he found a@ whirl-
pool of tense action revolving
around Wheeler. The superintend-
ent had the entire force of 245 men
combing the city for leads,

“What'd you find out?” the super-
intendent queried, staring wearily


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UNCENSORED DETECTIVE

Bul what was the explanation of
Johnnie Hare’s truck being parked
at Sorrell’s house on the night of
the crime?

Questioning Sorrell fur ther,
Sheriff Taulbee learned from him
that Hare had been dating Marie
Mitchell Wunder himself.

“That's it!” Taulbee said. “That's
the answer!”

The sheriff went quickly back to
St. Ignatius and had a talk with
Mrs. John Glover, who lived directly
across the street from the Sorrell
home.

Mrs. Glover said that on the night
that Victor Stryker disappeared,
she remembered distinctly seeing a
light in the Sorrell home and hear-
ing a disturbance over there about
nine or ten o’clock, ‘

“The next morning,” Mrs. Glover
said, “I went. over to see if anything
was wrong. I found this house-
keeper of Mr. Sorrell’s scrubbing the
floors there.”

“What did she Say to you?” Taul-
bee asked.

“I asked her if she’d stayed there
all night, and she said she had. I
inquired if anything was wrong, and
she said no, so I didn’t think any-
thing more about it. But I know
she did stay there all that Friday
night.” ;

“Was that truck parked out there
in front of the house the next morn-
ing?” :

“Yes, it was parked there until
about ten o’clock Saturday morning.
I don’t know who drove it away. I
didn’t see,”

HERIFF TAULBER and his
deputies went at once to the jail
cell where Hare was being held for
further questioning. The prisoner
was very sullen when the officers
first came in, didn’t even look up.

He was puffing slowly on a cigarette
and staring at the floor.

“You still think you don’t want
to tell us where your truck was the
Friday night Stryker was mur-
dered?” Taulbee asked.

Hare didn’t speak, but kept puff-
ing slowly on his cigarette.

“Understand you had a crush on
that’ Mitchell ; woman before she
— Matt Wunder,” Taulbee
said.

Hare looked up quickly. “Who
told you anything about that?” he
snapped.

“Never mind. We found out
about it. We also learned that she

stayed all night in Tim Sorrell’s
house the night of the murder and
that there was a disturbance there

—-and that your truck was at Sor-
rell’s place until the next morning.”

“What of it?”

“You still insist you weren’t
there?”

“1 told you I was at Polson work-
ing and that I didn’t come back to
St. Ignatius until Sunday. You can
check up there and find out about it.
Told you that a long time ago.”

“But you didn’t tell us what your
truck was doing at St. Ignatius at
Sorrell’s house.”

For a minute Hare stared at the
Officers, his cold gray eyes flashing
under heavy eyebrows.

“That woman played you for all
you were worth, didn’t, she?” Taul-
bee said slowly, pulling up a chair
and sitting down. “She used yodur
truck and she got your money.
Then she threw you overboard like
a hot potato. Isn’t that what hap-
pened?”

Hare remained quiet.

“You’re not the only one she
fooled, Johnnie, Only you're lucky.
You came out of it alive. Victor
Stryker didn’t. She played him also.
She found out he had a lot of money
on him, but he didn’t give it up as
easy as you did, and she had to fin-
ish him off. We found what was
left of him out on the mountains.
Come clean now, Hare, and tell us
your story. You’d hetter—to save
your own neck, if for nothing else.”

Hare was breathing heavily now,
and the muscles of his jaws
clenched tightly under his skin.
Suddenly he jumped to his feet and
threw the half-burned cigarette
stub to the jail floor,

“All right, I'll tell you,” he
blurted out suddenly. “I let that
woman use my truck Friday. I let
her use it whenever she wanted to.
I let her have anything she wanted
—money and everything else. I was
a fool, all right. But I did it. She
got my truck that Friday afternoon,
and I didn’t see it again until Sun-
day evening when I got off work. and
she came up to Polson after me.
That’s exactly what happened.”

“Then she did have your truck the
night Stryker was murdered?”

“Of course. But I don’t know
anything about his murder, I tell
you. And*I never dreamed that
Stryker knew Marie. That does
floor me!”

Marie Mitchell Wunder was ar-
rested immediately and charged
with the first-degree murder of Vic-
tor Stryker. The woman, with wide,
innocent eyes, cried out in horror
when the officers arrested her.

“It’s the most terrible outrage I

ever heard of,” she cried. “1 didn't
even know that man Victor Stryker,
Never heard of him. Someone's try-
ing to frame me, I tell you.”

“No one’s trying to frame you,”
Taulbee,said. “You just weren’t
slick enough to get by with it any
longer, that’s all. Your past has
caught up with you, woman.”

Further questioning in St. Igna-
tius about Stryker’s actions previous
to his death brought out the fact
that he had on several Occasions
gone to the Sorrell home on Friday
night on the pretext of playing a
little poker. No one had thought
anything about it at the time. .

But now it was established that
Sorrell was never at home on Friday
nights!

And the only other person who
had a key to his house was Marie
Mitchell Wunder!

The woman had apparently been
quite clever. She had gotten the ec-
centric, jolly old convent caretaker
into believing that she eared for
him, but had persuaded him to keep
their friendship a secret so that no
one would suspect her when he so
suddenly disappeared,

Stryker, deceived, willin gly
walked into her trap and kept the
secret. Once snared, he was a
goner.

After Marie Wunder’ murdered
him, she had taken him out to the
mountains near Hare’s allotment,
thinking the remains would never
be found. But if they were, she
wanted the officers to Suspect Hare
of the crime. She didn’t think
they’d ever find out about her. She
thought she had Hare’s mouth
sealed shut also!

But her little scheme just hadn’
worked. Johnnie Hare was released
immediately and absolved.

Marie Wunder came to trial on
April 20, 1942, stil] claiming igno-
rance of the crime and stil] denying
that she ever had met or heard of
Victor Stryker.

he case was prosecuted by
County Attorney John French, as-
sisted by Lloyd I. Wallace. The de-
fense attorney was Jay M. Kurtz.

Four days after the trial started,
the jury, consisting of three women
and nine men, brought in a verdict
of guilty of second-degree man-
slaughter. Mrs. Wunder was sen-
tenced to ten years in the state
penitentiary by Judge Albert Besan-
con on April 28, 1942.

(Johnnie Hare and Tim Sorrell are
fictitious names to protect persons in-
nocently involved.—Editor’s Note.)

glowed very brightly in his face.
Without a word, he just shoved
a sheet of paper across the super-
intendent’s desk. On it was pasted
the poem, completely in order.
Wheeler picked up the Paper, and
his brows furrowed slowly. Then
he stared at the detective. “What’s
this thing?”

“Pretty mushy, huh?” - Bray
grinned quickly. “But there’s more
to it than the sentiment. I picked
it up in Palka’s room. And those
numbers above the letters happen
to be a code. I figured it out.”
“A what?”

“A code,” said Bray | steadily.

“Take the first number—8—which
means the eighth letter in the al-
phabet. That’s ‘I.’ The next num-
ber—23—is ‘WwW.’ Going through
the entire group of numbers, I think
you’ll get: ‘I will be at Hotel Con-
rad, Buffalo’!”

Wheeler gasped: “But how do you
know Palka wrote it?” :

“He was something of an ama-
teur poet,” said Bray. “He prob-
ably meant to send it to someone
—maybe the other killer—but hada
change of mind. Instead, he tore it
up, and then pulled out. And [

. don’t doubt that he did send the

code to several other people.”

MASSACRE BEFORE DAWN

(Continued from page 19)

“Logical,” nodded Wheeler.
“Well, this’s one lead that won’t be
fumbled. You and Carrol can see
to that. I want you two fellows to
get to Buffalo as soon as possible.
Start right now!”

Less than 15 minutes later a
squad car was racing Bray and Car-
rol westward into the stormy night.
They reached Buffalo, worn but
eager for -action, early the next
morning. A conference with offi-
cials there lasted only a few min-
utes. -Then, accompanied by two
crack local detectives, the officers
sped to the Hotel Conrad.

The clerk searched the registry.


Completely ignorant of her fiance's dual personality, Dorothy Capozza
received a clean bill of health when she was interrogated by police.

through a haze of cigarette smoke.

“He’s going to work on the chips
right away,” said Bray. “He’s heard
of some cases—only a few, I admit
—where the identity of a gun has
been established by composition
chips.”

“We've got next to nothing to
work on,” groaned Wheeler. “No
fingerprints. None of the residents
reported anything important. Oh
yes, a woman was here a couple
minutes ago. She first saw the
killers breaking into the store, and
stopped Kearney and Walker. But
she didn’t get a good look at the
crooks and doesn’t think she could
recognize them again.”

Matters stood that way until mid-
afternoon. Meanwhile, Bridgeport’s
stunned citizenry was up in arms
over the double slaying. Within a
few hours, a group of businessmen
raised $2,400 as reward money for
the killers’ apprehension.

At 2:30, that grim day of October
1, 1935, Wheeler still, was at his
desk, directing the dragnet, when
a second witness showed up. He
was Henry Foster, a night-worker
in a basement bakery on Fairfield
Avenue.

“T saw the killers,” he announced
laconically. “I’m sure of it. When
I heard the shooting in the alley,
I ran to a street window and .was
in time to see two fellows legging
it toward an old, two-door sedan
parked a half a block from the
bakery.”

. He had even seen one of the men
pocket a gun. But his description
of them was sketchy. One was
short and stocky; the other rather
slender and about six foot tall.
Other than that, he could add little.

Wheeler, nevertheless, had the
first glint of enthusiasm in his eyes
in almost 12 hours, as he flashed
information on the sedan to his
men. Not too important, perhaps,
but it explained the pair’s. swift
getaway. Then he conferred with
Lieut. Bray. On one point they
struck instant agreement. That the
men appeared to be experienced.
Everything indicated that much.
They had packed a gun, had a get-

18

away car, and hadn’t bungled their
escape.

“They seem to have known the
layout of the streets,” mused
Wheeler. “That means we'd better
get busy and round up all the local
boys who might have pulled a job
like that.”

Detectives were sent out with in-
structions to scour pool halls, cheap
hotels and taverns for suspicious
strangers and local thugs. It was
a dragnet which, in the next 24
hours, was to reach into the lowest
dregs of the underworld. And the
parade of suspects, viewed by the
two sole witnesses, was composed
of young and old, small and hulking
men.

The painstaking work availed
nothing. The witnesses failed to
pick out a single man whom they
thought resembled, even slightly,
either gunman.

Four hectic days passed before
a young gas station attendant re-
ported that two suspicious looking
men drove past him in an old, two-
door sedan. Squads of police de-
scended on the scene, fanned out-
ward in every direction, but found
no sign of the vehicle.

“At least they’re still in town,”
was Bray’s decision. “And since
they realized nothing from the
radio store, they’re probably itch-
ing to get their hands on some new
dough.” '

[x LINE with that reasoning, the
night force was doubled, concen-
trated along dark alleys and near
small stories in the outlying busi-
ness - districts. Wheeler’s order
was: “Shoot first, or you may not
be alive to ask questions!”

A week drifted by. Still the many
faceted investigation failed to bear
fruit. Nothing new on the old se-
dan. Furthermore, the epidemic of
night robberies had dwindled’ to
low ebb. The killers by now might
be in Timbuctoo.

Two weeks later an electrifying
development came from an almost
forgotten source. The gun expert.
His report reached Bray on a
gloomy, cold October morning. He

had finished his examination of the
butt chips,

According to the expert, the chips
had come from a special model Colt,
a pistol which had been turned out
six years earlier for only a limited
distribution. He suggested a fur-
ther investigation with the Colt
company.

Calmly—not daring to be over-
optimistic — Bray reported to
Wheeler. “It could be a break,” he
said, “that there’s just a few of the
guns in circulation. It'll narrow
our check on all owners.”

A little later, over the long-dis-
tance wire, Bray contacted a Colt
official and requested a check of the
sales records of guns of that par-
ticular model.

The official’s reply ‘jolted Bray.
“Off hand,” he said, “I think all
guns of that model were shipped
West to some police department.”
However, he promised a full check.

Two hours later he phoned back
to Bridgeport. When he racked up
the receiver, Bray swung around
around to face Wheeler. “Get this!”
he exclaimed. “Dan Thompson,
here in town, bought three of the
guns!”

The superintendent’s head jolted
up. Sharp interest glinted in his
red-rimmed, weary eyes. “The
Thompson gun shop, eh?” he said
tensely. “Come on, then. Let’s see
Dan.”

Within 20 minutes, the officers
were in possession of the names of
the three Bridgeport residents -to
whom Thompson had sold the guns.
They immediately sped to question
the first buyer, a respected real es-
tate dealer. He was flustered when
Wheeler explained the reason for

Undet orders from Wheeler, ¢
officdrs canvassed neighborhoe

In serch of the fleeing gunime

y P\gukadl ee

the visit to the frightened man.

“Why, I’m sure the gun’s in my
safe,” he said shakily. “And it
hasn’t been fired in two years.”

He quickly produced the weapon
and the officers’ examination proved
he told the truth. Not only was the
gun rusty from idleness, but the
butt was completely clean.

A visit to the next name on the

Detective Lieutenant Jas. Bray
retrieved the piece of paper and
turned it over with his fingers.


list brought identical results. The
gun had not been fired in some
months. : :
Once more the officers headed
across town, and their faces had
taken on markedly grim expres-
sions. One name—one chance—
stood between them and failure.
Finally they parked in front of a
tavern operated by James J. Ryan,

. the patrolmen }

hugged the building's wall as an

precaution against thugs.

the third gun purchaser, on Main
Street in Stratford, a suburban
town.

Ryan was tending bar when they
walked in. They talked to him in a
private room. Did he have his Colt
Special?

The tavern keeper’s eyes hard-
ened at the question. “I did own
it!” he snapped. “But some punk
stole it a couple months ago!”

“That so?” asked Wheeler. “Any
idea who took it?”

“Well,’”’ Ryan’s flushed expression
relented somewhat, and his man-
ner was extremely hesitant. “Well,
I’m not exactly sure who swiped
the gun, an’ I’d hate to get anyone
innocent into trouble.”

Wheeler said bluntly: “Better
spill it. That gun may have been
used in a double murder!”

“Murder!” echoed Ryan incred-
ulously. “All right, all right, I think
a no-good named Frank Palka took
it one evening.”

eves looked as though he had

been struck a blow. “My God!”
he said softly. “Palka! Why—of
all the luck!” Then he laughed low
and bitterly. “And I didn’t know!
Why, I should’ve busted his neck
right there an’ then!”

Wheeler had swung around, an
astonished question framed on his
lips. But Detective Bray hurried
on, an undertone of pure savagery
to his words: “That guy Palka has
a room just opposite the alley where
Kearney and Walker were shot. I
went up there that night, when I
saw some lights, and talked to him.
A couple of his buddies were in the
room. But they all acted dumb
about the shooting.”

Escorted by the detectives who nabbed him, Sergeant James Carro
center, and Lieut. Bray, right, cop-killer is arraigned in Bridgepor:

Ten minutes later the officers
were racing their squad car for
Golden Hill Street. Driving, Bray
clenched the wheel until his knuck-
les were drained of color. He be-
gan to figure it out. “Palka and his
friend could have driven the sedan
around the block and parked be-
hind the apartment hotise. Then,
rushing upstairs, Palka would have
had time to strip into his pajamas
before I showed up. To make it look
like he and the other guys had been
there for hours.” :

He bit his lips. “And he had the
gall to tell me he was reading some
of his poetry!”

In a short time, the officers
stepped out of the car a half block
from the apartment house. They

slipped into the front entrance, -

drew guns, and hurried to Palka’s
room. They rapped lightly on the
door. No answer. No sound of
movement inside.

Without hesitation Bray squared
his shoulder and drove up hard
against the door. The lock cracked
open. They rushed into an empty,
airless room. Bray snapped on a
fly-specked ceiling bulb, and then

looked around more closely. “Can

you beat it!” he growled. “He
must have smelled trouble and
scrammed.” ;

“Apparently,” said Wheeler flatly.

They opened doors on empty
closets. The dresser held nothing.
There was, of course, one way to
determine when Palka had fled.

“Tl get the building. superin-
tendent,” said Wheeler and hurried
out the door.

Bray finally noticed a basket filled
with waste. He walked over and
pulled out a pair of old shoes. Then
a dirty shirt. As he started to toss
the shirt aside, a torn piece of paper
fluttered slowly to the floor. He
retrieved the paper, turned it over
with his fingers. There were four
words printed on it:

“T couldn’t see the—”

He frowned. Above each letter
was a number. After a puzzled
moment, he shook his head and
bent over the basket again. Soon
he picked out enough torn pieces

of paper to fit them together in
three-sentence poem, which read

“Unless you swore you loved me,
I couldn’t see the sun
Or out of my work get any fun—

Each letter was numbered above
and it was those numbers tha
caught Bray’s attention. But a
that moment Wheeler came bac!
with the building superintendent
a meek, confused looking old man

“He thinks Palka left yesterday,’
explained Wheeler.

“Yeah,” said the elderly man
“An’ I can’t understand it at all
Palka always seemed like a nic
fellow, though a little funny-actin
at times.”

“Like writing poetry?”
looked up quizzically.

The superintendent’s face crease
in a faint smile. “I guess he did
He used to read some of it to me.’
He shrugged. “Not so hot!”

Wheeler shot Bray a_ puzzle
glance before he turned back t
the other. “Did Palka own a se
dan?” he asked.

The superintendent shook hi:
head. “No. But a friend of his did
I don’t know his name or wher
he’s from. Only saw him once.”

The officers went out to their car
Wheeler expressed his disappoint
ment ‘as Bray weaved the coup:
through a traffic line. A spit o:
snow was in the gathering dusk
“Palka’s our man, but it looks lik:
a job to pick'up his trail. Gues:
the best thing is to round up som
of his friends.”

Bray nodded, and made no mentio:
of the tornup poem in his pocket

The snow began to descen
steadily at nine o’clock. Wheele
stuck to his desk, chain-smoking
as he awaited the result of a wide.
spread search for Palka’s acquain
tances. Chance information hac
come to him that the suspect once
had worked for a Bridgeport air-
plane concern. :

Sometime later Bray made an un
expected appearance. His hair was
rumpled, eyes tired, but excitement

(Continued on page 48)

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822 Conn.

David Goldstein and Johnson Stoddard,
both of Bridgeport, for appellant.

William H. Comley, State’s Atty., and
Lorin W. Willis, Asst. State’s Atty., both
of Bridgeport, for the State. :

AVERRY, Judge.

The accused was indicted by a grand
jury of the county of Fairfield, charged
with murder in the first degree in the will-
ful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of
Thomas Kearney, at Bridgeport, September
30, 1935. Subsequently, at the January
term of the superior court in Fairfield
county, he was brought to trial before the
court and a jury which resulted in a verdict
of guilty of murder in the second degree.
The verdict was returned on January 24,
1936, and on January 28th the court sen-
tenced the prisoner, as provided by law,
to confinement in the Connecticut state
prison at Wethersfield for the term of his
natural life. On the same day, pursuant to
a notice of intention to appeal, filed by the
State, the trial judge granted in writing
permission to the State to appeal; and,
thereafter, on July 30, 1936, this court
rendered its judgment finding error in
the instructions of the trial court to the
jury upon the question of premeditation
and also on certain rulings upon evidence,
and a new trial was ordered. State v.
Palko, 121 Conn. 669, 670, 186 A. 657, The
case then came to the September term of
the superior court in Fairfield county and
was tried before the court and a jury; and,
on October 15, 1936, the jury returned a
verdict of guilty of murder in the first
degree; and the court thereupon imposed
upon the accused a sentence of death,
as provided by law. From this judgment,
the defendant has appealed.

In the assignments of error, it is claimed
that the trial court erred in refusing to
set aside the verdict; in its instructions
to the jury; in certain rulings upon evi-
dence; in refusing to grant a change of
venue; and, finally, that the second trial
placed him twice in jeopardy for the
same offense in violation of his constitu-
tional rights under the State and Federal
Constitutions. (Const.Conn. art. 1, § 9;
Const.U.S. Amend. 14). The last two as-
signments are the only ones which are
seriously pressed upon this appeal either in
brief or in argument. As the case, how-
ever, is a capital one, we have examined
the entire record under all the assignments.

191 ATLANTIC REPORTER

[1] The denial of the motion to set
aside the verdict is to be decided by de-
termining whether the jury might reason-
ably have found that the evidence estab-
lished beyond a reasonable doubt the
guilt of the accused as charged with the
commission of the crime of murder in the
first degree by evidence equivalent to that
of two witnesses. There was evidence
from which the jury might have found
beyond a reasonable doubt that late in the
evening of September 29, 1935, accompan-
ied by Frank Burke, the accused took with
him a revolver which he had possessed for
several months, left his apartment at 590
Fairfield avenue in Bridgeport and went
to Gilman’s Music Store at 243 Fairfield
avenue; and, just after midnight, broke
into a show window. Each took a radio
and carried it away, departing by different
routes. In breaking the plate glass window
with the revolver, the grips were broken
and were found there shortly after.
Stamped upon these grips were the letters
“U.S.” which was the trade-name of the
32 caliber revolver possessed by the accus-
ed. The accused proceeded east on Fair-
field avenue to Broad street, thence north-
erly to Elm street, thence west to Harri-
son street, thence north to Golden Hill
street, and west along the south sidewalk
of that street. As he was so proceeding
on Golden Hill street, a police radio car,
occupied by Sergeant Kearney and a pa-
trolman, drew up at the south curb. One
of the officers stepped out of the car on
the left-hand side and laying his hand on
the shoulder of the accused, inquired where
he was going with the radio. The other
officer stepped out of the right-hand side
of the car and proceeded to where the
defendant was standing. As the first offi-
cer accosted the accused, he was shot by the
latter, who then turned to the other officer
and shot him. The accused stated in a
confession in evidence that if he had not
been on parole he would not have shot
the officers. Thereafter, the accused ran
west on Golden Hill street, about 50 feet,
when another police car approached and
as the officer therein started to alight, the
accused fired a shot, the bullet lodging in
the cushion of the rear seat of the car.
The accused dropped the radio onto a
rampway leading to a garage on the south
side of Golden Hill street, then ran west
to Courtland strect, thence among several
buildings and backyards to Fairfield ave-
nue, and walked west to the rear entrance

STATE v.

PALKO Conn, 323

191 A.

of the apartment from whence he had
started. As the result of the wounds in-
flicted, Sergeant Kearney died the follow-
ing day.

[2,3] These facts were abundantly
supported by the testimony in the amount
required under our ‘law. The statutory
requirement for conviction in a capital
case that there shall be the testimony of
at least two witnesses or its equivalent.
General Statutes, § 6479, does not mean
that there must be two or more witnesses
testifying to the same fact or to each fact.
“If there be two or more witnesses each
testifying to different parts of the same
transaction, or to different circumstances
attending it, and all concur to prove the
crime alleged, this may be sufficient to
warrant a conviction, though there should
not be two witnesses to any one fact.”
State v. Schutte, 97 Conn. 462, 467, 117 A.
508, 511. The evidence justified the in-
ference that the accused had the revolver
in his possession and intended to shoot
and to kill, if necessary, to prevent his
capture. The jury could reasonably have
found a design on the part of the accused
to effect the death of any person, if neces-
sary, to prevent his capture and effect his
escape, and that the shooting of the officer
was willful, deliberate, and premeditated.
State v. Simborski, 120 Conn. 624, 629, 182
A. 221; State v. Chapman, 103 Conn. 453,
468, 130 A. 899. The trial court did not err
in denying the accused’s motion to set aside
the verdict.

[4,5] In his brief, the accused has se-
lected isolated parts of the charge and
claims that the jury may have been pre-
judiced thereby. It is sufficient to dispose
of the claims of the accused in reference
to the charge by the fact that the assign-
ments of error in no way comply with
the rules. The rules (Practice Book 1934,
p. 107, § 362) require that all assignments
of error shall be specific. The assignment
of error in this case alleges that the court
erred “in failing to charge the jury in an
adequate and sufficient manner to fully
present the issues and questions of law
involved so that the jury could * * *
return a verdict in accordance with the
law.” Such a general assignment does not
comply with our rule and does not merit
consideration. “It should be distinctly and
specifically stated in what respects and how
these general objections apply.” Beitler
v. Rudkin, 104 Conn. 404, 405, 133 A. 214;
State v. Tripp, 84 Conn. 640, 643, 81 A. 247.

[6] In the brief, a sentence and a part
of a sentence are taken from the charge,
without reference to the context or the re-
mainder of the court’s instructions, and
claimed to have been erroncous. The trial
court, in informing the jury that they were
not exclusive judges of the credibility of
witnesses, among others things observed:
“Necessarily, gentlemen, if you find that
there are any witnesses in this case who
might have some motive for testifying as
they have testified, either wholly or in part,
you should take such a fact into consid-
eration in weighing the testimony of such
person, because in so far as it may be
affected, of course, in so far as it is affect-
ed, it is less reliable.” The jury could not
have understood the whole sentence as in-
forming them otherwise than if the jury
found that any witness had a motive for
testifying falsely they had a right to consid-
er that in weighing his testimony, and the
fact that the accused appearing as a wit-
ness has a vital interest in the result of
the trial is not an exception to this rule.
State v. Schleifer, 102 Conn. 708, 725, 130
A. 184.

[7,8] At another point in the course
of the charge, the court stated: “There
is no evidence in the case which would ex-
cuse, justify, mitigate, or extenuate the
shooting or slaying of Sergeant Kearney,
so that if you find the accused not guilty of
murder in the first degree, if you find that
it was he who shot and killed Sergeant
Kearney, he will be guilty of murder in
the second degree, unless you also find that
he was in such a condition of intoxication
at the time he shot Sergeant Kearney that
his mind could not conceive or entertain
malice aforethought, as I have explained
the meaning of that term to you, in which
case he would be guilty of manslaughter.”
The brief of the accused secks to take the
first part out of this sentence, but it must
be considered with reference to what im-
mediately followed and to the charge as a
whole, and it is evident that the jury
could not have understood it as meaning
otherwise than that there was no evidence
in the case of a justifiable or excusable
homicide to take from the killing of the
officer the condemnation of an unlawful
homicide; and the court then proceeded to
instruct the jury with regard to three
possible verdicts which they might return

in case they found that the accused did the”

shooting. There is no indication in the
finding that there was evidence of any
circumstances of excuse or justification

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824 Conn,

and the charge was not erroneous. State
v. Chapman, 103 Conn. 453, 485, 130 A.
899.. In their brief, counsel for the accused
concede that the charge of the court as a
whole was eminently fair to the accused.
We do not find prejudicial error in the
two passages to which reference is made
in appellant’s brief.

[9,10] The accused assigns error in
three rulings upon evidence. Lieutenant
Bray of the Bridgeport police department
was called as a witness by the State and
testified that the accused made a confession
to him while under arrest in the city of
Buffalo. In this confession, the accused
described breaking into Gilman’s Music
Store and the shooting of the police officer
which occurred on Golden Hill street short-
ly thereafter. After recounting in con-
siderable detail his participation in these
events, the accused stated that “before the
shooting of the officers, we broke into a
gas station on John Street near West Ave-
nue.” . Objection was directed to this con-
cluding sentence of the claimed confes-
sion, the substance of the objection hav-
ing been that it was immaterial and tended
to prejudice the accused by showing his
participation in another crime unconnect-
ed with the crime for which he was being
tried. The ohjection was properly over-
ruled by.the court. The part of the con-
fession to which the objection was speci-
fically directed contained in itself an ad-
mission of tthe shooting of the police
officer; and that admission would be unin-
telligible if the remainder of the sentence
were omitted. The entire narrative of the
accused, so far as it bore upon the crime
of which he was charged, was admissible,
and the repetition of all he said with re-
ference to that crime cannot be consid-
ered as an attempt on the part of the
State to prove an independent and dis-
tinct offense. Commonwealth v. Weston,
297 Pa. 382, 147 A. 79, 82; People v. Loom-
is, 178 N.Y. 400, 405, 70 N.E. 919, 921; 4
Wigmore, Evidence (2d Ed.) § 2100.
“That evidence tends to prove the com-
mission of other crimes by the accused
does not render it inadmissible if it is
otherwise relevant and material.” State
y. Simborski, supra, 120 Conn. 624, 631,
182 A. 221, 224; State v. Chapman, supra,
103 Conn. 453, 481, 130 A. 899,

(11] A similar ruling was made by
the court in admitting the testimony of
Sergeant Carroll, of the Bridgeport police
department, who testified that later at Buf-

191 ATLANTIC REPORTER

falo the accused repeated the confession
previously made to Lieutenant Bray; and
stated in the same language that’ prior to
breaking and entering into the Gilman
Music Store he had broken into a gasoline
station on John street near West avenue.
In rebuttal, the State called, as a witness,
Daniel J. Hurley, who testified that he
lived opposite a gasoline station on John
street and that about 11 o’clock in the eve-
ning of September 29th, from a window
in his house, he was able to see the in-
terior of the gasoline station; that he
there saw a man moving about who resem-
bled the accused, and that he had a bulge
in his left hip pocket and described in
some detail his movements, and the man-
ner in which he gained entrance. This
testimony was objected to as not proper
rebuttal, but was admitted by the court
over the objection of the accused. The
accused had taken the stand as a witness
in his own behalf and his contention was
that he had been drinking intoxicating
liquor that afternoon and evening and was
so intoxicated that he had no recollection
of what occurred at midnight that night
when the policeman was:shot. It was per-
missible for the State in rebuttal of this
testimony of the accused to show that about
an hour before the shooting, the accused
had been acting as would a person in pos-
session of his faculties. That he had hap-
pened to be so seen while robbing another
building did not render the evidence in-
admissible.

[12-15] Prior to the trial, the accused
moved the court for a change of venue
on the ground that there had been such
wide publicity of a nature so derogatory
to him that a fair trial by an impartial
jury could not be had in Fairfield county.
The burden of showing this is upon the
mover of the change of venue. State v.
Chapman, supra, 103 Conn. 453, 470, 130
A. 899. The power to grant a change of
venue is to be exercised with caution and
rests in the court’s sound discretion, which
is final unless it appears clearly that it
has exercised its discretion unreasonably.
State v. Cianflone, 98 Conn. 454, 461, 120
A. 347; State v. Luria, 100 Conn. 207, 209,
123 A. 378. The only way by which the
question could properly be presented to
us as-to whether the trial court erred in
denying the motion would be upon a find-
ing. State v. Chin Lung, 106 Conn. 701,
717, 139 A. 91. We have, however, exam-
ined the transcript of evidence offered in
support of the motion, and we cannot say

’

STATE v.
191

that the trial court unreasonably exercised
its discretion in denying it.

[16] The principal contention of the
accused on this appeal is that General
Statutes, § 6494, which permits the State
to appeal in a criminal case with the per-
mission of the trial court, is in violation
of section 9 of article 1 of the Constitu-
tion of Connecticut and of section 1 of
article 14 of the Amendments to the Con-
stitution of the United States; his con-
tention being that the jury on the first
trial, having found him guilty of murder
in the. second degree, thereby acquitted
him of the charge of murder in the first
degree and that the appeal by the State
to the Supreme Court of Errors and the
new trial upon the same indictment for
the same offense exposed him to double
jeopardy in violation of these constitutional
provisions. So far as the Constitution
of Connecticut is concerned, it contains
no such provision against double jeopardy,
which is found in the constitutions of many
states and in article 5 of the amendments
to the Constitution of the United States;
and in State v. Lee, 65 Conn. 265, 30 A.
1110, 27 L.R.A. 498, 48 Am.St.Rep. 202 ;
this court held that the provisions of the
General Statutes permitting an appeal by
the State did not violate any provision of
the Constitution of Connecticut. The basis
of the reasoning of the court in that case is
that there is but one jeopardy and one trial;
that where material error is committed on
a trial and a new trial is ordered by the
appellate court upon the State’s appeal,
the second trial is not a new case but is
a legal disposal of the same original case
tried in the first instance. It would be
unprofitable to repeat what was said in
that opirtion which has been referred to
by a great jurist as a “well-reasoned deci-
sion.” Kepner v. United States, 195 U.S.
100, 135, 24 S.Ct. 797, 49 L.Ed. 114, 1 Ann.
Cas. 655.

[17] The substance of the appellant's
claim is that our statute, permitting an
appeal by the State in a criminal case,
is in contravention of the Fourteenth
Amendment to the Constitution of the
United States, and that it abridges his
privileges and immunities as a citizen of
the United States and deprives him of life
and liberty without due process of law.
As the claim of the accused raises questions
as to rights secured under the provisions
of the Constitution of the United States,
we look to the decisions of the Supreme

ice sag Conn. 825

Court of the United States for guidance
as to the proper construction of these pro-
visions. In section 2 of article 4 of the
Constitution of the United States, it is
provided: “The Citizens of each State
shall be entitled to all Privileges and
Immunities of Citizens in the several
States.” In Corfield v. Coryell, Fed.Cas.
No. 3,230, 4 Wash.C.C. 371, 380, it was’
said that these expressions were confined
“to those privileges and immunities which
are * * * fundamental” and that “what
these fundamental principles are, it would
be more tedious than difficult to enumerate
They may, however, be all comprehended
under the following general heads: Pro-
tection by the government; * * * with
the right to acquire and possess property
of every kind, and to pursue and. obtain
happiness and safety; subject nevertheless
to such restraints as the government may
* * * prescribe for the general good of
the whole.” In Ward v. Maryland, 79 U.S.
(12 Wall.) 418, 430, 20 L.Ed. 449, they
were said to include “the right of a citizen
of one State to pass into any other State
of the Union for the purpose of engaging
in lawful commerce, trade, or business with-
out molestation; to acquire personal pro-
perty; to take and hold real estate; to
maintain actions in the courts of the State;
and to be exempt from any higher taxes
or excises than are imposed by the State
upon its own citizens.”

In the Slaughter House Cases, 83 U.S.
(16 Wall.) 36, 75, 21 L.Ed. 394, these cases
were quoted from at length, the court hold-
ing that the privileges and immunities
guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amend-
ment were of the same-character as those
guaranteed under the Fourth article of the
Constitution; and in Colgate v. Harvey,
296 U.S. 404, 431, 56 S.Ct. 252, 259, 80
L.Ed. 299, 102 A.L.R. 54, it was said:
“The purpose of the pertinent clause in
the Fourth Article was to require each
state to accord equality of treatment to
the citizens of other states in respect of
the privileges and immunities of state
citizenship. It has always been so inter-
preted. One purpose and effect of the priv-
ileges and immunities clause of the Four-
teenth Amendment, read in the light of
this interpretation, was to bridge the gap
left by that article so as also to safeguard
citizens of the United States against any
legislation of their own states having the
effect of denying equality of treatment in
respect of the exercise of their privileges of
national citizenship in other states;” and,

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But he couldn’t find Palka’s name.
Bray’s description of the suspect,
however, caused him to suddenly
remember.

“Oh, yes. I think you mean Bob
Hawkins. That’s the name he gave,
anyway. Checked in two days ago.
Room. 15, second floor.”

Rushing upstairs, the officers
pounded on “Hawkins’” door. When
there was no answer, the clerk was
summoned. He unlocked the door,
then jumped back as Bray, his gun
ready, barked: “Come out, Palka!”

But nothing happened.

Bray stepped cautiously inside
the room, shot a glance around.
“Empty!” he exclaimed dully.

Not only empty, but the room
showed no signs of having been oc-
cupied for several days. The bed-
spread was unwrinkled; the dresser
top was spick and span.

The clerk stood in the doorway,
looking baffled. Then he snapped
his fingers. “Say, I remember that
he did act kind of queer. He asked
me a lot of questions about Buffalo,
particularly where North Thomp-
son was. He said something about
visiting a friend there.”

“We can check the street easily,”
said one of the Buffalo detectives.
“It’s only eight blocks long; mostly
rooming-houses.”

Bray rubbed his chin. “Yeah?
That sounds all right. He may be’
holed-up with some friends.”

Thompson Street was lined with
small stores and cheap boarding
houses. Bray drove to the end of
the street, made a U-turn back. The
bright morning sun glittered on the
snow. Long, feathery spirals of
smoke rose from rear chimneys.

He said: “We might as well beat
through every house,” and then he
stopped, glancing toward the side-
walk. His mouth opened slightly
as he stared at a tall, bareheaded
youth striding purposefully along
with an armload of groceries.

“That’s him! Palka!” he ex-
claimed.

Brakes squealed; the squad car
swerved to the curb, bucked to a
stop. <A short distance ahead was
Palka. He heard the car, heard
the doors open, and he whirled
around with a surprised, cat-like
movement. But he was too late.
The officers were on him, guns
drawn menacingly.

The suspect was frozen motion-
less only for a second. Then he
dropped the groceries and tried to
make a getaway. His eyes flashing
savagely, he jammed Bray and a
Buffalo officer against each other,
and darted into the open. For a
split second his feet flew wildly.
Then Carrol’s long right arm snaked
out, grabbed Palka’s coat-tails,

Palka went down, sliding and
cursing, to an ignominous sitting
position on the icy walk. Someone
snapped bracelets on his wrists,

HE JUST sat there, looking com-.
pletely disgusted, until the offi-'
cers jerked him upright and frisked
him. He was unarmed. They
shoved him into the car and started
for headquarters. On the way, Palka
rubbed a sore hip and cursed rue-
fully: “Of all the dumb luck. If
I’d known you coppers were this
close, I’d have bought some drinks
instead of that eatin’ stuff. My last
nickel, too!”

Taken to a private office, Palka

‘calmly refused to talk until he had

a cup of coffee. When this was done,
he drank several gulps and then
leaned back with a satisfied grunt.
He opened his coat and grinned at
the officers surrounding him.

UNCENSORED DETECTIVE

“Sure, I plugged those guys back
home. Ain’t that what you wanted
to hear? They tried to break up my
little business at the store, so,” his
lips cracked farther in a wolfish
grin, “I let ’em have it. Right in the
guts!”

Across the room, Bray’s features
grayed with rage. His hands trem-
bled, clenched, and it required su-
perhuman effort to stay himself
from leaping on the prisoner.

The tension eased somewhat
when a Buffalo detective shot a
string of questions at Palka. Who
was his helper? Where was the
gun?

“Take it easy, boys,” Palka
chortled, waving his hand. Then
his chest visibly expanded as he
said: “I did it. Yeah, all by myself.
Whatta guy!” A burst of wild
laughter swelled from his skinny
throat.

“You’re a liar!” broke in Carrol,
harshly. ;

Palka didn’t seem to hear that, as
he took another gulp of coffee. But
at last he looked up shrewdly.
“Guess I’d be a sucker to take the
blame, eh? I think so. Well, Frank
Szynanski, who lives in Stratford,
did the shooting. He had the gun.
It was just crack, crack, and those
poor guys were on the ground.”

For three hours he clung to that
story. Finally, the weary officers
stuck him in a cell for the night. He
flopped down on his cot and was
soon sound asleep.

At early dawn the youth rolled
out of bed and summoned a guard.
“Tell ’em,” he said quietly, “that I
unreeled a phony confession last
night. I’ll take the murder rap, but
Szynanski will have to string along
because he was with me.”

To Bray and Carrol, a little later,
Palka said he was telling the “true”
story. “We tried to pull the radio
shop job,” he said, “because my
girl friend wanted a new radio. She
kept after me, sayin’ I’d get a radio
if I loved her.” He paused, looking
almost boyishly proud. He said
softly: “Gee, she liked my poetry.”

As for the actual details of the
murders, he related how Kearney
and Walker came to the alley just
as he and Szynanski were crawling
out the store window. “The slugs
were going all around us,” he said,
“as we plastered up against the
alley wall. I happened to reach be-
hind me, and found a large hole. I
crawled through, slipped around. a
building and came up behind the
two coppers.”

After the shooting, he and Szy-
nanski had fled to the latter’s sedan,
driven around the block, and then
parked behind the apartment ‘house
where he lived. Szynanski had left
him then, saying he was going home.
Palka had found three friends wait-
ing in his room and warned them
to keep quiet if the police came.

He admitted that he had meant
to send the coded poem to his girl
friend,-but had changed his mind
at the Iast moment. “I didn’t know
how hot things were,” he said, “and
was afraid you guys were watching
her mail.”

The murder gun, he claimed, had

. been thrown in a swamp behind the

Sikorsky Aviation plant outside
Stratford. He admitted having
stolen it from Ryan’s tavern.
Palka was taken back to Bridge-
port the same day. Shortly after-
ward Frank Szynanski was arrested
at his Stratford home. A light-
haired, wiry man, Szynanski made
no pretense of innocence when he
heard about his erstwhile friend’s
confession. “All right, boys,” he ad-

mitted, “I’m in on the job. I might
have known this would happen.”

Though justly elated, Bray and
Wheeler realized that their job was
not yet done. They agreed that the
finding of the murder gun was of
paramount importance. Otherwise,
the two confessions might prove
duds in court if the killers decided
to repudiate their stories, Palka,
in fact, was already bleating that
third-degree tactics had been used
on him in Buffalo,

That night, and the next day, a
posse of 20 officers and numerous
citizens descended on the Stratford
swampland to search for the gun,
the one thing that would tie up the
loose ends of the case. Two days,
then a week, went past with no luck.
The gun was not to be found,

Puzine this time, Palka’s fiancee,
Miss Dorothy Capozza, was ques-
tioned on her knowledge of the kill-
er’s activities. She soon convinced
Wheeler that she had been com-
pletely ignorant of his dual person-
ality, and was then released. “He
had such a fine brain,” she sobbed.
“And it had to come to this end.”

Weeks slipped into months,
months into a year and still they
were unable to find the missing
weapon.

On January 14, 1937, Palka’s trial
opened in Judge John C. Cornell’s
courtroom. And, as fully expected,
the youth tried to recant his orig-
inal confession. From the witness

chair, he said dramatically: “I took |

bP ama to protect Frartk Szynan-
ski!’

The prosecution, however, was
not surprised by this move. Szynan-
ski, who in the meantime had de:
cided to turn State’s witness, was
summoned to the stand. For an
hour he proceeded .to rip holes in
Palka’s story, and when he was fin-
ished, little doubt remained in the
minds of his listeners as to who
really had fired the fatal bullets.

The jury reached a quick verdict.
Palka was found guilty of second
degree murder.

Upon receiving his sentence of
life imprisonment, the slayer smiled.
wanly: “At least I saved my damn
neck!” . 5;

But his'grim elation was not to
last long. The state of Connecticut,
exercising a right which it holds in
common with only one other state,
appealed the sentence on the ground
that it was unsatisfactory to the
best interest of society.

Once again Palka went on trial
for his life. During the proceed-
ings he displayed little concern over
his fate and spent most of the time
dozing at the defense table. Nine
days later, the jury returned a ver-

dict of guilty of first degree mur-*

der. The death sentence was man-
datory.

Frank Szynanski was shortly re-
leased from custody, due to the lack
of conclusive evidence of his guilt.

In death’s row, Palka’s interest
in life took a dramatic upswing. He
became engrossed in volumes of
theological writings. He held long,
intense conversations with visiting
churchmen. He spent hours lectur-
ing fellow inmates on the futility
of crime.

“Look at me, men!” the would
shout vehemently. “I’m the most
hated man in the world! Yes, to
all appearance I’m still alive. But,
Spiritually, I died the moment I
fired those shots three years ago!”

On the night of April 13, 1938,
Palka rode an electric thunderbolt
for a rendezvous with his “long
dead” spirit.

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820 Conn.

to her pursuant to said decree shall be deem-
ed to include the interest due on said sum of
$8,887.54.

The defendants Roy W. and Charles P.
Gates and Pauline Gates Heely filed a
counterclaim wherein they seek to compel
the complainant to return, or repay, to the
corpus of the trust, the income received
by her from the trust fund, prior to Jan-
uary -2, 1931. The amount involved is ap-
proximately $6,000. They charge that
complainant was not entitled to any income
until one year had elapsed after the tes-
tator’s death; that because of representa-
tions by complainant to Mr. Pond, presi-
dent of the trust company, of a lack of
funds to meet living expenses, they con-
sented to have $200,000 of the trust: set up
on May 31, 1930, which was before the
expiration of one year from the date of
the testator’s death; that the counter-
claimants said consent was given because
they relied upon said representations which
they subsequently found to be untrue and
false. It appears. that the counterclaim-
ants’ consent was obtained after the com-
plainant agreed to give them certain chat-
tels bequeathed to her by decedent. How-
ever, the determination as to the com-
plainant’s title to the income herein, above
announced, is dispositive of the demand in
the counterclatm; and it does not seem
necessary, under the circumstances, to fur-
ther consider the issue thus raised. The
counterclaim will be dismissed.

I shall advise an order to conform with
conclusions above declared.

STATE v. PALKO.

Supreme Court of Errors of Connecticut.
March 4, 1937.

1. Homicide €=316

Whether motion to set aside verdict of
guilty of murder in first degree should have
been denied was to be determined by wheth-
er jury might reasonably have found that
guilt of accused was established beyond a
reasonable doubt by evidence equivalent to
that of two witnesses (Gen.St.1930, § 6479).

191 ATLANTIC REPORTER

2. Criminal law €=549

Statute requiring testimony of at least
two witnesses or its equivalent for convic-
tion in a capital case is satisfied if there are
two or more witnesses, each testifying to
different parts of same transaction, or to
different circumstances attending it, and all
concur to prove crime alleged, although
there may not be two witnesses to any one
fact (Gen.St.1930, § 6479).

3. Homicide €=282

Whether defendant charged with killing
police officer was guilty of murder in the
first degree held for jury, under evidence
equivalent to that of two witnesses from
which jury could reasonably have found a
design to effect death of any person to pre-
vent defendant’s capture after having bro-
ken into store and carried away a radio
(Gen.St.1930, § 6479).

4. Criminal law €1129(3)

Assignment that court erred in failing
to charge jury in an adequate and sufficient
manner to fully present issues and questions
of law involved so that jury could return
a verdict in accordance with law held too
general to be considered, under rules (Prac-
tice Book 1934, p. 107, § 362),

5. Criminal law G>1129(3)

Assignment of errors should distinctly
and specifically state in what respects and
how the general objections apply (Practice
Book 1934, p. 107, § 362).

6. Witnesses €=365

Jury may consider motive of witness
for testifying falsely in weighing witnesses’
testimony, and fact that accused appears as
a witness and has a vital interest in result
of trial does not create an exception to such
rule.

7. Criminal law €=822(8)

In murder prosecution, statement in in-
struction with respect to there being no evi-
dence which would justify or mitigate the
killing would have to be considered by re-
viewing court in considering propriety of
statement with reference to what imme-
diately followed and to charge as a whole.

8. Homicide €=340(4)

In murder prosecution, instruction stat-
ing that there was no evidence of a justifi-
able or excusable homicide to take from the
killing the condemnation of an unlawful

Fe atime

STATE v. PALKO
191 A.

homicide, which then continued with regard
to three possible verdicts if accused did the
shooting, held not erroneous, where there
was no indication in finding that there was
evidence of any circumstances of excuse or
justification.

9. Criminal law €=517(5)

In murder prosecution, statement of ac-
cused in purported confession that before
the shooting they broke into a gas station,
held admissible, since admission in sentence
would be unintelligible if remainder of a
sentence were omitted, and since entire nar-
rative of accused, so far as it bore upon
crime of which he was charged, was adimis-
sible.

10. Criminal law €=369(2)

That evidence tends to prove the com-
mission of other crimes by the aceused does
not render it inadmissible if it is otherwise
relevant and material.

1f. Criminal law €=683(3)

In murder prosecution, evidence with
respect to accused’s actions while allegedly
robbing building about an hour prior to
killing held admissible in rebuttal to show
that shortly before the killing, accused had
been acting as would a person in possession
of his faculties, where accused had testified
that he was so intoxicated he had no recol-
lection of what occurred when victim was

shot.

12. Criminal law €>134(1)

Burden of showing that a fair trial
could not be had because of wide publicity
of a nature derogatory to accused was on
mover for change of venue.

13. Criminal law €121, 1150

Power to grant a change of venue is
to be exercised with caution, and rests in
trial court’s discretion, which is final unless
it appears clearly that it has been exercised
unreasonably.

14. Criminal law C= 1110(1)

Only way by which question as to wheth-
er trial court erred in denying motion for
change of venue in criminal case could be
properly presented before reviewing court
would be upon a finding.

15. Criminal law G12!
In murder prosecution, denial of change
of venue requested on ground that there

191 A.—21

Conn. 821

had been such wide publicity of a nature
so derogatory to aecused that a fair trial
by an impartial jury could not be had in
county held not abuse of discretion.

16. Criminal law 1005

Statute permitting an appeal by state

in a criminal prosecution held not to violate
provision of Constitution relating to rights
of an accused in a criminal prosecution
(Gen.St.1930, § 6494; Const.Conn. art. 1,
§ 9).

17. Courts €=97(5)

Where questions as to rights of accused

secured under provisions of Federal Consti-
tution were raised on appeal in criminal
ease, Supreme Court of Errors would look
to decisions of United States Supreme Court
for proper construction of those provisions
(Const.U.S. art. 4, § 2, and Amend, 14).

18. Constitutional law C267
“Due process of law,” as used in the

Federal Constitution, is met if trial in crim-
inal ease is had according to the settled
course of judicial proceedings (Const.U.S.
art. 4, § 2, and Amends. 5, 14).

[Ed. Note.—For other definitions of
“Due Process of Law,’ see Words &
Phrases.]

19. Constitutional law @€206(1), 260

Statute permitting an appeal by the
state in a criminal case with consent of
trial court held not to subject accused, who
had been convicted in first trial of murder
in the second degree, and who was convict-
ed of murder in first degree, on second
trial, after appeal by state with permission
of trial court, to double jeopardy or to
abridge his privileges and immunities as a
citizen of United States, or to deprive him
of his life or liberty without “due process
of law” within Federal Constitution (Gen.
$t.1930, § 6494; Const.U.S. art. 4, § 2, and
Amends. 5, 14).

a ee

Appeal from Superior Court, Fairfield
County; Arthur F. Ells, Judge.

Frank Palko was convicted of murder
in the first degree after his motion for a
change of venue was denied, and the issues
had been tried to a jury, and he appeals.

No error.

Argued before MALTBIE, C. J., and
HINMAN, BANKS, AVERY, and
BROWN, JJ.

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658 Conn.

fessing is of no importance, provided it does
not result from threats, fear, or promise made
by persons in authority.

14, Criminal law €=1153(6)

Although ruling on admissibility of con-
fession in murder prosecution is within trial
court’s discretion, question of duty is involv-
ed, and hence trial court’s action thereon is
reviewable upon appeal.

15. Criminal law €=531 (3)

In murder prosecution, excluding confes-
sion of accused, who contended that he was
drunk when crime was committed, on ground
of accused’s incarceration, his claimed prom-
ise to take responsibility, false statements of

_ officer to induce confession, and all other sur-
rounding circumstances, held reversible er-
ror.

MALTBIE, C. i and BROWN, HIN-
MAN, and AVERY, JJ., dissenting in part,

——

Appeal from Superior Court, - Fairfield
County; John A. Cornell, Judge.

Frank Palko was indicted for the crime
of murder in the first degree. The prose-
cution was tried to the jury. From a ver-
dict and judgment of guilty of murder
in.the spcond degree, the State appeals.

Error, and new trial ordered.

Argued before MALTBIE, C. J., and
HINMAN, BANKS, AVERY, and
BROWN, JJ.

William H. Comley, State’s Atty., and
Lorin W. Willis, both of Bridgeport, for
the State.

David Goldstein, Johnson Stoddard, Pub-
lic Defender, and William Dorkin, all of
Bridgeport, for appellee.

BROWN, Judge.

By its brief the state has limited the er-
rors assigned upon this appeal to six, the
first relating to the court’s charge to the
jury, and the others to rulings upon evi-
dence. Upon the trial the state offered
evidence to prove, and claimed to have
proved, these facts material to the claimed
error in the charge. Late in the evening
of September 29, 1935, the accused, taking
with him a revolver which he had possess-
ed since obtaining it from Ryan’s Tavern
several months before, with Frank Burke,

‘left their apartment at No, 590 Fairfield

186 ATLANTIC REPORTER

avenue in Bridgeport, and going to Gil-
man’s Music Store at No. 243 Fairfield
avenue, just after midnight, broke in the
show window thereof, from which each
seized and carried away a radio, departing
by different routes on the return to their
apartment. In breaking the plate glass
window with the revolver, the grips there-
of were broken off and were found there
shortly after. When the accused had
reached a point on the southerly side of
Golden Hill street, an officer stepped out
from each side of a police car which had
drawn up to him, the one on the left lay-
ing his hands on him and asking where he
was going with the radio, Thereupon the
accused, who was carrying his revolver in
the sleeve of his coat, let it drop down
into his hand and fired one shot into this
officer, and then, turning as the other
came near, fired a shot into him. He then
ran west some 50 feet, where another po-
lice car drew up, and, as an officer started
to get out, he fired a shot into it which
lodged in. the cushions of the rear seat.
Dropping the radio, the accused then ran
on by streets and backyards toward his
apartment, pausing behind a wall to re-
cover his breath and reload his revolver,
after which he walked the rest of the way.
Upon his arrival, he told Thomas Iwan-
icki that, as he had approached the apart-
ment, another police car had come up,
and that, if either of the policemen in it
had “made a break” for him, he would
have shot them too. At this time, short-
ly after 1 o’clock in the morning, ana
also between 2 and half past that morn-
ing, the accused appeared to be sober.
Wilfred Walker, one of the officers shot,
and Thomas J. Kearney, the other, for
whose murder the accused was on trial in
this proceeding, each died within a few
hours from his wound inflicted by the ac-
cused. At the time of the killing the ac-
cused was ,on parole from Elmira Re-
formatory where he had been sentenced
for rape.

The accused offered evidence to prove,
and claimed’ to have proved, these facts
material in this connection. On September
29, 1935, the accused, who shared an apart-
ment on Fairfield aveniie with Frank
Burke and Thomas Evans, knew this
avenue to be well illuminated at night and
that police headquarters was located there-
on. From about 3 o’clock on that after-
noon the accused and Burke continued to

ce

€=For other cases see same topic and KEY NUMBER in all Key Number Digests and Indexes

ee ee

pao eR MMH

STATE y. PALKO Conn. 659
186 A,

drink ‘rye whisky in the apartment until
6 o'clock, when they went out and had a
sandwich for supper, and then returned
for a few minutes, doing more drinking.
After. visiting two cafés, where the ac
cused drank four glasses of beer, they re-
turned to the apartment at 8 o'clock and
started to drink again. Shortly there-

vafter the accused became intoxicated and

does not recall any of the circumstances
relating to the breaking and entering into
Gilman’s Music Store or the shooting of
the police officers. And he became so in-
toxicated by shortly after 9 o’clock that he
does not recall seeing Jack Burke, who
came to the apartment shortly before 3
o'clock on the morning of September
30, 1935, or have any recollection of any-
thing further that occurred until the po-

lice arrived in his room at that hour. .

The accused first suspected he might be
involved in any way in the breaking and
entering or in the shooting of the two
officers at half past 6 that morning, when
Evans told him and Frank Burke that
they were involved therein. It was a part
of the accused’s revolver which had been
in his possession prior to September 29,
1935, which was found in the entrance
of Gilman’s Music Store on the morning
of the following day.

The state contends that, upon the situa-
tion so disclosed, the court’s charge con-
cerning the essential elements of premedi-
tation and deliberation in the crime of
first degree murder was inadequate, inac-
curate, and misleading to the jury. Its

‘claim is that, while the definitions used by

the court in this connection, for the most
part at least, may be supported by au-
thority, and are properly applicable to the
case of the seemingly law-abiding citizen
who for motives difficult to trace and un-
der impulses open to contradictory in-
erpretation kills an enemy or a friend, in-
volving some transition, some traceable
mental reaction, from a man to whom mur-
der is an unthought of deed to one in-
tent upon killing, the same does not hold
true in such case as this, where the state’s
evidence discloses a gunman setting out
armed with a loaded revolver to commit
burglary, prepared in advance to kill if
necessary either to accomplish the crime
or to make good his escape. Obviously an
instruction sufficient in the former case
might be entirely inadequate for the lat-
ter. The question is whether the court’s

charge as given was sufficient upon these
issues.

The trial court in a general explana-
tion of the elements of first-degree murder
instructed the jury that. to constitute pre-
meditation there must be between the time
the perpetrator forms an intention to kill
and the instant when he carries out such
intention “an interval of time during which
he gave thought to and reflected upon his
purpose sufficiently to know what he was
doing and what the probable effect of his
doing it would be upon his victim. It will
occur to you that where a man suddenly
makes up his mind to kill another and in-
stantly shoots or otherwise fatally injures
him, there is no opportunity for such con-
sideration of what he is doing to enable
him to comprehend the nature of his act
or the result of it to the object of his at-
tack. In such case there can be no pre-
meditation since intent to kill and the per-
formance of the act of killing coincide and
practically take place at the same instant.”
The trial court then repeated the charge
as to the necessity of an interval of time
elapsing between the formation of the in-
tent and the commission of the crime,
adding that the court does not attempt to
say that any ‘particular period of time
shall have elapsed, provided it is sufficient
to afford the perpetrator sufficient oppor-
tunity for thought as to his purpose, and
that in some cases this may be a very
short time and in others a longer period.

In view of the claims of the parties, the
effect of this charge, particularly in the
use of the word “reflection” and the em-
phasis placed by the trial court upon the
application of the principle as applied
to a sudden killing, would tend to center
the attention of the jury upon the brief
interval that passed between the time when
the officer placed his hand upon the arm
of the accused and the shooting. Had the
trial court gone on to give to the jury
adequate instructions as to the applica-
tion of the general principles it had stated,
to the evidence in this case, this portion
of the charge might not have constituted
reversible error. Later in the charge the
court did refer to the state’s claim that
the fact that the accused at the time of
the shooting was escaping with stolen
property afforded ground for the in-
ference that it was not done upon sud-
den impulse without opportunity for re-
flection, but rather as the outcome of a

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826 Conn.

on page 429 of 296 U.S., page 258 of 56
S.Ct., 80 L.Ed. 299, 102 A.L.R. 54, it was
said: “Under the Fourteenth Amendment,
therefore, the simple inquiry is whether the
privilege claimed is one which arises in
virtue of national citizenship. If the priv-
ilege be of that character, no state can
abridge it. No attempt has been made by
the courts comprehensively to define or
enumerate the privileges and immunities
which" the Fourteenth Amendment thus
protects.” The privileges and immunities
of citizens of the United States do not
necessarily include all the rights protected
by the first eight amendments to the Fed-
eral Constitution against the power of the
federal. government. Maxwell v. Dow,
176 U.S. 581, 597, 20 S.Ct. 448, 494, 44 L.Ed.
597. It was held in this case that a trial
by a jury of twelve in a state court was not
a privilege or immunity of a citizen of the
United States, and one might be tried by a
jury of eight. In Walker v. Sauvinet, 92
U. S. 90, 92, 23 L.Ed. 678, it was deter-
mined that “a trial by jury in suits at com-
mon law pending in the State courts is not
* * * a privilege or immunity of nation-
al citizenship, which the States are for-
bidden by: the Fourteenth Amendment to
abridge.”

[18] The requirement of “due process
of law” is met if the trial is had according
to the settled course of judicial proceed-
ings. Den ex dem. Murray v. Hoboken
Land & Improvement Co., 59 U.S. (18
How.) 272, 280, 15 L.Ed. 372. “Due proc-
ess of law is process due according to
the law of the land. This process in the
States is regulated by the law of the State.”
Walker v. Sauvinet, supra, 92 U.S. 90,
93, 23 L.Ed. 678. The term “due process
of law” appearing in the Fourteenth
Amendment of the Constitution of the
United States does not require indictment
by a grand jury in a capital case in a state
court, and prosecution by information,
when authorized by the state law, does
not offend against this clause. Hurtado
v. California, 110 U.S. 516, 533, 537, 4 S.
Ct. 111, 292, 28 L.Ed. 232.

[19] The accused had the benefit of
a fair and impartial trial in accordance
with the settled course of judicial pro-
ceedings prevailing in this State. Our
statute, which permits the State to appeal
with the permission of the trial court, was
first adopted in 1886 and has been in force
for more than fifty years. As construed
in State v. Lee, supra, 65 Conn. 265, 282,

191 ATLANTIC REPORTER

30 A. 1110, 27 L.R.A. 498, 48 Am.St.Rep.
202, and State v. Carabetta, 106 Conn. 114,
116, 137 A. 394, we conclude that it does
not subject the accused to double jeopardy
or abridge his privileges and immunities
as a citizen of the United States, or deprive
him of his life or liberty without “due pro-
cess of law.” ‘
There is no error.

In this opinion, the other Judges con-
curred,

:
6 ele xcrnuace svsTem

CONNECTICUT MILK PRODUCERS
ASS’N v. BROCK-HALL DAIRY
CO., Ine., et al.

Supreme Court of Errors of Connecticut.
March 4, 1937.

1, Appeal and error €=219(2)

Supreme Court of Errors would not ex-
amine evidence for the purpose of finding
facts, or drawing inferences which the trial
court was not requested to include in the
findings. :

2. Agriculture 6

Co-operative milk marketing corpora-
tion, the by-laws of which contained provi-
sions for assessment and for reserve fund,
had general power under statutes under
which it was incorporated to impose assess-
ments on its members for its expenses or to
create reserve fund (Gen.St.1930, §§ 3523,
3528, 3534).

3. Agriculture 6

Where neither statutes under which co-
operative milk marketing corporation was in-
corporated nor its articles of association
specifically stated purposes for which assess-
ments might be laid on. members or a re-
serve fund be created, whether assessments
in question were for valid purpose would
depend on whether. they were made in exer-
cise of power necessary or incidental to pur-
poses for which corporation was formed or
activities in which it engaged (Gen.St.1930,
8§ 3518-3539).

4. Agriculture €=6
Attempt by co-operative milk marketing
corporation to find market for milk of its

CONNECTICUT MILK P. ASS’N yea yates aoe DAIRY CO. Conn. Ae
191 A,

members was within scope of purposes of
corporation stated in its articles to promote
and encourage co-operative marketing of
milk and milk products, to eliminate or min-
imize speculation therein and wasteful meth-
ods of production, distribution, and market-
ing and to act co-operatively in handling
products and problems of members (Gen.St.
1930, $§ 3518-3539). :

5. Agriculture €=6

In determining what action of co-opera-
tive milk marketing corporation was neces-
sary or incidental to carrying out its pur-
poses and activities, in absence of any provi-
sion in statutes, articles of association, or
by-laws, terms of contract between corpora-
tion and its members would be the best
guide (Gen.St.1930, §§ 3518-3539).

6. Agriculture €=6

Members of co-operative milk marketing
corporation, each of whom entered into con-
tract with corporation, for marketing of
milk, held not in position to attack exercise
of powers by corporation, which were rea-
sonably in scope of provisions of contract
(Gen.St.1930, §§ 3518-3539).

7. Agriculture €=6

Assessments of co-operative milk mar-
keting corporation on each hundred pounds
of milk furnished it by its members to be
placed into fund for financing excessive milk
which could not be sold as fluid milk, but
which was required to be sold for manufac-
ture of butter, cheese, ice cream, and like
products, held reasonably within statutory
authority given corporation to exercise all
powers necessary or incidental to carry out
purposes for which it was created and activ-
ities in which it engaged (Gen.St.1930, §§
3518-3539). ;

8. Agriculture €=6

Assessments which.were lawfully impos-
ed by co-operative milk marketing corpora-
tion on each hundred pounds of milk fur-
nished by members of corporation held not
illegal as being in derogation of power of
milk control board to fix minimum price
which should be paid producers in state for
milk which they sold (Gen.St.1930, §§ 3518-
3539).

9. Agriculture =6

Activities of co-operative marketing cor-
poration, which was legally organized and
which legally exercised powers granted to

such corporations by statutes, were not open
to attack as being against public policy of
state (Gen.St.1930, §§ 3518-3539),

—_——_>—————

Appeal from Superior Court, Hartford
County; Edwin C. Dickenson, Judge.

Action in the nature of an interpleader
by the Connecticut Milk Producers Asso-
ciation against the Brock-Hall Dairy Com-
pany, Inc., and others, tried by the court,
to determine the rights of a fund held by
the named defenndant, as between the
plaintiff and the individual defendants.
Judgment for the plaintiff, and the de-
fendants Lyman and others appeal.

No error.

Argued before MALTBIE, C. J., and
HINMAN, BANKS, AVERY, = and
BROWN, JJ.

Ralph O. Wells and William S. Locke,
both of Hartford, for appellants.

W. Arthur Countryman, Jr., of Hart-
ford, for appellee.

MALTBIE, Chief Justice.

This action’ when it came to trial had
resolved into an interpleader wherein the
defendant dairy company, having certain
money in its possession, pleaded its will-
ingness to pay it either to the plaintiff or
to a group of some two hundred persons,
represented by a committee of five, who
were cited in as additional defendants and
to whom we shall hereafter refer as the
defendants. The plaintiff is an organiza-
tion of milk producers, each of whom en-
tered into an agreement with it under
which the milk produced by him was sold
and delivered to “dealers, under contracts
which the association made with them.
The association made certain assessments
upon its members based upon the amount
of milk each delivered to the dealer with
whom he dealt. In accordance with the
provisions of the contracts between the
association and its members, and the asso-
ciation and the dairy company, the dairy
company withheld, in making payments
to the producers who delivered milk to it,
the amounts of the assessments against
them and the money so withheld is the
subject-matter of this action. The asso-
ciation claims the money as constituting
valid assessments upon its members. The
defendants claim it upon the ground that
the assessments were not valid and hence
the money is due them as a part of the


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660 Conn.

formed design to shoot any one who
might interfere with his escape, with full
opportunity to compchend the character
and probable result of such a purpose, and
that the shooting of Kearney was but the
result of his alertness in carrying out this
plan. But this statement of the claim of
the state omitted the vital factor that the
defendant had set out armed to commit a
crime, nor did it in any way comment on
“this claim or the bearing which the facts
would have if the jury found them proven,
upon the issue of premeditation.

‘ Thereafter the trial court stated that
it was in evidence that a car stopped beside
the defendant, somebody alighted and put
nis hand on the shoulder of the accused
‘and asked where he ws going with the
radio; and it then charged the jury as fol-
lows: “Now, I have already told you,
gentlemen, that the time required to form
a specific intent to kill, to premeditate and
to deliberate, may be longer, it may be
short, but it must be sufficient for the per-
son involved to know what kind of an
act he was about to perform, and its prob-
able effect upon his victim. Now, I am
only suggesting this to you, I am not sug-
gesting any conclusion to you, but I am
suggesting to you that you consider the
hypothesis, that I suggested to you, wheth-
er or not,»if this statement is true, that the
accused saw the scout car as it approach-
cd him, before it stopped, and as he says:
‘Then I Iect the gun slip from my slceve
into my hand, and I turned around and
fired.’ Now, gentlemen, again, I am ‘ug-
gesting no conclusion to you, but if you
find the facts established, and whether they
are established or not you are to decide,
and if you find them established you should
consider further the length of time in-

volved in these operations; whether or’

not there is any evidence in the fact that
the gun slipped from his sleeve into his
hand, after seeing the car stop, which
would tend to establish what the intention
of the accused was, and whether or not he
had the specific intention to kill, and to
premeditate, bearing in mind always that
the fact must be established beyond a rea-
sonable doubt.”

[1, 2] The effect of this charge could
hardly have been other than to leave with
the jury the impression that, in determin-
ing whether the murder was premeditated,
they were to confine their attention to the
brief interval of time between the moment
when the officer accosted the defendant

186 ATLANTIC REPORTER

and the shooting. It is of course sound
law that an interval of time sufficient for
thought as well as action must exist, but
it was error for the trial court to leave
with. the jury the impression that in case
of an armed burglar who is stopped in his
efforts to escape with the stolen property,
in determining whether or not there was
premeditation, they are to regard only
the incalculable moment between his re-
alization of the threat of arrest and the
pulling of the trigger ready to his hand
for that very purpose. He has gone out
for the double purpose to burglarize and
to escape. It would be as absurd to say
that whether he plans to steal is to be de-
termined only as of the moment when
he has his hand on the loot as to say
that only the interval of time between the
moment when the criminal is accosted by
the officer and the instant of the shooting
is to be considered in determining wheth-
er the crime was premeditated. The
charge in thus confining the attention of
the jury in determining whether premedi-
tation existed to this brief .moment of
time, and giving no instructions as to the
significance of the conduct of the accused
in setting out armed under the circum-
stances as claimed by the state, was inade-
quate for their guidance. From it they
could well have understood that, even
though they found the killing occurred
as contended by the state, it would not con-
stitute murder in the first degree. Upon
quite similar facts, in the case of a crim-
inal setting out armed to commit a crime
and secure his retreat, who in the course
of the enterprise killed an officer attempt-
ing to arrest him and was found. guilty
by the jury of murder in the first de-
gree, we said that “the verdict reached
by the jury was the only verdict which
reasoning minds could reasonably have
reached upon this evidence.” State v.
Chapman, 103 Conn. 453, 469, 130 A.
899, 905. See, also, State v. Simborski,
120 Conn. 624, 629, 182 A. 221. There was
reversible error in the charge as to pre-
meditation,

[3-5] The state claims that the court
erred in excluding on its .cross-examina-
tion of the accused questions as to his
possession of the revolver with which
he shot Kearney. These were claimed to
show that the accused had obtained it by
burglarizing Ryan’s Tavern, to. affect his
credibility. The accused, by taking the
stand in his own behalf, waived the privi-

emis se

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STATE y. PALKO Conn. 661
186 A.

leges accorded him under the law as a
person accused of crime, and became as
any other witness and subject to the same
tests of cross-examination. Fitzpatrick
v. United States, 178 U.S. 304, 315, 316, 20
S.Ct. 944, 44 L.Ed. 1078. He therefore
had rendered himself subject to cross-ex-
amination upon such acts of misconduct as

‘indicate a lack of veracity, Shailer v. Bul-

lock, 78 Conn. 65, 70, 61 A. 65, 112 Am.
St.Rep. 87; and that such cross-exami-
nation might establish that the accused had
been found guilty of another crime is no
reason for its exclusion, Harper v. State,
106 Ohio St. 481, 140 N.E. 364; 3 Whar-
ton, Criminal Evidence (11th Ed.) § 1387.
The commission of statutory burglary falls
within this category. This crime is one
involving moral turpitude. Drazen v. New
Haven Taxicab Co., 95 Conn. 500, 111 A.
861. This latter fact, however, obviously
affords no meritorious basis for the sug-
gestion made by counsel for the accused
in: objecting to these questions, that be-
cause of section 5582 of the General Stat-
utes, providing that a witness is not dis-
qualified because of conviction of crime
but that such conviction may be shown
to affect his credit, such fact could only
be brought out by offering the record of his
conviction. The purpose of the statute was
to remove the common-law disqualifica-
tion of a witness because of a conviction
of crime, with a provision, however, that
such conviction might be shown to affect
his credit. It has nothing to do with the
method by which such conviction shall be
shown. The record indicates-that the court
adopted this suggestion as a reason for
excluding the questions. This was error.
The admission-of such evidence is in a
measure within the discretion of the
court. Spiro v. Nitkin, 72 Conn. 202, 205,
44 A. 13. While we should hesitate to
hold that the court’s ruling, upon this rec-
ord, constituted a proper exercise of its
discretion, the adoption of the above rea-
son therefor of itself rendered it errone-
ous.

[6] The state further claims that the
court erred in excluding its question on
cross-examination of the accused, seeking
‘to bring out that the loaded revolver
and money found upon his person when ar-
rested in Buffalo, N. Y., on October 29,
1935, were obtained by a robbery commit-
ted by him subsequent to the killing of
Kearney, for the purpose of affecting his
credibility. Under the rule in Shailer v.

Bullock, supra, this evidence was admis-
sible for the purpose claimed, and, upon
the whole situation shown -by the record,
the court’s exclusion of it constituted er-
ror.

[7] The court’s refusal to permit the
state to show through its witness Sergeant
Carroll, who participated in the arrest of
the accused at Buffalo, the circumstances
attending the arrest and what the accused
had upon his person at the time, is also
assigned as error. It was conceded that
the accused had fled following the shoot-
ing of Kearney, and that he was in the
course of that flight and evading arrest
when apprehended by Carroll and the oth-
er officers at Buffalo, and that at the time
he had in his possession a revolver, a black-
jack, and a substantial sum of money,
though he had none of these identical ar-
ticles at the time of the crime here charg-
ed. The state claimed the right to prove
these facts as bearing upon the conduct
and guilty knowledge of the accused. Up-
on the whole situation shown by this
record a majority of the court hold that
the trial court’s exclusion of this evidence
was within its discretion.

[8-10] The state claims that the court
erred in excluding the testimony of its
witness Officer Bray of a confession mauve
by the accused after his arrest in Buf-
falo. He made the statement while in-
carcerated in the police station, after the
officer had told him the police had obtained
the éntire story from Evans and Jack
surke and wife, who were locked up in
Bridgeport, which was untrue, and that
he had better tell the truth. He was not
cautioned that he did not have to say
anything that might be used against hini.
The officer also testified that no promise
of reward or threat was made to the
accused to induce the statement. His
testimony was the only evidence upon
the subject. The record and the accused’s
brief indicate four grounds relied upon for
excluding the evidence. The first, because
it was made while he was in custody, is
not based upon authority. The established
rule is to the contrary. Commonwealth
v. Chance, 174 Mass. 245, 249, 54 N.E.
551, 75 Am.St.Rep. 306; People v. Owen,
154 Mich. 571, 118 N.W, 590, 21 L.R.A.
(N.S.) 520; Balbo v. People, 80 N.Y. 484;
Hopt v. Utah, 110 U.S. 574,°4 S.Ct. 202,
28 L.Ed. 262; 2 Wharton, op. cit. § 610; 1
R.C.L. 565, § 111: 16 C.J. 719, § 1473. The
same is true of the second, that he was not

GTO IR


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656 conn.

sociation in Middle Parish in Granville v.
Baldwin, 42 Mass. (1 Metc.) 359, 365;
In re Imperial Mercantile Credit Ass’n.,
L.R. 19 Eq.Cas, 588:

In stating the facts as regards the as-
signment made between Scavone and the
plaintiff after the latter had made demand
on him, the majority opinion omits one
fact which seems to me of controlling
significance in working out the subsequent
rights of the parties. In consideration of
the cancellation of his indebtedness to the
‘ plaintiff, Scavone surrendered all right, ti-
tle, and interest he had in the property
included in the bill of sale and agreed to
surrender that property, with some other
articles. After that Scavone was not
holding the property as conditional ven-
dee; he could not, for instance, by paying
the balance due, obtain title to it; he was
holding it as bailee for the plaintiff. The
vice of the situation would arise, if at all,
out of the fact that thereafter the plain-
tiff permitted Scavone to continue in
possession just as he.had before, without
any outward indication that he had ceased
to hold the property as conditional vendee.
In other words, any claim an attaching
creditor of Scavone might have to hold
the goods against the plaintiff would
necessarily rest upon the application of the
doctrine as to retention of possession of
personal property, which applies where a
vendor retains possession of goods he has
sold without sufficient manifestation by
change of possession or otherwise that
title to them has passed from him.

The rule concerning the retention of
personal property after its sale or other

‘ disposition as it developed in our law

early came to be one of policy, adopted

for the prevention of fraud, that fraud .

being the possible defeat of the rights of
a purchaser or attaching creditor by a
fictitious or colorable transaction, the true
nature of which it would be extremely.
difficult or impossible for the purchaser or
creditor to prove. Mills v. Camp, 14 Conn.
219, 226, 36 Am.Dec. 488; Kirtland v.
Snow, 20 Conn. 23, 28; Colt v. Ives, 31
Conn. 25, 35, 36, 81 Am.Dec. 161; Web-
ster v. Peck, 31 Conn. 495, 500; Norton
vy. Doolittle, 32 Conn. 405, 410; Hatstat
v. Blakeslee, 41 Conn. 301, 302; Mead v.
Noyes, 44 Conn. 487, 490; Huebler v.
Smith, 62 Conn. 186, 190, 25 A. 658, 36
Am.St.Rep. 337. The rule is, “to a certain
extent, punitive in its character, creat-

186 ATLANTIC REPORTER

ing something in the nature of a forfeiture
for the violation of the policy of the law.”
Colt v. Ives, supra, 31 Conn. 25, at page
36, 81 Am.Dec. 161. It is “one which
has a restricted rather than an extended
application, as its very rigor necessarily
requires that it should have.” Wuebler v.

Smith, supra, 62 Conn. 186, at page 192, ©

25 A. 658, 660, 36 Am.St.Rep. 337. It has
its proper application where the owner of
property creates rights in another without
manifesting that fact by change of pos-
session or other lawful means such as
the recording of instruments for which
provision is made in the statutes. Adler
vy. Ammerman Furniture Co., 100 Conn.
223; 233, 123A. 268.

Under the bill of sale in this case, the
vendor had the right upon default in pay-
ment of any of the notes to immediate
possession of the fixtures, and Scavone
agreed to surrender them on demand. Of
this, the defendant was chargeable with no-
tice by the recording of the bill of sale.
Tire Shop vv. Peat, 115 Conn. 187, 189,
161 A. 96. To the right to take posses-
sion of them upon default in payment of
the last note, the plaintiff succeeded and
had made demand upon Scavone for their
surrender. It was not necessary that the
plaintiff should immediately exercise its
right to take possession under penalty of
losing his title should the property be sold
by Scavone or attached by one of his
creditors. Unless the arrangement enter-
ed into between the plaintiff and Scavone
materially affected the rights of the par-
ties, the defendant by its attachment had
no right to hold the property as against
the plaintiff. As between the plaintiff and
Scavone, the only change brought about
by that arrangement was the fact that
Scavone thereafter held the fixtures, not
as conditional vendee, but as bailee for
the plaintiff. There was no change in
the title of the fixtures, which always
remained in the vendor and the plaintiff
as its successor, and no change in the
plaintiff's right to immediate possession of
them. No one without actual knowledge
of the arrangement could be misled, be-
cause the bill of sale providing that the
vendor had these rights. continued of
record; and still less could any one be
misled who had knowledge of the arrange-
ment, as did the defendant. To apply the
rule to the situation before us would be an
extension not warranted by any need to

omen

~

2 ae RON OSH PREP IRAE ISOS

STATE v. PALKO Conn. 657
. 186A.

protect purchasers or attaching creditors,
and would impose a forfeiture without
sound reason for doing so.

I agree with the result reached in the
majority opinion, but think it should be
based upon the reason J have given.

In this opinion BROWN, J., concurred.

CO NUMBER SYSTEM

STATE v. PALKO.

Supreme Court of Errors of Connecticut.
July 30, 1936.

1. Homicide €22(1)

Interval of time sufficient for thought as
well as for action must exist to support con-
viction of first degree murder.

2. Homicide €=286 (3)

Where accused, who had armed himself
preparatory to burglarizing store, shot offi-
eer who attempted to apprehend accused as
accused was fleeing with stolen goods, charge
that, to sustain conviction of first degree mur-
der, jury must believe that accused had time
to premeditate between his realization of
threat of arrest and pulling of trigger of re-
volver which: was in his hand for such pur-
pose, held prejudicial as misleading.

3. Witnesses €277(1)

Accused by taking witness stand in his
own behalf waived privileges granted him as
person accused of crime, and became as any
other witness and subject to cross-examina-
tion. ‘

4. Witnesses 337 (5)

Accused, by taking witness stand, there-
by rendered himself subject to cross-exam-
ination upon such acts of misconduct as indi-
cated lack of veracity; and that such cross-
examination might establish that accused had
been convicted of another crime was no rea-

son for excluding such examination.

5. Witnesses €=337 (5)

Refusal to permit cross-examination of
accused to show that revolver used in shoot-
ing had heen stolen by accused, to affect his
credibility, held abuse of discretion, where
evidence was excluded on ground that burgla-

ry conviction could be disclosed only by of-
fering record of acecused’s conviction (Gen.
St.1930, § 5582).

6. Witnesses 337 (4)

In murder prosecution, excluding cross-

examination of accused to show that loaded

revolver and money found upon his person
when arrested were obtained by robbery com-
mitted by accused subsequent to killing, for
purpose of affecting his credibility, held er-
ror.

7. Homicide €=174(1)

In murder prosecution, excluding evi-
dence of officer who participated in arrest of
accused as to circumstances attending arrest
during flight and what aceused had upon ‘his
person, as bearing upon conduct and guilty
knowledge of accused, held discretionary.

8. Criminal law €=519(4)

Testimony of officer as to confession
made by accused after his arrest for murder
is admissible, notwithstanding that. confes-
sion was made while accused was in custody. ~

9. Criminal law €=518(2)

Testimony of officer as to confession
made by accused after his arrest for murder
held admissible, notwithstanding that accus-
ed was not warned as to his constitutional
rights; test of admissibility being whether
confession was voluntary, and not whether
accused was properly advised.

10. Criminal law €=522(1)

Testimony of officer as to confession
made by accused after his arrest for murder
held admissible, notwithstanding that officer
told accused that he had better tell the truth.

11. Criminal law €=519(1)

That officer represented to accused that
certain parties connected with killing had
made statements and were under arrest did
not render murder confession involuntary and
inadmissible.

12. Criminal law €=523

Object of evidence is to disclose truth,
and trick which has no tendency to produce
confession except one in accordance with the
truth is always permissible.

13. Criminal law €2517(1)

That accused may have confessed com-
mission of murder to assume responsibility
and exonerate others did not render confes-
sion inadmissible, since one’s motive in con-

€=For other cases see same topic an

186 A.—42

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2. DUE PROCESS OF LAW

PALKO y. CONNECTICUT
302 U.S. 319, 58 S.Ct. 149, 82 L.Ed. 288 (1937).

MR. JUSTICE CARDOZO delivered the opinion of the Court.

A statute of Connecticut permitting appeals in criminal cases to be
taken by the state is challenged by appellant as an infringement of the
Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.
Whether the challenge should be upheld is now to be determined.

Appellant was indicted in Fairfield County, Connecticut, for the
crime of murder in the first degree. A jury found him guilty of
murder in the second degree, and he was sentenced to confinement in
the state prison for life. Thereafter the State of Connecticut, with the
permission of the judge presiding at the trial, gave notice of appeal to
the Supreme Court of Errors. This it did pursuant to an act adopted
in 1886 which is printed in the margin.' Public Acts, 1886, p. 560;
now § 6494 of the General Statutes. Upon such appeal, the Supreme
Court of Errors reversed the judgment and ordered a new trial. State
v. Palko, 121 Conn. 669; 186 Atl. 657. It found that there had been
error of law to the prejudice of the state (1) in excluding testimony as
to a confession by defendant; (2) in excluding testimony upon cross-
examination of defendant to impeach his credibility, and (3) in the

instructions to the jury as to the difference between first and second
degree murder.

Pursuant to the mandate of the Supreme Court of Errors, defen-
dant was brought to trial again. Before a jury was impaneled and also
at later stages of the case he made the objection that the effect of the
new trial was to place him twice in jeopardy for the same offense, and
in so doing to violate the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution
of the United States. Upon the overruling of the objection the trial
proceeded. The jury returned a verdict of murder in the first degree,
and the court sentenced the defendant to the punishment of death.
The Supreme Court of Errors affirmed the judgment of conviction,

122 Conn. 529; 191 Atl. 320. . .. The case is here upon appeal.
28 U.S.C. § 344.

1. The execution of the sentence will not deprive appellant of

his life without the process of law assured to him by the Fourteenth
Amendment of the Federal Constitution.

1. Sec. 6494. Appeals by the state in with the permission of the presiding judge,
criminal cases. Appeals from the rulings to the supreme court of errors, in the same
and decisions of the superior court or of any manner and to the same effect as if made
criminal court of common pleas, upon all by the accused.
questions of law arising on the trial of
criminal cases, may be taken by the state,


CRIMINAL
JUSTICE

edited by
lloyd |. weinreb


4 PALKO

The argument for appellant is that whatever is forbidden by the
Fifth Amendment is forbidden by the Fourteenth also. The Fifth
Amendment, which is not directed to the states, but solely to the
federal government, creates immunity from double jeopardy. No
person shall be “‘subject for the same offense to be twice put in
jeopardy of life or limb.” The Fourteenth Amendment ordains, “‘nor
shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without
due process of law.” To retry a defendant, though under one
indictment and only one, subjects him, it is said, to double jeopardy in
violation of the Fifth Amendment, if the prosecution is one on behalf
of the United States. From this the consequence is said to follow that
there is a denial of life or liberty without due process of law, if the
prosecution is one on behalf of the People of a State.

We do not find it profitable to mark the precise limits of the
prohibition of double jeopardy in federal prosecutions. The subject
was much considered in Kepner v. United States, 195 U.S. 100,
decided in 1904 by a closely divided court. The view was there
expressed for a majority of the court that the prohibition was not
confined to jeopardy in a new and independent case. It forbade
jeopardy in the same case if the new trial was at the instance of the
government and not upon defendant’s motion. Cf. Trono v. United
States, 199 U.S. 521. All this may be assumed for the purpose of the
case at hand, though the dissenting opinions (195 U.S. 100, 134, 137)
show how much was to be said in favor of a different ruling. Right-
minded men, as we learn from those opinions, could reasonably, even
if mistakenly, believe that a second trial was lawful in prosecutions
subject to the Fifth Amendment, if it was all in the same case. Even
more plainly, right-minded men could reasonably believe that in
espousing that conclusion they were not favoring a practice repugnant
to the conscience of mankind. Is double jeopardy in such circum-
stances, if double jeopardy it must be called, a denial of due process
forbidden to the states? The tyranny of labels, Snyder v. Massachu-
setts, 291 U.S. 97, 114, must not lead us to leap to a conclusion that a
word which in one set of facts may stand for oppression or enormity is
of like effect in every other. |

We have said that in appellant’s view the Fourteenth Amendment
is to be taken as embodying the prohibitions of the Fifth. His thesis is
even broader. Whatever would be a violation of the original bill of
rights (Amendments I to VIII) if done by the federal government is
now equally unlawful by force of the Fourteenth Amendment if done
by a state. There is no such general rule.

The Fifth Amendment provides, among other things, that no
person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous
crime unless on presentment or indictment of a grand jury. This
court has held that, in prosecutions by a state, presentment or indict-
ment by a grand jury may give way to informations at the instance of a
public officer. . . The Fifth Amendment provides also that no

person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against

This court has

himself. will fail if the §

ed d
‘cht of one accuse’
reg other was
federal government DY
amendments 2 have be
ordered liberty, and hee
come yalid as agains

instances a PFO

essence of 4 scheme
violate a © Princip e .
science of our PeOP™
Massachusetts, pare:
provincial as tO a
would be imposs!
indictments is true
compulsory self-incr
too might be lost, 2
past there are stue
immunity as 4 misc!
scope, OF destroy i
need to give prot
. First oven
make vor prohibiting

thereof; oF abridging

h, or of the press;
people peaceably 10 #8


662 Conn.

warned as to his constitutional rights.
The test of admissibility is whether the
confession was voluntary, and not wheth-
_er the accused was well advised. State
v. Castelli, 92 Conn. 58, 67, 101 A. 476;
State v. Hand, 71 N.J.Law, 137, 58 A.
641; 2 Wharton, op. cit. § 627; 16 CJ.
723, § 1482. The third, because the officer
said to’ the accused that he had better tell
the truth, is contrary to the great weight
of better-reasoned authority. State v. Gee
Jon, 46 Nev. 418, 428, 211 P. 676, 678, 217
P. 587, 30 A.L.R. 1443, and cases cited;
2 Wharton, op. cit. § 625, 1 R.C.L. 555, §
102; 16 C.J. 721, § 1476... As has been well
said, such advice “cannot possibly vitiate
the confession, since by hypothesis the
worst that it can evoke is the truth and
there is thus no risk of accepting a false
confession.” 2 Wigmore, Evidence (2d
Ed.) § 832. The fourth is because the of-
ficer represented that certain parties con-
nected with the affair had made state-
ments and were under arrest.

- [11-13] One claim thereunder is that,
since these untrue statements induced the
accused to confess, the confession was in-
voluntary and so inadmissible. This is
not the law. “The object of evidence is
to get at the truth, and a trick which has
no tendency to produce a confession, ex-
cept one ih accordance with the truth, is al-
ways admissible.” Commonwealth _ v.
Cressinger, 193 Pa. 326, 337, 44 A. 433.
See, also. State v. Willis, 71 Conn. 293,
307, 41 A. 820; Price v. State, 18 Ohio
St. 418; Fife v. Commonwealth, 29 Pa.
429, 435; 2 Wigmore, Evidence (2d Ed.)
§ 841; 2 Wharton, op. cit. § 623. The
other is that, since he may have made
the confession in order to assume respon-
sibility and exonerate Frank Burke, it is
inadmissible. But the rule is well estab-
lished that one’s motive in confessing is
of no importance, provided it does not re-
sult from threats, fear, or promise made
by persons in actual or seeming authority.
Jones v. State, 18 Ga.App. 310, 89 S.E.
347; State v. Griffin, 48 La.Ann. 1409, 20
So. 905; State v. Staley, 14 Minn. 105, 113
(Gil.75); 16 C.J. 719, § 1470. Further-
more, the court did not find, and could not
reasonably have found upon this record,
that Palko confessed because of his prom-
ise to assume the blame. Nor is there
anything to indicate that his alleged as-
sumption of guilt was not based upon ac-
tual guilt. His defense involved no af-

186 ATLANTIC REPORTER

firmation of innocence of the act of firing
the fatal shot, but was confined to one of
no knowledge thereof by reason of in-
toxication.

[14,15] The court in excluding the
confession did not detail all of its reasons
therefor. It did, however, suggest, as
such, the accused’s incarceration, his claim-
ed promise to take the responsibility, the
false statements made by Bray, “and all
the other surrounding circumstances.”
Although such a ruling is an exercise of
the court’s discretion, a question of duty
is involved, and its action is therefore re-
viewable upon appeal. State v. Willis, 71
Conn, 293, 313, 41 A. 820; State v. DiBat-
tista, 110 Conn. 549, 563, 148 A. 664. In
view of the undisputed evidence that noth-
ing occurred in obtaining this confession
to render it involuntary, and of the court’s
reliance in part at least upon legal prin-
ciples which were incorrect, as we have
abové indicated, its exclusion of the evi-
dence was erroneous. Containing, as the
confession did, a detailed recital, not only
of the fatal shooting, but of all of Palko’s
other acts on the night in question, its im-
portance to the state’s case to refute his de-
fense of intoxication rendering him totally
oblivious throughout this period is apparent.
Nor was this obviated by the testimony of
Jack Burke and Evans that the accused
had admitted to them the doing of these
acts, for the jury might well have disbe-
lieved them, particularly in view of the
court’s comment in the charge upon their
testimony, but found the confession to be
true. This ruling constituted reversible
error.

In view of our conclusion that the con-
fession should have been received in evi-
dence, the remaining error assigned, relat-
ing to the court’s exclusion of cross-ex-
amination of the accused upon facts con-
tained in the confession, becomes imma-
terial.

There is error, and a new trial is or-
dered.

In this opinion all the Judges concurred,
except’. that: -MALTRIiE,: Cech pe and
BROWN, J., were of the opinion that it
was error to exclude the evidence con-
cerning the arrest of the defendant, and
HINMAN and AVERY, JjJ., dissented
from the decision that the confession made
by the accused should have been admitted
in evidence,

ARRER tem mtn

pron aebane

see RE ten

CITY OF OLD TOWN vy. ROBBINS Me. "663
186 A.

CITY OF OLD TOWN v. ROBBINS.

Supreme Judicial Court of Maine,
Aug. 3, 1936.

1. Taxation €=614

All provisions of statute providing for
sale of land for taxés, whether relating to
proceedings before or subsequent to sale,
must be strictly complied with, or sale will
be invalid (Rev.St.1930, ¢. 14, § 72 et seq.).

2. Statutes €241 (1)
To prevent forfeitures, strict construc-
tions of statutes are not unreasonable.

3. Taxation €=725, 730

Purchaser at tax sale has no title until
expiration of time for redemption, and re-
demption cuts off purehaser’s rights and
makes original title absolute (Rev.St.1930, c.
14, §$ 76, 80).

4. Taxation €=695

Right of redemption of land sold for tax-
es need not be exercised, unless it can be
shown that steps leading up to sale have been
taken in strict accordance with law (Rev.St.
1930, c. 14, § 72 et seq.).

5. Taxation €=730
Doctrine of caveat emptor applies to tax
sales. :

6. Taxation €=684 (1)

Purpose of requiring collector to make
returns of tax sales is to facilitate redemp-
tion (Rey.St.1930, c. 14, § 79).

7. Process €>164(3)

Undated returns on writs may be amend-
ed, and, where document designed as return
is unsigned, signature may be added, unless
rights of innocent third persons will be af-
fected.

8. Taxation 684 (4)

Court’s inherent and comprehensive pow-
er over process held without force to allow
amendment of return of tax sales, in view of
statute prescribing substance of return (Rev.
St.1930, c. 14, § 79).

9. Taxation €=684 (2, 4)

In actions to recover realty under tax
titles, document introduced as return of tax
sales, neither dated nor signed by collector,
held not a “return,” and amendment could
not alter fact that no return of sales was ever
made and filed (Rev.St.1930, e. 14, §§ 75, 79).

(Ed. Note.—For other definitions of
“Return,” see Words & Phrases.]

10. Trial ©=377(1)

In actions to recover realty under tax
titles where court, sitting without jury, al-
lowed amendment of document neither dated
nor signed by collector, introduced as return
of tax sales, later ruling that document did
not comply with statute and could not be
amended, and that there was no evidence of a
return, held not error (Revy.St.1930, e. 14, §$ 75,
79).

11. Taxation €=810(3)

In actions to recover realty under tax
titles, prima facie case established by show-
ing tax deeds held rebutted where undated
and unsigned document introduced as return
of tax sales was held inadequate as a return
but remained in evidence, since fact was
proved that no return, affording basis for
possible amendment, had been made (Rey.St.
1930, e. 14, §§ 75, T9, 87). °

——__>—_—_———_

Exceptions from Superior Court, Penob-
scot County.

Three actions by the City of Old Town
against Chester W. Robbins. On plaintiff's
exceptions to rulings of the trial judge
who decided the cases in defendant’s favor.

Exceptions overruled.

Argued before DUNN, C. J., and STUR-
GIS, BARNES, THAXTER, HUDSON,
and MANSER, JJ.

Stanley Needham and William Powell,
both of Old Town, for plaintiff.

Albert C. Blanchard, of Bangor, for de-
fendant. .

DUNN, Chief Justice.

These three real actions, to recover. as
many parcels of land, were brought by the
city of Old Town, against the original resi-
dent owner, in reliance on tax titles.

The tenant pleaded the general issue.

The cases were heard as one, jury
waived, on identical facts. Demandant
did not prevail.

Title, if any, to the property, had been ac-
quired by the demandant, on purchases at
summary and direct sales to enforce liens,
for 1930 tax delinquency; forfeitures of
the real estate assessed being sought. Rev.
St. c. 14, § 75. .

G=For other cases see same topic and KEY NUMBER in all Key Number Digests and Indexes

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Sen sigs HEL ARNT AG Rar cp PMIN T:


14 HISTORY OF GUILFORD.

Richard Hues,
George Chatfield,
William Sgone,
John Stevens,
Benjamin Wright,
Fohn Linsley,
John Johnson, > |
‘John Sheader,
Samuel Blachley,
Thomas French,
Stephen Bishop,
Thomas Stevens,
William Boreman,
Edward Sewers,
George Highland,
Abraham Cruttenden, Jr.
Among the names in the above list John Higginson, George
Hubbard, John Fowler, and Thomas Betts! were not of the

original settlers. The Rev. Mr. Higginson came from Salem,

Mass., where his father Francis Higginson was the first pastor,
first stopping at Hartford, afterwards at Saybrook fort, and then
coming to Guilford about 1641. George Hubbard came from
Wethersfield to Milford with Mr. Prudden in 1639 on the set-
tlement of the last mentioned town and purchased the property
of Jacob Sheaffe in Guilford, Sept. 22, 1648, who thereupon
moved to Boston, Mass. John Fowler also came with Mr.
Prudden to Milford in 1639, 2nd is mentioned on the first list
of planters made on the settlement of that town, and is supposed
also to have come from Wethersfield. He came to Guilford
before 1648, as he is mentioned as early as that time. John

* Thomas Betts came from Milford, where he was one of the first settlers, in 1639.
He afterwards removed, 1665, or 1666, to Norwalk.

er png eT =

HISTORY OF GUILFORD. “15

Mepham having died before the lists were made, his name is not
mentioned, although he was sworn in May 22, 1648. Henry
Goldam appears to have been here at this time and long after-
wards but his name is omitted from the lists for some cause.
Abraham Cruttenden, Sen., and Edward Benton, were among
the earliest settlers, but were not admitted freemen till after the
list was made out, and ‘their names were added at the time of
their being sworn, May 19, 1651. George Hubbard seems to
have been received as a freeman immediately after his coming
to Guilford, and Mr. Whitfield and Mr. Higginson were pro-
bably granted the privileges of freemen by courtesy, as there is
no account of their being sworn in.

Of those who were only planters, John Bishop, Sen., was
one of the original settlers and one of the original grantees with
Mr. Whitfield and others in the deed from the sachem squaw.
Thomas Chatfield and George Chatfield were brothers of Francis
Chatfield (who was in Guilford as early as August, 1645, and
probably some three or four years before that time), who died
1646 as appears by the settlement of his estate recorded in the
first volume of the Records, Oct. 13,1646. Benjamin Wright,
John Stevens with his sons Thomas and William Stevens,
Henry Dowd, William Stone, Richard Hues, John Johnson,
Thomas French, Stephen Bishop, and Wm. Boreman appear
to have been here as early as 1646. Edward Sewers and George
Highland came as late as 1651 and their names must have been
added to the list after it was made out.

There were many of the original planters who died or removed
prior to 1650, whose names are not on the lists. John Caffinge,
one of the first prominent settlers and one of the original grantees
from the sachem squaw, Thomas Norton and Thomas Mills
(who died 1648), John Mepham (died 1649), John Jordan (died
1649), William Somers (died 1650), William Plaine, who was
here as early as 1645 and was executed about 1648) Thomas

. " .
orem in iia
Wiebe SIU Tee ee ee

: Fah aie ae


PLEW, James, white, 48, hanged Connecticut SP (New Haven) 3)j-191)).
"JAMES PLEW HANGS FOR MURDER CRIME. - CONDEMNED MAN DENIED PRIVILK:E OF SEEING
WOMAN COMPANION IN CRIME WHILE GOING TO GALLOWS, = Hartford, Conn, March ). -
James Plew, confessed murderer of William Wakefield, at Middlebury, in June,
last year, was hanged in the jail here shortly after midnight this morning.
In a cell in the ‘death row' not many feet away from the execution chamber, was
Mrs, Wakefiéld, under sentence of death for comlicity in the crime. She ori-«
ginally was sentenced to die with Plew, but Wy a stranze coincidence arguments
were made for a new trial befpe the Supreme Court on the very day she was sen=-
tenced to be hanged = the appeal acting as a stay of execution. Mrs. ‘wakefield
was praying when Plew paid the penalty of the law. Plew requested that he see
Mrs, Wakefield before he died, but this privilege was denied him by the prison
rules. Calm and unafraid, Plew entered the execution chamber at 12:02 o'clock,
Eleven minutes later, he was deads = James Plew, a descendant of the Jukes famiily,
which has prodiced, it is said, nearly a thousand degenerates, confessed to the
murder of William Wakefield at Middlebury, June 22, 1913, in order that he BBB
might BBBBB marry Mrs, Wakefield. The two had been living teagether as husband
and wife, While Mrs, Wakefield looked on, Plew BBBBBBEBHR drugged Wakefield
on the night of June 21, and dragged him to some nearby woods, where he shot
and stabbed him to death, If no error is found, and the sentence pronounced
upon Mrs, Wakefield is carried out, she will have been the first woman to be
hanged in Connecticut since colonial days, Many prominet women and suffrage
leadars throughout the couhbry have interested themselves in her behalf,
Governor Raldwin's office has been flooded with letters begging him to inter
fere, but he has no jurisdiction except as one member of the Board of Pardons,"
ADVERTISER, Montgomery, Alabama, March h, 191) (1072.)

"JAMES PLEW IS HANGED,/MURDERER OF WAKEFIELD PAYS PENALTY AT WETHERS =
FIELD./ Hartford, Conn., March hi. - James Plew, who murdered William
Wakefield at Middlebury last June in order that he might marry Mrs,
Wakefield, was hanged in the State Prison at Wethersfield early this
morning, The condemned man was taken from the death house 9 few
minutes before midnight. Except for the prison chaplain, he had no
visitors during the day. He showed no nervousness and seemed oblivi-
ous of the fact that he was soon to die, He expressed no regrets for
himself, saying that he committed the murder and was ready to pay the
penalty. :

TIMES, New York, March 5, 191),


PLEW, James, white, hanged CT 3/1914,

Murderer. “of Wakétieid Baye! p ne]

is 4 alty: at t Wetherait ree 3
“HARTFOR
Ei who:

po irene one ist tare
d-bilent marry


z

TET INSIDE DETECTIVE

~

‘at : ; de
Eprror’s Nore: Why do women commit crime? Is their “Better tell us everything you know. You admitted you'd
motivation usually to be found in love affairs, or are they more had some quarrels, so you’re in this pretty deep yourself.” _
often inspired by greed, hate, oppression? How frequently Bessie then nientioned the name of Jim Plew and, bit. by
are they dragged into misdeeds against their will by husbands bit, came out with a story of repeated marital cruelties which

1 or lovers?. Are they more impulsive in their law-breaking, or at last had driven her to commit adultery.

‘ely of two in- > * are they as capable as men of carefully plotting murder and After her marriage at the age of seventeen, she said, she
cor $2,500, had ** ©. seeking to evade the consequences? Are juries more lenient went to live with Will on a farm outside Bristol where he
se Company of — . & with them than with male offenders? These are but a few of was employed as a field hand. He was cruel, with a sharp
named by the a... the questions that will be considered in INSIDE Detective’s tongue, and on occasion mistreated her and beat their baby
ary under the ©. new series analysing women criminals, some famous, some boy. The second child was a girl, born about two and a half ~
id received his s-" obscure. The title for the series is borrowed from the cele- years after their marriage. Added ‘responsibility made the

: the insurance. ~

and-found that.
tratrix .of her Pe

Company. 0 4, &% By: brated Paris Surete, whose byword was “Cherchez la femme!’ husband more discontented, more abusive. Life became so
nce. companies. + "= (Find the Woman). Watch for more of these articles in intolerable that Bessie twice took the children and went home
to_ their offices. ~~) early issues of INstpE DeTEcTIvE, ' to her parents, but on both occasions she returned to Wake-
ication for the cas a : field after a few days.

‘n made on Oc- Bie P At that time Wakefield
30 days before.“ ris O POLICE headquar- was working as a field
vas killed. This 3 . 2 Te in Bristol, Con- hand on a farm outside of
id been mailed, 4 - § necticut, on a day late Bristol, and he and his

family occupied a small
house on his employer’s
place. Another worker on
the farm was Jim Plew, a
man of about thirty, who
lived with his common law
wife and their illegitimate
child, Five years ‘after
Bessie was married, Wake-
field deserted her for sev-
eral weeks, and the girl
moved in with Plew and
his woman. Before long

newood Avenue; =
‘ana, the address . 2
Cook. The appli-
Postal policy had”
ailed from Sey- =

in June, 1913, came a
slender raven-haired girl
with dark, . liquid eyes
«whose beauty was. height-
- ened by the fact that she
it street address,” was barely out of her ’teens.
14, two weeks She introduced herself as
urger one. ee Bs Mrs, Bessie Wakefield,
all fhe papers, in» + _ wife of a Bristol teamster.
on, in order that ~~ She said her husband had
be no question of. yibeen missing for three
icity at some late > days, and she wanted help
in finding him... -

g over f Law- : « “I don’t know if he ran she and Plew were inti-
and he immediately “away or if he’s come to mate, and the hired man’s

mistress ran away, leaving
her infant behind. .
“Now Will Wakefield
found employment as' a
teamster in Bristol, and he
sent the police to bring

9 Mrs. Durham.
ellie wasn’t in this
date that either, of
ations were maile

1e mother. “She was
1d; J. have letters™
e was there at

some harm,” she | said.
“You see, Will had to mar-
“ry me four or five years
“ago because I/was going
Y* to have a baby. From the
iY start, he wasn’t a good hus- _
<= band, and he seerfied to get - Bessie back to him, On his
*y ‘more and. more discon- promises to mend his ways,
= tented after (our second ~ air ti she gave in to him. The
oi child was born,” He’s twice . ist husband strangely did not
» as old as I am. Sometimes seem to bear any ill will
we’ had words, and he ~ t toward: his rival; when
‘threatened: to go away.” > Plew asked: whether they
The police promised to would board his child,
do what they~ could and Wakefield agreed. This

urham, whose eyes : .
to fail, took the tw
; over to the win
itinize them.
never signed | thos
s, Mr. Elsner,”-sai
\ positively. “T

ndwriting 1”. om the girl returned home. gave Plew an excuse for | ©)
an determine © tha’ vies ‘A week later-the body of seeing Bessie two or three if
nam,” suggested the, man about’ forty was times a week. £—™

“Get. me som ‘found in the’ dense woods : Madly in love ‘with the ™\
: Nellie’s writing- near Cheshire, ‘Connecti- ~ dark-eyed girl, Plew made | He |

to use them.” : cut, twelve, miles from’ : eT ars oe it a point to visit the . Y
vys later, Lawyer Els: Bristol. He had been shot". VICTIM OF PURITANISM? Wakefield home when the | SS
ed from the insuranc ‘six times, slashed with a ~  —__ Im prison, Bessie Wakefield was championed by feminists, husband was away, and } )
) made to Mrs. Rosa -knife, and strangled with who said she was persecuted for committing adultery. ° made passionate love to {\ “
the back thereof. ° ~ his own shoelaces, He her. When Bessie repulsed

“wore a truss, and by his side was a pair of broken spectacles. him, she said, he cursed Wakefield for “standing in the way”
The authorities thought at once of the missing Will Wake- and declared he would get.rid of him.

d and_called in his pretty girl-wife. “Yes, she said, Will Then came the night; a week before the stabbed, bullet-
had been ruptured and wore glasses; that must be his body. riddled, strangled body was found, when, according to Bessie’s
or a young woman who had just lost her husband, detec- story, Plew and Wakefield had a fist.fight in the little house
ves thought. she was strangely calm, and their suspicions in Bristol. About midnight they went out together—and
ere. aroused. x ae ae that was the last time Bessie ever saw her husband alive.
“Your husband was murdered,” they told her. “Have you “T didn’t know Jim Plew wanted to kill him,” she told the
any idea who’ might have. done.it? Know anybody who had police. “I thought they’d patched up their differences and

a grudge against him?” . were going out to have a drink.”
Bie ee i ” i ; H ¢ Cpe * °
-“No—well, that is... . Disregarding Bessie’s protestations (Continued on page 46)

No. 1-THE SECRET SIN OF BESSIE WAKEFIELD |

va ti y:
“oy “ei, ~
vy * *

aims for payment and
Cook and Lawren'
F. Johnson, handwrit: #
i identification, in
ig on the applicati
Shack! of the $2,500:
ritten by the same

. case, When the March
County, all the evidence.

Continued on page 65)

ling


ee

~ that scarcely a scratch had

TELLER AND REYNOLDS.

* succeeded in getting out the bills unhurt. The examina-
tion then
*. “the sum of $1000 to the next Su

2 want of bail was committed.
~ name of John Scott, by which I was afterwards called in

= Wethersfield.

, and | was forthwith bound over in
rior Court, and for
In this case I assumed the

proceed

“The next day I retained two distinguished attornics,

e and two other informations having been filed Poe est me,
a

I was ordered to recognise in the sum of sl and not

: having the means to furnish bail, —y committed me to
c

prison. ‘That afternoon I wrote to a female by the nama
of Mrs. Ann Evans, with whom I lived in New York,
requesting her to send up to my assistance one Luman,
and also Jack, the flash title of Smith Davis. Further-
more, [ urged her, in case they should refuse to come, to
hasten up herself, bringing with her five briers, saws
made of the main springs of watches or some other thin

substance. On the following Tuesday, she a peared with
the briers, which in the night were fastencd to a string
let down from my window and drawn up. Without de-

lay, and not supposing there would be the least trouble in
escaping, I commenced upon the grates with my briers in
Rod earnest, and after toiling for several hours,’ found
been made. ‘These attem
were repeated, but with no better snecess; for the wie!

dows had cach a double set of bars, two inches thick and .
~ ease hardened.

Despairing of sawing out, I laid sundry
other plana, all of which were defeated th the
vigilance of the jailer. From one of my fellow rs
the jailer learned that saws were in my possession, and
both he and the sheriff made repeated searches for’ them.
They, however, found but one of them, as they were
generally stowed away in the room above, to which they
were drawn up by a string through a hole in the floor
made tn receive a stove pipe. Al attempts to get out
failing, I coneluded to keep quict till the trial came on,
trusting that some fortunate circumstance would oceur ta

aeqnit me, and hoping that some of my accom ices in

H New York wonld contribute to foraioh the mane lhe
ji amount required for bail. er
tH ; 4

- bound up, and while it was

4

TELLER AND REYNOLDS, —

ae

“At the oy Pio term of the Superior Court, holden —
at Hartford, five informations were filed against me by
the state attorney, to each of which { plead

but the evidence was so overwhelming, that my conn

were unable to trge a solitary point in my favor, andthe __

willy without re, eee corel si Pee me)
gu on every charge. Subsequently the jr sen-
tenced me to fice years’ bend eee hh the state | ; Peeks
at Wethersfield, three years on each information. hat

an appalling sentence to 2 young man just turned
twenty-five! To be confined in

during the best and gayest portion of life. My heart

sunk within me, and more than once I wished myself
dead. The last time I was brought up to the court-house,

I intended to have made one desperate effort for freedom, .

and accordingly procured from a prisoner a large piece of
iron, sharp at one end, with which in case of necessity U
purposed to have cleared a path for myself. Bad luck
attended me in this instance as in the others, for the in-
strument was discovered by an officer while I sat in the
court-house. A week afterwards the sheriff escorted me
to my new abode in Whethersfield, where I served in a
quiet but surly manner about one month, and then attempt.
ed, in a fit of despair, to ent off my right arm with an axe.
I did not saceses A. su —— ‘ao A a
g, they com me

to turn a crank with my left hand. :
“From the time that I entered the state prison, till I
came out, my leisure hours were spent in devising plans
to escape, and in taking measures to preserve my strength.
My nerves were always strung ready for an onset, and a
rebellion would have found me a its first abettors.
Almost every day I exercised myself in my cell, and
walked for an hour or more, for I doubted not, or rather

I ardently ho that some favorable — would
occur, in which my physical powers would be called inte
requisition. ‘Those only who have been sentenced to a

long period of imprisonment can imagine the activit
with which = a situation endows the mind. Expedi-

ed not guilty, -

prison ‘fifteen years, _


i IO ae ee

I me,
ra | ts
‘ vp a .

=p emer fae
“

280 TELLER AND REYNOLDS.

April 30, between twelve and one o’clock, Mr. Ezra Hos-
kins, an elderly man, and a little deaf, being on guard, I

~ picked the putty out of the hole in my door, and with a

piece of wire pushed back the bolt, just after he had pass-
ed, one went out, taking with me a rope, gag, and skele-
ton key.

“Going silently along I unlocked Jolnson’s cell and
travelled pep Sa Cwsar's, whicl: I opened and entered.
As I passed b ynolds’ he spoke to we, but] pretended
not to hear him. This circumstance I mentioned to
Ciwsar, together with my unwillingness tw let him out,
tecuuse he had deceived me in regard to the locks, Ou
the whole, however, we concluded to liberate him, lest he
should make a noise and betray us. When Hoskins had
xexed I started somo distance behind him, unlocked

Vutson’s cell, into which very soon Johnson entered, and
then T moved on. Up to that moment Watson knew
nothing of the plot, and when Johuson made his appear-

ance, was very much frightened and asked what he .

wanted. Johnson told him to keep still, and explaining

the matter assured him that he could regain his li in =

a few moments. Moving on at just such a distance be-

lind Hoskins I came to Reynolds’ call, unlocked it,

whispered to him to sally out after ins had

round again, and reached Cesar’s cell once more in sa oe : ;

There J waited till Hoskins had again passed it, and fi

ing that I had left several keys in my cell, was under tho

necessity of going after them. Just after 1 had step

out Reynolds come along and went in. Having picked x
up the keys I returned to Cwsar’s cell. Thus lace

complished three rounds unobserved and unsus
“We then consulted as to the best measures to pursue
and finally determined to seize the guard, gag him, bind

him hand and foot, then lock him up in Casar’s cell —

and a as quick as possible. We did not intend to
injure a hair of his head, much less to take his fife; all

we wanted was to keep him quiet, till our escape’could —

be effected; and in the presence of Almighty God, before

whose judgment-scat I must soon appeas, b say that we

had no design to take life. It was resolved that I al

TELLER AND REYNOLDS.: _

ss round after Hoskins and overtake him at the west
end of the block, while the rest were to wait at the corner

‘by Carsar’s cell and rush to my assistance as soon as the

signal was given.

eeThis a the most exciting scene I ever participated
in. There we were, crowded into a dark and narrow
cell, conspiring to break prison, trembling with extreme —
agitation sprain in a hushed goer Tee knowing
that a false step would prove fatal to our and serve
to prolong and render more wretched our imprisonment,

et daring all for liberty. ‘To form a correct notion of out
dings on that occasion, one must be a prisoner, as I was,
condemned to drag out the best portion of his life in a
dungeon, perfectly aware of both the law and its penaltics,
yet violating the one and incurring the other, with a fair

rospect for freedom before him, to be won, however, by
bara means and great risks. Doubtless my memory
will be more blackened by this my last offence, and the
world will judge me by motives and feelings incident
only to those in my situation; but let those who would
blame me place themselves where I was, and consider
themselves as I was, on the night of the 30th of April, and
then say whether freedom was not worth sroggling for.

«“ When we had settled definitively the method of —

I tarried some minutes to calm myself, and then,
with a bar‘of steel, after Hoskins had again passed by
went on stealthily and noisclessly, gaining upon him ¢
he turned the south-west comer, when I advanced rapid-
ly and struck him a slight blow on his neck. He turned
in great consiernation, and uttered some incoherent sen- -
tences, which I do not remember. As quick as lightning
I struck him with my fist, and at that moment the ethers
came up; Cassar tripped him, and he fell forwards, partly
on his knees. I then left them, and with a skeleton key
attempted to unlock the small door leading into the cook-


r™

262 - PELLER AND REYNOLDS,

with Cusar trying to gag him, and the other two attem
ing to koep him from struggling. Fearing we should
yo dhaent y

%

and without reflecting one moment on the con- <

seq I advanced as soon as he cried out, and reach- |”

ing over t's shoulders, struck Hoskins twice on the

head with the stool bar, intending only to stun him. He

fell on his face. I then repaired agais, to the small door,

and tried to force it open with the bar, but in vain. Some j

one then told me that Hoskins was dead. { did nat believe
him, but went to him and felt his pulso, and to my dis-
may found he was dead. This furnished inducements
for greater excrtions, and we bored into the door leading
into the female apartment, put forth our utmost to open
it, and in a state of frenzy tried with onf whole strength
and ingenuity to start both of the doors. ‘They resisted
us. Every thing went against us, and after repeated
efforts, we finally gave up all for lost and abandoned the
plot. Twice while the others were at: work I looked into
the guard room, and once imitated Hoskins in his voice
and gait, as he used to go about and speak to the

ers when cet bag too much noiso, In the hurry and
confusion which followed the death of Hoskins, some oue,
but whom I know not, took from Cwsar’s cell a blanket,
either to staunch the blood or stifle his cries. Hearing a

I locked Johnson's coll, and entered my own and sat

my life—to resuscitate the dead body! What awful,

y 3
agonizing thoughts crowded throurh m mind! What =~
would be my pn ! Was I not ye ! Could the ~

oe. i‘

ae

o2 6 & O08 ww 6 % OE Pow we & « te
igh e Pinte uh abe ail eae

A Pehl ie
te Lae pede

Bs
a

at

es 3

* down ia eloomy sullenness to await the of the
warden. Reflection n its tortures, hat would I
not have given for the ability to retrace the last hour of 7

murder be on me! Should I not suffer the most 7
shameful of deaths! And would I submit to it! Then ©

came thoughts of suicide. Yes, the light of another |
be cheated ©
of its and I never would swing a fearful spectacle

>
AS ‘cal

i would not behold. Justice should

~eeee

treanbled at the iden of sclf-cnurder. L, who bed taken Sram
another's life, dared not take my rai Such were

thoughts that rushed through my

_ was opened and the cyes of the warden

when my
upon me.”


ik

pac aieg eee ee eed , 6 tee ae om

ca

TELLER AND REYNOLDS.

ents then readily suggest themselves, which under other
circumstances never wotld have been dreamt of, and the
mind is able to go through with a vast deal of labor and
very intricate calculations. Compelled every day to
several hours of gloomy solitude, it must turn inward to
itself, if it would scck either recreation or improvement,
and that intellect must be dull, stupid and plodding, which
in such hours can waste itself in useless reflections. For
my part, my mind was ever on the watch. So far as I
could, I studied the plan of the prison, and endeavored to
get at the most feasible method of breaking ont. That it

was impossible, I disbelieved; and, unlike some of my:

fellow prisoners, I refused to lic down in despair. Scheme
after scheme was therefore canvassed by myself as I
whiled aver my lonely hours in my“cell, and rejected as
impracticable. [ did not understand the formation of
soine of the locks, especially of thaton the door leading

©. into the female apartment, and another on the small door

apeink into the kitchen. One of the prisoners, Harvey
cynolds, had once or twice been called upon to make
several of the locks and ke s, and I presumed he would
not only furnish me with the requisite information, but
would aid in a conspiracy to break ont. Accordingly, I

_ communicated with him on the subject, sometimes by
notes written on the backs or blank parts of religious
tracts, sometimes by signs, and sometimes in flash lan-
guage, if wo happened to be for a moment near each
other. He told me how the locks were formed, and in
rocess of time we contrived to make several skeleton
eys and other instruments, which we carried to our cells
when we went tadinner. At night the prisoners were all
searched and in the morning the ot so that dinner
time was the only occasion when our implements could
have been safely conveyed. The instruments were mado
in the shop, in the presence of the overscer, part at one
time and part in another, and always’ when we wero
manufacturing something which resembled’a portion of

» them in appearance.

“At length, in the winter of 1832-3, we hit upon a

scheme which we thought would answer the purpose, and

TELLER AND REYNOLDS. 279

knowing Cesar to be an ingenious and resolute fellow, I”
inquired of him about the Ist of April as to the situation ——
of the doors of the female apartment, and toldhimI should ©.

© through there sometime or other. He was enjoined to ~

cep the mat.cr secret, and in case onr plan succeeded
was told that he could avail himself of it, if he would
lend his assistance, which he promised to do. Meantime.
our keys were in readiness, and near the middle of April,
I handed one to Casar as ho was whitewashing in the
hall, and directed him to wy it in the lock of his cell door.
The next morning he tried it, and found it fitted well.
Previously I had tried it in mine, and it answered
exactly. This key, therefore, would unlock all the cells
in the lower ticr. Afterwards Cosar, at my request,
brought to me an inch centre bit, and as that did not a
pear to be large enough to suit my purpose, he looked for
another, but could find nothing but an anger. ‘There
were now four engaged in the plot: Harvey Reynolds,
Johnson, Caesar and myself; and we agreed to make the
attempt on Monday night, the 2%h of the month, A few
att fs previous I bored into my door against the lock,
which was on the outside, and having made a hole large
enough to work upon the lock, filled the hole with putty ~
and bre it over with black paint, lest it should be ob- —
served.

To understand fully our operations, it may be necessa-
ry to say, that the cells are in one solid block running east
and west, and covered by an outer pbuilding. Around the
cells and between them and the outer building is a spa-
cious area, in which the guard walks at night. At the
west end of the block is a thick stone wall, separating the
male apartment from the female. Near the north-west
corner of the block is a door leading into the fatter, and
another small door leading into the cook-room or kitehen. °
My cell was on the south-west corner of the block facing
south, Johnson's and Reynolds’ cells not far from mine
on the same side, and Crsar’s on the north-west corner,
facing north, and Watson's next to his.

“ Monday night arrived, but something oceurred to pro-
gent the exccution of our plot. On the night followmng,


Air Maneuvers, Infantry
Increase Ordered
by Paris.

| BRITISH AID ‘SOUGHT

: French Would Rack Eng:

lands Fleet jn Nalian
. THe \:

beg — \ OL
as Pe} tw av a

DERS.
2D FOR
ORDER

Orders Consuls Home

450, PASSENGERS
ON ROTTERDAM
SAFELY LANDED

S. S. Ariguani Puts Them
and 250 Crew Members
_ Ashore at Kingston

LINER STILL ON REEF

~- , oe o RAS
Sea Traveiers Say Capiain

'|; Calmed Them After Ship

Went Aground.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Oct. 1—
(AP) The 450 passengers and about
250 of the crew of the marooned

| liner Rotterdam came ashore today

to'the peace #nd hospitality of Ja-

sy Soy

Flanagan's All Set

for World Series

| town committee

CULLINAN ASKS!
SUPPORT! FOR|
HIS TICKETS

3

Takes Cognizance | of Fac:
tional Fights in Six
Districts. |

PRIMARIES TONIGHT

Voting Is Light Among Re-
publicans; Convéntion
| ‘F ight Seen,

John T. Cullinan, Lidice
chairman, in al.
statement to party ene ige y Beg
cognizance of factional Ee
six of the 16 districts at primaries 3


1°

4

’

‘ailable
x for
mrt gage
-ptoved
> prop-
geport-
ning

| preparing

Dba eneee

aaa cag
Se rR
80

To

lets.

head

g
=i
ss

iserrity |

ed
wha

the burglar.
beyond Galden Hill street and were
to leave their Aine
when the burglar turned into Golden
Hill street, walking toward Ccourt-
land street. At the moment, the
“scooter” car appeared and turned;
into Golden Huil street hot on the
burglar’s trail.

Fires As Heo Fises |
Thinking to head off the man in |
the event he fled up Golden fill:
street, iyerrity and Matera sped to}
Washington avenue and then eo
Courtland Hill. As tacy turned down |
Golden Hijl street, the officers heard
two shots fired. A moment later, the
pman ran up the hill toward Wash-
ington avenue, dring a shot at their.
machine as he ran
Gerrity jumped from the moving |
cat ane yas

Be TS

and after the second

aa. 3

|
!

wollee Suened aun oon

oye pt ien >
“OW da We > Gp ap tip FA vivir’ ter whet

have struck him although no algns
of biood could be found.
While Sgt. Matera started in pur
‘suit of the man with the Detective
bureau car, Gerrlf[y ran to the
“scooter” where hé found Kearney.
and Walker stretched out on the
sidewalk calling for medica] asais-
tance. Gerrity stopped a passing au-
tomobue, driven by Fred Spicer, of
1222 Fairfield avenue, who took the
wounded officers to the hcspital.
Surgeons’ Efforts Futile
Walker died at 1:30 a m. after
surgeons made a valiant but futile
effort to save him.
Patrolman Walker knew he was
dying.
“We've all got to go
my time has arrived,” hb told his
grief-stricken wife. Officers who
were with him when he died said he
maintained his customary cheery
way even to the end a
Patrolman Waikér, a fine singé,
was known to policemen throughout
the entire state, having entertained
for years at all important police
finetions in Connecticut He was
a nephew of Capt. James A. Walker
and son of the former alderman,
Fred Walker.
Gives Details of Shooting

Before he died, Walker gave Supt.

Wheeler and Capt. John R. Regan,

of the details of the shooting and

the fugitive :

seemed to stumble for a moment ond
then disappeared over the nil. ps

lice beileve one of the bullets may j

yome day andi

bey

head of the Detectlve bureau, some!

way

urobus hall. The exercise
and Matera drove up Harrison street | cancelled

MORE THAN 250
~ COPS IN MANHUNT

“gaid, may iead to the apprehension

Sergt. Kearney was abie to furnish

enine on threo:

to Waiker's aid.

Furnizgh MDaerriptian

the rest.

Walker wua shot fs he stepped
from the drivers sant of t:. ate!
er’ whtle Resse ct con

' teath from a haveroke were lel
i hind by the fatruders. Pillows were

F trees thus giving the bur

| Was pained through

». rat

oe ete b

' u PAG LTE Rehabs
s have deen |
|

— ee

(Continud from Page One)
routed out of bed, their establigh-
raents searched from top to bottom. |
Powi rooms, taverns, shady-looking ;
“clubs” were raided, and every fre-
auenter forced to give an airtight
alibt. H

“We will leave na atone Ui

a
sturned,” |

Supt. Wheeler declared, “until we!
have hunted down this brutal killepy
Ae oe thre ayn erin gy Cf ney Pei ale ia

we oe ie CUE Claes Tene
men.

|
wiedged himaclf:
the wurderer of

‘EXvery man has
the search fir
their fellow olficer.”
Men on the night shift
during the morning; the
turned in early.

30 Offer Blood
While the hunt was pressed at-
every conceilvabla angie, 30 police |
men offered their blood ta Sgt:
Thomas P. Kearney, who lies per- |
haps fatally wounded in

atayed on-
day shift:

St. Vin-|
cents hospital. The blood of Motor-|
cycle Oticer Edward Cole and Set
transfusion.

Polics Commissioner Harold Mor:
ris joined Supt. Wheeler in’ a gen- |
cral appeal to the public to watch |

for,a wounded man or for a radio, |

stolen in the Gilman's Music shop!
robbery, which ts still missing.

With ohiv several smnudged Libs_er- ,
prints on the radio recovered, and |
t. partial description of the slayer,
detectives stressed the need of pub |
lie asistance !n Bunting down the,

fugitive, Any possible clue, they |;

of the murderer or his companion.

WILMOT HOME ROBBED
BY FAIRFIELD BURGLARS

Jewelry valued at several hundred
dollars was stolen, and the home of
Qussei! Wilmot, of 165 Brookview

city convention Thursday was give
by
mali,

Jack Samperi.

leald. Leon attacked the

‘the tax burden.”

|

] ©
5 A
“James J. Leon, East Side business- | ‘
speaking last night at a!
dinner at White House °

Abriola, Jr., and
secretaries of the
Republican town committee chair-
man,

Nearly 2) persons heard Leon
announce that if “yours truly Is 5
guccessful” voters of Italian extrac: |
tion will receive full recognition.

John Lojeski, first delegate of the
Fourth district, announced his sup-
port for Leon's nomination. “I just

want to make my position clear,” he
MecLevy ad-

“for failing to reduce

‘Continued irem reyes vie)

es.

teatimontal
inn for Louis A

miniatration

Goodwill Silent

Norman C. Goodwill, Republican
towh coal remained silent on

als Ee eigcu:

inavors
J. Kenneth Brad-:
‘ey of Wertport charged the Social-
{<c Ubtoecdnecthe General Assembly
with only “half hearted support” inj
his fight for town water works in
Westport, “yet they professed to be
fighting the utilities.”

Couperation among Italian groups
was urged by Charles Donadeo. Pre-
viously Samperi had been requested
by the Columbian League, of which
he {s an officer, not to attend the
testimonial. League jJeaders relented |
at the “eleventh hour,” however, to
allow Sampert to attend. The two
secretarics were praised, by Repud-
Hean leaders and presented with

desk sets.

Democrats to Hold
Primaries Tomorrow

State senator

~

aN

———

Democratic primaries, marked; by
six district contests,-wfl be held |
Tuesday night from 5 to 9 o’élock. :
The city convention will be held Fri- .
day night at 8 o'clock in Central |
high school auditorium. Joseph Wie
ler appears assured of the mayor |
alty nomination at this time.

Polling places for districts In
which contests are anticipated in-
clude: Seventh, Central high school;
Eighth. Read school; Nine a, 900
Kossuth street; Nine B, ‘Garfield
school; Eleventh, Franklin school
and 12 A, Summerfie!d school.

Francis P. Dunnigan ts leading &

pyenue, in the Stratfield section of

Fuirfte!d, ransacked by burglars
Curing the past week-end,
rhe house {+ secluded by shade

vlara ain-
chield from paasersby. Fintrinee
a screen in
timmy two

yee

side window. A ana

\

joes

and ting howe «cenoer.

bloc {n opposition to Mrs. Mabe! Me-
Queeney in the Ninth A district
while in the Ninth B forces of City
' Sheriff Joseph Salomon and = Cor-
nelius Mulvihill wilt battle for dis-
trict control. Frederick .Qwens is

|

i
{

trying to woieet control of the Elev-
cath distrtet: from: Jeserh J. Mags!
‘eatte. in the Twelfth A dlatrict. 8

group led by Dr. Michael Turchik


> ~ tee AR Lo peloton ia 25s pea: piss
as os Nae | id

enemy F

cs - Peis. oS Ppa
rt! - gusts > Fess ats yr
ow + bap awe Ee ect a aia : Sea R

News, Advertising, Circulation TwEND SEO nONS TW ¥

Police Describe ‘Killer

*

eres of Sergt. Thomas P. pesoeey and Patroloan ah % AVE Bie WS De rien erate a oe re:

an
.

it 25 years; five feet eight 0 or nine. “tdiches- seattle Ao ns noy Soo
ands. neat in appearance, wearing a, dark, waits. ;
2 nthe potdhanestatrar legit Mae

>

Life As 2G ee
x ag ie is & * a 3
+ 8 iPon - Ce ey
ee Lee eee ne! Ft =f tear ee .
» bY 4

$

Pm 4

Bs
rem

“3.

v

parent A ied “Pt weg
Walker yrag: 2k. atin
on by Beret: Meorrgra ¢
dics wae thergeat mre Refer

a arate fat : AG Hcg Fs Lr Sa 5 cS < ng See na ROA i ¢
a Vy he we . va Stee” eo ite ay ee ;
ee ee 25. PAA ay ee poe cos ye


2 TiUllEane oe
y approved
‘rable prop-

lgeport
syuaning

ar-PEOPLE's
3S DANK /

OSM,
* yd Ne

Tas
re. gs

{ > .
&

[RED 1a4@

my time ean arvived* =

ha tol.
grief-stricken wife. Off! a
were with him when he dled :
maintained his customary
way even to the end,

Patrolman Walker, a fine singer,
was known to policemen throughout
the entire state, having entertained
for yeara at all important police
fanctions in Connecticut. He was
a nephew of Capt.:James A. Walker
and son of the’ former alderman,
Fred Walker.

Gives Datalls of: Shooting

Before he died, Walker gave Supt.
Wheeler and Capt. John R. Regan,
head of the Detective bureau, some
of the details of the shooting and
Sergt. Kearney was able to furnish
the rest.

Walker was shot as-he stepr
from the. driver's seat of the “sc:
er” while Kearney,
chine on the other ‘side, was felled
by the second bullet as he asatarted
to Walker's ald.

Two Furnish Description

The polico who saw the murder

er and a civilian whose identity pol-

114 ja

“heey

ice are guarding, furnished the de |,

scription of the man. The civilian
was near Washington avenue and
Caihoun place when the shots were

sae

- wARKET & BAKERY
'- | SUESDAY SPECIALS

"98 Golden Hill St.

isewbresk Freeh Creamery

SUTTER wb.

"ATY RIB LAMB CHOPS‘... 29¢
eeterheuse Steakn37e

ty Soune i,

cd Potatees

> PRBS ss
hm he)
’

10s. 15¢/

a

a

| Prints on the radio recovered, and.
who

leaving the mia-}

epee ST

-

t. partial description of the slayer, |

cetectives stressed the need of pub- ,

ile assistance im hunting duwn the,
fugitive, Any possible clue, they
said, may lead to the apprehension
of the murderer or his companion.

WILMOT HOME ROBBED
BY FAIRFIELD BURGLARS

Jewelry valued at several hundred
dollars was stolen, and the home of
Russell Wilmot, of 165 Brookview

evenue, in the Stratfield section of]

Fairfield, ransacked by burglars
during the past week-end. r
TNe house is secluded by shade

itreee thus giving the burglarz am-!
yie enlela trom passersoy. Entrance ;
was gained throught a screen in

a side window. A jimmy and two
teeth from a hayrake were left be
hind by the Intruders. Pillows wore
Hopped apart, and: the house gener

aily upset bw the buraiars,

CAR HITS CARRIAGE,
TWO BABES ESCAPE

NORWALK, Sept. 30.—(By Spe
cial Correspondent) Louis Yazzi, Jr.

police charged with reckless driving.

Kazzis auto, according to police,
struck a baby carriage containing
two children. One child received a
slight cut on the lip.

a re ees ee ee ee re

HEADS FRESHMAN CLASS

Vincent N. Hammerstein, son of
Dr. and Mrs. W. J. Hammerstein of
@ Fimwond avenie, has been un-
animously elected
freshman class of 200 students at
the Kirksville College of Osteopathy
and Surgery in Kirksville, Mo., it

was announced. ane :

ne:

i

bs Bn A
a e

president of the;

{six district contests,

jwill battie Robert

iy
4

Democratic eitavien: “pe
will be
i Tuesday night from 5 to 9 o'
The city convention will be hel
day night at 8 o’ciock in C
high school auditorium. Joseph
ler appears assured of the n
alty nomination at this time.

Polling places for distric:
which contests are anticipate
clude: Seventh, Central high s
Elghth, Read school; Nine -z
Kossuth street; Nine -B, Ge
school; Eleventh, Franklin
and 12 A, Summerfield school.

Francis P. Dunnigan is lead
bloc In opposition to Mrs. Mab
Quéeney in the Ninth A d
while in the Ninth B forces o:
Sheriff Joseph Salomon and

Mulvihill wili battle fo
triet control. Frederick Owe
trying to wrest control of the
enth district from Joseph J. i
cotte. In the Twelfth A distr
group led by Dr. Michael Tv
E. Noonan, f:
city cleri.

Although the candidates fo
Socialist ticket have already
nominated, members of the
who are enrolled on the sma!
mary list, will go through th:
mality of holding a city-wide
mary election at 8 o'clock Ws

af 60 Taylor avenue was arrested {n | day night

Norwalk Saturday night by State;

Socialist Orive
_ The street-corner election
Paign of the Socialist party
launched Thursday night i
Twelfth A district.

City Clerk Fred Schwarzkop!
is seeking reelection to that .
and Michael Quaka, aldermani.
didate from that district will
at Barnum and East avenues.

Leon At Cutleg:
“James J. Leon. who is seekir
Republican mayoraglty nomun
and Joseph Wieler,, assistant
clerk, who is being. favorably
tloned as the Democratic may
candidate, appeared yesterda

ee sce avery: *


Special)
i0blie -of
thel, fold-
ate Mon-
en 25 feet
o a pole,
about to
urb to go
2 unusual

ne driven
of Brew-
U with a
as @ re-
1lso under
ing while
quor. His

COUP

1.—(AP)
today or
\utiong to
ret police
ment plot
ns of an
aneeat the

: ae

Vilswoo WEIRD OU pounds while
a dozen of the paper bottles weigh
only 28 pounds. At the same tnmie,

the paper bottles take up less room.

ther Plans for extending into the

Bridgeport area.

Opposition to the paper botties
was expressed vigorously by the R.
F, Worden company, of Waterbury,
which suid:

“The use of paper milk bottles in
the Waterbury area has created a
situation loaded with dynamite
which may explode at any minute

and throw the whole Connecticut
Milk business into turmoil.”

MILLER IS APPOINTED
HIGHWAY SUPERVISOR

HARTFORD, Oct. 1.—(Special)
John B. Miller, of New Canaan, was
appointed Monday by State High-
way Commissioner John A. Macdon-
ald as acting supervisor of the de
partment’s maintenance district
number L The district includes
Greenwich, Stamford, Darien, Nor

walk, New Canaan, Wilton, West-
port and other towns in the section.

+g
The innovation ts just being test- « 5o){

\ & ceman.
fed, he sald, and there are no fur- , =

foree “for 22 years. He was named a
sergeant on July 17, 1920. He was

‘Anchor club at
}but the ceremonies had been post-
Fponed.
Sbecame president of the organization

ee — -

born in Bridgeport on Feb. 19, 1886
ad was a plumber before becoming

He was to have been installed as
president of, the Bridgeport Police
exercises tonight
However, he automatically
‘today without the formality of an
installation according to Sergt. John
Moran, first vice-president of the
club.

Sergeant Kearney is survived by
his widow, Mrs. Marie Reichert
Kearney; a son, Thomas, a gradu-
ste of the University of Detroit and
now an aeronautical engineer in that
city; a daughter, Miss Ruth Kear
rey; two brothers, John and James;
two sisters, Mrs. Thomas Bracken
and Mrs. Arthur Warren and his
parents, Patrick end Marie Kearney
all of Bridgeport.

‘ARSON SLAYER CONVICTED

POCHESTER, N. Y., Oct. 1—(AP)
Nikk Bukvich, 43, today was found
guilty of first degree murder in the,
ne tee daes of his friend, Michael

WR, A Sici

| parkway,” ” galg Leoergan. ‘It is
true that at the «moment there
seems. to be no money available. I
am convinced, however, of the Presi-
dent’s deep interest in this project
and I believe tha: ypon his return

SOMe WAY can by found to find the
money.

“As to the alum clear-
ance project, lag firmly convinced
that if we had all the options early
last week we covld have obtained an
allocation of PWA funds for it.
There is np reason why Father
Panik. Mayor MeLevy and the oth-
ers who have been working on this
project should give up their efforts.”

POLLS-MUST CLOSE ON
TIME, FAIRFIELD TOLD

Fairfield town officials were ad-
vised today by the Secretary of
State's office at Hartford that they
cuuld not extend the voting hours

.J3c

close at 6 o'clock according to sta-
tute. Fairfield effitcala sought the
catension of time as an accomoda-
tion to Jews, as the Jewish gh +

nme meue eres es
{ee
a

in town Monday as the polls must,

OV *advets
eee ae

-

sey ‘

he ae

*.

cen ati =
Palmolive: Soa

; ap
VERMONT MAID .

CANE & MAPLE | SYRUP:
Kraft Velveeta C Ch
Octagon: Soap. Pow

BT 6 3?
a

>

m,
* “
ow

=

ss
-

— Chocolate; ;

eda Toilet ‘TISSU
| * Created for- a

co

' i)

Nome Pride Brea


asey and at

1Wa committee.

=

Mollison ain
Sridgeport was
‘or Jasper Mo

iber of Com

7

the results of
he matter by
tr. It disclosed
‘ out of the 93
‘ha population
wed that only
/y & municipal
{' airport.

he seven.
'ollowing
1 of Di-
__. ,Jurchase.
t that there is
at Bridgeport
ely owned air-
about, Bridge-
es for rerular

PRM Cc tat

-ed today from |

'

a
sgt.
ae

'y turned killer, +

t. Thomas. P Kearney, (above), dled x ct 7
‘after 10 as tH. today, the second ple ein of. « urglae

‘Convene: Wednesdays :
May Offer $1, 060.
City Clerk Bred Schwarskopt, ast-

ing under orders from Mayor Jasper}
McLevy, today called on Sheriff

‘Snow to serve. warrants to} Dotdre

Mayor McLavy and his aides were}

}eceupled today drafting resolutions
to be offered the alderm ‘la ox

en. It
—

a
mation leading to the capture of the
gunman, Police Supt. Charles A
Wheeler announced

today. :
Tipe secatved by pellce will be held

strictly confidential. The recipient
of the reward will not be alsclosed.

In addition to the reward the ab!

dermen will adopt resolutions con-
veying’ to the families of the slain
policemen the city’s aympathies. —

Gity Comptroller Perry Rodman
pointed out that the $1,000 reward
would eome from the excess funds.

of the Police Department's salaries;

The council]. at a iafer meeting is
also expected*to approve ‘action the
Police board might take in the way
of providing for pensions’ for the
widows of the slain policemen,

ADMITS FIRE PLOT
THAT COST 10 LIVES

CHICAGO, O-
State’s Attorney MSiarshall V. ‘Kear

re toaay thnt Ye La

- 24

S210

et eae

Aldermen penal to ti

an thas: ciwaed tow infor |

shat to ‘evade. aes s ais

day. an TORS 35: Nee eit ae ae
Bradley, substituting ‘for Senator |

Austin D. Barney, w
islative session when the Republican |:
House and the Republicans in the

Senate gave Gov. Croas support on
much of the legislation he had re-
commended in his opening address
to the General Assembly.* : ‘

“With the exception of taxation, a :

o was’ unablé4 -*_ 5
to attend, pointed to the recent. leg-}: ©.”


+ POST, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1935.

INTE}

KEARNEY DIES,

’ || orrhage, made further transfusions
. | Ampossible. ‘4

at Supt. Wheeler said aha
alagrage

. |tims. They will be

. her attor |
yo claims
‘d Be cane :

GUNMAN'S VICTIM

(Continued from Page One)

' Funeral services will be held at
his home, 25 Lincoln’ avenue, Fri-
at 3:30 a m. and at St Patrick's
requiem Mass.
will pay every possible tri-
vte in death to the two police vic-
given all hon-
ors of the “captain’s burial” usually
eccorded officers whoa meet-

palice today as
effort

3 LE.

ame
4

é *
ip - wae

NSEEN| oa

’
ee ee

seri sald he |!
’'m-quart of
<@ in a’ free]:
> glass, One®}! .
milk

90 One)

; “rule” adop-
of. milk con-

‘an establish

!
’
'
'

:

g
rage

Bo

>

eae

it
&

;

1
’

i.

n paper’ pot-| every clue no matter how small, po-
srice not less ’

a's cometery?}

re

Bur| port and vicinity ‘will be
Federal building Siiduy at 6 p.m. -)
Capt. H. V. Brom. wiih
struttor, discussing -

a:

News Briefs ||
Bridgeport and County
ee

The first Unit sthool for 418th In|?
fantry and other officers of Bridge |

Albert 2.
board an

NEW TRIPLEX. STORE
~ WILE OPEN HERE ‘

'. The new Triplex store at 54
field avenue, considered one

most finely equipped gutomot
cessqry. stores in New Engi:

Events You Can

eee

held at

AE LASS hp

, be the in-
Pine Camp

noun

ced yesterday. - =

emer

‘
!
'

goes and quan

lead them
was grille

ne bee et re.)

to ging


»} tities.”

Pe aA 3 om

them one cent higher-than establish-

@@ for the various grades-and quan-

_ Administrator Buckingham said
tHe purpose in placing the extra

et peany charge on milk bottled in the

Lied

FE
E.

¢

| @ontainer is to “stop the free

pottie all along the line.” He predic |;

tf

abl Te
ree

company

i

YT believe

st

qi

weeks
bottle
zation
Abner
dairy,

"Mitchell To Attend Session |
‘A ie Session

said expires tomorrow, in

Delivery =”
ted the lower cost

Lavine tat a Anwan

a& dozen of 1. rope: ovtues weigh

by the Mitchell com | 7

the distribution at | ¥!
beyond tha Water |"®

tends until the middle of the month. | "*

Blass hotties weich 50 pornee while f

lead them to the killer. One suspect
was grilled at the Detective bureau
yesterday but furnished an iromciad
alibi and police released him,

' ‘The movéments of several known
criminals have been.
ho avail: Fin

. He has

been a policeman for 19 years,
, Sos earney Nas becu on ee |
~ "we YSneL. cos 1 29 Ramed a

= 28 pounds, At the same time,

sergeant on July 17,.1920. He was
born in Rridgenort on Beh D Sis

Bes Ome

, trict

‘ orecnestra. Pp, EB
organizer of the

stitute of Music, will ;

i

eee

as
HI
3

:

be’

ent to me

parkway,”

| true that


INSIDE DETECTIVE

tive and hurried, they turned the corner
from the radio store. One of the men
was handicapped in his progress by the
weight of an unwieldy object he carried
under his arm.

Moments later they were heading
down Golden Hill Street. As they ap-
proached a spot opposite the aloof and
ultra-respectable Algonquin Club, a
black police squad car’s brakes screamed
and the car came to a stop.

Detective Sergeant Kearney leaped
nimbly to the curb. Patrolman Walker
was at his heels, taking a moment longer
to extract his long body from beneath the
steering wheel.

“Halt!” ordered Kearney to the two
men. “Or [’ll—” .

Kearney said no more. There was a
flash of gunfire in the blackness of the
night . . . a quick, echoing report. Pa-
trolman Walker’s hands flew as though
by sheer instinct to his middle. Slowly,
almost like an automaton, he doubled
over, then collapsed. to the concrete side-
walk.

In the fleeting instant while his hand
snaked for his service revolver, Kearney
could see that the gunman was a slender
and rather slightly-built man, wearing
a dark suit and a light gray hat. The
man dropped the bulky package from
under his arm as he fired. The other
.man never waited. He turned in the
opposite direction and was quickly lost
in the night.

But before Sergeant Kearney’s hand
reached his gun, there was a second stab
of fire, a second deafening report. Kear-
ney staggered forward, stopped—then
the pavement seemed virtually to jump

. Sergeant
in Wilfred
s B. Kear-
‘e raced to
t the curb
Careful not
: drove the
of Fairfield

out of sight
-ective Ser-.
ie hunch.
summoning
k. A min-

{ Detective 8, NOVEWS ®
. the squad- TN S*he:
were soon wedged fa
ae scene of
Detective Sergeant Patrick Daly guards the
ce had seen broken window of Gilman’s Radio Store,
where the theft of a fifty-dollar radio ended

vision. Fur-
‘ in Bridgeport’s first police casualties.

ciller!

up to meet his already unconscious body.

The slight man in the dark suit drifted
like a ghoul after his already vanished
comrade. And for the first time in the
history of the Bridgeport police depart-
ment, two of that New England city’s
“finest” lay weltering in their own blood
—victims of a cool and ruthless mur-
derer.

T WAS all over so swiftly that when

Detectives Garrity and Matera swung
around the corner into Golden Hill
Street less than two minutes later, the
powerful headlights of their car picked
up only the sprawled figures of their
brother: officers.

Yet, surprisingly, considering the
hour, there had been several witnesses
to this ghastly scene.

Fred M. Spicer, 2400 North Avenue,
and Helen C. Riley. 122 Gilman Street.
had been driving in the neighborhood.
They were attracted at once by the first
shot and arrived on the scene in time
to see the last phase of the grim tragedy.
Even as the second police car drew up,
they had halted and rushed to the
wounded officers.

Walker died virtually in the girl’s
arms as she raised his head from the
pavement. Nevertheless, the couple car-
ried the two to their car and rushed them
at top speed to St. Vincent’s Hospital,
several blocks distant. Kearney was un-
conscious but breathing.

Doctors, summoned immediately,
placed the detective sergeant on an oper-
ating table. At once a blood transfusion
was resorted to in the slender hope that
the detective might live long enough to

Frank Palka (left) is booked at Bridgeport head-
quarters after being brought back from Buffalo
by Sergeant John Carroll (center) and Lieutenant
James Bray. Palka later denied. all,

¥ |


¥

BY EARLE OSTRANDER

Special Investigator for
INSIDE DETECTIVE

after a long day during which
she managed the destinies of her

Mz ALMANDA BURKE, tired

‘rooming house at 240 Fairfield Avenue,

Bridgeport, Connecticut, awoke very
suddenly. Something — something _ in-
tangible—had brought her to sharp
reality on this night of September 30,
1935. She looked at the clock on the
dresser at her side and the illuminated
face told her that the hour was exactly
12:10,

Curious, Mrs. Burke rose from her
bed and walked to the window facing
the street, Looking out, she could see

the facade of the Gilman Radio Store
on the opposite side of the street. Al-
most at once she realized what had
awakened her in the dark stillness of
midnight. A shadowy figure was
crouched at the side of a shattered plate-
glass show .window. The breaking of
the glass was the sound which had dis-
turbed her slumber.

Waiting to see no more, Mrs. Burke
left her bedroom and pounded at the
door of one of her boarders, Patrick
Smith. Quickly telling him what had
happened, she next telephoned the po-
lice. Then she returned to the window.
She was in time to see the first figure
joined by a second.

Detective Sergeant John J. Garrity
was on duty at the station house and it
was he who took Mrs. Burke’s call.
With the lightning-like efficiency that

characterizes police routine, Sergeant
Garrity summoned Patrolman Wilfred
Walker and Sergeant Thomas B. Kear-

ney. The latter pair at once raced to

their squad car, standing at the curb
with its engine still warm. Careful not
to use the siren, the officers drove the
machine off in the direction of Fairfield
Avenue.

The first car was barely out of sight
around the corner when Detective Ser-
geant Garrity had a strange hunch.
He followed the hunch by summoning
a patrolman to take the desk. A min-
ute later he had collected Detective
Sergeant Peter Matera from the squad-

‘ron room, and the two men were soon

following the first car to the scene of
the reported robbery,

The two men Mrs. Burke had seen
had already passed from her vision. Fur-

One tiny clue tripped Connecticut's fugitive dual killer!
x

(lp -l138


INSIDE DETECTIVE

Kive some information which would lead to the identity of
the killers.

Notified at his home, Superintendent of Police Charles A.
Wheeler, whose office is similar to chief of police, hurried to
the scene of the crime and assumed charge. Minutes later,
Lieutenant of Detectives James H. Bray and Captain of De-
tectives John J. Regan arrived.: These officers were assisted
hy State Police Officers John Hannsovsky and William Viso-
kay.

The moment Chief Wheeler learned of the details, he as-
signed the entire Bridgeport force of 260 men to work on all
angles of the case.

The first step, in spite of the late hour, was a house-by4
house search of the neighborhood. The next consisted of
picked squads paying rush visits to every known poolroom,
tavern and gambling house in the city to pick up all suspicious

SLAIN POLICEMEN

Sergeant Thomas Kearney (left) and Patrolman
Wilfred Walker were shot down before they

“ey ; A 43 a
hime ae VARA ore A

‘o AW. x ih .

} d ‘ . vty re

Lieutenant George Benedetti crouches at the
earphones of an electric finder in the search
for the gun which Palka said he threw away
after killing two Bridgeport policemen,

9?

characters and known criminals, ‘The heat was on in earnest.

Almost at once, Sergeant Garrity discovered the bundle
which the killer had dropped in his flight. It proved to be a
small portable radio set—a set retailing for less than fifty
dollars. Fifty dollars for two lives!

The radio set was rushed to headquarters and examined for
fingerprints. Before dawn the radio was joined in the police
laboratories by a .32 caliber bullet taken from the stomach
of the slain Patrolman Walker,

A careful examination, in the flood of lights from two dozen
police car headlamps, was made of the Gilman Radio Store
itself. Quickly it was seen how entry was made, and Mrs.
Burke learned for sure the source of the noise which had
awakened her.

A large pane had been broken in the show window. Every-
thing indicated that a revolver butt had been the instrument
used. This fact was almost at once verified by the finding of
several small chips from the composition butt of a Colt re-
volver by Patrolman Pat Donahue.

And these chips, strangely enough, were the minute but
all-important clue which years later was to send a
man to the electric chair after every legal trick and
device had been exhausted in his defense !

Patrolman Joseph Meany has a record for a very
.observing eye. He was one of the first officers on
the scene, and one of the first who was sent out to
search surrounding houses and all suspicious build-
ings.

Passing in front of.a building at 588 Fairfield Ave-
nue, his watchful eye detected a faint silvery tracing
of white light under a closed window blind. Meany
at once rapped on the door of the establishment with
his nightstick. Carefully he had already unbuckled
his holster; his service pistol was inches from his
hand.

Meany knew the building as a rooming house oper-
ated by a Mrs. De Silva. After an interlude of a

s

Employes of the town of Stratford are
seen raking the salt marshes near the
Sikorsky aircraft plant. They, too, failed
to find the weapon used by the murderer,

Ul


irnest.
bundle
o bea
n fifty

ied for
police
omach

. dozen
. Store
{ Mrs.
-h had

levery-
rument
ling of
‘olt: re-

ite but
send a
ck and

a very
ers on
out to
. build-

ld Ave-
tracing
Meany
nt with
buckled
-om his

se Oper-
de of a

INSIDE DETECTIVE

few moments the door was opened. A harsh voice came
through the slit. :

“What do ya want?”

“Get it open,” snapped Patrolman Meany. “Who's up-
stairs?” That slender light had aroused the officer's curiosity.

“Some of the roomers,” the man answered. At the same
time the door was opened widely and the officer entered. He
followed the man up a short flight of steps and a moment later
was facing a closed door. A crack of light showed between
the jamb and the door. A quick knock, and Meany forced
his way into a typical boarding house room.

Three men, one stark naked, lay sprawled about the room.
Meany questioned them without wasting time. The men gave
the names of Frank Palka, he without the clothes, who was
living at the DeSilva address; Tom Evans and Frank Szynan-
ski. Palka strutted back and forth across the room as he an-
swered questions. The men had perfect alibis for the time of
the shooting. A search of the room’ failed to reveal anything
suspicious.

In spite of an air of tenseness, the patrolman had nothing
actual upon which to base the doubts in back of his mind.

_ Nevertheless he warned the men that they might be wanted

again for questioning and ordered them to remain available
and in town. Then he left.

DS F. RIMKUNAS, an employe of the Delaurent Bake
Shop at 160 Fairfield Avenue, always worked late at
night in preparing the following day's pastries and breakfast

_ cakes. The police. feeling that he might have seen something

significant, were quick to question him. And Rimkunas had
information.

The baker told police he had first noticed something wrong
when he had heard a shattering of glass. The radio shop was
not many doors away, and the unusual sound in the silence
of the fall night caught his attention at once. He had left his
bench and walked to the front of the bakery. Looking out
the window, he had seen two men hurrying down the street.

—

As they passed his store, he noticed that one of the men
was about five feet seven or eight inches in height, carried a
parcel under his arm, wore a dark suit and sported a gray
felt hat. He was unable to give a description of the other,
but the first, however, tallied with that given by Mrs. Burke.

Later, Mrs. Elizabeth Breen, a boarder at the Burke house,
told police officials that she too had been awakened by the.
noise and had seen the men. But she was unable to add any-
thing to the information already obtained.

In the meantime Detective Sergeant Kearney was still un-
conscious. The following morning as Chief Wheeler waited
at the wounded man’s bedside, Kearney revived for a. brief
moment. Slowly he opened his: pain-filled eyes. At first he
seemed to recognize his chief. His thin. dead-white lips
opened, as if in an agonized effort to speak.

Even as the doctor approached with a whispered warning
that any excitement might prove fatal, Kearney raised himself
on one elbow, his eyes opened wide and a peculiar choking
sob burst from his tortured throat. ‘He fell back om his pillow.

Detective Sergeant Kearney died without uttering a word.

Twelve hours had passed, and the police of Bridgeport
were still at a loss for clues.

The citizens of the New England city were in arms. It
had been Bridgeport's first fatality of officers in line of duty,
and both men had been popular. The very evening on which
he was to meet his death, Patrolman Walker had been elected
to and inducted into the Anchor Club, an honor society.
Walker was a well-known singer and churchgoer. Both men
had been married and were fathers. Both had excellent rec-
ords in the local police department.

Almost at once various civic organizations and the police
department itself had rewards totalling $2,400 posted for infor-
mation leading to the capture and conviction of the killers.

But in spite of public indignation, in spite of the popularity
of the victims and in spite of every effort of the police, twenty-
four hours passed and no progress had been made.

Detective Daniel McPadden, fingerprint expert, had been

Sergeant Joseph Coughlin and Patrolman William

Tickey bore a huge e

lectric coil over the marshes,

but it was in vain, The gun has never been found—
but the confessed killer got the chair nevertheless.

'~

es-
red
iad
eek
ne?
ud-
ird-
| to
had

‘hed
de-
rf, &
But
He
had
And
rded.
rhted
vered
They
ht be
With
gath-

arroll
After
i strip
it was
io had
along

letter

but by

was to
where

ce con-
nee or-

ival in

the double murder. Palka, he

one * cl

INSIDE DETECTIVE

‘

Buffalo was to contact the local police. Detective Sergeants
Holmes and O’Ncil were assigned to assist them in their
search. And what a search it was.

Buffalo is a large city, with more than half a million per-
sons. But the officers by this time had a good description of
Palka—a description which closely matched that of the man
who was seen running from the scene of the double murder.
So every rooming house, small hotel and beer parlor in the
city was systematically entered and inquiries made.

After more than ten days, and no breaks in sight, one of
those amazing coincidences occurred which now and then make
the life of a detective a bit more cheerful. The four police-
men, walking through Riverside Park, suddenly spotted a man
who seemed in every way to answer the description of Frank
Palka. Quickly they overtook him. A few questions, a threat
to take him and book him as a suspicious character,
and the man reluctantly admitted that he was indeed
Frank Palka.

The actual details of what.
went on in the station house
in Buffalo that night where the
officer took Frank Palka will
never be known. Palka has one
story, the officers another. In’
any case, no matter what the de-
tails were, the following morn-
ing’s sun was to herald a wire
from Bray to Bridgeport that
Frank Palka had confessed to a
part in the double cop murder.

He had implicated, as well,
Frank Szynanski. Frank, he
said, was living at 1173 Strat-
ford Avenue, in Stratford, under - .
the alias of Frank Burke. While
the Bridgeport officers were
bringing Palka back to the
Connecticut city, local officers ar-
rested his partner at the Strat-
ford address.

Confronted with the knowl-
edge that Palka had confessed,
Szynanski was quick to ask that)
a police stenographer be brought
in. Without encouragement, ace
cording to police, he at once con-
fessed to his part in the crime.
He said that the two had entered
the store in order to get a radio
which Palka told him he wanted
as a gift to his girl friend. He
insisted that he had no idea Pal-
ka was armed. Later he told of
camera snapped
maintained, had fired the shots.

On his return to Bridgeport,

Palka was taken before Chief Wheeler. He then elaborated
his confession. He said he was twenty-one years old and
had worked as riveter for the Sikorsky Aviation Company
in Stratford. He ‘told police he no longer had the murder
weapon but had thrown. it ig the swamplands that border the
aviation company’s sprawling plant. :

The prosecution realized at once that the gun would be
irrefutable, not to say necessary and vital, evidence in seeking
a conviction for first degree murder. The confession was some-
thing—yes. But confessions can be repudiated in court, and
criminal attorneys have a bad habit of pointing to the pos-
sibility of third degree methods being used to obtain them.

And so Chief of Police’ William Nichols of Stratford organ-
ized the army of the city’s jobless to aid in the search for the
missing gun. Several hundred men and boys were given rakes
and for days they haunted the swamps, combed the marshes
and searched in every conceivable nook 2nd: cranny. But all

IN LAW'S TOILS

Frank Szynanski, alias Burke, alleged ac-
complice of Palka, tried to duck when the
him being escorted
by Patrolman Hugh Kiernan (left).

without result. Ina last desperate effort to regain possession
of the pistol, the General Electric Company was appealed to.

A huge derrick and two operators were loaned to the police
department by the company. From the. beam of the derrick ©
was extended a giant magnet. In the drum with the magnet
was placed a recording device which showed when the drum
was directly over metal. And again the search began.

Not only did the magnet fail to bring up a pistol, but the
recording device failed to show the presence of any foreign
metal in the swamplands.

This ended the last of the police work on the case. Irom
now on it was up to the prosecutor’s office.

Realizing that they had a weak case in many respects, and
fecling sure that Frank Szynanski’s story was true, the prose-
cutor finally permitted him to take the stand and turn state’s
evidence. At the same time they discovered that Palka’s girl
friend was named Dorothy Capozza. Questioned by police,
she denied all knowledge of the
crime and was obviously broken-
hearted over the fact Palka had
said he was stealing a radio as a
gift to her when the two officers
met their deaths. Police and
prosecutor alike belicved her
story and realized she was ut-
terly blameless.

On January 14, 1937, Frank
Palka alone was brought to trial
before Judge John C. Connell
and charged with the murders of
Officers Walker and Kearney.
The trial was short and dramatic.
At the end of three days Palka
was found guilty on a charge of
second degree murder and sen-
tenced to life in prison.

Palka, as had been expected,
flatly denied on the stand that it
was he who had used the gun.
He blamed the shooting on Szy-
nanski. On the ether hand, the
prosecution produced witnesses
who uniformly picked Palka as
the man they had seen fire the
shots. The evidence, backed by
Szynanski’s own story of the
crime, was irrefutable.

But this was not the end of
the story. "It was, in a way, the
beginning. For from here on the
Palka case made legal and crim-
inal history.

Connecticut, with the excep-
tion of one other in the Union,
is the only state in which the
state has the right to appeal a
court decision. In other commonwealths, a criminal may ap-
peal, but not the prosecution. But in Connecticut, the lawmak-
ers have refused to believe in the theory of double jeopardy.
As a result, the State appealed, the appeal was ranted, and
Frank Palka was again forced to stand trial for his life.

In the meantime, Szynanski, held for many months in con-
nection with the case, had finally been released from custody. —

HE SECOND trial, following the supreme court’s reversal

of decision, opened on October 6, 1937. On October 15, the
State fotind Frank Palka guilty of first degree murder. The
death sentence was mandatory.

In December the parole board met, considered the case, and
turned down Palka’s plea for a commutation of the sentence.
Attorneys for the condemned man then appealed to Governor
Wilbur Cross, but the governor was firm. He refused point-
blank either to interfere in the com- (Continued on page 64)

39


~~ Fe

—

ALKO, Frank, white, elec. CTS@ (Fairfield) April 12, 1938.

Trailing New England’s

ness of Golden Hill street in

Bridgeport, Conn. There was the
sound of swiftly running feet. For a mo-
ment, deathly stillness again enveloped the
scene where the lone police prowl car
stood jammed against the curb and then
windows began to go up.

It was only a few minutes before
frantic telephone calls brought Detective
Sergt. Peter Matera and Patrolman
Richard Donohue racing to the spot. The
sight that met their eyes as they sprang
from their car gripped them with horror.

Dead in slowly widening pools lay two
friends and _ fellow officers, Sergt.
Thomas P. Kearney and Patrolman
Wilfred Walker. The little group of
onlookers stood with mouths agape.

Matera’s voice was oddly strained as
he straightened up from a quick exami-
nation of the blue-clad bodies. “I’ll call
headquarters,” he said.

Bridgeport police headquarters was
electrified into instant action at word of
the double police slaying. Radios crackled
with terse orders to stop every car in the
city limits at that hour of 2 a. m., and to
bring all suspicious persons to headquar-
ters. It was Sept. 30, 1935.

Detective Lieut. James Bray, now
captain and commanding officer of
Bridgeport’s detective division, and De-
tective Sergt. John Carroll were first on
the scene after Matera’s call. Silently,
Bray bent over the slain officers.

“Each of them shot once through the
heart,” he said.

Matera gestured toward the spec-
tators. “These people heard two shots,”
he offered. ‘‘They didn’t see or hear any-
thing else. Most of them were in bed.”

ai WO shots shattered the quiet dark-

A OVING out of the spectators’ ear-
shot with Matera, Bray consulted
his note book. “The radio dispatcher says
that Kearney and Walker were sent to a
music store on Fairview avenue on a
burglary call just before two o’clock,”
he declared. “A motorist saw a couple of
men there. One was taking a radio out
of a broken window.”
Matera nodded. “I found Kearney’$
receipt of the call in the car. It was two
men. They made off on foot. And here’s

the radio.’”’ He indicated a' small set that >

had been partly smashed when dropped
to the sidewalk.

Bray surveyed the fall-shattered radio
that was being carefully held. “The
killers and the burglars must be the same
men,” he said. “Now let’s hope that there
are fingerprints -on that set.’’

A police ambulance arrived. The in-
vestigators watched grimly as the
surgeon made a brief examination of
their slain comrades.

40

By THOMAS RAY LENANAN

“T’ll have those two slugs for fou as
soon as possible,” ‘the doctor informed
Lieut. Bray just before the ambulance
drove off.

The four officers spent the next 15
minutes carefully going over the death
spot. But they found nothing that might
uncover the identity of the killer or
killers.

Bray turned to Donohue. “Keep this
place clear until daylight. We’ll go over
it again then. Meanwhile, we’ll see
what’s down at the music store. I’ve got
a couple of men there already.”

Soon Matera, Carroll and Bray
alighted from the squad car in front of
the burglarized music store. They ‘were
greeted by Detective Sergt. John Ger-
rity and Patrolman Joseph Meany,

The store, located in Bridgeport’s
business district, was a two-story es-
tablishment. Two large, unbarred show
windows flanked each side of the
entrance at street level. The ~ left
window’s glass bore a jagged hole,
Crystal splinters. sprayed the sidewalk.

“Is the fellow who gave the burglary
alarm here?” Bray asked immediately.

Gerrity nodded and the man stepped
forward. He quickly related the circum-
stances prompting his call to head-
quarters.

“Then the thug who carried the radio
headed north,” said the lieutenant. “Is
that correct ?”

“Yes,” his informant replied.

“That indicates he was the one who
killed Walker and Kearney when they
caught up with him—unless the other
fellow doubled back around the block
and rejoined him.”

“Would you recognize them if you
saw them again?” Sergt. Carroll asked
expectantly.

The witness hesitated thoughtfully. “I
was inside my car when I saw them and
it was: pretty dark,” he finally declared.
“I doubt that I could identify them
positively. But I can tell you this much.
The one who carried the radio was
medium-tall and fairly husky. He was
dark-complexioned with: a well-shaped
head, and wore dark pants and sweater.
He didn’t wear a hat and passed under a
street light, so I’m sure of that much.”

“What about the second man?”

“T didn’t get a good look at him. He
was taller and slimmer than the first
fellow, though.”

Sérgt. Gerrity flashed his pocket light
on something his handkerchief held. “I
found these in the broken glass under
the show window,” he remarked.’

“Two broken pieces of a hard rubber
revolver grip,” mused Bray aloud.

“Say, this is a break. We haven’t found
the murder gun yet, but they may lead
us to it.”

“The hood probably used the gun butt
to break the glass,” observed Gerrity.
“I think he broke off these pieces doing
the job.”

“Right,” said Bray quickly. ‘‘Notice
one piece is stamped with the letters
‘US’. If I’m not. mistaken, the Reming-
ton Arms company makes a gun like
that.”

The sergeant nodded and returned the
handkerchief-wrapped gun pieces to his
pocket. Bray shot the rays of his flash-
light over the shop window’s interior.

“Nothing much disturbed,” he noted.
“Just this vacant spot in front. It’s just
about the size of the stolen radio.”

“The store owner will be able to iden-
tify the set when he arrives,” Gerrity de-
clared. “I called him a while ago.”

Soo” afterward, a car drew up to the
curb and the proprietor joined the of-
ficers. He readily agreed that the radio
found at the scene of the double murder
was stolen from his store window. Its
retail value was $30.

“Well, that’s that,” concluded Lieut.
Bray. ‘‘We’ll take the set to the lab and
have it dustéd for fingerprints. The
medical officer’s report should be ready,-
and the boys have probably rounded up a
few street-stragglers by this time.”

Patrolman Meany moved to Bray’s
side. ‘Now that you mention stragglers,
Lieutenant,” he said, “I saw a man slip
into a rooming house on Fairfield avenue
a little after the time Kearney and
Walker were shot. I didn’t know about
the killings then and didn’t think much
of it.” j

“Okay, we'll get right out there,” Bray
snapped eagerly. ‘Matera, you take the
radio and gun grips to the lab. Gerrity,
give this store front a good going over.”

Minutes later Carroll, Meany and Bray
stood before the dark face of a brown-
frame rooming house. “This is close
enough to the scene of the shooting but
of course it might not mean anything
at all,” said Bray. “Still, we don’t want
to pass up any bets.”

Repeated ringings of the doorbell final-
ly aroused the sleepy-eyed landlady. Her
eyes widened when she saw Meany’s uni-
form. Bray decided to chance a verbal
shot. “One of your roomers is dark, of
medium height, and is well-built,” he
said. “Who is he?”

The woman stared. “I’ve only got two
men roomers,” she ‘replied, “Mr. Palka
and Mr. Reilly. They live together.”

Bray turned to Patrolman Meany.
“You stay downstairs while we go up
and see those two.”


INSIDE DETECTIVE

unable to find any prints on the radio or in the store itself
which might be of material aid. In desperation, officials held
a conference.

“The only thing we have to go on,” said Captain of Detec-
tives Regan, now in complete charge of the case, “with the
exception of meager descriptions, are those few fragments
from a pistol butt.”

“Why not call in an arms expert?” Licutenant Bray asked.

The suggestion met with approval, and within a few hours
police learned that the chips had come from a Colt .32 caliber
pistol. Officials at the Colt Arms Company were at once
contacted and shortly were to arrive in the city.

There was to follow one of the most intense and accurate

pieces of crime detection work ever to be done in a murder
case.
With infinite caution and skill, taking hours and days of
time, police and experts reconstructed a pistol butt from the
chip fragments. And then, after
this had been reconstructed, the
Colt men informed the police that
the butt was similar to one which
had been built for a limited and
special line of pistols, no longer
in stock.

-The records of the arms com-
pany were carefully searched,
and it was discovered that only
three of this type of pistol had
ever been sold in or near Bridge-
port. They had gone to a Bridge-
port hardware dealer. Two of
the guns, on further tracing,
proved ‘still to be in the hands
of their original buyers—men of
staid and unquestionable reputa-
tions and backgrounds. The third
gun had been purchased by
James J. Ryan, owner of a tavern
at 1884 Main Street, in Strat-
ford, a suburb of the thriving
industrial city.

With Detective Sergeant Gar-
rity at the wheel, a car full of
officers raced at once to the
tavern. Ryan. with considerable
surprise, grected the policemen.
What did they want? His gun?

“But I*no longer have the
gun,” said Ryan, spreading his
hands wide in a helpless gesture.

“Haven’t the gun?” snapped
Garrity. “Why haven’t you?
Where is it? Who has it?”’

Garrity couldn’t get the deaths
of his brother officers off his
mind. He was out to do any-
thing in his power, and had little thought of tact. He wanted
answers—information.

“The gun,” said Ryan, and he looked pale and worried,
“was stolen from me more than five weeks ago. Some bum,
probably. You see, I kept it under the bar here in the
tavern. Loafers and riffraff are always hanging around. And
I can’t be everywhere and- watch everyone at once.”

Closely the officers questioned the tavern keeper. Who
were these bums? What names did they go under? He must
know some of them.

In an obvious effort to be of aid, Ryan racked his brains.
Taking a pencil and a piece of paper from a drawer, he care-
fully started a list. The list containcd the name of every
man he could remember who had been in the tavern, not
only from the period dating before the gun had disappeared,
but up to the present moment. It was a long list, but the
police were patient. They were making =a last desperate

38

STUNNED

Dorothy Capozza, fiancée of the con-
victed man, was broken-hearted when
she heard he had intended stealing the
radio as a present to surprise her.

stab in the dark to find the murderer of Kearney and Walker.

Sergeant John J. Carroll arid Lieutenant Bray were in
that group of officers at the tavern. Both had followed the
case closely and both had been working virtually twenty-
four hours a day tracing down hopeless leads and fading
clues.

Suddenly Bray pointed to one of the names. His eyes
glinted with memory.

“That man!” He almost yelled it. “That man—does he
come here often?”

Ryan looked at the name to which the policeman’s finger
pointed.

“Him? Frank Palka? Sure. Hell, he’s always loafing
around here.”

The officers remembered the report of Policeman Meany,
who had searched the room of Palka on his slender suspicion.
They recalled that the patrolman had said he thought some-
thing was wrong but had been
unable to discover anything defi-
nite.

'{ITHOUT another word the
men tumbled over each
other’s heels racing for the
squad car parked at the curb in
front of the tavern. The siren
was screaming high as the ma-
chine pulled into Fairfield Ave-
nue. Soon it came to a shrick-
ing halt in front of the DeSilva
boarding house where Palka had
been on the night of the crime.

But again the law was des-
tined to run into what appeared
to be a blank wall. Palka had
left the DeSilva place the week
before. Where had he gone?
No one knew. He had left sud-
denly, failing to give a forward-
ing address. Carroll decided to
search the room the man_ had
occupied.

The room seemed untouched
since its recent occupant had de-
parted. Old newspapers, dirt, a
faded shirt—nothing else. But
Carroll was like a bulldog. He
refused to leave until. he had
found something—anything. And
his persistence was rewarded.
Finally, in one dim, half-lighted
corner of the room he discovered
several shreds of paper. They
looked as though they might be
parts of a torn-up letter. With
infinite care, the detective gath-
ered them up and wrapped them in a handkerchief.

Back at the station house, Detective Sergeant Carroll
worked over the few miserable pieces of torn paper. After
hours of intense labor he had them rubber-cemented to a strip
of cardboard backing. It was a letter, all right. But it was
written in code. The letter was addressed to Evans, who had
been Palka’s roommate and who had been questioned along
with Palka the night of the murder.

The code was a system easily decipherable. Each letter

had a numeral over it. It took the detective all night, but by .

morning he had learned from its contents that Palka was to
be found in Buffalo, New York, or at least that that was where
he was when the letter was written.

Without bothering to catch any sleep, Carroll at once con-
veyed the information to Captain Regan. Regan at once or-
dered Carroll and Bray to the New York city. :

The first move made by the officers on their arrival i

Buffalo \

‘ Holmes

search.
Buffal:
sons. Bi
Palka—a
who was
So ever,
city was
After
those am
the life
men, wa!
who see!
Palka. ‘
to take
and the
Frank |
The
went on
in Buffa
officer t
never he
story, tl
any case
tails we
ing’s su
from B
Frank |
part in
He h
Frank
said, wa
ford Av:
the alias
the Br
‘bringing
Connect
rested h
ford adc
Confr:
edge th:
Szynans
a police
in. Wit
cording
fessed t:

_ He said

the stor:
which ]
as a gif
insisted
ka was

_ the dou

maintai:

On h
Palka \
his con
had wi
in Stra
weapon
aviatior

‘The
irrefuta
a convi:
thing-
crimin:
sibility

And

ized th:
missing
and fo:
and se:


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INSIDE DETECTIVE

pained all over, and the next morning about
eleven o'clock he died.

“After that I didn’t see Flynn for about
two weeks and when I did I told him I
didn't ever want to sce him again. He just
came at me again with those awful threats
and he kept after me until March 14, 1931,
when we were married in Hopkinsville,
Kentucky.”

She told the court that her life was
miserable all the time she lived with
Flynn, and that he abused her and cursed
her brutally.

“I’ve lived in hell,” she finished wearily.

TBE FOLLOWING Friday, at 9:30
A. M., we led the slight figure back into
the Wayne County courtroom. The bright
quill on her black hat was the only color-
ful note in her attire as she walked with
us, fully composed, through the crowded
room and took her place within the railing.

At the court’s command, she arose and
stood fearfully with downcast eyes as
Judge Pearce leaned forward and regarded
her from the bench.

“Tt is not necessary, of course, for the
court to say that this is a very dreadful
affair,” he began. “After you lived with
2 man for twenty years—were the mother
of his children... ! You have spoken of
the threats made to you by Flynn. I do
believe those threats were made to you.
[kut, you, however, knew right from wrang.

“After being with Harve Hoffee, the
man you promised to love and honor, on
that one night, seeing the suffering he
went through—and then to try again!
Under the circumstances, I think your
crime merits the death penalty.

“I have thought about it a great deal,”
Judge Pearce went on. “I believe this is
one case where the death penalty should
he imposed. Yet I don’t want to take all
the hope away from you. You have spoken
of the good you did in your community,
and there are two opportunities in prison—
to do right and to do wrong. You have
your choice. :

“In a life sentence your case might come
before the boatd of pardons after thirty
years, but I wish you to remain in a penal
institution for the rest of your natural life.
The least the court can do is to sentence
you for the rest of your natural life, and
you will be confined in the state reforma-
tory of Illinois for a term of ninety years.
The sheriff of this county will take you
and deliver you to the superintendent at
Dwight, Illinois.” }

Turning, Judge Pearce addressed me.
“Mr. Sheriff, she is in your custody.”

Mrs. Flynn, with no outward emotion,
fell into step between us as my deputies
and I walked from the room, down the
stairs and across the street to the red
brick jail.

Meanwhile, Flynn’s motion to quash the
indictments was being overruled by Judge
Pearce, who decreed that he be brought to
trial when the October term of court
opened the week of October 18.

Several hours later, Mrs. Flynn, ‘once
more the quiet, mouse-like woman, entcred
my automobile and we drove swiftly north-
ward to Dwight, where she was doomed
to spend the rest of her days in prison.

Flynn's trial after several postponements,
opened _on_ Monday, November 15, with
Judge W. Joe Hill of Benton presiding. I
returned Mrs. Flynn from prison, and on
Wednesday morning November 17,-she sat
tensely awaiting an opportunity to testify

against the man for whom she had given
up her home and freedom, the infatuation
which had led her to murder now turned
to bitter hatred.

All about her in the packed courtroom
spectators whispered, speculating as to
whether Flynn would be given life im-
prisonment or the electric chair, when
suddenly Defense Attorney C. D. Matthews
arose and addressed the judge. .

“The defendant wishes to change his
plea to guilty,” he anno

Mrs. Flynn’s face registered stunned
surprise as she saw the gray-haired farmer,
his eyes smiling mockingly, stand to receive
a seventeen-year sentence, making him
eligible for parole in nine years, in con-
trast to her eternal imprisonment.

She sat in silent retrospection on the
trip back to Dwight. Vastly different was
Flynn, who antly boasted that his
confinement would be brief as we delivered
him into the custody of the warden of the
penitentiary at Menard.

Why did not Flynn destroy the letter
that lay buried for seven years, only to
rout him and his mistress to doom? Per-
haps the answer is that he was too cunning
for his own good. Possibly he preserved
the letter so that he could hold it as a
threat over the head of Alva Hoffee Flynn,
— she attempt to brand him as the

iller.

‘ So Alva Hoffee Flynn, pious poisoner,
will toil in bitter repentance for her illicit
love until the day. she dies, Villainous
Charles Flynn, scornful and vindictive,
will be an old man if he ever outlives his
term. And trusting Harve Hoffce, who
knew not that his wife was a killer, can
at last rest in peace.

Two Lives For
Fifty Dollars

(Continued from page 39)

mission of the sentence or to reopen the
case. ,

And so, at this writing, Frank Palka is
scheduled to walk the last mile to Connecti-
cut’s electric chair in Hartford on January
30, 1938—thus to pay for the cold-blooded
murder of two police officers. And for
the first time in the history of American
jurisprudence, a man will suffer the su-
preme penalty after winning a life sentence
and“then being forced by relentless justice
to face a second trial.

Why? Because a man with a criminal
heart and brain wanted to get a radio for
the girl he claimed he loved. Because he
took two lives in a paltry fifty-dollar rob-
bery that failed,

ven at the last, Palka remained defiant
and arrogant. He not only denied that he
had fired the fatal bullets, but while deny-
ing it, made a frantic effort to convince
interested persons that he had embraced
religion. He studied theological books in
his cell, and only interrupted his reading
and his preaching to the other prisoners
- aes at a fate he had brought upon him-
self,

His final plea to Governor Cross was
that he be allowed his freedom that he
might go out into the world and preach
crime prevention. But the governor was
as unmoved as the stern finger of justice.

EVERY STORY IS TRUE

INSIDE DETECTIVE publishes no fiction. Every story is actual fact, and is backed
up by official records and documents. INSIDE DETECTIVE takes de in its accu-
— aad its editors take every precaution to safeguard the reader agaiast error.

If you read it in INSIDE DETECTIVE, it's true!

64

ci

Lerner

How:
at head:
and a |
were {

“Hov

Ve haven’t found
it they may lead

ised the gun butt
bserved Gerrity.
lese pieces doing

uickly. “Notice
with the letters
en, the Reming-
ikes a gun like

ind returned the
un pieces to his
ays of his flash-
low’s interior.
-bed,’”’ he noted,
1 front. It’s just
en radio.”

be able to iden-
es,” Gerrity de-
while ago.”

drew up to the
or joined the of-
d that the radio
double murder
e window. Its

neluded Lieut.
t to the lab and
erprints. The
10uld be ready,
y rounded up a
his time.”

ved to Bray’s
tion stragglers,
‘aw a man slip
airfield avenue
Kearney and
1’t know about
1't think much

it there,” Bray
i, you take the
lab. Gerrity,
1 going over.”
eany and Bray
> of a brown-
This is close
> shooting but
lean anything
we don’t want

doorbell final-
landlady. Her
Meany’s uni-
ince a verbal
rs is dark, of
ell-built,” he

only got two
. “Mr. Palka
together.”

man Meany.
le we go up

A shot rang out and the first police-

man clutched his breast, mortally

wounded. His fellow officer dashed
up with service revolver drawn.


Soon after, a door on the second floor
cautiously opened to the officers’ re-
peated knockings. A pajama-clad youth
said: “Yes, what is it ?”

“We're police officers,” said Lieut.
Bray. “We want a few words with you.”

The young man hesitated momentarily,
then opened the door wide to admit the
detectives. A single lamp lit the room
dimly. It contained two beds. An ap-
parently sleeping man rested on one of
them. The odor of stale alcohol per-
meated the room.

“What's your name ?” demanded Sergt.
Carroll, eyeing the dark, medium-sized
youth sharply.

“George Reilly.” He followed Bray’s
gaze to the occupied bed. ““That’s Frank
Palka, my room-mate.”

“Get him up,” ordered Carroll. “And
give us some more light.”

When bleary-eyed Palka finally stood
before the sleuths, the latter exchanged
glances. While Reilly and Palka did not
resemble each other facially, the rest of
their physical makeups were almost iden-
tical. The witness had said one man at
the music shop was taller and more
slender than his companion.

“Account for your movements tonight,
Reilly,” ordered Bray.

“I spent the whole evening with my
girl-friend,” Reilly declared nervously.
“She lives on Evelyn street, Stratford.
We took in a show, had a couple of
drinks and I took her home. I came
straight here afterward.”

“What time did you arrive here?”
queried Bray.

“About two o’clock. I haven’t been in
bed long.”

“T’ll bet you haven’t,” declared the
lieutenant, turning to his partner,
“Looks like Meany was right.”

CARROLL nodded grimly. Bray
swung on Palka. “What’s: your
story ?”

“T’ve béen here in bed since eleven
o’clock,” the second youth said calm-
ly. “I was drinking at a downtown
bar before then with a friend named
Harry Prynikowski. We left early to
be in shape for work in the morning.”

“Where does this Prynikowski
live ?”

Palka offered a Stratford address
and added that he, Reilly and Pryni-
kowski were all employed at an avia-
tion plant in the neighboring city,

“Was Palka here when you came
in, Reilly?” Bray suddenly asked.

The youth licked dry lips and
nodded.

Downstairs the lieutenant faced the
landlady again. “Did you see either
Reilly or Palka get in tonight?” he
asked.

“Not Reilly,” she declared. “But I
did see Mr. Palka come in.”

“What time was that ?”

“Just before eleven. I always turn
out some of the hall lights at that
time. He went right to his room and
locked the door.”

“I guess that lets him out,’ con-
cluded Bray. “But not Reilly.”

42

When he re-entered the upstairs room
he ordered: “Get your clothes on, Reilly.
You’re going down to.headquarters’ with
us.” ;

The youth paled. “B-but why?” he
stammered. “T haven’t done anything to
—to deserve arrest.”

“You'll get a chance to clear yourself.
Just come along quietly.”

The officers watched Reilly resignedly
don street dress, which included light
gray pants and coat. Brown trousers
and a-brown leather lumberjacket, ob-
viously Palka’s, rested on a chair beside

~

his bed. There was no sign of the black
trousers and sweater mentioned by the
witness in the room or its closets.

Just before they left, Lieut. Bray
turned to Palka. “So far your story
sticks,” he said. “But I may want you
again. Don’t try to leave town.”

The youth returned the detective’s gaze
squarely. He nodded. “Just as you say.”

At headquarters, George Reilly was
fingerprinted and lodged in a cell. But
less than one hour later Lieut. Bray and
Sergt. Carroll wondered whether they
Rad made a mistake in arresting him.

\

Cornered, the surly youth showed fight.
But he soon wilted when confronted with
the incriminating letter and the code book.

Soy 2

——

Prints
match
“But
the cle
might
Bray
and che

while t

kowski
the trut
an alib:
but we

Afte:
era rej
up of
persons
confro1
could 1

But,


vas no sign of the black
‘ater mentioned by the
m or its closets.
iey left, Lieut. Bray
“So far your story
“But I may want you
to leave town.”
ned the detective’s gaze
lded. “Just as you say.”
rs, George Reilly was
lodged in a cell. But
~ later Lieut. Bray and
ondered Whether they
ake in arresting him.

youth showed fight.
vhen confronted with
‘er and the code book.

Prints found on the stolen radio did not
match those of Reilly.

“But that doesn’t put him entirely in
the clear,” argued Carroll. “He - still
might be the killer’s accomplice.”

Bray nodded. “Run out to Stratford

and check on his alibi with that girl. And

while there, get hold of this Harry Pryni-

kowski and find out if Palka was telling
the truth, before he has a chance to frame
an alibi. The landlady’s story seems okay,
but we can’t afford to miss anything.”

After Carroll’s departure, Sergt. Met-
era reported that the city-wide round-
up of known criminals and suspicious
persons had shed no light on the puzzle
confronting the investigators. Those who
could not furnish alibis were locked up.

But, later, when the identification

officer reported that none of their finger-
prints matched those found on the radio,
they were released.

“Reilly. still séems to be our best bet,”
Lieut. Bray declared.

It was also revealed that the all-im-
portant prints were not recorded in local
files. A copy of them was then dis-
patched to the state bureau of identifi-
cation at Hartford.

‘The broken pieces of gun handle and
the two lethal slugs extracted by the
medical officer from the bodies of Sergt.
Kearney and Patrolman Walker.
were sent to Walter E. Witsel,
famed ‘ballistic expert of the Rem-
ington Arms company, for authori-
tative comment.

A timekeeper at the aviation plant

informed Lieut. Bray that Reilly and
Palka had been employed by his com-
pany seven months. Both were natives

‘of Buffalo, N. Y., and had come to their

jobs with good recommendations, Pryni-
kowski was a native of Stratford and
also had a good record.

Just before noon, Sergt. Carroll
walked into headquarters. “It looks as if
we're up against a stone wall,” he said
with a wry smile. “The alibis of
Reilly and Palka seem to hold wa-
ter.”


“What did you learn?” asked
Lieut. Bray.

“The girl said Reilly left her about
one-thirty to catch a bus back to
Bridgeport. The driver remembered
letting him off just before two. And
he was wearing the gray suit he has
on now. He may have been the
man Meany saw entering the room-
ing house. But he couldn’t have
been one of those seen at the store.”

“What about Palka?”

“Prynikowski and the bartender
both back up his story.”

Carroll sighed and dropped
wearily into a chair. Bray stared
silently at his desk-top for a few
minutes. Then, determinedly, he
grabbed his telephone. He talked
earnestly for a few moments, cradled
the receiver, and again faced his
partner.

“You probably think I’m plain
stubborn,” he stated, “but I can’t
get it out of my mind that Reilly
and Palka are mixed up in this mess.
We'll hold Reilly until I have a
chance to go over their room. Palka
is at work. You get the plant man-
ager to let you examine their lock-
ers. Look for the dark pants and
sweater, and especially the revolver
with the broken hand grip.”

“peAT afternoon Bray and Car-
roll sat in at a case conference
with Police Supt. Charles “A.
Wheeler, State’s Attorney William
H. Comley, Sheriff Edward A. Platt,
and County Detective William S.
Kearns.

“We received two reports in the
last hour,” said Supt. Wheeler.
“Hartford has no duplicate on the
killer’s fingerprints. And Witsel
says the revolver parts come from a
model formerly manufactured by his
company. The gun is .32:caliber. So
were the bullets which killed Kear-
ney and Walker.”

“T’m afraid we can’t hold Reilly
with no evidence to back: up a for-
mal charge,” Comley put in. “But
I’d advise a close watch on him and
Palka.”

Lieut. Bray and Sergt Carroll de-
cided that tracing the .32 caliber re-
volver was their best bet to locate
their elusive quarry. For days they
questioned legally registered pos- -fN
sessors of that type of pistol. Shady
characters known to have owned “US”

.32s in the past, through checking pawn -

shop lists, were also contacted. But re-
peated ballistic tests failed to tag the
lethal weapon. i

On Oct. 7, when Lieut. Bray and Sergt.
Carroll had almost reached the bottom of
their list, they entered a tavern on Main
street, Stratford. The proprietor was
the registered possessor of a .32 caliber
“US” Remington revolver,

“We'd like to have a look at your gun,”

announced Bray for the hundredth time
that week.

The man seemed puzzled for a mo-
ment. “Oh, the revolver,” he finally

44

said. “I haven’t got it any more.”
“You what?” asked the detective in

sudden interest.

The tavern keeper shrugged with un-

concern, “Someone snitched it a couple :

of months ago,” he said,
“Why didn’t you report the theft?”
“Well, I figured one’ of my customers

was. just playing a joke. I thought it -

would turn up sooner or later. Funny,
but it hasn’t.” ;

“It’s not so funny,” said Bray grimly.
“Fact is, it’s mighty important. ‘Where
did you see it last?”

“Right under the cash register. Holdup
protection.” ;

“When was that?”

The man frowned thoughtfully. “The
middle of July,” he said slowly. “I can’t
recall the exact date.”

.“Can you remember who was here?”
Bray asked expectantly.

The man nodded eagerly. “Most of
them,” he said. “I first missed the gun
about ten o’clock that night. Because
of that I took stock of everyone in
the place. Nearly all were regular cus-
tomers. —

“T had to leave the bar for a minute
about nine-thirty. All the regulars knew
where I kept the gun. It must have been
stolen then.”

DARING

“Tell me
tion, “was
or Harry

The pr
“Reilly an
quickly. ‘“
Harry Br:

Bray lo
said. ‘He’
lives ?”

The ba:
youth live:
investigat«

was the ho

A flood «
ried to the

DETECT


= |

Ine » rs Hartford)

T Erasmo and Joseph, whites, hanged Conn, ( |

PERRET IA , bras Oo: & '
on June 27, 1919. | |

!
Unmamed, undated Connecticut 4
newspaper sent by Hearn,

. (hes Pertaernaei mAb Naya Service.)
LEN RE, IRE s dine ee
revenge) and Teseph Porratta,
bethers, of New Britain, paid?
te death Penalty for the niurder

vr rank Lalmese n New 3ri-
eon ne o ISIS, in the state
PMiseny in Wetherstield M212 05
“clock this mMorniie. The double,
PI gine was completed within
i? MUMes alter the murderers ,
Merced the death chamber,

Ty See Near Covlapse, ey
ee oo al mMen were wert; ind moaned: —/
othe ty MAtive tongne Several hours |
PPO Lay {hetr execution, Because hej
was resurded ag the y Syker of the |
pi wo, Erasnio, the younser, Was
AMected itg die-Cirst. ‘py trap was
IDLE gt 12:05:83 And Le was Pro- |
TowNeng deal ong POE BEY SE Joseph
f Qered’” ug death “eh unher at
2:36: 82-ane was Pronouneed dead
BD lees tlan: ning Minutes, am

The Floomy watts! oh ihe prison
PesvUnded, with thelr cries fop merey
rid UACAMAY- vels. Both men, af.
tor entering tae death, chamber,
Fane at the hooas Fucling above
Rhe tr Roads. and both Nearly cole:
Pe Lge Foseph, @nooN-soldier in
bie TaXan acmy, was hissing the
Pueifix Parsforately “when the biack
uy Was #djudsted., Vis orether Bra.
VO refed ta Kirs the Crucifix,

During wie Alterna Oefore their
Pemaoval ta tha death Chembap Bras.
"MO Altompted to POMMGT soicide by
pita ire. ¢a cs tye Snitt owitdh on
oubted Ciraresie, Hie wos Severely
EN ‘Ore Pog Aout the body and. was
ptt ented obec te-wy PSiclInS, His;
Me Pited ROY AR Ox tse ' fernoon.
ht os a ee WH bag thy O children, |
Nd when Otbened AW from her;
Ushi she Collapses]. é
Hoceph dy UM ooWaye sy family
bigs fn Boyne
1

}
The: eine for wh iets the: Dregs

OME treo piter ag ts gy Woe Met ed or.
YEN ope pegye PLY ae ., oNE aye eirvain: for. od

ROW niger ssay Paling PANY. Borh inen
VES obs cy gop TOO tot hety Hames and.
teva), tlep LUN MO Nye, brot pape
Fe POW WSs Ane hy bead, slentified |

t


__noticeable for their quaintness and for tempering justice with mercy. 3

\._Massachusetts for advice.

i

Re fuctRor. Baltimore (897

THE PLANTATION COURT. 87

h, “3
by Ralph Dunning Smith. Publithed by &
86 HISTORY OF THE PLANTATION OF MENUNKATUCK. a
e. “a girle yt dwelt w Mr. Pierce at New Haven,” wlto was commanded
to return them. ;

On September 4, 1651, Wm. Boreman “ was questioned about lying,”
but this case of false accusation was deferred until F. ebruary 5, 1651-2,
when he confessed with penitence, he had lied “about the matter of
taking a canister and charging it to Mr. Thomas Jordan & Stephen
Bishop.” The Court “ passed him over with a Check and Admonition;
that, if he were found to miscarry himself again, they would make use
of these aggravations to after faults to encrease their punishment.”

_ On March 1, 1654-5, Thomas Stevens was accused of “ selling flax,
ot currantly dressed & wanting about an ounce in each pound; his
weight and balance, being proved, was found defective; the scales
uneven, the weight too light.” Thomas Stevens plead that he had sold
much flax formerly, which did hold weight, and that the reason of

: Thomas French was called before the court, on February s, 1651-2, for
claimorous & scandalizing expressions, tending to charge the towne
with unmercifulness and exaction.” Two witnesses testified that “he

. Of his scales a piece of lead, being a pistol bullet beaten out, which
was to even the scales,” and that “he made up the parcel of flax in
3; moist weather.” The Court told him “it was a grosse mistake not to
20 spoken & “ ; fet 5 have his weight proved for sundry years” and that his excuse was

eet & wronged them.” The Court thought that his confession #ae not sufficient. Further, though “they were willing to conceive and

hit in 2 base & dry manner; yet, out of tenderness to him & his “2 : hope the best, that he might not knowingly deceive,” yet they thought
mily, they pass his fault over with an admonition, that he do so ; E it just to fine him 10 shillings and compel him to make up the loss to
no more, or expect sharper dealing. These charges of the Court are others from his scales.

But one case of drunkenness is on record. On January 1, 1656-7,
John Parmelin, Jr.. was “called to answer, about a comon fame or
cee =e ©«teport of his inordinate drinking upon a Trayneing day of late, apear-
rd has ever maintained a good repu- i ing in his gestures et &c.—Answered that he did acknowledge that he

= fell down at the stile at Bro: Cooke’s doore & hit his drumme’ agt.

a. who was convicted of sodomy and corrupting of youth 4 the pales there: also that he did wade thro’ the water against Mr.
Fd executed in New Haven in 1646. There is no record of his ‘34 = Kitchel’s lott & that he againe went frd the way to ye pales ag’st

— ysl Guilford books; but the case was considered of sufficient 3. Henry Goldam’s Lott & then hit his drumme agt the pales and,
Monn noe £0 cause Gov. Eaton write to the magistrates and elders of @ further, he doth contesse that he had drunk too much strong drink
: 2 . ; ; m that day, considering that he was empty & had ‘eaten little & so

Fot theft,” Agnes Wilde, ap Parently a servant of Mr. Kitchel, was B’ acknowledgeth, yt he did evill & was not watchfull over himselfe, nor

sentenced, on January 21 1646-7, to restore double the value of the 3 id vivi i
ss k y : 7 1 d ff i he should, for which he was
things* stolen from him. Some of the articles she had exchanged with so carefull to avoid giving offence, as he s

IV.—Criminal Cases. If we’ may judge from the records, the 2 j

sorry.” Notwithstanding this confession, three witnesses were called
*II. Winthrop, New England p. 265. - 5. in, who, in a deliciously naive way, reminding one of Dame Quickly,
*In 1658 Wm. Pepper was charged of having stolen, among other things, a 3 4 confirmed the confession, whereupon the Court sentenced him to pay

Pistol from Goodman Clarke’s store at Guilford.—II. N. H. Col. Rec. p. 411.

* The articles were a cambrick band, 4 pair of cuffs, 5 neckcloths and cross-
cloths, several Pieces of old and new together,” some wampum, 2 handker- *;

chiefs, 4 laced crosscloths, a Holland Coif, a cap, a pair of Holland gloves, and a ,
a silver sixpence. 4

a fine, as “ he was disabled in his understanding by drinking.”

*He was.Town Drummer. ee .
*On September 3, 1652, Nicholas Munger, John Rossiter, and six young
‘a . women were examined “upon a comon fame or report of some miscarryages,

this parcel being deficient was that “he had lost off from the spring |

-

de®

€ TN THT

in the fore part of the Evidence had seemed to give a favourable
aspect in Regard to your Petit’) governed his Mind in Regard to its
being constituted the Crime of Murder And which probably with the
Reasons before mentioned was one Reason why the s‘ Gen! Assembly
tho’t proper to do no more for your Petit" than to grant him a Short
Reprieve. _

Furthermore your Petit’ can now prove by the Evidence of the
Rev’ Mr Chauncey Whittlesey and other Gentlemen of Note and
curious Observation Who attended said Trial and carefully Remarked
the Evidence that the witnesses who then and there testified in Regard
to the most Essential matters afores* were not alike understood by all
that heard them; for that they did not understand them to say that
your Petit" gave out any Threatenings at any other. Time against
the said Cook except while he was beating your Petit” nor that your
‘Petit’ lay in wait at the Door at all watching for the said Cook; But
the said Gentlemen and your poor Petit’ do think that, that part of
the Evidence may have been mistaken by the Hon” Court and Jury
upon s° Trial and that the Mistake most probably must have arisen
from the account of the Evidences then gave of your Petit’ lying a
Considerable Space of Time out of Doors the first Time of his being
thrown out as afores’ Wherefore your Petit" begs Leave to say with all
Humility and Submission that he is far from being Satisfied that he
has yet had a fair Trial of this his important and Most Solemn Cause;
but humbly presumes to think that in case he might have a New
Trial, the New discovered Evidence afores’ would undoubtedly set
the Matter in quite a Different Light from that in which it appeared
upon said Trial, or at least serve to remove the Doubts and Scruples
which now subsist in the Minds of many People Respecting your
Petit™ being in Fact Guilty of Murder. Whereupon your Petit’ most
humbly and Earnestly prays your Honor to take his most unhappy
case under your Wise and Judicious Consideration, and inasmuch as
the Law favors New Trials in all cases, and your Honors hare been
want to grant them in Civil Cases, a Fortiori may it be expected that
your Honors will do it in this Most Important cause. Wherefore your
poor distressed Petit" humbly prays and most Importunately begs and
entreats your Hon* to grant him a New Trial of said Case or grant
your Hon'* warrant for his Execution on some future Day so as to
give him opportunity to pray for Relief at the General Assembly to
be held at N. Haven or in any other way and manner which may be
consistant with your Hon™ authority and within the Jurisdiction of
this Honorable Court considered either as the Super’, Court of this
Colony or as Hon Deputy Governor by himself, Or in contrnction
with three Assistants; or as three Assistants all Agreeing Grant to
your Petit’ a Reprieve, or such other Relief as may be Consistant with


Ls

Law, Reason & Good Conscience for it is the Life of a poor distressed
Mortal that is now at Stake and must in a very few Days be taken

from him without the Gracious Interprosition of your Hon™ and the
Lord have Mercy upon his precious and immortal Soul! and he as in
Duty bound will ever pray: Dated in New Haven County Goal the
26 Day of August Anno Dom 1772

Moses Paul.
few cemectieat ‘sti ‘| ast Wednesday, Moses Paul
n .
September 4 1772 was executed agreeable to his

Sentence, about a Mile from this
Town. The Rev. Mr. Occom, preached a Sermon, previous to the
Execution, in the Brick-Meeting House, (from Rom. vi 23) and at-
tended the Criminal at the Place of Execution, where he made a short,

but well adapted Prayer to the Occasion. The Criminal behaved with
Decency and Steadiness, and appeared to be in the Exercise of fervent
secret Prayer all the way from the Goal to the Gallows. A little while
before he was turn’d off, he took a most affectionate Leave of his
Country-men the Indians, (many of whom were present) and exhorted
them to shun those Vices to which they are so much addicted, viz.
Drunkenness, Revenge, &c. He acknowledged that he kill’d Mr. Cook,
though not with a Flat-Iron, as was supposed, but with a club.

Not withstanding the Day was very stormy, there was a very
great Concourse of People, whose Curiosity was as much excited to
hear Mr. Occom preach, as to see the Execution, Altho’ there has not
been one in this Town since the year 1749,


» IE +4. 2S ‘

- possessed

CESAR REYNOLDS. —

Casar Reynolds,
“ Waen I was first requested to detail the principal inci-
dents in ey life, U resolved not to comply, because that life
ittle exeept crime and wickedness to unfold,

and I supposed that the mass of community would peruse
such details with abhorrence. Belonging to that unfortu-
nate and degraded people, whom law and custom have
made ‘hewers of wood and drawers of water’ for the
whites, I presumed likewise that I could relate ie

CESAR REYNOLDS. } 285

which would excite cither pity or interest; nevertheless,

if my guilty career and terrible end will serve to deter F ;

one solitary individual from the race-ground, which for
twenty years I have accapiel, I cannot object to tell what
I} have been and what I have done. Considering that I
was a black, my advantages fur an cducation were very
decent compared with others of my color, but the motives
to excel, which the white children had, could not be mine,
and, possessing i 5 too acute and sensitive for one
in my situation, I fclt sensibly the different treatment
meted out to me both by teacher and pupil, and conse-
quently paid little attention to my books. 1 Jearmed to
read and spell decently. What good could it do me, I
frequently asked of myself, whether 1 am ignorant of
learned? It cannot change my color, and consequently
it cannot alter my condition in sovicty. I shall ‘be the
same despised African in either event. Reasoning in this
way, I neglected my schooling and particularly all moral
education. Public worship I avoided as much as
ble, aud were it not that I wanted nothing, and that m
master and mistress were kind and gencrous to me,
should oftener and perhaps earlier have gratified the pro-
peusity to commit crime » Which very ear!
manifested itself. Why I was ever induced to steal,
cannot imagine, for I had cnough to eat, drink and wear,
aud | commenced the business and rally carried it
on alone, without the aid of advisers. [tis hard to cuin-
mit the first offence—one does it with reluctance, with
fear and trembling. IHlis next is easier, and in process
of time he becomes hardly conscious that he is deine
wrong. My first offence was perpetrated with eae J
compunctions of conscience, but alas, crime afterwards
became to me habitual, and [often conunitted it in: mere
wantouness. May my unhappy end never be that of any
who may read these pages. Had [resisted my first desire
to steal, as f might have done, and had | paid, proper
attention to imorals and books, my fate might have been
different. As it is, LE will not quail. I die innocent, and I
suffer for a crime of which I ara pot guilty. But more of
my feclings hereafter.

—

—


}
2386 CHSAR REYNOLDS. |

“On the 11th of May, 1803, I was born at Wickford,

L., of honest and respectable parents. One brother
only ¥ had, and he is now in the grave. - When I was an -
infant my father left my mother and I never saw him or
_ heard from him afterwards. At the age of two, my —

_ mother placed me with Mr. Carder Haxa , of N a

; wealthy man, and witha! very kind and obliging to me.
With him I lived at Newport three yon wee we moved -
eee to Norwich, Conn., where I remained 1 ts and in ©
|. Mr. Hazard’s family. My business consisted in going of
Cas and tending children, of whom there were seven,

_ in which business f continued till I arrived at the age of
_ twelve. During the last war Mr. Hazard en ged exten- -
~ _ sively in speculation, and I understood added largely to his
coffers. He told me that he had cightcen brothers and —
One sister, and one of his brothers was formerly a member
of Congress from Rhode Island. He allowed me to go to ©

— considerable, but my progress in learning was

“When I was ten ts old, one day my master sent —
"me to get his horse shod at a blacksmith’) by the ase
: * of Fey, room and while the hands-were at dinner, I
staid in the shop. Perceiving two penknives on the =

detected. yl both, and as soon as

a4 fe the horse wae ready* todo home with tite, nd ere
t ~~ to the servant girl. Shortly after, who should appear but
A ae "s von, demanding the stolen articles and carping §
foe with the theft. Ho suspected me, because I had :
__ keft alone in the shop,

Master made inquiry, and the :
{ _ said I had just given her a peakuife. She producodid :
; : _ > and thus brought me out. I confessed the crime. gave up —
ca ~ the knives, and in payment for my iniquity received fiom

CESAR REYNOLDs. 287

to settle and say nothing. How Ri ules settled I do not vases
‘.

remember, but | got the moncy Hazard, under * :

some pretence or other, and paid it, Hyde never ex pused
me, that I know of.

“Some time in the year 1815, just before the close of
the last war, we moved to Franklin, in New Loudon
county, to get out of the way of the British, who were
then blockading the port of Kew London. At Franklin

my mistress died in child-bed, and domestic affaizs
family government became

and hung it up in my chamber, bat to rub ont
like the one lost, was identificd as being the article.
confessed the crime and paid for the glass, but never was
prosecuted for stealing it.

“Soon afterwards, 1 took from there a piece of blue
broadcloth large cnough fur a suit of clothes, and carry-

ing it away under my apron, scereted it in my chest. A

vest pattern dirvetly shared the same fate and lodged in
the same place, whos I kept both of them two years.
After U had taken the glass, they never left me alone in
the store, and kept strict watch over my morements, but
in spite of their eyes, [ carried away the cloth umliscorer-
ed and when several were mt. My pride increasing
with my guilt, I felt inclined to wear a fur hat and patre-
nizea Mr. Hyde, a hatter. So one afternoon when he
was absent, IF went te the doors and found them fastened.
Going round tu the back side, which was in some places
very much decayed and where several boards were off, |


CHSAR REYNOLDS.

entered by pulling off part of another board. There 1
espied a new fur hat, ready made for a customer, which
falling in love with, I seized, carricd home and hid in an
old unused granary in tho garret. Hyde discovered his
loss, and spoko to master about it, but as I denied it
stoutly and the hat was not found in my posscssion, I
csca inishment. oe

" ing a horse was my next offence. Learning that
a general training would take place near Starks’ tavern
between Colchester and New London, David Ruggles and
— ow over to peta ee this
time we had become t ’ a pretty
understanding. But if any thin he was the worse of

the two, but not the most cunning, Towards night we

saw a trooper's gies Let fle. with saddle,

ooo pistols,
Several people were near by, but pretending to be a
a short distance, when
both mounted, rode to Bean Hill and tamed him
The owner immediately mete. and having
rom the by-standers,
the next day to Mr. Hazards. » ho
had found his horse and equipments all’ safe.
questioned, T turned off the anit as a boyish scrape,
in a state of partial intoxication. ‘This would not
hin, and he demanded ten dollars for his trouble and loss
of time, which Mr. Hazard paid him, and this was the
last T ever heard of the matter. 2.

“About a mouth after, in October, asked master for
leave of absence, which he gave, but me to re-
turn by nine o'clock in the evening. Instead of return
at that hour, f remained out till cleven o’cleck. When
came home, he called me to an account, and inqnired
why I disobeyed his orders. Being unable to furnish a
plausible reason, he took me up garret that same night
and gave me a sound whipping. Twas they about fifteen
en old, and could not stand such treatment. I resisted

imallin my power, but when he had finished I told
him E should quit. He objected to it, and pulling out of
his pockct a letter, which he had received from my

1:

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asked him if he would

ve me my clothes and let me go.
He advised me to consi

of the step I intended till morm-

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CHSAR REYNOLDS.  =-—s—«s«o20

gentleman came in aud discovered, at disastrous and demoralizing to an alarming degree, I
was on a broken insned from that den of iniquity, in 1821 practised and .
Biatk., He asked me w learned thief, having added to my former otek of Inne,
ledge all that older culprits had experienced or could com- -

saunicate. ae
“ After my discharge I let myself to Charlies Ruck, of Be aes
Turkey Hill, and lived with him till the first of April, 1882,
when I broke into Appleton Robbins’ store, and stolen’ >
variety of articles. For this offence arrested me
aa ae . mam then wanted fg, took me before Horace Clark, Esq. on the charge of bur-
| me to settle, and agrocd that if I would tell where the lary, and stealing five yards of loth, one grons of
tomate, Revenant sould be dion ‘abot _feins, and two ext patter, admited tng ie
articles and thus berayod on wort ol produced the lost could not prove, if 1 remem that his store had
Hy, and ee qayele | They forthwi been broken open at all, and I clined that T tork ake

< "eink rey 10 jail, in Geo om ets from the court- Cwsar committed various other thefts in the vicinity of
~ worth, Washburn, jai te Charge of Joho Ells- Hartford, such as robbing money drawers, and the like,
but the following one was his last.

“I entered the house of a Mr. Hills, a printer, and
stole four handkerchiefs, two pair of stock gs, a hair
brnsh, a pair of gold car-rings, and several silver
and took the turnpike for New Haven. The next day I
stopped ata tavern in Meriden, where sundry people were
reading the very advertisement which described my per-

son, &e. From their motions, ber and Wee — .
me.

I perceived that they were snspici ..

gan to talk abont the matter, and for the purpose of tnrn-
ing away their minds, I carelessly asked tees if they had
seen such a black fellow as was described in the adver-
tisement. One of them answered, that he thonght he had
secn very much such a fellow, and in his opinion I looked -
some like him. They consequently arrested me forth-
with, but as I had on a dress different from that described,
they were not quite certain enough and partly concluded

" proluced then, as it always will pisdnes. very bad

) destroy all regard for morality, order

aud reputation, which remained at the committal, and the

culprit was sure to come out tenfold worse than when he
tsoners frequently obtained rum,


May

haat

Oe ee ee RRS Oat arigee Sag
ey Septet SOSA SM aie
ts RRORAEANEE Saat NY Seapets RPE OS Sys
te AS BS AS oe BE AS Ak Se BREME Soc ae

S59 S.
aot > 2
és .
SS 3

Post-Telesram photo—Mathewson

The diagram shows where Patrol. |
man Wilfred Walker, (upper right),
waa fatally injured and Sot. Thomas
P. Kearney seriously wounded when
they intercepted a burglar flealng
from Fairfleld avenue, The dotted

Pollce cruiser from Harrison streag
two policemen were’ shat. down be
fore they could draw their guns, the

self in the Courtland Apartment, At
B, the sec boats ewlage’

line to “A™ shows the patho? thel}
along Golden Hill strest, At.“A”. the |

killer fleeing along tha. path “Andis |
cated by the arrows and. losing tin. }.

Nauraet} .; frend

Rak:

re ae guarding broken win

avenue where the burglar had seized

1222 Fairfield avenue, who took
wounded officers to the hospital, . th

Yore Than 260 Policemen Swing
Into Manhunt for Walker Slayer

3 . o >
quads on Foot, Pairs in|

: Gore | | Walker Killing First 7
Autos Com ity lor | Fe ‘
og : || of Force in 25 Ye;
Adler, in

— i] Drilled below tha nH by a
“rom Supt. Charles A. Wheeler jj burglar whom he. trying to
es: T3 ie ‘ ; * ae re tA bent ipprehend on Goldec Hut pn
Wan, Peedi puig dsarte wacdas eu

:| Patrolman Wilfred Wallgtiattse =
Ucemen swung inte A manhunt to ; drat Bridgehors aol in 25
y that wil not end until they | years to die dfrettly as the result
vnge the callous murder of Patrok!! of gunshot Wounds. ae
wn Wilfred Walker. On March &, 1910, Ellsworth
Vorki

: i} Man at the corner of Main street
~ Personal supervision of Supt. |

/} and Fairfield avennue, was alain.
‘eeler, Capt. of Detectives John!} The man, Mueller, was later com-
Regan and Lieut. James H. Bray, | mitted to an asylurg - of
45 of foor police combed every |
d and areawayv for blocks in the
nitv of the

shooting on Golden ae
- Street, between Harrison atreet |
( Washington avenue. | 4

iiman'’s Musie shop In. - Fairtiata {
a radio. Lower right, Fred Spleer, of

Deity, Un 8 || formed if
A all through the night un- - Btappling with an insan ..

“ying in

the motors and automo-

f
Cruisers Swean Over City
ohee cruisers SWwung out ints all,
krown criminal Sections of the! of Pa
x . | at 11:9’
Reooming Rose keaarers were! een «.% 2 %
. ‘Advances of Fractions to A ‘ids
Yiniwad - Aun ere ; : . e Ld ie al
pls aed 4 ye BG Point Made in Active ride, passed
Opening Trading. Ger ot oe Kis
Sematary Pha. ?
pica ia) ee. tie: af
; : p VINA, Sept. 30—{ AP) a . ioe :
4d OEP RD Beat Bt A


2

Late Local and Wire News.”

im News, Advertising. Circulation—-> (ae cece one

The diagram shows where Patrol- TRO GE ue
man Wilfred Walker, (upper right),. ged phote owl 7B eennn

‘was fatally Injured and Sot. Thomas

29 et i eo Nia


WALKER SLAIN,
KEARNEY DYING,

Tee

= Patrolman Shot to Death
S.. Chasing Burglar in
; i Golden Hill St.-

(Continued from Page One).

bis back fic co! uf
$ abock.

Mem rrss

‘Foy and Willan lienntssey were
transferred frum the Traffic bureau
by Supt. Wheeler today for tem-

porary duty on the case. The two
-OMicers. ‘quitting work just after
midnight, saw two men walking on
. Fairfield avenue near police head-
- quarters and believe they may have
‘been the men who later broke the
' Gllman.window.

Detectives are making a thorough
_ @earch of all rooming houses in the
| elty and transportation lines are
| being watched by plainclothesmen
who have a fair description af the
‘murderer furnished by Det. Sergt
Gerrity and Peter Matera who saw
him in flight. The murderer fired
.] @t their car when they hurried to
+ the nesingnce of the wounded po
+ Weamen.
2 ie More Than 30 Offer Blood
$ Informed of the need for blood
|‘ transfusions an hour after the shoot-
1 img and again this forenoon when
the second operation had to be per
formed, more than 30. different po-
| Meemen volunteered to give their
own blood in an effort to save Sergt
{| Mearney.

Tests were taken at the hospital
and ‘Motorcycle Officer Edward Cole
era of: Nantad "or the fipat tee ne ty

“OF GUN WOUNDS,

| Offer Blood to Save

it
eb tbe,

Motorcte!e Poiteeman Daniel Fitz-!

Ke armey

Of the 30 policemen who instantly volunteered their blood to help
Sgt. Themas P. Kearney in his fight for life, Motorcycle Officer Ed-
ward Cole (left), and 89t. William Buckley, (right), were chosen.

ined the radio and the broken glass
from the Gilman window but only
the print of a aingle finger rewarded
their search.

Patrolman Walker and Sergt.
Kearney, riding in the headquarters
radi: “scooter” car No, 116, were dia-
patched to the Gilman store at 1:14
o’ele ok this morning when a woman
livisg in a rooming house across
the siregt telephoned an alarm to
police headquarters that the store
Wes Of8ng burglarized,

De. Bergts. Gerrity and Matera
wets sso dispatched to the store In
the ioclective bureau automobile.
They were join
sepi Meaney, ey found the plate
gilas: wadow broken, and a small
pane of glass in the front door had

been oallcar ee

The women wr “given the

het

‘fired and believes he saw the mur-

derer disappear near Trinity church
on Courtiand hill.

Tho gunman was discribed az
about five feet, seven: inches tall,
of slender bulid, dark complexion,
wearing a dark auit and a light
gray felt bat with a snap brim. He
was well dressed.

More than 40 policeman led by
Supt. Whecter, Capt. Regan and
Lieut. James Bray combed every
yard in the vicinity of the shooting
at daylight today in the hope of un-
covering elues to. the murderer's
Identity, They foun? nothing to aid

by Patrolman Jo-#tkem dn the {nveatigation.

Kearns Offers Ald
Although not actively engaged in
the investigation ag yet, County De-
— Wiliam Kearns conferred
wt

the ‘oen’) outhortt(es thi- fors

THE

ric Gere

BRIDGEPORT POST,

stediedaal SEPTEMBER 30, 1935,

' Reporter Witietses Shooting, |

Ti ells of Seeing Officer Killed

PEPPERS T00 HOT
FOR NORWALK MAN

NORWALK, Sept. 30—(By Special
Cérrespondent) Peppers proved too
hot for Arthur Romson, of Taft
street, here early Sunday morning.
He was charged with intoxication
and theft.

Romson bad a bushel of peppers
in his possession. when Detective
John Toothill, Jr, stopped him in
Ely avenue, the policeman ectd. and!
wax hazy as to where he procured
them.

PHELAN SETS DATE
FOR WRECK INQUIRY

Coroner to Start Probe
Westport Rail Crash ©
Wednesday.

of

WESTPORT, Sept. 30—(By Spe-
cial Correspondent) While New Hav-
en railroad wrecking crews worked
today to get the huge electric engine
of the “Maine Bullet’” out of tho
Sougatuck rivet wHere it landed
after the collision with the “Speed
Witch” on the drawbridge in West-
port early Friday morning, Coroner
Jobn J. Phelan announced he will

hold an inquest Wednesday at 10 a |,

m. into the death of John Sheehan,
engineer who was killed in the

crash.
Sheehan was driving the “Maine

| Thomas Kearney

Telegram Man Pe A

Police Pursuing ..
Burglar.

EDITOR'S NOTE—The fellowing story
Was written by Joseph Seclwimer. police
reporter fur The Hridgeport Telegram.
who witnessed the shooting of Sergeant
Thomas Kearney snd Patrestaan Wilfred
Walker by a burglar eariy today. Schwi-
Iner was riding in one of thespolice Gam
which wae in pureoit of the barglar-whea
the fatal shooting occurred.

BY JOSEPH SCHWIMER:

the shooting of Sergeant
‘and Patrolman
Wilfred Walker on Golden Hil street
near the Algonquin club ag I rode
in a police car pursuing the burglar
who smashed a window at Gik
man's Music store and was escap-
ing with a radio set.

I saw the flash of revolver fire in
the darkness and heard the report of
two shots. I ducked involuntarily
and looked up to see Sergeant Kear
ney falling to the ground. Patrolman
Walker, lying on thes sidewalk, cried
‘I'm shot too” -

We sped down Golden ‘Hu ‘street
toward the thief and Detective Ser
geant John J. Gerrity who was riding
with me and Detective Sergeant Pe-
ter-Matera, leaped from the car with
gun drawn as it came to a halt. He
ran up Golden Hill street toward
Courtland street, in d@ chases
after the fugitive. I could see the
killer's face as he fled up the hill,
Gerrity fired two shots, The gunman
in flight fired at the detectives’ cay.

I thought I saw the thief stumbis
as if shot but he continued on and
disappeared in the shadows of the
apartment building. Matera swung
the police car about and sped up the
bill to ald his fellow officer, .

T saw

Met” when it ran into the other
Bul a. ae “Anprat Tyra ” The

Both men, guns tn hand, pushed

30 NO
ME

‘NORW.
celal Corr
persons
early Sun
pauk roa
ing at a
automobi
crashed i
chines ar
identifiec

Both d
were arr
ed with
road. Tt
Davis pl.
West Re

The ac
to witne
ine, a cc
in the £


ie

@- Detectives are making 8 thorough |

ers

pyverrr tt ae

,} @t their car when they hurried to) ©
@ : the assis

9 | sion while Bergt. Willlam J. Buckley

*| fingerprint experts, carefully ¢xam-*

;

pl FA

Patrolman Shot to Death
Chasing Burglar in
Golden Hill St.

bis back Hic c-
shock. .
_ Motorcfcle Policeman Daniel Fitz
“soy. and Wiliam Hennessey were;
transferred from the Traffic bureau}
by Bupt. Wheeler today for term- |
porary duty on the case. The two
-..Cficery, quitting work just after
‘ gmpidnight, saw two men watking on
. Fairfield avenue near police head-
> quarters and believe they may have
i been the men who later broke the

‘ou eteshour _ward Cole (left), and Sgt. William

Of the 20 policemen who Instantly
Sgt. Thomas P. Kearney in his fight for life,

volunteered thelr blood to help
Motorcycle Officer Ed-
Buckley, (right), were chosen.

ined the radio and the broken glass
‘rom the Gilman window but only
ihe print of a single finger rewarded

_ search of all rooming houses in the
“ e@fty and transportation lines are
being watched by plainclothesmen |!
who have a fair description af,the "sir search.
‘\:gyurderer furnished by Det. Sergti “atrolman Walker and Sergt.
Gerrity and Peter Matera who saw! “‘varney, riding in the headquarters
him in flight. The murderer fired scio “scooter” car No, 116, were dis-
: sieched to the Gilman store at 1:14
of the wounded po o'clock this morning when & woman
{living In a rooming house across
~ street telephoned an alarm to
iice headquarters that the store

:Weemen.
2 oe More Than 30 Offer Blood
‘Informed of the need for blood
transfusions an hour after the shoot’ “®s being burglarized.
‘feg and again this forenoon when Det. Sergts. Gerrity and Matera
the second operation had to be per "sre also dispatched to the store in
- formed, more than 30. different po- {the Detective bureau automobile.
Meemen volunteered to give their! “3ey were joln by Patrolman Jo~
| own blood in an effort to save Sergt |“*ph Meaney. They found the plate
| Mearney. : ‘ giags window broken, and ® small
Tests were taken at the hospita) © 2¢ Of glass in the front door had
Officer Edward Cole © © smashed. 2
qwas sc -fort the first transfu- |. The woman who had given the
: alarm informed Sergt Kearney that
gave the second. = of the two men had fled west o

Bmudged fingerprints on the table | “alrfeld avenue while~ the secon
radio which the murderer dropped | “ad walked north on Broad street.
in flight and a rather indefinite de-| “Scooter” Starts Search
sorption furnished by policemen and | - The police “scooter” with Kearney
].two civilians are the chief clues, sad Walker started in search of the

‘upon which, police have to work to-, 82 who hed walked along Fair

: BS ld avenue while the Detective bu-
,reau car with Gerrity and Matera

tarted into Broad street, to Elm

street and thence to Harrison streoct

where they saw a man carrying a

emall radio under h:s arm. He was

») 2pproaching Gdlden Hill and Harr!i-
‘ mn - i ‘

Find Only One Print |
a Det. Sergt. Daniel McPadden dnd °
;LAeut. George Haux, department |

fired and believes he saw the mur
derer disappear near Trinity church
on Courtiand hill.

The gunman was. discribed ar
about five feet, seven: inches tall,
of slender bulld, dark complexion,
wearing a derk suit and a Mght
gray felt bat with a snap brim. He
was well dressed.

More than 40 policeman led by
Supt: Wheeler, Capt. Regan and
Lieut. James Bray combed every
yard In the vicinity of the shooting
at daylight today in the hope of un-
covering elues to, the murderer's
identity, They foun# nothing to ald
tikem jn the investigation.

Kearns Offers Ald

Although not actively engaged in
the investigation as yet, County De-
t e Wiliam Kearns. conferred
with the local authorities this fore-
no@® and, o§ered his assistance in
the case. :

The radio dropped ny the murder
er in flight was of the RCA-Victor
type and was valued at $29. His ac-
complice carried away the second
machine, police say, rt was an Air
King radio of the small box type
and retailed at $20.

The Rev. Dr. John Anderson, chap-
lain of the Bridgeport Pollece Anchor
cluh, Is at the bedside of Bergt Kear-
ney. The dying poltceman was to
have been installed ng head of the
local Agchor club at exercises Tuea-

cvening atthe Knighta of Col

i He was charged

NORWALRH, Sept. dU—thoy Spee ee:
Correspondent) Peppers proved too
hot for Arthur Romson, of Taft
street, here early Sunday morning.
with intoxication
and theft.

Romson bad a bushel of peppers
{n hia possession. when Detective
Sohn Toothill, Jr, stopped him in
Ely avenue, the policemas std, cand
was bazy as to where he procured
them.

PHELAN SETS DATE
FOR WRECK INQUIRY

Coroner to Start Probe of

Westport Rail Crash ©
Wednesday.

WESTPORT, Sept. 30—(By Spe
cla) Correspondent) While New Hav-
en railroad wrecking crews worked
today to get the huge electric engine
of the “Maine Bullet” out of the
Saugatuck rivet where it landed
after the collision with the “Bpeed
Witch” on the drawbridge in West-
port early Friday morning, Coroner
John J. Phelan announced he will
hold an inquest
m. into the death of John Sheehan,
engineer who was killed in the
crash.

Sheehan was driving the Maine
Bullet” when it ran into the other
fast freight “Speed Witch.” The
Jatter had made an unscheduled and
Emergency halt... fees

The inquest into Shechan’s déath
will be held in| the County court-
house at Bridgeport.

GOP. 1 STILL
SEEKING LEADER

(Continued from Page One)

eee

AS om
anlie

Wed day at 10 aj,
geet ‘as if shot but he continued on and

EDITOR'S NOTE—The following story”
wae written be Joseph Sehwimer. police
reporter fer [he Miridgeport Telegram.
wie witmesced the shooting of Serceant
Thomas Kearny and PavrecAnn Wilfred
Walker by a burglar eariy tuday. Schwi-
ner was peeling in one of thespalice can
which Sap in purenit of the burglar-hen
the fatal aheoting occurred.

BY JOSEPH SCHWIMER:

I saw the shooting of Sergeant
Thomas Kearney and Patrolman
Wilfred Walker on Golden Hill street
near the Algonquin club as I rode
in a police car pursuing the burglar
who smashed a window at Gir
man’s Music store and was ¢SCap-
ing with a radio set. :

I saw the flash of revolver fire in
the darkness and heard the report of
two shots. I ducked involuntarily
and looked up to see Sergeant Kear
ney falling to the ground. Patrolman
Walker, lying on the sidewalk, erled
‘I'm shot too” - eae gy

We sped down Golden Hill street
toward the thief and Detective Ser
geant John J. Gerrity who was riding
with me and Detective Sergeant Pe
ter-Matera, leaped from the car with
gun drawn as it came to a halt He
ran up Golden HID street toward
Courtland street, in desperate
after the fugitive. I could see the
killer’s face as he fled up the hill.| .°
Gerrity fired two shots, The gunman |
in flight fired at the detectives’ car.

I thought I saw the thief stumbis

disappeared in the shadows of the
apartment building, Matera swuhg
the police car about and sped up the
bill to aid his fellow officer. - ;

Both men, guns in hand, pushed
their search into the darkness of the
buildings, but the gunman had es
caped. They returned, picked up a
radio set which the thief had drdép-
ped, and removed it to the station
without erasing fingerprint marks.

Gerrity, when he lost trace of the
gunman -in the darkness, ran to his
fellow officers’ ald when Sergeant|
Matera took'up the chase in the car.

The alarm came jn at 12:14 a m.
as JI sat talking tothe officers
in the Detective bureau. ’ Ag the
others rushed out, I jumped into
the car with them. . :

When we reached Gilman's music


*
HISTORY OF THE PLANTATION OF MENUNKATUCK. THE SIGNERS OF THE COVENANT

47
supposed to have married Dorothy Whitfield, born at Ockley, March, @@ J
1619, eldest daughter of Rev. Henry Whitfield. g his lands at Guilford to John Meigs, formerly of New Haven
Henry Kingsnorth, the twenty-second signer of the plantation coven- William Dudley was the fourteenth signer of the plantation epienant

According to a tradition’ in the family,

ant, was from Staplehurst, in the county of Kent, where he was born :
the south side of the Thames in the cou

about the year 1618. He was a friend of Mr. Whitfield. He married
Mary Stevens, daughter of John Stevens, who came early to Guilford,
but was not in the first company. He was a man of standing and;
property both in Old England and New England. He died without
children in the time of the great sickness and was buried July 3oth,
1668. By his will he disposes of his property in England to his
relatives and his property in Guilford to such son of his brother Danie
Kingsnorth as should come from England for it, otherwise to Johm
Collins and his wife Mary. Accordingly James Kingsnorth came the
year following with a certificate of the rector, churchwardens and parish’
clerk of Staplehurst, in Kent, to his identity. He also brought a lett :
from Rev. Henry Whitfield to Mr. Jno. Hall affirming the same. There!
fore he was adjudged the estate and resided in Guilford until his death
in 1682. Not leaving any issue, by his nuncupative will he bequeath
all his real estate to either of his brothers or either of their sons th
should come over to New England for it, and if none of them came if
five years time, then the inheritance was to fall to his uncle and aunty
Collins, they sending over to each of his brothers or their sons a pieceay
of plate worth £3 in England. His two brothers, Daniel and Johtl
Kingsnorth, afterwards acknowledged the receipt of such pieces of
plate, and by their deed, made and executed in England, conveyed the
said real estate to John Collins, 1686. 4

Thomas Jones was the sixth signer of the plantation covenant.
was not far from twenty-one years old at the time of his signing thé
covenant. He probably came from some of the counties north of
London. He appears to have been the first marshal of the plantationyE
and was re-elected from year to year until June 9th, 1651, when Georgé i
Bartlett was chosen, in the words of the record, “to succeed brothef
Jones in the marshals place when Providence shall remove’ him!
Before June, 1652, he seems to have removed. He may have gont
away with Mr. Desborow, as he certainly left Guilford about the sa Nf
time. In a letter’ written by Mr. Davenport to John Winthrop, Jf
dated March, 1655, he says Mrs. Desborow and Goodman Jones, @
Guilford, died lately of small pox in England or Scotland. Hé marri¢
Mary —————, probably about the time of his coming to Guilford
She died December 5, 1650. He married, second, Cartef

he was a native of Sheen, on
nty of Surrey; and, as is well
great family who were earls
He lived at the time of his emigration at
in Surrey. His marriage in the handwriting of Mr. Whitfield.
is on the records of that church under date of August 14th, 1636, to af
Jane Lutman, it came to Guilford with him and was the mother of |

is oldest son, born perhaps June 8, 4 |
en the child born on the passage allided . in a Te oe . |
Davenport to Lady Vere. He was a man of property, but bore =
Offices of trust among the planters. He was probably about 25 years .
old when he came to Menuncatuck. . He died at Guilford, May 16

On the 4th of March, 1667-8, Lieut. Wm. Chittenden, his agent,’ sold |
i
i

60 he removed to
nts, erected a corn
| t at town; for which
Proprietors gave hima farm, on condition that a ‘mill should be —
bitants should have equal
leges in regard to grinding, which farm was held by his destoisteitt
these conditions for two centuries. He died December 4, 1681 7
ne of his descendants, David Bushnell, invented the American Turtle,
€ first torpedo, during the Revolution; another, Cornelius Gurciahed
csson the funds for the “ Monitor.”
William Stone, the eighth, and John Stone, the tenth signer, were
obably brothers. William was a tailor and died November 1683;
n was a clothier and mason and died in F ebruary, 1687.

William Plaine, th i ;
hing boys% ne, the eleventh signer, was executed in 1646 for cor-

'§

ohn Parmelee, the fifteenth signer, died in New Haven

N b
} 1659. He left numerous descendants in Guilford. seni

He left a son or nephew, Samuel, and on the

1He thought of removing as early as June 12, 1650.
sent thereto.

sale of his lands he
? Append* to Bacon’s Hist. Dis. p. 368. a


order, etc., although it was uncertain whether it would fall
within our jurisdiction or:not, because they of Connecticut
challenged it by virtue of a patent from the king, which was
never showed us, so it was done de bene esse, quousque, etc.,

by way of motion only to the churches, and not by any wi
of command. :

Mr. Eaton, the governour of New Haven, wrote to the
ernour of the Bay, to desire the advice of the magistrates ar

,. - _
| 324 JOHN WINTHROP. 1646) JOHN WINTHROP. 325 SN
\ é. that case. Whereupon it was ordered, that howsoever’ the A plantation was this year begun at Pequod river by Mr. “266
CH civil magistrate had authority to call a synod when they’ se John Winthrop, junr., Mr. Thomas Peter, a minister, (bro- vs
ey it needful, yet in tender respect of such as were not yet fully ther to Mr. Peter of Salem,) and this court power was given to ¥
= satisfied in that point, the ensuing synod should be convent them two for ordering and governing the plantation till further
: S

@

John
*.

elders in a special case, which was this: one Plain of Guilford for it mattered not much to which jurisdiction it did belong, )
being discovered to have used some unclean practices, upon seeing the confederation made all as one; but it was of =
examination and testimony, it was found, that being a me great concernment to have it planted, to be a curb to the In- ~e
man, he had committed sodomy with two persons in Englan dians, etc. 2
and that he had corrupted a great part of the youth of Gui ~ Monsieur La Tour being returned from Newfoundland in a Ss i .
ford by masturbations, which he had committed, and provo pinnace of Sir David Kirk, was (by some merchants of Bos- “i 4
others to the like above a hundred times; and to some w ton) set forth in the same pinnace to the eastward with trading NX a
questioned the lawfulness of such a filthy practice, he did in commodities to the value of 400 pounds. When he cameat _
uate'seeds of ‘atheism, questioning whether there were a Cape Sable, (which was in the heart of winter,) he conspired aN a
ee at etc. The magistrates and elders (so many as were at han with the master (being a stranger) and his own Frenchmen, > gS
| page did all agree, that he ought to die, and gave divers reasons being five, to go away with the vessel, and so forced out the ™y ay
| a 9 the word of God. And indeed it was horrendum facinus, and other five English, (himself shooting one of them in the face NY IN
By 2 he a monster in human shape, exceeding all human rules and with a pistol,) who, through special providence, having wan- 3
tt? examples that ever had been heard of, and it tended to the f dered up and down fifteen days, found some Indians who gave N =
fe : trating of the ordinance of marriage and the hindering the g them a shallop, and victuals, and an Indian pilot. So they cS RQ
fee : eration of mankind. arrived safe at Boston in the third month. Whereby it ap- _ _
ip : A petition was presented to the court under many hands peared (as the scripture saith) that there is no confidence in an y =s
by ¢ the continuance of the two laws against anabaptists and oth unfaithful or carnal man. Though tied with many strong .\ “>
& heretics, which was done in reference to a petition presented bonds of courtesy, etc., he turned pirate, ete. yo
i at the former court concerning the same laws.? Mr. Lamberton, Mr. Grigson,* and divers other godly per- .<* "
i : SX
fi SN
ia 1 The margin informs us “he was executed at New Haven.” law that requires special allowance for new comers residing here, it is ordered, << or)
if ® A few pages back, it may be remembered, the reasonable petition was me! _ that the laws in their petition mentioned shall not be altered or explained at S /
i tioned, but, I fear, this counter petition had more signers. . Persons going to all” Bourne had lived in Boston, as I find record of two children borntohim WO w&
+ England, with hopes of employment in the parliament service, were probably here ; but after his return from the wars, before mentioned by Winthrop, I pree © a>
f desirous of recommending themselves by carrying evidence of a relaxation of sume he removed. Parliament gave him command of a ship of war. aN _~
fis | the rigor of our laws, or at least of their own exertions to obtain it. But the ” 1 He is said, in a book of no authority, Peter's Hist. of Connecticut, to have SS \
se : erroneous policy of our court, encouraged by the support of the multitude, come over in 1634 and settled at Saybrook with Fenwick. There, also, Mather bee
pf? showed its strength in the abrupt and positive report on the subject, which is places him. Very little is known of him, but that he was of a less sanguine SN N <
a4 here extracted from our Col. Rec. Vol. IL p- 50. “In answer to the petition mrpperament than Hygh. . TST S }
jit of Em. Downing, Nehem. Bourne, Robert Sedgwick, Thomas Foule, with othe: .® Grigson’s children were Richard and Mary, who resided in London, Anna, vy ~S
ers, for the abrogation or alteration of the laws against the anabaptists and the! who married Stephen Daniels, Susan, who married Abraham Crittenden, Sarah, |. aN

VoL. II. 28

10 HISTORY OF GUILFORD.

undertook to extend their territory eastwards, and on the 2oth
of September, 1641, he obtained of Weekwosh of Pashquishook
[ ] a tract of land called the Neck, extending
along on the sound, as it was then described, from East river to
Tuckshishoag or Tuxis pond, for the consideration of ‘‘a frieze
coat or blanket, an Indian coat, one faddom Dutchman’s coat,
a shirt, a pair of shoes and a faddom of wampum.”

The right of Weekwosh to this land, however, appears to
have been soon doubted, for on the 17th of Dec. following,
Mr. Whitfield, Robt. Kitchel, William Chittenden, William
Leete, John Bishop, John Caffinge, John Jordan, and the rest
of the English planters of Menunkatuck made a purchase of
Uncas, sachem of the Mohegans, which covered this land and
extended northward through the township. In the deed of
conveyance Uncas declared himself to be the sole owner of all
these lands, denied utterly the claim of Weekwosh and all others,
and accompanied his declaration with such circumstances and
testimony as left little doubt that the right of sale was in his line.
The consideration paid to Uncas was four coats, two kettles,
four fathoms of wampum, four hatchets and three hoes.

Mr. Whitfield was desirous of extending the township still
further eastward and accordingly made repeated applications to
his friend Mr. George Fenwick of Saybrook, to convey to the
town the tract lying between Tuxis pond and Hammonassett
river, which Mr. Fenwick had previously bought of Uncas. In
a letter dated Oct. 22d, 1645, Mr. Fenwick gave the tract to
Guilford on condition that the planters would accommodate Mr.
Whitfield with land to his content, and he was authorized to
hold the land until the conditions should be fulfilled. The
town accordingly made several allotments of land to Mr. Whit-
field, which he accepted, and on the 20th of August, 1650, he
gave to the town a deed of all the right, title and interest which
he had in the lands given by Mr. Fenwick, for the considera-

History of Guilford, Connecticut by Hon. Ralph
J. Munsell, Privster. A\bany NY ($151

steieedist ati toate

D. Sm

i

HISTORY OF GUILFORDS) i

tion of £20 paid in wheat, which must be considered an addi-
tion to the allotments. On the 20th of September following
he also gave to the town all his right (whatever it was) to the
Neck, obtained first from Weekwosh, as the town had paid the
consideration,

Uncas probably claimed the two tracts just mentioned in virtue
of the conquest of the Pequots in which he assisted. They had
possessed either in their own persons or by their tributaries a
territory of very considerable extent. Concerning the Indians
who dwelt upon this nothing certain is known. A stone with
a human head and neck roughly carved, now lying in a fence
half a mile northeast of Madison meeting-house, is supposed to
have been used by them as an Idol. Nothing is also certainly
known as to what became of them after the purchase of their
grounds. They may have joined their brethren, the Menunka-
tuck Indians at Branford and East Haven, or the Hammonassett
Indians at Killingworth, the remnants of whom remained in that
town until 1739 or 1740. The latter supposition is the most
probable as they appear to have been the most numerous about
Hammonassett river, where they had cleared a large field which
was easily cultivated and very productive. Indian bones have
been found near the river and also on the Neck.

The first settlers of this town were adventurers from Surry
and Kent near London, and, unlike their mercantile brethren
who peopled New Haven, were mostly farmers." They had

* Their first recorded act as a separate community was the Covenant, which they
signed on ship-board, while on the passage, which was as follows :

CovENANT.

We, whose names are hereunder written, intending by God’s gracious permission
to plant ourselves in New England, and, if it may be, in the southerly part, about
Quinnipiack : We do faithfully promise each to each, for ourselves and families, and
those that belong to us; that we will, the Lord assisting us, sit down and join off
selves together in one intire plantation; and to be helpful each to the other in every
common work, according to every man’s ability and as need shall require; and we

th

prreerceenae cer Petn Tei render ete sheen etruinpeneneny-sie

——


12 HISTORY OF-GUILFORD.

not a merchant among them and scarcely a mechanic; and it
was at great trouble and expense that they procured even a
blacksmith on their Plantation. ‘They took much pains to find
land like that from which they had removed. At first they
thought of Milford, but finally fixed upon Guilford, because
‘they found it, particularly about the town plat where they first
settled, low, flat and moist land agreeable to their wishes. ‘They
called the town Guilford in remembrance: of Guildford a
borough-town, the capital of Surry, where many of them had
lived.

About forty planters came into the town in 1639, whose
names in consequence of a defect in the records cannot be given
with entire certainty. “There were forty-eight in 1650, among
which are doubtless included the original forty. Their names
and the date of their admission as freemen are as follows :

Henry Whitfield.
Jno. Higginson.
George Hubbard.

Mr. Sam’] Disborow, May 22, 1648.
Mr. Rob’t Kitchell, « &
Mr. Wm. Chittenden, “ “

promise not to desert or leave each other or the plantation, but with the consent of
the rest, or the greater part of the company who have entered into this engagement.

As for our gathering together ina church way, and the choice of officers and *

members to be joined together in that way, we do refer ourselves until such time as
it shall please God to settle us in our plantation.
In witness whereof we subscribe our hands, the first day of June, 1639.

Robert Kitchell, John Stone, Thomas Norton,
John Bishop, » William Plane, Abraham Cruttenden,
Francis Bushnell, . Richard Gutridge, Francis Chatfield,
William Chittenden, John Hughes, William Halle,
William Leete, Wm. Dudley, Thomas Naish,
Thomas Joanes, John Parmelin, Henry Kingsnorth,
John Jurdon, John Mepham, Henry Doude,
William Stone, Henry Whitfield, Thomas Cooke,

John Hoadly,

HISTORY OF GUILFORD. 13

Mr. Wm. Leete, May 22, 1848. 4
Thomas Jordan, 6 c

John Hodely, -

John Scranton, ae
George Bartlett, “ *
‘Fasper Stillwell, = =
Alexander Chalker, ia

John Stone, es
Thomas Jones, May 22, 1649.
William Hall, aie -
Thomas Betts, “ “c

John Parmelin, Sen., « =
Henry Kingsnorth, June 15, 1649.
Thomas Cook, Feb. 14, 1650.
Richard Bristow, “ “

- Jno. Parmelin, Jr., “¢ “

_ John Fowler, June 30, 1650.
Wm. Dudley, = “
Richard Gutteridge, - -
Abraham Cruttenden, Sen., May 19, 1654
Edward Benton, ed -
John Evarts,? Feb. 5, 1652.

The following names of planters are given in the original
Records, who had not been admitted as freemen:
John Bishop Sen.,
Thomas Chatfield,
Francis Bushnell,

Henry Dowd,

a

* The name of John Evarts, which appears at the bottom of the list of names in
1650 was undoubtedly added afterwards, as it appears that he did not come to Guil-
ford until the next year, being admitted a planter Sept. 4, 1651, and sworn in a free-

man Feb, 5, 1652. He purchased John Mepham’s allotment of Timothy Baldwin of
Milford, by deed dated July 29, 1651.


a LE

: cited his suspicions still more, and he then

214 TELLER AND REYNOLDS.

“Macdonough. Just before that hour arrived, I took m

valise and started for the boat. Passing the Hartfor
Bank on - way there, it occurred to me that it would
a

be a good p

be detected. Besides, one bank had already been taken

- in, and 1} doubted not another might be as easily. Sol

deliberately walked in and presented ten Unions to the
teller, for which I desired castern or Hartford moncy, re-
marking, that I was going down cast, and therefore should
be glad to put off my New York bills. While the teller
was looking at them, the lynx-eyed cashicr inquired if he
was gning to take them, and observed that they did not
look exactly right. With much confidence I assured him
they must be good, as I had only the day before taken

them of a merchant in New York, who was well acquaint.

ed with the money. As he still hesitated, I immediatel
and foolishly told him, that I had enough of other bills,
the ones offered were bad. This imprudent remark ex-

to accompany him to another bank in order to ascertain
whether my pieces were genuine, to which I assented,
and went with him to the Phoenix Bank, where finding

no Union money, we proceeded tothe Branch Bank. “As
they had none there, we went to the Connecticut River —
Bank, and happened to find there a genuine one dollar
note of the Union Bank. The fraud was discovered.” I~
attempted instantly to snatch the bills out of the‘cashier’s _
hand, but in vain. He told me I had better desist, as I

was only furnishing evidence against myself.

“TL then told him that the bills were my pre that .
“they were perfectly good, and that I woul :
He said I could not have them at present, but if I wished
he would give me a receipt for them. Secing there ~

have them:

was no other alternative I agreed to take a es
and passed out of the Connecticut River Bank with him

and another gentleman, for the purpose of getting the
receipt at the Hartford. Onmy way I joe Pe a
_) gangway betr -en the Universalist meeting-houss and

n and a fit opportunity to stup in and make.
them share the same fate with their customers, as the ~
boat would be off long before the cheat would probably

requested mo —

lodg struggle, in which they chok

TELLER AND REYNOLDS, = 275 _—~

the Branch Bank, and unobserved deposited in a knot-hole
in a post thirty of the Unions, rolled and tied tightly up
in a piece of light blue paper. 1 plaeed them there under

the expectation of going after them, in case I escaped the =

existing juncture, or of sending some one after them, .

should I
placing them there was to keep them out of the way
of the law and the states attorney. At that moment I
could have escaped, for the gentlemen had got considera-
bly ahead and did not seem to take notice of my move-
ments, but instead of securing my liberty, I, like a simple-
ton, followed on and went with them to a room in the United
States Hotel, thinking that would best convince them that
my intentions at least were not criminal. Here they ex-
amined and cross-examined me fur a long time, and. un-
luckily, in the agitation of the moment, 1 forgot the story
1 had previously told about the bills, and infonaed them
that I had that forenoon taken them of a horse-dealer at

the corner by the Exchange buildings. The discrepancy
was forthwith pointed out, and could not be satisfactorily

explained. Meantime, Mr. Morgan, the hotel keeper, hail
discovered a Union in his drawer, and a proscenting officer
and a sheriff were made acquainted with the facts. We

then proceeded to the Hartford Bank, where I was detained

‘some time, under pretence of having the receipt properly

made out. While there the broker, to whom [ had pass-
ed nine of the Unions, brought in eight, which I redecim-
ed without any objection. Very soon the sheriff made
his appearance with a warraut and conducted me toa

magistrate's office. ‘The Yankees were not slow in geuing

wind of the arrest, and came pouring in upon me to re-
deem their bills. Part of them I redeemed, but supposing
I was already in hot water, and wishing to retain cnongh
of good money to pay a lawyer, I refused either to redeem
any more or to give up those which had been presented
for that purpose. The magistrate ordered me to give
them up. I refused again, and instantly put them into
my mouth and tried to swallow them. At his request,
the sheriff and another person {cll upon me, and after a

od me violently, they

t

arrested and committed. Another object in’.


igtaaigy >i ~

sia lige oi Fal
Bee da nies

Sey v4
vas sees ee

\
\

972  ~—”—«CO TELLER AND RFYNOLDS.

~ and thought in spite o

“to suspec

sidcration of the risk to be encountered in ing them
off. How he procured them and where the alteration was
effected, he kept entirely to himself, not even letting his
accomplices into the sccret. However it would not prob-
ably verge far from the truth, to say, that he procured the
bills in question at Canada, although the supposition Is
mere guess work on my pers The alteration was done
with so much skill, that the bills were passed in the city

> * without the least trouble, but as so many had been put
*. off there, and as the banks of the Hudson were lined with -

them, it was deemed advisable to try the Yankees. We — :

knew them to be oop h: money-making, industrious men,

flints that they generally were too honest and Kora pedi,
t others of crime. To my everlasting sorrow

their wooden nutmegs and horn -

found the calculation wrong. I found them to be a

- shrewd and penetrating people, cager to trade and quick

to detect fraud. Besides, the fact that I counted too

much on their stupidity threw me off my guard, and 1

managed in too careless a manner. I should advise all

> rogues to shun eeonctiest, sat more especially the city

of Hartford, if they would keep out of harm’s way. Be-
fore one is aware of it, they nab him without process,
drng him before a magistrate, and in a trice he finds him-

sclf in the state prison. On the 12th I started for Hart- .
ford in the steamboat Macdonongh, and for ‘my fare —

offered an altered Union, which was received without
hesitation or suspicion, and, the fare being only one dollar,
nine dollars in good money were given me in exchange.
As we passed along the East river, by scencs, among

‘ which so many years of my life had been spent, my ‘feel-

ings were uncommonly buoyant and cheerful, and I gave

myself up to pleasing reverics on the golden harvest about |
from the Yankees. Only one object seen on -

to be reaped
the trip marred my happiness. That was the old alms-
honse, to which I had been three times sentenced. Still
that occupied my attention but a moment, for it was soon
turned to other matters: the stories I should have to re-
late to my accomplices on my return; the ense and ad-
dress with which my errand was accomplished; the

PREC AION Bap RRR Be S48

a

TELLER AND REYNOLDS, 273

~ vexation into which many citizens of Hartford would be

thrown the day after my leave, to find themselves so fair-
ly guiled; and the rapidity with which my purpose was
executed. I expected to have returned after an absence

of one day. But these dreams provea delusive; my ex-

tations were crushed; I never more saw my father’s
ouse, and was destined never to revisit the scenes which

> furnished me with so many joyful thoughts. This was _
ol fatal trip; it deprived me of liberty and finally of my
ife.

“The next morning at ten o'clock the boat arrived at
Hartford, when [I landed and went immediately to the
United States Hotel. In a few minutes I commenced
operations, taking first the jewellers’ shops and then the
lottery offices, buying in no instance an article the price
of which exceeded a dollar, avd in every instance getting

“back for the altered Unions nine dollars or more in current

money, without suspicion. One bill I ee to a ticket
vender, who, not having the change at hand, took the bill

‘to the United States Branch Bank, where it was received

without the slightest hesitation. At another office I

bonght four quarter tickets, and representing to the man
> that I was from the south, travelling cast, ard would be

lad to get eastern ag mgt he readily took from his
rawer eighty dollars in Hartford bills and exchanged

© them for eight of the Unions, at the same time expressing
> his entire willingness to have accommodated me further,
© ifhe had had any more moncy about him. As soon as
= the jewellers and ticket dealers had been sufficiently laid
} under contribution, I repaired to a livery stable, and
© mounting a horse, rode round to the hardware stores
® under the character of a horse jockey, buying some small
i article, and paying out the Unions in every instance. No
| man seemed to distrust cither me or the bills; so, after
© dining at the hotel, I paid my scot, sixty-two cents, with
® a Union, which was accepted and no questions asked,
© and received back in good currency 89,38, My inten-
) tion now was to have returned in the Victory, the opposi-
© tion steamboat, which started at two P. M., and to have
© discharged my fare in the same way that I did in the


eS
Shah cama ne er tata me yyy a. 8 cae
oe ea “ +

ee

~~ paint pot. ‘Taking it [ spread a thick coat over one of
~~ the panes of glass, and plastering thereon a piece of brown

- ed the room where the silk was stored.
~ to be immense quantities of it.

TELLER AND REYNOLDS.

the whole pane in. By means! of the paint

paper, push

~~ tho glass either would stick to the paper, or if it fell the
“sound would be deadencd. Unfastening the window, I

crawled through into the counting-room, or what I sup-
d to be the coynting-room, where I ransacked a desk
and sundry drawers, and overhauled all the papers, but

- discovered nothing of any value to me. Turning to a
‘door which led to another apartment, I unscrewed that
part of the lock into which the bolt shoots, and passing
through that and another which was unlocked, I enter-

There seemed
I there found some empty
sacks, and filled seven of them with the article, sixty
bundles in cach, every bundle weighing, as near as I
could judge, about one pound. These I hauled to a door

fastened on the inside and Icading into an alley, ready

for a start.

‘‘ As soon as these mattcrs were arranged, I opened a
window a very little, and listening attentively, heard the
watchmen, and also my accomplices outside, piving the
signal (a kind of cough) to let them in, but as

or let them know that I was in the store.
I kept snug till the day gun was fired, when I opened the
door and sallicd out with two-of the sacks.
Pearl street, I came athwart a hand-cart chained to the
side-walk. Ina twinkling the chain was broken and the
cart trundling over the pavement with the two sacks. I
had travelled only a short distance, before I met an ac-
complice, Place, on horse-back, who took a sack on before
him and trotted away. Leaving the cart and the other
sack, I turned back and soon met two other accomplices,
who had besieged the store all night, determined to wait
till the watchinen dispersed. We immediately repaired to
the store and marched off with three additional sacks to
the cart, where we picked up the one I had left and
trudged on till we met a hackney coach. This we hired,
telling the coachman that we were sailors with our clothes,

po utd 4
a me po al
Bae ee
Sh oe ee do ne

had been -
once betrayed by a pal, Smith Davis, I dared not trust them ©
Consequently |

eaching ©

\ ? -

% cae? te 4 Se A os 9

TELLER AND REYNOLDS, >

just paid off from a vessel, and boarding the craft with

our booty, pushed on to Broome street. " Here we stopped,

and two of us shouldered the sacks and secreted them ins

a house occupied by a female prig, two or three squares

distant. After they had fairly stowed them away, they —

returned to the’ coach.

market, paid coachce two dollars, and absconded. In the

afternoon I-saw an advertisement offering a reward for ~
The police officers were on =)
Without delay I shaved |
my whiskers off, mounted a white hat and a different suit >
of clothes, lest the coachman should recognise me, and = >>>
sold four of the sacks of silk to Smith Davis, for twenty =<

the detection of the thieves.
the-alert as usual in such cases.

shillings a pound.

“Contrary to my request, Place carricd his bag to Bob
A. Young's, in Scammel street. It so happened, that
some person observed him and gave information of tha.
fact, after the advertisement was out, to the police office.
Old Hayes forthwith repaired to the house, where about
day-light a man was seen dismounting with a bag, and
arrested Place, Young, and M'Claugh. The bag was
found there. At the next sessions all three of them were
conyicted and sentenced to the state prison; Place four-
teen years and the others seven years.

* Place betrayed me; and the police repeatedly looked
for me, but being apprized of their intentions, 1 eluded
them for some time. One day, however, as | was going
down Anthony street, T met J. 1. Hayes. Ue attempted
to scize ine, and I told him to keep his distance; but call-
ing for assistance in the name of the people, he suceceded
in securing me and taking me to the ollice. At the next
sessions I was put on trial, ‘The only fact Ehad to con-
tend with, was this. Some net-work stuckings, which 1
took from Howlands’ store, were found at my lodgings,
but as they could not fully identify them, I was acquitted.

“(n the Lith of August, 1830, Smith Davis, one of
the most notorious dealers in bad money that the city of
New York ever harbored, brought to me one hundred
bills of the Union Bank altered from ones to tens, to ren
for him on shares, allowing me half the avails in con-

ee

We then rode to the Essex 7)

ee

Te

(Pane

"hai

268° ~————s TELLER AND REYNOLDS.

the store and appurtenances critically, and concluded that
un cutry was practicable. The next evening he went
down and scereted himself in an out-building ucar by,
where he could observe what was going ou in and about
* the store without being seen himself, and among other®
» things he ascertained that a large bull-dog was let louse
in the store when the clerks closed for the night. This
») Was an important discovery, but in our opinion the dog
was not the worst part of the matter. How to break in
_ was the main difliculty, then how to escape the lynx-eyed |
.* watchman with the g ae
\ “The next Wednesday afternoon it rained. Taki
; an umbrella, a chisel, pocket light, and screw-driver, I~
told Place, that I should endeavor to secrete myself in the
store, and if 1 did not return by nine o'clock, to come —
down at midnight with three other coves. 1 saw quite a
number of gentlemen at the place passing out and in, -

the sil 4
“* Meantime I walked up and down the picr, watching”

» either went away or up stairs to the counting-room, and —
when they were fairly out of sight, I repaired immediately
* to the grating door 11 the lower story, reached my hand _

to be in the

situation. 1 dared not stir hand or foot, though the.

_ and there I must remain tll all but the dog had left the
by one the people departed, and about nine o'clock, as is:

him, locked up and went off. I could plainly hear the

found in our possession. Unbeknown to him, | examined

who appented to be there for the purpose of examining —

for a chance to slip iv. Towards night the gentlemen _

through the rating and turned the key, which happened” -
7 ock. 1 then stepped in, and locking the door: -
* after mo, stowed mygcelf away under some bags of cotton ie
at the further end of the apartment. It appeared to me,
that I lay there an age. I was in a very uncomfortable:

_ weight under which [had placed myself seemed immense,” fs
~~ and my blood had nearly stagnated. Still there I wane

«store. At length the much-desired period arrived. One! —
* supposed, a clerk or servant led in the bull-dog, unloosed

Gur stepping and sinelling about, but nevertheless I dared”

TELLER AND REYNOLDS,  — 269

not emerge from my recess for an hour, lest the clerk

should have forgotten something and come back after it. *

“When all was still, I extricated myself from the

» cotton bags, and sat down tipon one. It was darker than

Egypt. ve dog, who had been busy walking abou
stopped. For the first time then the pensation at Soa

crept over me, and I would have — the price of my ay

liberty to have been fairly out of the scrape. For a
minute or two I sweat profusely, but I calmed oxsoell b
degrees, and began to consider in what way to proceed.
Looking round for the dog, 1 discovered him by his eye
which glared at mo like two balls of fire. I then sei
the end of a cotton bag, and raising it, let it drop, and
repeated it several times for the purpose of familiarizing
the dog to noise. Luckily for me his name was pro-
nounced when he was led in.

“In a tone scarcely above a whisper I called his name

/ repeating it londer and louder till my voice became full

and audible. Then I paused, but the animal gave no
further evidence of recognition or intent to make an at-
tack than a sort of incipient growl. Again his name was

: spoken, and I talked to him in a coaxing manner for some
' time, moving occasionally a few feet towards him, and then

in an opposite direction. Hearing nothing from him, I
struck a light and looked steadily at him as he sat showin

his tusks for some minutes, deliberating whether to assault
him with a lever used for the purpose of rolling along the
bales, or to march directly to him, and, should he spring,

~ to throttle him if possible. The latter course scemed the

safer of the two, and 1 went boldly ay him, coaxin
him all the while, but yet expecting to be seized. He di

+ not even growl, taking me, probably, for an inmate of the

store, who had been Icft there. Patting him on the head
and without waiting to secure his further acquaintance, I

- proceeded up stairs. Here iny further progress was

stopped by a partition, which separated the a
from the counting-room, and in which was a door locked,
and a small window which opened inwards and was

~ fastened with a button. After a short search I found a

23°


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PALKO ‘

Hebert v. Louisiana [272 U.S. 312, 316 (1926) ]. The answer surely
must be ‘‘no.’” What the answer would have to be if the state were
permitted after a trial free from error to try the accused over again or
to bring another case against him, we have no occasion to consider.
We deal with the statute before us and no other. The state is not
attempting to wear the accused out by a multitude of cases with
accumulated trials. It asks no more than this, that the case against him
shall go on until there shall be a trial free from the corrosion of
substantial legal error. State v. Felch, 92 Vt. 477; 105 Atl. 23; State
v. Lee, supra. This is not cruelty at all, nor even vexation in any
immoderate degree. If the trial had been infected with error adverse
to the accused, there might have been review at his instance, and as
often as necessary to purge the vicious taint. A reciprocal privilege,
subject at all times to the discretion of the presiding judge, State v.
Carabetta, 106 Conn. 114; 127 Atl. 394, has now been granted to the
state. There is here no seismic innovation. The edifice of justice
stands, its symmetry, to many, greater than before.

2. The conviction of appellant is not in derogation of any
privileges or immunities that belong to him as a citizen of the United
States.

There is argument in his behalf that the privileges and immunities
clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as well as the due process clause
has been flouted by the judgment.

Maxwell v. Dow [176 U.S. 581 (1900) ], p. 584, gives all the
answer that is necessary.

The judgment is
Affirmed.(*}

(*] Justice Butler noted his dissent. Fifth Amendment represents a fundamental
Palko v. Connecticut was overruled in idea! in our constitutional heritage, and that

Benton v. Maryland, 395 U.S. 784, 794 it should apply to the States through the

(1969), in which the Supreme Court declared Fourteenth Amendment.”
“that the double jeopardy prohibition of the


PALKO 5

himself. This court has said that, in prosecutions by a state, the
exemption will fail if the state elects to end it. Twining v. New
Jersey, 211 U.S. 78, 106, 111, 112. . . . The Sixth Amendment
calls for a jury trial in criminal cases and the Seventh for a jury trial in
civil cases at common law where the value in controversy shall exceed
twenty dollars. This court has ruled that consistently with those
amendments trial by jury may be modified by a state or abolished
altogether. . . . As to the Fourth Amendment, one should refer to
Weeks v. United States, 232 U.S. 383, 398, and as to other provisions
of the Sixth, to West v. Louisiana, 194 U.S. 258.

On the other hand, the due process clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment may make it unlawful for a state to abridge by its statutes
the freedom of speech which the First Amendment safeguards against
encroachment by the Congress . . . or the like freedom of the press

. or the free exercise of religion . . . or the right of peaceable
assembly, without which speech would be unduly trammeled . . . or
the right of one accused of crime to the benefit of counsel. . .. In
these and other situations immunities that are valid as against the
federal government by force of the specific pledges of particular
amendments? have been found to be implicit in the concept of
ordered liberty, and thus, through the Fourteenth Amendment, be-
come valid as against the states.

The line of division may seem to be wavering and broken if there
is a hasty catalogue of the cases on the one side and the other.
Reflection and analysis will induce a different view. There emerges
the perception of a rationalizing principle which gives to discrete
instances a proper order and coherence. The right to trial by jury and
the immunity from prosecution except as the result of an indictment
may have value and importance. Even so, they are not of the very
essence of a scheme of ordered liberty. To abolish them is not to
violate a ‘‘principle of justice so rooted in the traditions and con-
science of our people as to be ranked as fundamental.” Snyder v.
Massachusetts, supra, p. 105 . . .. Few would be so narrow or
provincial as to maintain that a fair and enlightened system of justice
would be impossible without them. What is true of jury trials and
indictments is true also, as the cases show, of the immunity from
compulsory self-incrimination. Twining v. New Jersey, supra. This
too might be lost, and justice still be done. Indeed, today as in the
past there are students of our penal system who look upon the
immunity as a mischief rather than a benefit, and who would limit its
scope, or destroy it altogether. No doubt there would remain the
need to give protection against torture, physical or mental.

2. First Amendment: “Congress shall tion the Government for a redress of griev-
make no law respecting an establishment of ances.”
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the
people peaceably to assemble, and to peti-

Sixth Amendment: “In all criminal prose-
cutions, the accused shall enjoy the right
. . . to have the assistance of counsel for
his defence.”


6 PALKO

Justice, however, would not perish if the accused were subject to a
duty to respond to orderly inquiry. The exclusion of these immuni-
ties and privileges from the privileges and immunities protected
against the action of the states has not been arbitrary or casual. It has
been dictated by a study and appreciation of the meaning, the essential
implications, of liberty itself.

We reach a different plane of social and moral values when we
pass to the privileges and immunities that have been taken over from
the earlier articles of the federal bill of rights and brought within the
Fourteenth Amendment by a process of absorption. These in their
origin were effective against the federal government alone. If the
Fourteenth Amendment has absorbed them, the process of absorption
has had its source in the belief that neither liberty nor justice would
exist if they were sacrificed. Twining v. New Jersey, supra, p. 99.
This is true, for illustration, of freedom of thought, and speech. Of
that freedom one may say that it is the matrix, the indispensable
condition, of nearly every other form of freedom. With rare aberra-
tions a pervasive recognition of that truth can be traced in our history,
political and legal. So it has come about that the domain of liberty,
withdrawn by the Fourteenth Amendment from encroachment by the
states, has been enlarged by latter-day judgments to include liberty of
the mind as well as liberty of action. The extension became, indeed, a
logical imperative when once it was recognized, as long ago it was,
that liberty is something more than exemption from physical restraint,
and that even in the field of substantive rights and duties the legisla-
tive judgment, if oppressive and arbitrary, may be overridden by the
courts. . . . Fundamental too in the concept of due process, and so
in that of liberty, is the thought that condemnation shall be rendered
only after trial. . . . The hearing, moreover, must be a real one,
not a sham ora pretense. . . . For that reason, ignorant defendants
in a capital case were held to have been condemned unlawfully when
in truth, though not in form, they were refused the aid of counsel.
Powell v. Alabama [287 U.S. 45 (1932) ], pp. 67, 68. The decision
did not turn upon the fact that the benefit of counsel would have been
guaranteed to the defendants by the provisions of the Sixth Amend-
ment if they had been prosecuted in a federal court. The decision
turned upon the fact that in the particular situation laid before us in
the evidence the benefit of counsel was essential to the substance of a
hearing.

Our survey of the cases serves, we think, to justify the statement
that the dividing line between them, if not unfaltering throughout its
course, has been true for the most part to a unifying principle. On
which side of the line the case made out by the appellant has
appropriate location must be the next inquiry and the final one. Is
that kind of double jeopardy to which the statute has subjected him a
hardship so acute and shocking that our polity will not endure it?
Does it violate those ‘fundamental principles of liberty and justice
which lie at the base of all our civil and political institutions’?

stana(272

Hiebert v, Lous a the a

il itted after 4 trial free 1

“pring another case again
% deal with the statute

jute to wear the a

11:
Carabetta, 106 Conn. |
ere is here n¢

to

answer that is
The judgment 's
Affirmed .(*?

(*] Justice Butler noted

_ Connecticut
Palko Vv aryiand, 8


idog ate out of Bill's
‘aged a silk robbery.
|
|

victed of theft.
‘he case was Edmund
gentleman who had a
heart for boys who
| udge Riker was im-
ie Teller’s intelligence
ance, and was loath to
ison along with hard-
in mind that the
> relented when
: sister interceded
uspended the sentence
hat Willie go to sea,
oned would get him
evil companions and
t work.
pped out as cabin boy
ig Rebecca, bound for
oon discovered that he
for seafaring, since it
- something he always
loathing. Intending~to
at Curacao, he entered
sre with a pair of mates,
ich gin and woke up
sel bound around the
sapore. What with one
ther, he remained at sea
. five years, not return-
‘ork until early in 1826,
20 years old.

TIME he had a bellyful
taking orders. He vis-
ly, finding to his regret
er had died in the mean-
ther spoke to him seri-
him that now was the
to turn his back on his
yrn an honest trade and
clean slate. There is no
ith his brains and ability
- could have made good
n had he been genuinely
The trouble was, he was

—- glorious opportunity
past and become an

zen,” he confessed a

later as he awaited the
As I look back on it now,”
y that I have only myself

loa

Co aaa

to blame for my terrible fate. I ask
myself why I did not become an hon-
est man at that time when the chance
was offered me. I can only answer
that the mischief in me was in control.
I was lazy, hated work, and felt myself
so ‘smart that I could scoff at the law
and never be brought to book.”

The very day after he returned home
he ran into a one-time friend in lar-
ceny, Abner Reed, with the result that
within minutes he and Reed were
planning the robbery of a Prince
Street jewelry store. This caper was
a great success, netting them 28 gold
watches and an assortment of rings
and other jewelry which they disposed
of for $380 at the establishment of
Smith Davis, the biggest fence in town.

Davis, a fat, cross-eyed man of mid-
dle age, owned an alehouse next to
the beef market on Grand Street, but
this was a front for his criminal en-
terprises. His drinking place was fre-
quented by Teller and many other
crooks who found him a handy man
because he would buy—at a heavy
discount—anything they stole. Davis
had a couple of helpers who weekly
made trips to Boston and Philadelphia,
where they sold loot stolen in New
York—a simple matter, since the po-
lice of the different cities did not com-
pare notes on stolen articles. Indeed,
this was almost impossible at the time
because there was no telephone or
telegraph and the mail was slow. The
$380 Teller and Reed got for the swag
was a tremendous killing in an era

when a carpenter lived well on four,

dollars a week.

In fact, the Prince Street robbery
was such a big one that Chief Con-
stable Hayes gave it his personal at-
tention. Hayes, a canny catchpole,
knew that Teller had come back after
his time at sea. He also knew that
Teller was not employed at any regu-
lar occupation, which made him heav-
ily suspicious. Hayes had a strong

hunch that Teller was responsible for -

the jewelry theft. A few days later
he ran into Teller on Broadway and
promptly arrested him.

“What for?” Teller demanded an-
grily.

“Jist on gineral principles,’” Hayes
grinned, and took him in. .

Teller was taken to headquarters,
whieh at that time was called the “po-

lice office,’ and searched. Nothing
- incriminating was found on him, but

Hayes kept him in jail for three days
on an open charge, hoping to get some-
thing on him. At the end of that time

. he was forced to release Teller.

“You got away with it this time,
bucko,” he said, “but mark my words,
you'll be back afore long.”

Th eae eR eet Te os Ae Panes eee

Bill's Waterloo was nigh when he boarded a boat

In the underworld argot of the time,
a criminal was a “flash,” a thief was a
“prig,” an officer a “catchpole,” a judge
a “beak.” A “pal” did not mean
merely a friend but a criminal accom-
plice. But the word “fence” meant a
dealer in stolen goods just as it does
today.

Thereafter Bill Teller found High
Constable Joe Hayes to be a veritable
nemesis. Hayes formed a habit of ar-
resting Teller just about every time
he encountered him, on_ suspicion
alone. After a day or two in jail, Teller
would be released, but this sort of
thing got to be a dreadful nuisance.
By now, Teller had formed a burglary
combination with Abner Reed and an-
other prig named James Gallagher,
going out with them several nights
every week on tours of housebreaking
and robbery of business places. The
trio were skilled in their profession,
always planning a job and sizing it up
well before the actual attempt. Teller,
the leader, began to wear fancy cloth-
ing and carry a considerable roll in
his wallet. He was now opulent enough
to employ a regular attorney, a cun-
ning shyster named O’Rourke.

for Hartford, Conn.

Whenever Hayes arrested Teller “on
suspicion,”” O’Rourke was always
Johnny-on-the-spot to get him out of
jail. This got to be a regular proce-
dure, Teller coming to regard it as one
of the perils of the game. Still, it was
terribly inconvenient, for the jail was
an ill-smelling, vermin-ridden place
revolting even for a one-night stay.
Hayes, a brawny man of middle age,
was New York’s top detective of the
time although the word “detective”
had not yet been invented. He had no
rogues’ gallery, no fingerprint file, no
scientific aids whatever since none of
these things had been invented. What
he did have was stout honesty, com-
mon sense and a remarkable memory.
In his mind he carried the likeness of
almost all of New York’s misdoers. He
managed to keep tab on their activi-
ties, and when a crime occurred he was
often able to put two and two together
so that criminals entertained a whole-
sale respect for him.

Hayes knew that Teller was now the
cleverest and most successful criminal
in the city—the problem was to get the
goods on him. Thereafter it settled
down to a (Continued on page 74)

——

tos 7 yh tS seat yb et eee ; be rd ?
‘to,cat om bis‘right hand in order to free himedlftrom

anost daring

aed ie | . 4

3d,
6,
+

« fH, i as
. Pag Tee ae
sor.

4
4

“4
‘Suture

lahor, but did not succeed. Le was censiderad: ono 26!" the:

Zand finished scoundrels, who infested the city
of Nv York. ! aes

_, An inquest wns.treld over t

he bod yon Wednesday, and |

the deceased waa declarcd by the jury, to hava been wilfully.

murdered, © As: the next terin of our superior court will not
arrive till the Inet: of Septsmber,, we: Would respectlully
sugvest-to the Eon. Chief Justice, the expediency of esting
an immediate and specin! terin of the court for the. purpose
of trying the. perpetrators of the murder. All ‘of our. sn<
pretne court jadyes are at Ieisure” thi¢month and? probable
would prefer trying the niatter soon. Besides, ‘the investi:
gation will doubtless be a long ona and would’ occupy: too
inuch of our superior court terms. *:,

How many-blows:were inflicted on. Mr. Hosking’ head.

we cannot tell, but.the Physicians who were called, were’

of opinion fromn-the appesrerny of the fracture, that the first
blow: finished him. We hava the above facts from one of
the directors; to whom they weroin past communicated by
Tellor in part, by other convicts or who was also present at
the exemination of the murdeiers. aes
Mr Hoskins -was forinerly from: Sitnsbur
67 years of age, and somewhat deaf,

bis, “or eit

y—waé ‘about

i
‘

q


m@ MORE THAN A CENTURY ago,
innocent-looking William H. Teller
was the most confirmed criminal in
New York.- Just before he came to
the common end of.such gentry, name-
ly the gallows, he repented his evil
ways a little late in the day and re-
cited the whole story of his law-
flouting career. Overcome with re-
morse, he did not try to spare or
excuse himself in the least, taking on
the contrary a sort of bitter pleasure
in exposing himself for the scoundrel
he was. His confession gives some
fascinating glimpses not only into the
character of Teller but also into the
condition of crime and police work in
that era. ;

Teller was born and raised in Water-
ford, N. Y., a Hudson River town north
of Troy, and was a problem from the
start. At the age of six he not only
knew all the swear words in the lan-
guage but used them so liberally in
school that his teachers were always
whacking him. He wandered into
crime at the tender age of 8, more or
less accidentally but with permanent
effects.

Sent to the grocery store by his
mother to buy crackers, little Willie
found the storekeeper sound asleep.
There was the money drawer, un-
guarded. He sneaked over, grabbed
a roll of bills and got out of there fast
while the proprietor still snoozed,

crackers.

“My luck on this occasion embold-
ened me,” Teller later admitted, “and
made thievery seem attractive and
easy. Had I been caught then and
soundly thrashed by the storekeeper,
possibly I might never have entered a
life of crime.”

- Well, maybe and maybe not. There

stopping at another store to buy the

(Article primarily on Teller&8s career)

HEADLINE DETECTIVE ANNUAL, #9, 1957

REYNOLDS, Caeser, bl, & TELLER, Williom H., wh, henged
' Hartford, CT 9/6/1833.

is an opinion in this corner that Teller
had so much mischief in him that it
would have taken much more than one
licking to straighten him out. He
thereafter followed a practice of steal-

. ing everything that was loose, and his

parents had a time with him. In 1814,
when he was nine, the family moved
to New York City, where the boy soon
got his initiation into big-city crime.

Although he was a bright lad, he
cared nothing about study and so much
about monkey-business that at the

‘age of ten he was removed from

school and put to work, apprenticed
to a sealing-wax maker in the Bowery.
But he liked work no better than
school and soon quit the job. For two
years he managed to deceive his par-
ents, going off every morning as if to
work but actually engaging in thiev-
ery. He became instead an appren-
tice in crime.

His tutor was a hardened thug
named Egbert “Sandy” Smith. At
this time veteran thieves often used
boys as helpers and accomplices, just
as it was described in “Oliver Twist.”
Willie came in handy standing watch
for the constable while Smith was
burgling stores and houses. In fact,
the boy showed such promise that
often Smith let him do the thieving
while the older man kept watch.

“By this time I had learned to de-
spise everything of a moral and re-
ligious nature,” Teller later related.
“Every honest calling seemed odious,
and I had contracted a friendship for
crime which followed me _ through
life.”

The team of Smith and Teller had
some success, with Smith teaching the”
lad_ all the tricks of the trade, but
eventually they were caught burglar-
izing a jewelry store. Smith got a

three-year term at the state prison at
Auburn for this, but Teller, being only
11 at the time, was let off with a
warning.

Did this turn him into the path of
righteousness? Not much. He per-
sisted in his thievery and by the time
he was 13 he had been convicted three
times and had served a total of five
months in the city prison. This pun-
ishment taught him nothing but great-
er care. One of his favorite capers
was ‘“house-dipping”—entering un-
locked houses in the daytime and lift-
ing what was in sight. He developed
real skill at this, watching a house
until he was sure it was unoccupied
or that the occupants were upstairs.

m@ ONE AFTERNOON Teller sneaked
into a house on Dey Street, seized
some silverware, then went into a bed-
room to look for jewelry. Hearing
steps, he dove under the bed just in
time. A dark-haired young woman
entered, carrying two kettles, one
containing hot water, the other cold.
She poured them both into a small tub
on the floor. Then she removed all her
clothing, stepped into the tub and be-
gan taking a sponge bath. Young
Teller—he was 14 at the time—peered
out from under the bed, transfixed
with wonder and admiration.

“This was the first time in my life
I had ever seen a naked woman,” he
later said. “It aroused in me a sensa-
tion I can hardly describe. Until then
girls had never interested me, but to
see this young beauty so fair-skinned
and graceful as she washed herself
was an experience I never forgot. She
was only a few feet away—so close
I could almost have touched her. I
was careful to breathe quietly as I
watched her, fearful that she might


MR Si BE Pts ARR SL SY A

hear me.”

Never did a young lady have such
an interested audience as she bathed.
Teller gazed spellbound as she finished
her ablutions and dried herself with a
towel. Then she donned undercloth-
ing and a pink silk dress, primped her
hair at the mirror, took her reticule
and departed.

Teller got out from under the bed
and took a deep breath, feeling a mite
shaky, entirely charmed by what he
had seen. He did not even know the
young lady’s name, but of her beauty
he had no doubts at all and he was
still filled with admiration at the spec-
tacle she had presented. In fact he
was so overcome by the entertainment
that he could not bring himself to
cause the girl any distress. He not
only failed to take some jewelry that
was handy in the bedroom; he even
took the silverware he had already
stolen and put it back, leaving the
house empty-handed but enthusiastic.

But Willie Teller’s idealism was of
short duration. He merely sought
other places to rob. Entering a house on
Duane Street, he saw an interesting-
looking trunk in a back room. Putting it
on his shoulders, he trundled it out of
the house. Turning into Grand Street,
he had the ill luck to run directly into

Bill and his mates did a bit of gambling en route to Albany

the head constable, Joseph L. Hayes.
Hayes knew Teller all too well and-
had him tabbed as a bad actor.

“Where yez goin’ with that trunk?”
he demanded, seizing Teller in an iron
grip.

Teller dropped the trunk and gave
battle, but the older man was too
much for him. Hayes subdued him
and took him, along with the trunk,
before Magistrate O’Neal.

“T*was doing nothing wrong,” Teller
protested. “That is my own trunk. I
was just going to board the steamboat.”

“Hm,” said O’Neal, who also had
had previous experience with the
young man. “So it’s your trunk, eh?
Well, what’s in it?” bi

“Some spare clothing of mine,”
Teller answered glibly, hoping his.
guess was right. “Some extra shirts
and other apparel, and a little money,
that is all.”

“Open the trunk,” the magistrate
ordered Hayes. The constable did so.
The trunk contained a dozen old
dresses, a blanket and pillow and some
letters. Teller looked astonished.

“Someone must’ve switched trunks
with me,” he said. But this alibi was
greeted with sneers and he was held
for trial. The trunk was advertised,
the owner came to claim it and Teller

“killing.”

ae ¢

rere EDMAN VOR a PEL ely Vt oye ta via Prune
oj gh Miiebi Raa pe aan RR PRPS CS WR ROO a aT ON

Even a nasty bulldog ate out of Bill's
hand while he staged a silk robbery.

was speedily convicted of theft.

The judge in the case was Edmund
Riker, a kindly gentleman who had a
soft spot in his heart for boys who
went astray. Judge Riker was im-
pressed by Willie Teller’s intelligence
and neat appearance, and was loath to
send him to prison along with hard-
ened felons. Bearing in mind that the
boy was only 15, he relented when
Willie’s father and sister interceded
for him. He suspended the sentence
on condition that Willie go to sea,
which he reasoned would get him
away from his evil companions and
give him honest work.

So Willie shipped out as cabin boy
aboard the brig Rebecca, bound for
Curacao. He soon discovered that he
had no liking for seafaring, since it
involved labor, something he always
regarded with loathing. Intending to
jump his ship at Curacao, he entered
a grog shop there with a pair of mates,
drank too much gin and woke up
aboard a vessel bound around the
Horn for Singapore. What with one
thing and another, he remained at sea
for more than five years, not return~-
ing to New York until early in 1826,
when he was 20 years old.

m= BY THIS TIME he had a bellyful
of work and taking orders. He vis-
ited his family, finding to his regret
that his mother had died in the mean-
time. His father spoke to him seri-
ously, telling him that now was the
time for him to turn his back on his
old ways, learn an honest trade and
start with a clean slate. There is no
doubt that with his brains and ability
young Teller could have made good
from then on had he been genuinely
so inclined. The trouble was, he was
not.

“That was my glorious opportunity
to break with the past and become an
honest, useful citizen,” he confessed a
few years later as he awaited the
hangman. “As I look back on it now,”
I see clearly that I have only myself

i

to blame f
myself vb:
est man
was off
that the mi
I was lazy,
so smart t]
and never
The very
he ran int
ceny, Abn
within mi
planning
Street jew
a great su
watches a
and other
of for $3:
Smith Dav
Davis, a
dle age, «
the beef n
this was :
terprises.
quented |}
crooks wl
because |!
discount—
had a co
made trip
where th:
York—a ;:
lice of the
pare note
this was ;

because

| telegraph
= $380 Telle

was a tr
when a ¢
dollars
In f
was sucn
stable He
tention.
knew tha
his time
Teller we

» lar occup

ily suspi
hunch th
the jewe
he ran i
promptly
“What
grily.
“Jist «
grinned,
Teller
whieh at
lice offic
incrimin:z
Hayes k«
on an op:
thing on
he was i
“You
bucko,” |

} " you'll be

es PRE.

ee.
*
wrod

ee
ef

aU ie
ee
ied

te
pa.

he would w
+s know that they had no better influence over me, or over |
_ ll discharged prisoners with whom I ever became ac-

e i quainted.

ae
RS

CESAR REYNOLDS, —

they nover change his fcelings or his principles; they onl
Rit ons to be more cunning oe

ape resus “Bh t for the mere terrors they
ircu t. 1 me crea
: steeons hesitation resume his former course.

* After the first im which were created on my

% entrance for life, had been partially removed, 1 ter

-. shamefu
~ all the books [ coull
- of amusement, of wh

pot be supposcd,

wn mind, to read, which previously
unld fully ed, and to think. 1 aad over and ovet
hold of, and soon found sources

that the ptisonera have no means
of enjoyment. They have many—they find it in theie
work, fod, discipline, each others’ coun in com-

~~ municating with cach other, and in a thousand little
_ things; ah as to news, they are generally well supplied.

--) The ace no

pers, but they always

intelligence from new comers, who are soon initiated

into the art of conveying ideas by signs and even by looks.
Hardly an event of general interest eseapes them, for as

, goon as a new recruit has worn off the terror with which

tell his next neighbor the news, a

the first lessonsof the warden a rey he bogins to

> Wt was astonishing how quick and how secretly an item

ager epeonevah gh prisoner, and the very to da |
t with secrecy and despatch occasioned a great deal of

j t.
on N long after my third committal, the from

- divers causes, began to grow uncasy, and many wild

were the messages sent from one to another. Sometimes
a furions glance of the eye, a sign with the hands, or a

figure hastily drawn on our work and as hastily erased,

ey that mischief was brewinc, and that all was not |
right. Thus the matter stood until the spring and sume —

mer of 1832, when it was resolved, that unless a certain

event coupes there should he a general and fierce

rebellion.

_ the overseer. M
before 1 was Lat it ©

the latest —

thus it soon circulates.

I! were united as one man, and the catas- ©
trophe was to have taken place on the Ist of October

pe < e

CESAR REYNOLDS, 296

following; but the alternative ha

utter impossibility of preventing communication among
the prisoners. Under’ the, preneut system: the’ etrieseet
He yom cannot prevent it. The rules may be made ten-

more severe, and the overseers may be doubled, but
. nothing short of solitary confinement can hinder intelli-

ight of hand and cun- —_-

gence from passing round. Such si

ning some of the convicts , that unobserved and
undetected they made in the smiths’ shop false keys and |
ot

plements to break prison, under the very
ion relative to communication may
be doubted, yet it is correct. Discipline and vigilance

can neithe. ¢ nor construe significant winks, shru
of the danbhies tans, flash ends and figures sanetiod

on the work of the convicts, which indecd vo one but a

ue can ibly understand.
“On the first of April, 1S,

the oe yan, he asked me if I knew the situation of
the le yp airicomy and understood the mechanism of
the lock on the door leading to that apartinent from ours,
and of the lock on the small door which opened from the
hall into the cook-room. I gave him all the information
§ could in a few seconds, and he passed on, observing that
he should one of these da
opened my eyes. In a time we snatched another
moment to renew the conversation, when | communicated
what I gathered from Reynolds, who had made several
of the locks in the prison
wll ogy promised to ict me out if I would take hold
and help, and hastened to his work. Ina day or two
afterwards he thrust a skeleton key into my bosom while
I was white-washing in the hall, and requested me to 3
it in my door. When I went tomy cell to dinner I le
the key there, and the next morning, waiting a moment
or two behind the others, suddenly put it into my lock
and found it fitted as well as if it had been made for it.
That day I returned it to Teller and told him it ron
smooth. Afterwards he asked me for a bit that would
2° with a brace. I procured for him an inch centre bit,

prened and we Ind-
‘ ed to remain quict. Here was another instance! of the

eye of Re

as | was passing Teller in

go throngh there. This first

- He then gave me an outline |

erat

OP all:


.

CASAR REYNOLDS, ==—«s_—i(‘é‘étgQ

ee cee ee
Yeh eee g

——~ 999 ~- CRSAR REYNOLDS.

F wo let me go. L told thom, that I belonged io Oxford, and #
was eek me my wa ae from New ite .

oe come out alive, for I had committed so man crimes that
©. Thad boon at work during te past summer, and that if — thorough, and

it appeared to me no reformation, however

- bo conduct, however exemplary could ever procure
pardon. When, therefore, aed door leading from the re
guard room shut upon me, a cold chill ran over my frame, —
and @ thrill of terror stick me almost senseless, With
all my might [ strove to conceal this weakness and to put

_ on an air of indifference and bravado, for I had counted
80 much on my natural firmness of mind, that I should
have been asnamed to have then given to m future

~ masters an exhibition of my real emotions. ut with
all my efforts, I quailed before the prospect of im
ment for life. 1 was scarcely twenty-six years on with
a reasonable expectation of living forty or fity years

being thus carly eut off from
re, from freedom, from the world, from hope, and —

_ dragging out a miserable and infamous existence so

inet 5a Saale. was absolutely terrible. It was not a feel.

y a
ere i was diveeed i a splendid oule of cf which the

~ .. owner was desirous of recovering. Mr. there-.
fore, ordered me to unrobe myself sll te stickers which ©
I did, except the pantaloons. ‘Them I refused to give u
end they were compelled to take them from mo by sone
force. In doi tis they threw me upon the floor,
stamped on iny beod, end y, and beat me in a most.

cruel manner. it which f then had, —j beyond despai
“The grand jury several indictments against — seer,’ sickens te aul gee : ir,
me, and on my arraignment I pleaded not guilty to the i it>and no saa pond it, for i atrikes oa

from the mind those qualities which canse enjoyment
Hehe: and in process of time makes one dou arse
destroyer of 1s Own resources, ranges him on the side of
outlaws, and —— the moral and honest, and learns
ia fellow men with hatred and disgust.
With such a change effected on the feclings and views, it
is next to impossi ? to reform fundamentally and really
any inmate of a penitentiary, and the idea that men are
made better, or, in popular language, reformed and made
: ee by confining them in state prison at hard labor
ing them in their own cyes and in the eyes of the
world, and taking away pride and ambition, is altogether
a mistaken one. Sometimes, though rarely, such a course
will deter, frighten them from a second offence, but I know
from what others have acknowledged to me, and from

first —— breaking the shop, but I
i © second charge of breaking. Consequently,
ao this was my third conviction of felony punishable ;
herd labor in the state pri the state attorney en a
/ a violle presequé as to all the indictments but one, and on
- thet U was sentenced by Judge Peters to state prison —
during life. Thus _ of the ten zeae next Ye
the period of which [am speaking, I spent at hard labor —
ix prison, and § was sent back within five months from
the time I was liberated the sccond term. ee
“ Early in March 1829, the sheriff conducted me to the ~
state prison in irons. Ife dared not do otherwise, and in
fact it was perfectly justifiable, for instant advantage
would have been taken of the least neglect and the least
riaxation of severity, ‘Ten thousand plans I had laid to
- escape both in the jail and on my way to Wethersfield,
which were either defcated by some unforeseen occur- —
rence, or by my being guarded and secured in too effectual
a manner. As JI entered the prison, I never expected to

a: 2S
Re Ba:


Manner and Circumstances of the said Cook’s Death and whereby
your Petit’ was then convicted of the abominable Crime of Murder,
was by the Honorable Court and Jury Either in Fact grossly mistaken;
Or was such as ought not to be Regarded as full Proof in a case of so
high a Nature; for that your Petit” can now prove by those very
witnesses who then testified in said Case, in Regard to any Threaten-
ings on the Part of your Petit’ that he never gave out any threatening
Language excepting only while the said Cook was beating him; that
your Petit’ after having been beaten and bound with Cords & dragged
by the Heels out of Doors and flung down a Declavity or Precipice
into a large Bank of Snow and after having lain there in the Bitter
Cold Season for a very Considerable Space of Time and after being
then again severely whipped was permitted to Return into the House
of Mr. David Clark where the affray happened and then behaved
well until he was again ordered out of Doors having made but a few
moments Stay in s* House and that being ordered out he went without
making any Resistance being followed out at the Door by said Cook,
and that whatever was done by your Petit* to occasion the Death of
said Cook was then done upon your Petit’s stepping out at the Door
instantaneously or at least as soon as he could have had Time to have
turned himself around, and without a Moment’s Consideration; and
that they did not upon said Trial say, or at least did not mean to be
understood to say, that your Petit’ lay in wait at the Door, watching
for the said Cook any space of Time whatsoever. Whereas your Petit’
says, that he can prove by the Evidence of some of the Honorable
Court, & some of the Jury who tried said Case that they understood
from the Evidence upon s® Trial that your Petit’ did in fact give out
Threatening Words the Last time he was in s* House against the said
Cook, and did in fact lie in wait at the Door watching for the said
Cook after being put out of the si House the last Time-for the space
of Eight minutes or more, which Occasioned his being found guilty
and Sentenced as for the heinous Crime of Wilfull murder. And your
Petit’ further Begs Leave to say that the Real Truth of the Matter iS,
that having been used in a most Inhuman, cruel and barbarous
Manner, and having born with a great Degree of Patience the worst
of Treatment, and hearing these words, at the instant of his being
put out at the Door by the Person who then put him out (who he did
not at that Time know was the said Cook, there being Two more Men
present) Viz “Give me Hurlbutt’s Staff and I’ll Still the Dog.’ Your
Petit", immediately thereupon Struck, without a moments Time for
Consideration meaning Nothing more than to give a Blow in his own
Defence, and without any Design of Murder in his Heart, or Intent
to do more than to defend himself from any further Insults or Bar-
barous Treatment, which he was then Justly apprehensive was im-


mediately to befal him, imagining that his own Life was in eminent
Danger. But so it was; your poor Petit’ instead of being found Guilty
of Manslaughter which he really Thinks to be the Heighth of his
Crime, was found Guilty of the heinous Crime of Murder! and by this
Honorable Court Sentenced to be executed in the month of June last
leaving him no opportunity to petition to the said Court for a New
Trial, whereupon your Petit’ preferred his humble Memoria! to the
Genl Assembly of this Colony at their Session at Hartford in May last
praying for Relief in the Premises, who were graciously pleased so
far to interpose as to pospone the Time of his Execution to the Second
Day of Septem’ next, (which, alas, is now very near at Hand:} thereby
giving him Opportunity to bring this Petition, and that the Sole
Reason why the said General Assembly did no more for him, your
Petit" supposes to have been for want of the Evidence referred to in
his said Memorial, which he then failed of getting only for want of
Friends and Money And your Petit" further begs Leave to Observe to
your Hon®™ that upon his Trial afores* he being a Stranger in this part
of the Colony and having none of his particular Friends and aquaint-
ances to assist him was under very poor advantages to make his
proper Challanges to the Jury, and that he has since discovered that
several of them were of the Neighborhood of the said Cooks particular
Friends, and had heard much said upon that Side of the Question
and many things which might serve to prejudice them against your
Petit’ and can now prove by the Evidence that

one of the said Jury had given his opinion in said case before the said
Trial came on very fully and had openly declared that your Petit"
deserved to be hanged and discovered so much Virulence on the oc-
casion as to say that if ever an Indian deserved hanging he your Petit’
deserved it, and that in Case he should not be hanged ’twas not worth
while ever to think of hanging any Criminal whatever, or to the Same
Effect, which Evidence your Petit, has discovered since the s* Trial
and since the Setting of the s‘ General Assembly, and knew nothing of
before; and also by new discovered Evidence can prove that Many of
the Jury upon s* Trial understood the Evidence in the manner as
herein before represented in Regard to your Petit’s Threatening and
lying in Wait for the said Cook.

And that his Hon’ Judge Dyar who was then one of the Assistant
Judges of s? Sup’ Court upon s* Trial understood the Evidence in the
same Manner as afores? is Evident from what your Petit’ has been
informed his Honor Reported at the Trial of said Memoriai at the said
Gen! Assembly unless your Petit’ has been misinformed viz that he
understood the Evidence to say finally that your Petit" did lie in wait
at the Door for the space of Eight minutes or more watching for the
said Cook before the fatal blow was given which (tho’ many things


Moses Cook at New Haven aforesaid in Said County Languished
untill the Twelfth Day of December in the year of our Lord one
Thousand Seven Hundred Seventy & one, and the said Moses Cook
at Said New Haven in Said County, on Said Twelfth Day of December
in the Year of our Lord one Thousand Seven Hundred Seventy & one,

- of the Said Mortal wound Died and Deceased. And so the Said Jurors
upon their Oath aforesaid Say that the Said Moses Paul on the Seventh
Day of December in the Year of our Lord 1771 aforesaid at New
Haven aforesaid in Said County, Did feloniously Wilfully and of his
Malice forethought, Kill and Murder the Said Moses Cook in Manner
and form aforesaid Against the peace of our Said Soveraign Lord
the King his crown and Dignity as p' Indictment on file. And now

~ the Said Moses Paul being Arraigned for Tryal before the Bar of
this Court; And on Such his Arraignment being put to plead; pleaded
Not Guilty, And for his Tyral put himself on God and the Country.
which Issue Depending between our Said Lord the King and the Said
Moses Paul the Prisoner at the Barr; with the Evidence being given
in charge to the Jury Duly Impanaled and Sworn to try the Same.
They the Said Jurors upon their Oaths Do Say that the Said Moses
Paul the Prisoner at the Barr is Guilty of the Crime in Said Indict-
ment Charged against him; Whereupon it is considered by this Court;
And this Court Do Sentance and Against him the Said Moses Paul
Give Judgment that he go hence to the Common Goal from Whence
he Came and from thence to the place of Execution and then and
there be hanged up by the Neck between the Heavens and the Earth
untill he shall be Dead.

May 14 1772 G eneral Assembly of the Gov-

ernor and Company of the

English Colony of Connecticut in

New England in America, Holden at Hartford in said Colony on the

Second Thursday of May, Being the Fourteenth Day of Said Month
Annoque Domini 1772.

Upon the memorial of Moses Paul, an Indian, confined in New
Haven County Goal under sentence of death for the murder of Moses
Cook, deceased, representing that the time of his execution draws
nigh, and praying that his execution may be respited for a longer
time to give him time to prepare for death &c., as per Memorial on
file; Resolved by this Assembly, that the execution of said Moses
Paul be and the same is hereby ordered to be stayed and Tespited
until the first Wednesday in September next: and the warrant al-
ready for his execution is hereby suspended accordingiy, and the
Sheriff of New Haven County is hereby directed to conform to this


order, and the superior court are also hereby directed to issue their
warrant for his execution on said first Wednesday in September
accordingly.

August 26 1772 o the Honorable Superior
Court to be holden at New

Haven in and for the County of
New Haven on the Last Tuesday of instant August.

The Petition of Moses Paul a poor distressed Prisoner now confined
in said New Haven County Goal under Sentence of Death for the
supposed murder of Moses Cook humbly Sheweth; That he is a
Native of New England, and one of the Descendants of that Loyal
Tribe of Indians living at and near Cape Cod, who upon the first
Arrival of the English into that Harbour fell in with and assisted them
in their first Settlements, became their Friends, and Allies, and Loyal
Subjects of the Crown of England.

That he and his ancestors have always been faithful leige Subjects
as afores’, that his Father was in the Service of his late Majesty King
George the Second, and the first man that was killed at the Seige of
Louisburgh Anna Domini 1745; and that he himself faithfully served
in the late War under the Command of Col" Putnam. He received the
Benefit of a Christian Education with an English Family at W:ndham
inthis Colony where he lived from his childhood (for which he has
abundant Reason to bless God) and always supported a good Charac-
ter, had a friendly Disposition towards all English Subjects, and was
never want to pick a Quarrel with any Man. He is not one of those
fierce and barbarous Tribes of Northern Savages against whom the
English are very justly prejudiced and incensed; but a true provstant,
born in a Christian Land and Educated in a Christian Manner, and
one who has always treated his Fellow Subjects with all due Bene-
volence.

These things, Your Petit’ was under no advantage of shewing
upon his Trial before this Honorable Court, and knows not but that
he was then taken to be one of the Descendants of those Northern
Savages and looked upon as a Malicious, Quarrelsom Fellow, for
that his said Trial came on very soon after the sad Catas:rophe,
before he had Opportunity to get any Assistance from his acquaintance |
and while he had neither money nor Friends about him; but emong
Strangers greatly incensed at the Death of said Cook and befcre the
Temper of his st Cooks particular Friends had any Time to cov! and
while the Voice of the Populace was; Hang the Indian! Hang him!
Hang him!

Nor is this all; but upon his'said Trial, as your Petit’ has since
discovered, the most Essential Part of the Evidence Respectizg the


battle of wits between two clever men,
one on the side of the law, the other an
outlaw.

@ UNTIL THIS TIME, Teller had
separated from his family and was liv-
ing -alone in a room off the Bowery,
avoiding any permanent connection
with women as a danger to his trade.
But one night in a Bleeker Street drink-
ing place frequented by upper-class
thugs, he saw a girl entertainer play-
ing the concertina. Although not drunk,
he was feeling quite gay. The girl, he
observed, not only coaxed sweet music
out of her squeeze-box but was also a
sight for sore eyes. A blue-eyed red-
head, she wore tights and a brief cos-
tume whose skirt ended above the
knees, which was extremely daring for
that day. Teller walked over and sat
down next to her.

“You're the prettiest pigeon in town,”
he said. “I like you. What’s your
name?”

“Anne,” she replied, without missing
a note on the concertina. ‘Anne Evans.
And what’s yours, if I may ask?”

Teller was eyeing the prettiest pair
of legs he had seen since that time
years earlier when he had been a
silent witness of a young lady’s bath.
They struck up a conversation and hit
it off well. When the place closed in the
wee hours, Teller was waiting for her.

‘J have just now discovered how
lonely I am,” he said. “I want you to
come home with me, stay with me, be
my own pigeon.”

“Well-a-well!” she laughed. “And
supposing I don’t want to be your
pigeon?”

“You could do worse,” he urged. He
became eloquent, describing himself as

a merchant of considerable wealth, sug- °

gesting that he could provide her with
wonderful ease and luxury. To his
chagrin she turned him down but al-
lowed him to escort her to her own
room on Chambers Street. Thereafter
he became a regular patron at the
drinking place where she worked. Anne
Evans was an orphan from Boston, he
learned, making-her own way in the
world. Teller was a handsome, persua-
sive fellow, and a month later she
capitulated and moved in with him as
his mistress.

It was not long before he told her his
real profession. To his surprise, she
already knew about it, having made
discreet inquiries about him. Burglary
was something she did not approve of,
and yet she liked Bill Teller so well
that she was willing to shrug off her
principles and go along with him.

They set up housekeeping in a fairly

BAD, BOLD BILL TELLER.

(Continued from page 29)

splendid house on Mulberry Street—
something Joe Hayes noted with an-
noyance. After that, whenever Teller
was.arrested “on suspicion,” Anne was
quick to secure the services of Attorney
O’Rourke to get her lover out of stir.

Constable Hayes was making him-
self such a nuisance that late that sum-
mer Teller and his trusty lieutenants
Reed and Gallagher, decided to try
their luck in Albany. They took the
night boat Saratoga up the Hudson.
Arriving at Albany in the morning, .
Teller made a_ shocking discovery.
During the night he had been robbed
of his wallet containing $200, all the
money he had with him.

“Some damned sneak-thief fleeced
me!” he cried in anger. “You can’t
trust anybody these days!”

m= THE TRIO SPENT that day stroll-
ing around Albany and sizing up the
lay. They, decided to favor with their
attentions a fine jewelry store owned
by a man named Burke. That night
they patronized the Burke establish-
ment via the back door after drilling a
hole in the lock. They discovered that
Burke, a prudent man, had put all
his most valuable merchandise in the
safe, leaving only the cheaper articles
outside.

A few weeks earlier; Teller had spent

. several days taking a course in the
opening of safes from a veteran pete-
man in New York named Schultz. The
safes of that time were crude, so that
an expert could feel the movement of
the tumblers and open one of them
after some experimentation. Teller did
not yet regard himself as an expert, but
he gave it a try and had the satisfac-
tion of seeing the door swing open after
he had fiddled with it for almost an
hour. .

They made a rich haul—63 watches,
all of them gold or silver, plus a fine
assortment of
brooches and bracelets. They piled the
loot into a cheap carpetbag Reed had

with him and left the place highly.

satisfied, retiring to their hotel on
Water Street.

Although they had planned to stay
in Albany for several days, the value
of this boodle changed their minds.
There would be a great hue and cry
in the morning, that they knew. Un-
acquainted in Albany, they knew of no
fence there on whom they could un-
load the jewelry, so. they decided to
take the next day’s boat back to New
York and dispose of their winning at
the alehouse of their -old pal, Smith
Davis. Since they had not gotten to bed
until 3:30, they overslept and had to

gem-bearing, rings, ©

hurry to make the 10 a.m. boat.

The trio were racing down the street
toward the wharf when all of a sudden
Reed’s worn-out carpetbag flew open
under the strain. A dozen watches and
a handful of other glittering jewelry
spilled out on the street.

Cursing, they stopped to gather it up.
As luck would have it, Constable Wat-
son Meigs was standing no more than
ten feet away at the time. Meigs had
already heard of the big theft at the
Burke store. His suspicions were at
once aroused. Pulling a huge pistol, he
aimed it at the three.

“Not so fast, my boys,” he advised.
“We'll be wanting a word with you.”

“Constable, you have the wrong
idea,” Teller assured him, putting on an
air of offended dignity. “We are jewelry
salesmen from New York.”

“Maybe you are, and maybe not. If
so, it won’t hurt to find out.”

“But the boat’s about to leave!” Tel-
ler protested.

Meigs was obdurate, saying there
would be another boat. He led the trio
to headquarters, where the loot was
quickly identified as Burke's property.
They were held on burglary charges
and placed in the Albany jail pending
trial. On the way to jail, Teller managed
to hand a letter to an urchin and give
him a copper to mail it. It was ad-
dressed to his sweetheart Anne in New
York, asking her to bring a handful of
briers. “Briers” was the name given at
the time to small, hard steel saws made
from the same material as the main-
springs of watches.

Sure enough, red-headed Anne ar-
rived in Albany three days later with
the briers. Proceeding to the jail, she
strolled around it until she spied Teller
at one of the barred windows. Nothing
could be done. in daylight, but that
night Anne stole under Teller’s win-
dow, fastened the saws to a string he
lowered, then took the next boat back
to New York.

For two days Teller tried vainly to
smuggle some of the saws to his two
pals. He was under close guard, and the
jailer was a suspicious fellow. At last
he gave it up, deciding there was no
point in his staying in a cell just be-
cause Gallagher and Reed seemed to be
stuck there. Meanwhile he had been
spending night hours’ sawing at a bar in
his own cell, concealing the saW marks
with bread crumbs and soot from his
lamp during the day. The following

night he removed the bar, used his
blanket as a rope and dropped about
ten feet to the ground and freedom.
He crossed the river by ferry, hid in
the woods until morning, then got a

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ride with a farmer down the river to
Hudson, where he boarded the boat

for New York. He had'a joyous reunion’

with Anne, but soon found her troubled
and thoughtful.

“I helped you get out of jail because
I love you,” she said. “But—oh, Bill,
don’t you see that this will happen
again? Next time you may not be so
lucky. You’re smart Bill. You have
money. Why don’t you invest it in some
honest business? You’d make a fine
living and we’d both be ever so much
happier!”

“Tut-tut, my pretty!” he scoffed,
chucking her under the chin.

m@ A WEEK LATER he read in the
paper that Reed and Gallagher had
been found guilty in Albany and sen-

- tenced to three years in the state

prison at Greenwich. He felt sorry for
them, but there was really nothing he
could do. It meant that his old gang
was broken up, a genuine loss. He took
on another young hoodlum named
Jemmy Snyder as helper and launched
into the burglary game again. Their
second job together was the robbery
of a jewelry store on Pearl Street,
where they took a valuable assortment
of loot. One of the items was a gold re-
peater watch of such fine make that
Teller decided to keep it for his own.
He took the rest of the swag to his
home, intending to sell it to Smith
Davis next day.

As he walked out of his place next
morning, who should be waiting for
him but High Constable Joe Hayes.

“T .haven’t talked with you for a spell,
Billy,” Hayes grinned. “It’s about time
for me to take you in on suspicion
again.”

Despite Teller’s protests, he was
taken in to headquarters. Hayes had not
yet heard of the Pearl Street robbery
and did not connect him with any speci-
fic job. He was merely following his
general policy of making life as miser-
able as possible for the young man,
whom he well knew to be a professional
criminal. Teller was in a sweat because
he had been careless and he knew it.

_ Thinking to get rid of the loot that very

day, he had not hidden it well, leaving
it in a drawer in his home. Worse yet,
he was carrying the gold repéater watch
in his waistcoat pocket. Cocky Bill
Teller, in short, had left himself wide
open for a prison sentence by his own
negligence. Suddenly Joe Hayes loomed
as a man of immense power—the power
to take away his liberty and put him
behind bars. There was only one way
out. Would Hayes accept a bribe?

“You and I have known each other
for a long time, Joe,” Teller said in
his most winning fashion. “Maybe I’ve
done wrong on occasion, but I’ve always
found you a reasonable man.” He took
out the watch and handed it to the

high constable. “This is a gift I want
you to keep for your very own. Turn
me loose, Joe, and I’ll see that you are
rewarded with an amount of money
greater than you earn all year.”

Hayes eyed the watch, then put it in
his pocket. “Thank you most kindly,
Bill,” he replied. “Never saw you quite
so friendly before. As for turning you
loose, I’m afraid we can’t do that, my
lad. Not until we see where you stand.”

Teller knew he had lost. Hayes was
an honest officer. In short order he
learned of the Pearl Street robbery and
the watch was identified as part of the
loot. The rest of it was found in a search
at Teller’s home. Attorney O’Rourke
was on hand to do what he could, but
even he could see it was hopeless. His
client had been caught red-handed.

For the first and only time in his
life Teller pleaded guilty when he went
to trial. Because of the guilty plea he
was let off with a sentence of two years
at the state prison at Greenwich. He
bade a sad goodbye to Anne and was
taken away.

At Greenwich he met his old pals,
Gallagher and Reed, who had already
-been incarcerated there three weeks,
but the reunion was not precisely a
happy one. Teller was put to work in
the stone quarry— back-breaking labor
that he hated with intense loathing.
Anne resumed her work as entertainer
in a high-class drinking place, visiting
him when permitted. The two years
Teller spent at Greenwich were the
worst in his life—far worse than his
time at sea. They were so bad that oc-
casionally he even contemplated the
thought that perhaps crime, after all,
did not pay when one examined all its
ramifications. This sort of reflection
did not stay with him long, however,
for like most criminals he was more
inclined to blame the law for inter-
fering with his freedom than to blame
his own way of life.

™ WHEN TELLER was released from
Greenwich in June, 1829, he was 24
years old. Never had freedom seemed
so precious. He could not wait to rejoin
Anne,.who greeted him with combined
smiles and tears and then gave him a
pretty lecture. By this time, she said,
he must have learned that honesty was
the best policy, that he must now re-
nounce all his old habits and associates
and start out clean. When he visited his
father and sister, they had the same
advice for him, his sister weeping on
his shoulder and imploring him to go
straight.

For a wonder, Bill Teller was moved
to some repentance by all these en-
treaties. He got a job as a Broad Street

.broker’s clerk, the first honest work he

had done for many years. With his in-
telligence and ability he did very well
at it-and doubtless could have climbed

%

the ladder to success had he stuck at it.
But after a fortnight at this occupation,
he was bored stiff with the work. His
salary was a pittance compared with
the riches he had formerly made at
burglary. Now and then, when he met
his old companions, they would sneer
at him and ask if he had yet become a
deacon of the church. All these things
combined to break his resolution,
which it must be admitted had not been
too strong in the first place.

So Teller quit his job and went back
to crime—a step that reduced Anne to
bitter tears. She was so angry and
sorrowful that she left him for a while,
which should have made him see the
light but did not.

“T now resolved to live a finished vil-
lain,” he said in his final confession,
“determined to revenge myself for my
loss of liberty, let what would be the
consequences. This, I see now, was the
greatest folly of my whole life. Here
I had my opportunity to embrace de-
cency and self-respect, spurred on by
the woman who loved me, and simple-
ton that I was I flung away this last
chance.”

He was visiting Anne daily, begging
her to come back to him, and finally she
relented. Her attitude toward him
seemed to some degree motherly, for
despite her realization that she could
not reform him, she determined at any
rate to protect him as much as pos-
sible from his own rashness. In a life
otherwise misspent, Bill Teller was
unfailingly gentle and kind to the
woman who loved him.

Deciding to play the lone wolf for a
while, Teller engaged in a number of
routine thefts, then decided to hit for
big money at the chinaware store of
Gregg Brothers on Broome Street. It
was a large emporium catering to the
carriage trade. He sized it up with care,
noticing wealthy customers entering
and leaving. There could be no doubt
there was money there, plenty of it.

Scaling several backyard fences, he
reached the rear door of the Gregg
establishment at 2 o’clock one moon-
less morning. He was carrying with
him a pot of glue, which he daubed on
the window, then pasted over the pane
a sheet of heavy paper, This enabled
him to break the glass so that it fell
intact with scarcely a sound. Reaching
inside, he unlocked the window and
entered.

From his previous investigations he
knew that the proprietors had no safe
but kept their money in a large desk.
He broke the lock with a chisel. To his
disgust, he found only $22.70 in the
money drawer. Cursing, he scoured the
place from front to back, finding not
another copper. There was no doubt of
it—the Brothers Gregg took the pre-
caution of carrying most of the receipts
away with them‘¢at night.

75

ee
Co

utting
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eller, how-
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such a thorn
ided it might
f town for a
mith Davis, a
hand to any
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money—one-
that had
on-spots.
‘beer, agree-

1oney was an

enterprise the skilled burglar normally
sneered at as a business fit only for
third-rate crooks, but these bills looked
like fine ones and besides it would be
in the nature of a vacation. He decided
to go up to Hartford and spend a week
or so in that area disposing of the
queer, believing the people there to
be inocent bumpkins who could be de-
ceived with ease.

He took the steamer McDonough to
Hartford, paying his one-dollar fare
with a bogus ten, and no questions
asked. In the East River the boat took
him past one place he viewed with dis-
taste, the city prison where he had
spent more time than he cared to re-
call. Reaching Hartford next morning,
he put up at the United States Hotel,
then went out on a bill-passing spree.
He stopped at jewelry stores, lottery
offices, groceries, fruiterers and, many
other establishments, always buying an
article priced around a dollar, paying
for it with a bogus ten and collecting
the change. At that time almost every
large bank issued its own currency so
that there were scores of different
kinds of greenbacks in circulation,
making it harder to spot bad ones.
Teller soon was confronted with two
problems: how to get rid of the un-
wanted merchandise he bought, and
how to carry his change, which grew
very heavy, most of it being in silver.
He solved the first by giving away the
gewgaws to children he met, and the
second by making occasional trips back
to his hotel to unload silver.

Bill Teller was haying a glorius time
making fast money with no fear of
Constable Hayes dogging his tracks.
These Yankees were easy marks! But
he knew that many of the fraudulent
bills would be turned into the banks
next day, where they might be dis-
covered, so he decided to take the after-
noon boat to Springfield and continue
operations there.

What he did not know was that a
couple of the ten-spots he had passed
already were suspected. Furthermore,
some of the children whom he had
given merchandise had told about the
big-hearted stranger who walked
around giving things away. A Hart-
ford constable named Reilly was al-
ready looking for him.

Teller checked out of the hotel, pay-
ing his bill with a bogus ten that was
accepted without question. He was
carrying a heavy sack containing some
$900 in silver and currency as he
walked down the. street toward the
wharf. Just as he was boarding the
boat, Reilly caught up with him. ~

“Not so fast,” he said. ,

“Why, what’s the matter my good
man?” Teller inquired innocently.

“I think you’ve been shoving bad ’

money, that’s what’s the matter,” Reilly
growled. “Let’s see your wallet, and

also that bag you’re carrying.”

Teller knew he was lost if he sub-
mitted to arrest. He unloaded a stiff
uppercut that caught the surprised offi-
cer full on the jaw and laid him out
flat. Teller grabbed his bag and ran
for dear life. y,

But a crowd of people around took

up the chase, howling “Stop, thief!”~

Teller was overpowered by a group of
citizens less than a block away. Di-
sheveled and panting, he was hustled
into jail, where the sheriff and several
bank officials looked over his bogus
bills and his loot. His guilt was ap-
parent, and he -was held on five charges
of passing spurious money.

Knowing he had not a chance to
escape conviction, Teller turned once
more to the loving Anne, managing to
get off a letter to her asking her to
bring a handful of briers, or small saws.
Three days later, on August 16, 1830,
the faithful redhead arrived in Hart-
ford. That night, just as she had done
in Albany a few years earlier, she cir-
cled around the jail until she found
a string dropped by Teller. She tied the
briers to the string, he hauled them up
and she returned to New York confi-
dent he would soon rejoin her.

m™ WITH FOND THOUGHTS of Anne,
Teller set to work at once. His cell
window had a double set of bars, each
two inches thick, but he had no doubt
that elbow grease would cut them. He
sawed for six hours that night until
he was nearly exhausted, then saw to
his despair that he had barely made a
nick in the bar. The bars were of case-
hardened steel, he realized, and would
be impossible to cut. He was trapped—
headed for a long prison term!

At that moment Teller once again
was assailed by some doubt that a life
of crime was such a joyous career after
all. Tried a month later, he was con-
victed on all counts and sentenced to
the state prison at Wethersfield for 15
years. -

He got this sad tidings on his 25th
birthday—a ghastly birthday present
indeed. Anne, in New York, read of
the conviction and disconsolately be-
came a tavern entertainer again. She
had done her best for her man—first
tried to reform him, then tried to lib-
erate him from prison when he refused
to reform—but now her resources were
exhausted.

No one likes to lose his liberty, but
for Bill Teller prison was nothing short
of hell on earth. In that early day there
was sno such thing as movies or TV in
stir, penologists having an old-fash-
ioned belief that imprisonment should
mean punishment. Teller, who never
enjoyed labor, was put to work in the
blacksmith shop, compelled to put in 12
hours a day of such slavery that he was
limp at the end of each day. His mind

was likewise active.

“From the time I entered prison,” ac-
cording to his finial confession, “my
leisure hours were spent in devising
plans to escape.”

But it wasn’t easy. Teller was still
in prison two and a half years later,
when he finally perfected a plan with
Caesar Reynolds, a robber in for a life
term, Reynolds, who also worked in
the blacksmith shop, had spent a few
years on the outside as a locksmith. By
earnest effort, he had succeeded in
fashioning a skeleton key that would
open the cells in the block occupied by
him and Teller. Several more weeks
of secret work while the guard’s back
was turned and he made another skele-
ton key to open the door to the prison
kitchen.

While Reynolds was a foxy lock-
smith, his brains were very slow, so it
was Teller who did the skullwork. It
was his plan to overpower the night
guard, lock him in a cell, then enter
the kitchen. They knew there was a
long length of rope in the kitchen, used
for hoisting up food from the floor
below. They also knew that the kitchen
windows were unbarred, so they could
make their escape via the rope. They
dealt a third convict, Amos Johnson,
in on the plan so that he could help
subdue the guard.

Teller, longing for freedom and a re-
union with his sweet Anne, was seeth-
ing with impatience by the time all was
in readiness. He picked the night of
April 29, 1833, for the break. The night
guard, Enoch Hoskins, was a kindly,
middle-aged man who was a trifle deaf.

Around midnight, Hoskins made his
regular tour along the cellblock, pass-
ing Teller’s cell. Teller immediately
reached out with the key, unlocked his
cell and gained the corridor. He could
see Hoskins pacing some distance away,
his back turned. Teller sneaked along
the corridor, unlocking Johnson’s cell
as he passed it. He then stole on, with
the guard none the wiser, unlocked
Reynolds’ cell and entered it. He,
Reynolds and Johnson then waited

tensely for Hoskins to return on his
next round.

The guard came along about 15 min-
utes’later. No sooner had he passed
Reynolds’ cell than the two cons
sneaked out of it. The deaf Hoskins
suspected nothing until the pair leaped
on him and bore him to the floor, clap-
‘ping hard hands over his mouth. John-
son likewise came out of his cell to aid
in handling the guard. Teller bolted
for the door to the kitchen, carrying
the key and an iron rod he had stolen
from the blacksmith shop.

He put the key in the lock. In his
haste he turned it too hard. It broke
off in the lock!

Teller could have screamed in an-
guish. Cursing, he tried to reach the

eee

For this, Teller conceived an anger
against the Greggs, feeling they had
somehow swindled him, a nasty trick
that deserved punishment. How to take
revenge on them puzzled him until he
opened a side door and saw that it
opened on a yard where two mules
were penned in an enclosure. Securing
some hay, he made a trail of it leading
in the doorway to the store, where
huge baskets of the finest china were
stored. Then he left, hoping the animals
would take the bait.

He learned the next day that they
had. The watchman, as night police-
men were then called, heard loud
noises inside, called several mates as
reinforcements, then burst into the
place expecting to capture thieves.
Their astonishment on finding mules
instead can be imagined. Becoming
frightened, the animals had done a good
deal of prancing and kicking, with the
result that some $700 worth of china
was destroyed.

@ TELLER WAS ONE of the first
criminals to make use of the news-
papers as instruments of intelligence.
He read the papers carefully every day,
with a sharp eye for any mention of
shipments of valuable merchandise. It
was in this way, several months later,
that he learned that a large quantity of
Italian silk had just been received by
the large importing and wholesaling
firm. of Howland & Son on South Street.

At that time silk was vastly more
expensive than it is today, a luxury that
could be afforded only by the rich. De-
termining to spirit away the silk, Teller
and a confederate named Dan Place
snooped around the Howland establish-
ment on several different occasions to
get the lay of the land.

They found that Howland & Son were
careful gentlemen. When they closed at
6 p.m. they double-locked, both front
and rear doors. On top of that, the
doors and windows were protected with
heavy iron gratings, so that even if the
glass were broken entrance was impos-
sible without tedious sawing. To add to
the difficulties, a night constable passed
by on South Street at intervals of less
than a half-hour.

All in all, Place came to the belief
that there was no use attempting the
impossible. “The joint is guarded like
the queen’s jools,” he said. “We’d best
try something easier.”

But to Teller the problem presented
a challenge he could not resist. In his
surveys he thought he saw weaknesses
in the firm’s defensive armor. He de-
cided to go ahead with it even though

Place refused to have any more to do
with it than to lurk in the rear with
a horse, ready to carry away the booty,
should there be any.

Teller had observed that the How-
land establishment Was occupied al-

76

_most until 6 o’clock daily by retailers

who came in to look over the stock,
some of them buying, some not. He had
also noticed that the floor in an adjoin-
ing room was piled high with bolts and
bags of cotton. He entered the place
late one afternoon dressed in his nat-
tiest clothing, passing himself off as a
retailer, For a half-hour he examined
bolts of vloth, some of it the precious
silk he was aiming to appropriate.
Watching his opportunity, he strolled
casually into the next room, which was
vacant at the time. Quick as a flash he
dove under some bags of cotton, cover-
ing himself well.

At 6 o’clock the last of the customers
left and the employes set about closing
up. Within 15 minutes the last of them
was ready to go, but before he did he
disappeared outside somewhere for a
moment, then returned with a pugna-
cious-looking bulldog.

“Guard the place well, Gyp,” he said
to the dog as he left.

= THIS WAS AN unpleasant surprise
for Teller. Conscientious though he had
been in his preliminary reconnoitering,
he had known nothing about a dog be-
ing left in the place overnight. It upset
all his calculations. If the animal sensed
his presence and began barking—or
worse yet, attacked him—the night
constable would be there in quick time.

Furthermore, Teller had planned to
wait only until the employes had
locked up and gone. Then it had been
his intention to unlock the rear door, go
to a nearby tavern and while away the
hours until midnight, when he would
return for the night’s work. Now all
this nice arrangement had been knocked
askew. Unless he gave up the job en-
tirely and fled, all he could do was wait
under his covering of bags for hours
until the street was quiet. Then it would
still be necessary to win the watchdog’s
confidence before proceeding.

But Teller was a determined fellow,
egged on by the value of the silk, and
he refused to give up. He lay there
quietly as time passed, feeling the bags
weighing more heavily on him. He
dared not move or make a sound lest
the dog hear him and set up a clamor.
Now and then he could see the beast
through his peephole—an ugly-looking
creature with formidable fangs. Dark-
ness came and finally Teller could stand
his uncomfortable position no longer.
He was thankful at any rate that the
clerk had mentioned the dog’s name.

“Here, Gyp,” he whispered. “Nice
Gyp.”

Startled, the dog uttered a low growl,
but only in a tentative sort of way.
Teller kept calling him, moving cau-
tiously from his hiding place. He was
relieved indeed that Gyp seemed to re-
gard him as one of, the hired help. He
began carrying bolt after bolt of rare

a. ily Fase ik aa Ny at a lela

Italian silk out the back door, putting
them in bags he found on a shelf in a
rear room. It was still short of 10
o'clock, and Place’s orders were to be
there at midnight with his horse. Luck-
ily, Teller found Place at his lodging
house three blocks away. The two re-
turned with the horse and carried away
some $3000 worth of silk, which they
stored in a shed behind Place’s lodging.

Knowing that the hue and cry would
be dreadful when the theft was dis-
covered, and also that the silk could
be easily identified, Teller had laid
careful plans for its disposal. The ves-
sel Ariel was embarking for Halifax at
noon next day. Place had orders to
carry the silk to the ship by 10:30, and
he and Teller would then go along as
passengers and sell the silk in Canada.

But the best-laid plans can go awry.
It happened that Place was under sus-
picion for a recent housebreaking, and
the constables were keeping an eye on
him. When he was seen riding up the
street in the morning, his horse carry-
ing an assortment of bags, he was ar-
rested—caught red-handed with the
goods. Teller, waiting anxiously on the
ship, knew that something had gone
wrong when his confederate failed to
show up, and went ashore.

Dan Place was fit to be tied, nabbed
for a burglary in which he had taken
no -part except to haul away the loot.
After some questioning by High Con-
stable Joe Hayes, he admitted his part
in the job and implicated Teller. Very
shortly thereafter, Hayes located Teller
at Smith Davis’ alehouse.

“Well, my bucko,” Hayes snapped,
“you're coming along with me. And this
time I think you'll stay a while.”

Teller protested indignantly, but his
old nemesis was unmoved. At head-
quarters, Teller put in a hurried call
for his mouthpiece, O’Rourke, who
came on the run and managed to get
him freed on bail. At the next session
of court, Place was convicted and given
a 14-year jolt in prison. Teller, how-
ever, was lucky. The canny O’Rourke
brought out that no loot had been found
in Teller’s possession and that there-
fore the only evidence against him was
the word of Place, an admitted thief
who might be trying to settle a score.
Teller was acquitted and walked out
a free man, to Hayes’ disgust.

@ HAYES, IN FACT, was such a thorn
in'Teller’s side that he decided it might
be healthful to get out of town for a
spell. It happened that Smith Davis, a
man who would turn his hand to any
sort of illegality, had recently acquired
a large batch of bogus money—one-
dollar bills of the Union Bank that had
been cunningly altered to ten-spots.
He gave 500 of them to Teller, agree-
ing to split the profits.

Passing counterfeit money was an

&

enterprise t
sneered at
third-r
like fin
inthe; _
to go up to!
or so in th}
queer, belie
be inocent b
ceived with .
He took t}
Hartford, pa
with a bogu
asked. In the
him past one
taste, the ci
spent more t;
call. Reaching
he put up at
then went ou:
He stopped a
offices, grocer;
other establish
article priced
for it with a k
the change. At
large bank iss,
that there we
kinds of gree
making it hari
Teller soon wa
problems: how
Wanted mercha
how to carry h
very heavy, mo
He solved the
Sewgaws to chi
second by makin
to his hotel to y
Bill Teller wa:
making fast m-
Constable ;
These Yank
he knew that m:
bills would be t
next day, where
covered, so he dec
noon boat to Spr
Operations there.
What he did n
couple of the ten.
already were sus}
some of the chil,
given merchandise
big-hearted stra)
around giving thi
ford constable na;
ready looking for |
Teller checked o:
ing his bill with a
accepted without
carrying a heavy s;
$900 in silver fey
walked down the
wharf. Just as he
boat, Reilly caught
sds So fast,” he ;
‘Why, what’s the
man?” Teller inquir
“I think you've
money, that’s what’s
8rowled. “Let’s see


he body ts still dn the Hartford
rue,
uneral plans will be directed ' by
family with the ald of the Rev.:
rge R. Grady, Catholi¢ chaplain.
he prison who accompanied Palv
on “the last mile” late last night
who is credited by Wardér
ph H. Walker In transforming &
ous and brutal killer into a re-
tant and tractable youth who:
it to his death gamely and with-,
faltering steps, after dys elie F
last rites of the church,
57th To Be Executed

he State will pay for the funeral,
ecordance with law, ag it has for”
56 who preceded Palka to the
cution chamber within its gray,
n walls since the State, In 1894,
. over the execution of criminals.
ch had prior to that time been.
jucted at the county jails, often —
he public view.
was anew Palka that they
cuted last night, Gone was the.
y young tiger whose itching trig-,

finger shot down Sergeant
mas P. Kearney and Patrolman:
fred Walker on the night of:
tf. 30, 1935 on Golden Hill street °
igeport, in cold blood after a ‘$40
yery, when arrest and consequent ;
irn to Elmira, N. Y., reformatory, ’
; parole violator threatened him, |
e too was the’ cunning “with:
: he schemed, hours on end i
on to break his way to freedom; |

e were the vicious impulses that
him twice to attack his guard,’.
cander Hartling, who has since.
| of a brain tumor, not caused’’
possibly aggravated by rs
izied attacks.

Walks Firmly Te Chalr i
stead came a young man who |
Id have been 26 had he lived une °
Sept. 25, who to all appearances:
been convinced by Father Grady:

however evil his past had been,’
roing to eternity should be good.;
it was. At peace with his God,;
with Father Grady at his side .
spering the prayers for the dy.
Palka took the 20 steps: from
condemned cell in the death
se to the chair without the slight-
faltering or tremor or word.

e walked with the same swags.

(Continued on 1 Page ben

LICE KILLER
YS PENALTY

} as though clenched under the mask.
| The guards sprang aside and Filiott, |
, with one fleeting but all inclusive |

' above.

|

<a Executed At State’s,
Prison for Crime

Here.

(Continued from Page One)

calf of his leg. To this deft fingers

. arations had been
‘steady and practiced hands, Elliott
-. clapped a combination leather strap

yebiny riotiorn wath owletedh he enter
edo and left the courtroom during: his
tral but apparently from) habit: ra-
ther than intent, There was no trace
of bravado about him. He Knew that
death just as swift as the death he

had meted out to two policemen was)

staring him in the face and he went
courageously to meet it
Slouches Into Chair

He looked scared as he came
through the door from which there
is no return, and he probably was.
His face was pasty white, accentu-
ating even the pallor of hfs  coun-
tenance that was marked In his two
trials in Bridgeport for murder, His
eyes, coal black, stood out as he
stepped into the room and moved
over to the chair, which he saw then
for the first time. A guard at his
side edged him ever so slightly
towards the chair as he covered the
distance from the door in a_- split

Pec SAW TECH and spun the

! wheel A low diaim set upon the room
yt whieh, until thint
could have heard a pin drop. In a
(flash Palka’s whole body lunged for-
ward, as though he were attempting
ito leap bodily out of the chair,
ostraps and all, Flliott spun the wheel
AKAin AS 1900 yolts were poured into
his body. The hum pieked up oa
crescendo and in an instant Elliott
‘reversed the rheostat wheel, drop-
ping the power, Pal’s body appeared
to settle back from the strain of the
first durch. Plis left Knee moved
Slightly, That was all
Quickly then Elliott spun the

rheontat

Dionmrent one |

wheel backward and forward. rais-.

“ing and lowering the voltage. Slowly |
Palka’s throat, where his white shirt!
showed ai

was open at the neck,

pink tinge in contrast with the pal- '

lor of his face which by this time.

a sort of

too, was suffused with
pinkish hue,

Jsecond, Palka brushed his .arm:
against the aim rest of the chair, ;:
and with one easy motion slouched
into it,

He gave but one fleeting glance
at nearly 40 witnesses who filled |
two benches at the back of the exe-
cution chamber and who lined the
walls on both sides. As he sat in the
chnir his eyes bored for a moment
Tinto those of the spectators, In a

flash a half dozen uniformed prison |{

| guards had surrounded him and had
‘begun strapping him into the chair. |
Quickly leather straps encircled his!
ankles and levs. One went across his,
chest and others pinfoned his arms.

- trouser leg to the knee, exposing the

Mask Covers Eyes

Palka flicked his eves first to one
side of the chair and then the other
as his arms were fastened onto the
arm rests, Father Grady, at his side,
whispered words of encouragement
and prayer in hig ear, From. behind |
the chair Robert Elliott, the official ;
executioner adjusted the headpiece |
|

“with an electrode. It looked like aj|

football headguard and appeared to
fit snugly. In a twinkling these prep-
completed by

across Palka's face. One pas! of this
covered his eves and the other held
his chin, the whole strapping into a
firm position behind Palka’s head.

\ | stepped

Overhead two high powered elec-
| tric light bulbs blazed down light;
on Palka, strapped in the chair and
| ready. His lips were tightly closed |

|

glance at the man in the chair,
sideways to the control,
Ohdata which was in view of the spec-
tutors but not visible to Palka who |

| never glanced in that direction. The |

control board is virtually on ai line

; with the chair and to the right of |
|; the condemned man.

Elliott Throws Switch
In an instant Flliott had thrown |

' resident

Heturn, Dp
A guard knelt and lifted his right i;

A wisp of smoke appeared above

1: the electrode on his head and then,

in the only really macabre touch to
the execution his mouth opened,

‘| slowly at first and then a bit more

/so that he appeared to be gaping.
Several more turns of the wheel,

puff of smoke
and it was over,
Doctors Pronounce Him Dead
elliott threw off the switch and
motioned to Dr, Forest Priddy, the
prison physician and Dr.
Harold <A. Howard, Wethersfield
medical examiner who stepped for-
ward with  stethescopes. Kachin
Priddy first,
'ka’s shirt aside

and applied their in-
struments. Fach in turn nodded to

| Elliott indieating he was de

i x ‘ ad.

attached an electrode. |
|

| surrounded the chair

i same speed that thev had

In an instant the cordon of zuards

Palka into the chair,
straps. Hilhott lifted the
strap. The mask was whisked off as

ed upon Palka apain, He looked just
the same ns when he had. seated

before. His eyes, now lifeless, were
still black and still open.

Quickly the puards carried him to
a door about six steps from the
chair and Into the prison mortuary.
The closing of that door closed the

Palka case, Quickly the witnesses

ft into line behind Warden Walk-

backward and forward, Then a sharp :
from the headpicce |

pushed Pal-.

and with the;
bound ;
undid the’

electrode |
from his head and unfastened the |

;Ruards lifted him out of the chair. |
|; For a moment the spectators look-

himself in the chair a few moments.

yer ard filed out of the pale green

painted death chamber, with a cell-

ing 30 feet high for until recently |

they had hanged men there. The
two holes where the ropes passed
are plainly visible in a beam high up

Execution Takes Five Minutes

The whole drama of the execution |

took five minutes and 35 seconds ac-
cording to Elliott’s official figures.

Palka entered the death chamber ;
was electrocuted at |
10:01:19 and pronounced | dead at!
| 10:0£:45, |

at 9:59:19 p. m.,


elec, Conn, (Fairfield) 4-12

i
eed
\O
W
Co
s

PALKO, Frank J., white, 26,

7 Erank + Malka April /2, 19.58:

(Unnamed, undated Serie ett cus newspaper article sent by Hearn.

' ES lar Herd (berair

WALKS 10 CHAIR
IN STATE PRISON

UNFALTERINGLY

Gives But One
Glance At 40 Witnesses

¥ to Execution.

|

ONE SHOCK TAKES LIFE,

Mother, Brothers Remain im
State to Attend His

! Funeral. {

Fleeting?

y
q
7

|

BY WILLIAM J. WALSH 7
STATE PRISON, WETHERS:,
FIELD, April 13—The State which
snuffed out his life in vthe electrig
chair, today still claimed all that
was mortal of Frank Palka, 25-year -
old airplane mechanic and slayer of
two Bridgeport policemen by virtud.
of.a Jaw that requires the slayer
must be buried within the common¢:

wealth. ee
Palka, stiff and still in death lay

‘in the morgue of the Dillon under |

taking establishment in nearby -
Hartford while his mother and two
brothers who failed in their efforta -
to keep him from a life of crime
went about arrangements for hia
funeral, es

An official of the Dillon firm sald.
this morning that it has received
no word from. state authorities ree
garding what digposition would be
made of Palka’s body. The under-
tuker, also sald that under the law
he is forbidden to give out ‘such in-
formation once he receives it from
the state. en


Law, Reason & Good Conscience for it is the Life of a poor distressed
Mortal that is now at Stake and must in a very few Days be taken
frorn him without the Gracious Interprosition of your Hon™ and the
Lord have Mercy upon his precious and immortal Soul! and he as in
Duty bound will ever pray: Dated in New Haven County Goal the
26 Day of August Anno Dom 1772

Moses Paul.

Che Connecticut Journal. ast Wednesday, Moses Paul
Hew Haver 772 was executed agreeable to his
September at Sentence, about a Mile from this
Town. The Rev. Mr. Occom, preached a Sermon, previous to the
Execution, in the Brick-Meeting House, (from Rom. vi 23) and at-
tended the Criminal at the Place of Execution, where he made a short,
but well adapted Prayer to the Occasion. The Criminal behaved with
Decency and Steadiness, and appeared to be in the Exercise of fervent
secret Prayer all the way from the Goal to the Gallows. A little while
before he was turn’d off, he took a most affectionate Leave of his
Country-men the Indians, (many of whom were present) and exhorted
them to shun those Vices to which they are so much addicted, viz.
Drunkenness, Revenge, &c. He acknowledged that he kill’d Mr. Cook,
though not with a Flat-Iron, as was supposed, but with a club.

Not withstanding the Day was very stormy, there was a very
great Concourse of People, whose Curiosity was as much excited to
hear Mr. Occom preach, as to see the Execution, Altho’ there has not
been one in this Town since the year 1749.


in the fore part of the Evidence had seemed to give a favourable
aspect in Regard to your Petit’) governed his Mind in Regard to its
being constituted the Crime of Murder And which probably with the
Reasons before mentioned was one Reason why the s‘¢ Gen! Assembly
tho’t proper to do no more for your Petit" than to grant him a Short
Reprieve.

Furthermore your Petit’ can now prove by the Evidence of the
Rev’ Mr Chauncey Whittlesey and other Gentlemen of Note and
curious Observation Who attended said Trial and. carefully Remarked
the Evidence that the witnesses who then and there testified in Regard
to the most Essential matters afores’ were not alike understood by all
that heard them; for that they did not understand them to say that
your Petit” gave out any Threatenings at any other Time against
the said Cook except while he was beating your Petit’ nor that your
Petit’ lay in wait at the Door at all watching for the said Cook; But
the said Gentlemen and your poor Petit’ do think that, that part of
the Evidence may have been mistaken by the Hon Court and Jury
upon s? Trial and that the Mistake most probably must have arisen
from the account of the Evidences then gave of your Petit’ lying a
Considerable Space of Time out of Doors the first Time of his being
thrown out as afores* Wherefore your Petit’ begs Leave to say with all
Humility and Submission that he is far from being Satisfied that he
has yet had a fair Trial of this his important and Most Solemn Cause;
but humbly presumes to think that in case he might have a New
Trial, the New discovered Evidence afores* would undoubtedly set
the Matter in quite a Different Light from that in which it appeared
upon said Trial, or at least serve to remove the Doubts and Scruples
which now subsist in the Minds of many People Respecting your
Petit’ being in Fact Guilty of Murder. Whereupon your Petit” most
humbly and Earnestly prays your Honor to take his most unhappy
case under your Wise and Judicious Consideration, and inasmuch as
the Law favors New Trials in all cases, and your Honors have been
want to grant them in Civil Cases, a Fortiori may it be expected that
your Honors will do it in this Most Important cause. Wherefere your
poor distressed Petit’ humbly prays and most Importunately begs and
entreats your Hon’ to grant him a New Trial of said Case or grant
your Hon'* warrant for his Execution on some future Day 9 as to
give him opportunity to pray for Relief at the General Assembly to
be held at N. Haven or in any other way and manner which may be
consistant with your Hon™ authority and within the Jurisdiction of
this Honorable Court considered either as the Super’, Court of this
Colony or as Hon" Deputy Governor by himself, Or in conjznction
with three Assistants; or as three Assistants all Agreeing Grant to
your Petit’ a Reprieve, or such other Relief as may be Consistant with


Went d

o" ” ae Lah er nt Re iy EY Maik Mise thas S ; . . ;
PrN OSE A Saath es En BA eM tug Ma SED ug ; pk ‘ am ty
pe es ; oe as 7 H

i ‘PAUL, Moses, INDIAN, ‘Hanzed at Néw Haveny Connecticut, on September 2, 1772.
ee meme ee POR

“4
4

As surely as virtue presents to the world a face that is beautiful

‘ beyond the means of art to counterfeit, so its opposite is ugly enough

, in its own true form without the trappings of art to accentuate its

: fearful aspect. For that reason, if for no other, a tale such as this one
of Moses Paul and Moses Cook may be best recorded with as little -
discussion as may be, and the records (which are in the State Library
at Hartford) left to tell their own horrid tale.

sg But an editor may be allowed to call attention to the one small ¥
i i _ Spot of edifying matter in the whole sordid transaction by remarking j
that at the execution of Moses Paul a long tedious dull sermon was .
pei, preached by Samson Occom “‘a native Indian and missionary to the -
ee Indians” in which there is one noteworthy bright passage. In the pre-
‘ face to the published version of that sermon Occom remarks that

“The world is already full of books. . . and it seems altogether un-
i likely that my performance will be of any great service to the world’’
which wise and true words might well and profitably be blazoned in
the workshops of many authors and in the offices of their publishers,
too.

; 5 2
From THE SAD TALE OF THE CHRISTIAN INDIAN, published by the
Nattatuck Historical Society, 1916.


« -

ae ees December 7 to 13 1771 W
ae ae ee Sworn
into the Cause and manner of the Death of one Moses Cook of Water-

‘bury in the County of New Haven, Now lying Dead before us at the ae
House of M? David Clark, inkeeper in New Haven in the Parish of i |

.
AMES anni to

Tae
Wsgh..
oy

Superior Court holden at
New Haven in the Colony of

ath
Cat Neda
ay peak

Britain &c King...

The Grand Jurors of our Soveraigne Lord the ‘King for the County
of New Haven upon their oaths Present that M

Seu

ttal Wound the Said z Rh |

of Which Said Mo


Fe my wi

JOHN W. COWAN.

pang & lighted candle to the match with my foot, when
e accidentally entered and stamped the candle out
with her foot. At another time [attempted to destroy
myself by drinking an ounce and a half of laudanum.
But it was discovered, and my wife procured a physician,
who administered a powerful emetic, which threw up
tho Jaudanum and saved iy life. This happened in
Pittsburgh. Last September, I attempted the destruction
of myself, as well as of my wife and children, by mixing
arsenic in our water cask. A small quantity having been
_ spilled on the lid, wife discovered it in tinie to prevent
mischicf; would to God she had been enabled to prevent
my last and tou successful attempt upon their existence.”

Cowan was executed, in pursuance of his seutence,
on Friday, 27th Nov. 1835. About twelve o'clock he
was taken from the jail, accompanied by the sheriff and
coroner, with several gentlemen of the clerical profession,
who had visited him during his confinement; the whole
guarded by a strong body of police officers and_ the city
military. He was placed in a cart, seated upon his coffin,

und conducted to the place of execution in Millereck —

Bottom. ‘The conduct of the prisoner, during the solemn
eepacaiewne for his death, was of the same firm but calm
and courteous character that marked him during and
_ since his trial. He ascended the gallows with a firm step,
and, after joining in the religious exercises with much
apparent fervency, and haviug addressed the crowd with
Bomne nb onc remarks upon the subject of intemper-
ance, he stepped on the trap, the rope was adjusted, and
he was launched into eternity, precisely at a quarter past
one, Tle was dressed in a full suit of black, which was
presente! to him for the occasion by some gentlemen of
the Ohio Medical College. As it was his wish for his
Lady to be appropriated to the pugpose of scientific ex peri-

ments, afier hanging forty-one minutes, it was lowered |

into the collin and conveyed to the Medical College, >

Pome 4

Confessions of © 4
TELLER & REYNOLDS.

Tuk lives of these two criminals present as great a di-
versity of incidents of bold and cunning daring, perhaps,
fas any upon record. On the following. which is extracted
from their confessions, is enough to illustrate their crimes,
though it is but a small part.

‘f was born near Cambell's Mills, in the state of New
Jersey, on the 20th of February, 1805, where I lived six
years, when my father moved to Waterford, in the state

of New York, and continned there three or four years,


78

stub of the key and turn it. He could

not get his fingers on it. Vainly he

battered at the door. It was solid oak, °
three inches thick. At that moment it

seemed that three months of planning

had gone for naught because of his

folly in twisting the key so hard.

w@ JUST THEN GUARD HOSKINS ut-
tered a faint yell. The two cons were
having trouble getting an improvised
gag around his mouth. Fearing discov-
ery by the other night guard, Teller
raced back and struck Hoskins on the
head with the iron bar. The guard
collapsed. The three felons then con-
ferred in whispers as to what to do
next. They went to the-door again and

‘Reynolds tried to get the broken key

out of it. His locksmith’s skill was of
no help at all. Johnson brought out a
spoon he had in his pocket and at-
tempted to work out the broken key
with that. Then Teller made an effort
to use his iron bar as a lever to pry
at the door, but it was too thick to get
into the crevice.

“You’ve fixed us for fair!” Reynolds.
whispered to Teller.

“Why’d you make the key so damned
fragile?” Teller snapped back.

It was Johnson who walked back and
looked at Guard Hoskins. “He’s dead!”
he quavered.

The other two rushed back and ex-
amined the prostrate man, feeling for a
pulse. He was dead—no doubt of it.

$10,000 ON DELIA’S HEAD

they came to a spot about 50 feet away

from it. There was quite a collection of '

dark spots at that point.

Sheriff Johnson knelt down, collected
some of the discolored gravel in his
handkerchief and put it in his pocket.

Neither he nor Ramsey had explained
what they were driving at to Deputy
Sheriffs Rowe or Sample. Johnson
knew these men were puzzled. :

“If you’re wondering what this is all
about,” Johnson told his deputies, ‘“‘it’s
that we think we’ve got more here than
the Oliver boys told us. If this is Delia
Oliver’s blood we’ve got a cold-blooded
murder on our hands.”

Rowe and Sample exchanged know-
ing glances. Both of them knew about
Claude Oliver’s reputation as a hell-
raiser before his marriage, but neither
one thought he’d murder his pretty
wife.

“What’s the motive, Sheriff?” Rowe
asked.

Boze Johnson shook his head. “We
don’t know,” he said. “There are sev-
eral puzzling points about this thing.
There’s a witness who says he saw the

“T hardly hit him more’n a love tap!”
Teller groaned.

“You and your love taps,” Caesar
Reynolds growled. “Man, you queered
everything!” ’

Now the trio knew they had not only
failed to make their escape. They were
also faced with a murder charge, which
meant the noose, unless they could find
some way out. For a solid hour Reyn-
olds-worked on the door while Teller
and Johnson looked vainly for some’
other means of egress. That was when
the other night guard, a man named
Blakey, came to find his partner
stretched out on the floor. In a trice
Blakey had his pistol out, forcing the
three prisoners back in their cells.
Next day all three were charged with
murder.

When they went to trial on May 15,
Reynolds and Johnson sought to put
all the blame on Teller for striking the
fatal blow. Teller admitted hitting Hos-
kins but swore he intended merely to
stun him.

“As God is my witness,” he said, “it
was farthest from my intentions to do
more than knock him unconscious.”

That appeal, though it was undoubt-
edly true, got him nowhere. He had
killed a guard during an attempt to
escape, and no amount of argument
could change that fact. Because blood

”

- was found on Caesar Reynolds clothes,

.

he was found equally guilty with Teller
and both were condemned to the gal-

(Continued from page 48)
.
whole thing and that it happened just
as the Oliver boys claim. Maybe it did.
We have no motive at this point. But if
it is murder we’re going to get to the
bottom of it.”

@ THE SHERIFF went on to tell Rowe
and Sample about the evidence they
had. Both men agreed the whole thing
looked mighty suspicious.

“But Delia Oliver was such a pretty
girl,” Deputy Sample said. “She was
a better worker than most men. Claude
Oliver never had it so good. Why
would he want‘to kill a girl like that?”

“It’s up to us to find out,” Sheriff
Johnson told him. “I’m going to have
a talk with the county attorney. But
I don’t want any of you men to say a
word to anybody else. I don’t think

the Oliver boys will run out on us even
if they are guilty of something. Just
the same, let’s not take any chances.”
Sheriff Johnson and Chief Ramsey
did have a talk with County Attorney
E. W. Fagan that night. ‘
“We think Claude and George Oliver

lows. Johnson, regarded as something
of a tagalong in the plot, got off with a
life sentence instead of the ten-year
term he was serving.

It had to be admitted that Teller ac-
cepted his fate bravely. “When asked
to listen to the verdict,” reads an ac-
count of the day, “he rose and held up
his hand in a firm and unflinching man-
ner. He did not quail, and he resumed
his seat after his doom was pronounced,
to all appearances as unconcerned as
before.” ¢

It was ten days later that a writer
for a religious periodical entered his
cell and he made the long, detailed
confession that has been quoted par-
tially in this narrative.

“T can say -truthfully that I do not
fear the gallows,” he declared. “It is
far better than rotting in prison the
rest of my days. The thing that bothers
me is:that I have Hoskins’ blood on
my hands. He was a kind man, and
before God Almighty I repeat that I
had not the slightest intention to kill
him and repent his death bitterly.”

He also admitted—a bit late in the
day—that a life of crime was the worst
possible career to follow.

On June 3, 1833, Teller wrote a last
touching note to Anne Evans, saying
in part, “Goodbye, my sweet—you were
right and. I was wrong.” The next
morning he and Caesar Reynolds
marched up the scaffold and were
hanged.

are lying,” Johnson said. “We don’t
know why they’d want to do away with
Delia. But there’s something rotten in
Denmark. We intend to find out what’s
making the smell.”

The sheriff showed Fagan the dis-
colored gravel he’d taken from the
road 50 feet from the bridge. “This is
going to be analyzed. If it’s human
blood of Delia Oliver’s type I think
we've got a case.”

County Attorney Fagan reasoned the
way the police officers did. But he
warned them to go easy.

“The Oliver family has a good name
around here,” he cautioned. ‘You
‘-haven’t got a motive. Don’t be hasty
and jump at conclusions. Auto acci-
dents take place so quickly that not
many people can remember exactly
what happened when they’re ques-
tioned. There’s the element of shock.
A car goes out of control. The driver
tries to avoid an accident. He wants
to save his own neck and those of the
people in the car. It’s only natural he
doesn’t remember exactly how’ things
happened in a matter of seconds. Go

easy until -
ll help al
The disc
road
tory ;
Jokzoos
ramshackle
They talke
for a while.
, were this h
them what
the wrecke:

“We pulle
the sheriff s
any time yo

Claude O}:
you think it
he asked.

Johnson s
that. “T thir
to drive it a;
be you can |
some of the ;

George Oh

want to see 1

my lesson,” hi
now on I ride

Chief Rams

body from Da

wreck into the
didn’t intend
George and (
ahead.

“We've had
the older man
ting a brand n

On the way t
son and Rams
cool and collec
peared to be.

“They’re tric
done any ~

“Proba|
the perfe,
“Anybody who’
as long as we |
such thing. The
mistake somewh

m@ THE VISIT ¢.
taken place on —
auto was brough
day. A report
laboratory came
was the day Del
But not before a
had been taken.
The state crin
confirmed Johnso
lief that the spots
man bood and th,
type as the dead
The officers ha,
County Attorney
“Still not enougt
ecutor told them. ‘ °
hey’ve got a wit
Saw the whole th
have more than yc
up to make a mur:
Almost a week pa


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eget

TELLER AND REYNOLDS.

_ Here I went to school occasionally, but played truant

whenever I could, and spent most of my time in idlencss.

I became very profane and turbulent, and in consequence
of swearing in school, was put into a kind of cage, and
> kept there all day. During the whole of my.residence at ©

Waterford I did not learn to read even in words of three

» syllables, for instead of directing my attention to books, I

was constantly planning out tricks upon the master and
rhemes At the age of cight I committed my first felony.

ly mother had sent me to collect a sinall bill of or
cian, and directed me to buy a pound of biscuit with part
of the money. The doctor was absent, and not wishing
to return without the biscuit, I-stepped into a neighbor-
ing store, where [ found the owner asleep. The opporta-
nity to steal was before mo. I could not resist it, and

‘going deliberately behind the counter, [ pulled out the

moncy drawer, took out a handful of bills, and walked
away unobserved. I then went to another store, bought
the crackers, and told my mother that in the doctor’s ab-

sence his negro had paid part of the bill. Whether the t

store-kceper missed his moncy I never knew. ie

“ My lucky escape on this occasion emboldened me, for ©

in a fow days, unbeknown to my father, I collected a debt
of fifty cents, duo to him for labor, and purchased a pair of

skates, for which I was severely whipped. ‘This checked ~ >
me a short time, However, my propensity to steal ine

creased, and not long after, I purloined a ta oe of
chalk from Fuller King's store and marched off with it.
Sccing Mr. King in pursuit [ hove it away, and when

charged with the theft, told him another boy had‘taken -

the chalk. ‘This he denied, and afier shaking me yiolent-
ly, let me go, -
“The next year, at the request of my grendfather, my
father removed to the city of New York, avd I was sent
to a free school in Henry street, and after much troubl +
was learned to spell and read in easy lexsons. few

-taonths we changed our residence to anotl«r part/of the

city, and F began to herd with a sect of idle and dissolute
boys. ‘Taking a great faney to cock-fighting, Egtole a

game-cock in the neighborhood and carried himyhome. me

ae

TELLER AND REYNOLDS, SY 967) ee

Being questioned by my father, U told him, that I had

- that morning found a watch-chain and seal near a pump, a8

and had exchanged them for the cock. This explanation” ag

scemed satisfuctory and I escaped detection a
ment. ;

with a man in the Bowery to learn to make sealing wax,

punish- 9

“ Before I had arrived at the age of ten, I was placed sh

but soon tiring of steady employment I abandoned the Ge x
trado, and for aeons two years after, under pretence of — —
i

going to school, I

d little or nuthing, except to spe d- ee 4

my time in cock-fighting, gambling with coppers, flying ro w
kites, in idleness, and what was worse than all, associate.

ing with the most abandoned characters.

“By this time I had leamed to despise every thing of a BeOS

moral and religious nature—every honest calling seemed

odious, and I had contracted a friendship for crime, which a.

followed ine through life. I became particularly intimate
with Sandy Smith, a notorious house-brenker, who has
since been confined in the state prison at Aubum. One
day as we passed down James street, we observed a
woman coming out of a house, She locked the door and
put the key in her work-bag. As soon as she was out of
sight, we watched our opportunity and burst open the

door unobserved. Smith stood sentry, while I entered
the house and stole six silver spoons, a large shawl, ©
wearing apparel, and many other articles, which we /

carried to a fence, (the flash or rogues’ name for one who
buys stolen goods) and sold for about onc quarter of their
value.

“A few days afterwards, I run my hand through the
window of a watch-maker'’s shop and stole a watch.
Finding I was observed, I started at my utmost speed
down Chatham street, pursued by the owner, crying out,
“Stop thief, stop thief.” A crowd immediatel gave
chase. I then hove the watch over a gate, and inad-
vertently min full tilt into the arms of a carman. They
took me forthwith to the police office, whence I was con-
mitted to Bridewell on‘the charge of larceny. Meantime
Smith, my pat flash name for a partner iu crime)


TELLER AND REYNOLDS.

was arrested for the above house-breaking. Both of us
were tried at the next sessions. He was convicted of
burglary and sentenced to hard labor two years, while I
was acquitted, partly on account of my extreme youth and
partly from a want of evidence. Judge Riker remarked
to the jury, that I had doubtless been led astray by older
offenders, and that as the watch was not found upon me,
~ and this was the first offence for which I had been arrest-
ed, they ought, if possible, to acquit me. us
“Very soon, in company with two boys, named John
Bruce and Richard Callens, [ strolled away to Patterson,
~N. J. On our return, I stepped into a house on the road
and stole a silver watch, which I found hanging over the
fire-place. I saw only an infant in the-house. We had
proceeded a few rods from there, when we met an old
woman, whom we abused and insulted. ‘The owner of
* the watch happened to mention his loss the next morning
in this old woman's hearing. Unfortunately for us, she
had once lived in the same house with my father, and
knew me. A clue was given; we were traced to New
- York the next day, when Bruce and myself were arrested
in possession of the watch. We were immediately taken
“before Judge Hopson and finally convicted of petty
larceny, and sentenced six months to the penitentiary,

which then contained not less than thirty criminals about ~

my age. At that time the penitentiary was connected
with the almshouse. At the expiration of one month,
~ fourteen of us succeeded in scaling the walls about mid-
night, by the assistance of an old blind man, who belong-
ed to the almshouse department, Lut some how or other
had strayed into our quarters. 1 went directly home, and

found my mother lying dead, and my father and one of :

my sisters very sick with the intermittent fever.
“ Four months after my escape from the penitentiary I
was arrested under the nae of William Tyler, on suspi-
_cion of having robbed a baker’s shop of money, which
suspicion was not altogether unfounded, although they
found none of the lost cash upon me. A woman deposed

that she saw me enter the shop when the inmates were -
absent, and then run off in great haste. This’ served

TELLER AND REYNOLDS. | 259

the purposes of the law, and I was convicted and again
sentenced six months to the penitentiary. Ou this occa-
sion I tarried there onc mouth, which completed my first
term. Then I went up to the keeper, Mr. Woodruff, and
ina bold tone demanded my liberty, telling him my name
was ‘Tecier, and that my time was out. He was deceived,

and having satisfied himself by looking at the books, re- - . z

leased me.

“Three months from my release, making four from my
sccond sentence, 1 was again arrested for stealing sundry
game cocks, Tho charge was fully proved and I was a
third time ordered to the penitentiary for six, months,
under my true name. Going in I perceived one of the

keepers called me 7'yler, and therefore [ resolved to repeat | =

the attempt, which had proved so successful before. — Ac-
cordingly | labored diligently at making pins, the business
to which I was put, for the space of two months, when LT.
repaired to a keeper, by the name of Lush, and asked to
be discharged, on the ground that my sentence had ex-
pired, and assuring him that my name was Tyler. He
told me to appear before him after dinner and he would
sec to it. This | did with all the assurance I could mus-
ter, and to my surprise he released me without saying
one word. ‘Thus belfore | had reached my thirteenth year,
I had been convicted of felony three times and sentenced

to cightecn months imprisonment, but of that number I

served out only four.

“My next series of crimes I perpetrated in Pearl strect.
For the double purpose of deceiving the police and cover-
ing my designs, I found a pal, no older than myself, and
we soon succeeded in stealing $50, with which we
clothed ourselves genteclly and bought cach of usa yen
satchel. Stopping near a dry goods store, we would
begin a scuille in order lo take the durn aff (divert atten-
tion.) By and by my hat would be knocked into the
eellar, when if unobserved I would slip down, cram my
satchel with valuable light articles, and be gone. If, how-
ever, we were observed, I would apply for leave to go
down for my hat, and unless accompanied by some one, °
would retire as well loaded as in the other case. |