Akron daily Democrat. [volume], January 30, 1902, Image 1

About Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902

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AKRON DAILY DEMOCRAT
9
VOLUME 10 NUMBER 214.
AKHON. OHIO. TIIUHSDAY fiVIiNING, JANTJABY 30, 1002.
PRICE ONE CENT.
i
WARDENS WIFE
Handsome Desperado Infatuated Her
and She Provided Saws and Guns.
Desperate Men, Condemned to Hang,
Shot Guards In Pittsburg Jail.
Locked Other Guards in Dungeon, and Gained
Start of Two Hours.
Pittsburg, .Inn. IW. Edwnul ami
.Tolin Riddle, n waiting execution in the
county Jail for the murder of Grocer
Thomas D. Kahney of Mount Wash
ington overpowered tin guards at -1
o'clock tliis morning and escaped.
Both prisoners liml been provided
with saws with which they cut the
liars in their cells and were icady at
any moment to make an opening sulll
cleutly large to pass through. The pris
oners occupied adjoining cells on the
second range. They had evidently
been preparing for escape for some
time, and had assistance from the out
side, as both were armed with revol
vers. Shortly before 4 o'clock one .am
Ulddles called to .lames MeGonry, who
had charge of the outside gates, and
asked for sonic cramp medicine In a
hurry, saying his brother was dan
gerously sick.
MeGeary hastened to the cell with
the medicine when John Blddlo sprang
through tho opening in the cell, and
seizing the guard nrouud the waist,
hurled him over the railing to the
stone floor beneath, u distance of 10
"feet.
Edward Riddle joined his brother im
mediately, and both, vlth drawn revol
vers hurried to the llrst iloor, where
tliey met liuurd Reynolds ,iind shot
him.
There were but three men on duty
and tin llilid was on one of tin
upper ninges. lie was uidrrcd down
lit the point of the revolvers and the
thlee guards were put in the dungeon.
The keys, were taken front keeper
MeGeary. and the two desperate pi Is
omers had a clear Held. The only per
sons who witnessed the (rcape wen
prisoners who could not interfere or
give an alarm. The Middies went to
the wardrobes where the guards kept
their clothing, and eaclj put on a new
Milt. They then unlocked the otil-
flde gates and passed out into Itos, st
The escape was not discovered un
til the day guards came on duty at tl
o'clock. They were Informed by prlS'
oners where the night guards had been
put, and Ihey were soon released from
the dungeon and .sent to the Homeo
pathic hospital.
The escape of the Ulddles wa,s later
explained. Warden Peter K. Soffel
authorized Its publication. II is tins
allegation that ills wife Is responsible
for the furnishing of the revolver and
saws to tit" Riddles which enabled
them to escape.
In her Infatuation tor the handsome
desperado, Edward Diddle, It Is al
leged that she has left Iter husband
and their four 'children and It Is ttp.
juscd met the' escaped convicts at a
place agreed upon.
The story of the matter is brief. .Mrs.
Soffel was the only person admitted to
the jail since last Sunday. Yesterday
afternoon she visited them during the
win den's absence, ltst evening she
returned at ! o'clock. She told her
husband that she was gong to visit n
s(ster at McDonald and that she would
retire early so that she could get an
rarly start. Win den Soffel was about
the Jail until after IS o'clock. Ho re-
llreil to his room which Is separated
from Mrs. Suffer, shortly before I
o'clock. When he awoke this morning
he asked for Mrs. Soffel and was In
formed that she was absent. Later
niicn the details of the cheapo became
inown he telephoned to MoDonali(
nud Mas Informed that Mrs. Sotfei
was not there.
Warden Soffel immediately made a
frank confession of his suspicions.
The ruse or tho Ulddles was n clever
one, and was carried out with great
success. They sawed out tho bars of
their cells, John cutting out three in
his, but Edward, being the larger)
ini'ii, found It necessary to cut out
four.
Nothing auspicious was noticed In the
MURDERERS TO ESCAPE.
actions of tho two prisoners nor wns
anything wrong discovered when the
day guards went oft' duty yesterday
afternoon. The murderers evidently
sawed the bars during the night, us
ing what appears to huva been soap
J to deaden tho noise and to reduce flic
tlon. The escape lias unparalleled the
record for erimo throughout this vi
cinity. Tito police all over the coun
try are searching for the fugitives.
While It is not thought they have gone
far, the shrewdness of the two crim
inals is such that the police have a
hard problem to solve In their capture.
The two guards Injured will prob
ably recover. The bullet wound sus
tained by Reynolds Is not regarded as
dangerous. The physicians have been
unable to ascertain as yet the
full extent of McGenry's wounds. His
head Is badly contused but there arc
no signs that his skull was fractured
by his lti-foot fall.
For several months preceding the
Kahney murder.darlng burglaries were
of almost nightly occurrence. The po
lice seemed powerless to prevent them,
and nervous citizens retired at night
in fear and trembling. On the morn
ing of April 1-, last, Mrs. Kuhney was
awakened by burglars and" called to
her husband, n cripple, who was
sleeping In an adjoining room with
one of the children.
Am he entered the door of his wife's
toom he was shot dead. The biu-glars
then tied.
A few hours later Detective Patrick
Fitzgerald and two ollicers surprised
the lliddlo borthers at their homo on
Fulton St., but before they wero cap
tured, Kitzgerald was killed and Ed
ward, who shot III in, was dangerously
wounded. Walter Doriuan, another
of tho gang and two women, .Tesle
Bodlno and Jennie beebers, were also
arrested. Dormnn turned state's evi
dence and the two Biddies were con
victed of Kaliney's murder, and sen
tenced to be hanged, John on the 14th
of this month, and Edward oiv the
Kith, but three days before the da to.
set for John's execution they were
respited until Fob. J5 and i!7 by Gov-
ernor Stone, so that their cases could
go before thdPardon Board at: its coin
ing meeting. Dormnn is still in jail
awaiting sentence. The women were
released.
Tho entire detective force is at work
on the case, but up to 10 o'clock there
was no clue to the direction the mur
derers had taken.
WARDEN'S COAT,
As Well as His Wife and Her
Clothes, is Missing.
Pittsburg, Jan. '10. I. p. in. District
Attorney John C. Haymaker had a
conference with Warden. Soffel at
noon nnd the ward on told him of his
suspicions connecting Mrs, Soffel. The
warden has ninth; inquiries nt the
homes of till of h! wife's relatives
and ho has been unabh' to Hud any
traco of her. u investigation dis
closed the fact that she hud taken all
of her best clothes with her. The war
den's overcoat Is also missing. It Is
reported that tho Ulddles took a train
at tho Fourth uvc. station of the Pan
Handle railroad which is within n
block of the jail and left for tho west.
Warden Soffel H broken hearted. He
Is completely unnerved ami with ilil
fleulty could repress his tears. It has
been known for soverul weeks that
Mrs. Soffel was biking, an Interest In
the Biddies and It is said that she
frequently furnished them with dain
ties outaldo their usual prh'on fare.
The county commissioners met this
afternoon ami offered a reward of ?.",
000 for the iccnptnre of the murderers.
AnieetiuB of tho Pron Hoard to In-
HELPE
D
vestlgatc the escape will be held at
"i o'clock this afternoon.
ARE BAD MEN.
Biddlc Brothers Arc Known In
Ohio.
Cleveland, O., Jan. '0. Edward and
John Kiddie, the men who escaped
from the Pittsburg jail today are well
known by the Cleveland police. They
are held responsible for a large num
ber of daring burglaries In this city.
Edward Kiddie has served time In the
Ohio Penitentiary and at the Indiana
Penitentiary at Michigan City.
"There arc several chaiges of burg
lary and larceny against the men in
Continued on Second Page.
CUT OFF
All War Revenue
Taxes.
Bill Favorably Reported
by Committee.
Law to Take Effect
Next July
Government Receipts Will
Greatly Reduced.
be
Washington, Jan. oO. The House
Commute on Ways and Means has,
unanimously authorized Chairman
Payne to report a tiill repealing all
the Sp'inlsh war revenue taxes except
the tax on mixed flour.
The repeal Is lo take effect July I,
ItlO-', except the duty on tea, whlehj
Is to take effect Jan. 1, 11)0:;. Chair
man Payne made a statement showing
that tho total reduction would be
$77,000,000 annually. The delay
In the repeal of the tax on tea is for
the purpose of enabling those who
have stocks on hand to dispose of them
beforo the repeal takes effect. Mr.
Payne says the counters will start
up on the next fiscal year with 174,
000,000 available cash.
One of the World's Greatest
Fortresses to Be
The Harbor
It Is the purpose- of the United States
Government to make at Charlotte
Ainuliu one of the greatest fortresses
In the world. In fact, Charlotte Auiul
lu iu the Dauish West Indies, just
purchased by this government, is call
ed In ollielal reports tho "Llttli (Jib
rnltar." The best possible coaling facilities
will be provided nt St. Thomas, and
to this Bear Atliulnil Bradford, Chief
of the Bureau of. Equipment, will give
HIS MONEY
Has Been Given to His
Party,
And Bryan Is Not Rich as He
Might Have Been.
Springfield, O., Jan. !10. Itev. X.
Hlndmun, pastor of the Presbyterian
church at Lincoln, Neb., of which
Colonel William J. Bryan Is n mem
ber, and a regular attendant, Is In the
city. When asked If Mr. Krynu would
bo it candidate for the next Demo
cratic nomination for Pi csUL'iit, lie re
plied: ' I don't think to. I believe
it Is Colonel Krynn's puipo,o. Inas
much as he has had two trials, to
stay out of the Presidential race next
.time. He is surfeited with honors, nnd
I assume Is preparing to fully enjoy
homo life, Inasmuch as lie Is now
building a country home three miles
from hincclu. It will be icady for
occupancy by the ilrst of May."
lU'garding the report that Colonel
Kryan hud growji rich lie said: "That
Is untrue. Colonel Kryan today Is not
worth fl'O.OOU While It is true that
In recent yeais he has undo quite a
good deal of money, it is also true that
he has given away n large amount of
it mostly for the benefit of his party.
Vou will recall that two-thirds of the
money realized from tho sale of his
book went into tho Democratic cam
paign fund. Money realized from
other sources and other efforts or his
were turned Into the same channel,
only to be swallowed up. Colonel
Bryan gives a lecture which pays him
fairly well, but for a man as well
known and prominent as he Is, he Is
not a rich man. On the contrary, he
is comparatively poor, anil 1 assume
he wi)l always be so, for It is not his
nature to store up wealth and sec his
fellow men suffer.'
TWO BAD MEN.
They Were Rounded Up by Deputy
Fire Warden Hart.
Deputy Fire Warden Henry W.
Hart lus returned from Martin', Fer
ry, where he succeeded In lauding two
men In jail on charge of buruiug a
burn. The night before tho barn was1
burned, four burglars invaded a home
near Martin's Ferry, and secured .f.'tOO.
Two of them, strangers, were caught.
The two men whose arrest Warden
Hart caused, are believed to be the
other robbers, and that they llred the
barn to attiact a crowd away from
the jail, front which the other two rob.
bery were to have been delivered.
of Charlotte Amalia, Island of
Immediate attentini.
An cabcrate plau of foitllication
will bo prepared by the Navy ami Ar
my eughieeis. It Is said that the Dan
ish fortifications are now iu good shape,
but the United States deslres to have
at St. Thomas a station nnd foitlli
cation Fuch as nre In contemplation
nt Olongapo, wh'i'h are to be the
most formidable hi tho east, better
limn cveu the Itusslau at Port Ar-tliur.
'" "
GOOD HUSBANDS.
Shoemakers Arc Always Such,
It Is Evident.
The fact that he was 01, while she
was 03, mndc no difference to Mr.
Chns. II. Du Rols, and Mrs. Sarah
Morris. They walked Into tho Probate
offlco with as much tlmldlly as a pair
of lovers Just budding Into manhood
and womanhood.
This Is Mrs. Morris' second cm
barkment on tiic matrimonial seas,
In this luitancc as In the former one,
alio has chosen a shoemaker as her
husband. They both live In East Ak
ron, and were married Wednesday
evening.
GUILTY.
Jury Says Howard Helped Kill
Goebel.
Fiankfort, Ky., Jan. UO.-At 11:33
o'clock the Jury in the case of Jim
Howard on trial for the assassinatioj)
of Win. tioebel, returned a verdict
of guilty against the prisoucr'and
fixed his punishments at life imprison-
THREATS
Against Litchfield
Man;
Little Child Died of
Diphtheria.
Father Refused to Allow It to
Have Medicine.
The towu of LUchticld, Medina
county, was thrown Onto an uproar
by the death of the two-year-old
daughter of John Kruggcr, a well-to-do
rainier of LUchticld, Who died
without the care of a doctor. Krug
ger is a Dowlelto and a faith curist
and would not, it is said, have a
physician in the house. Two other
children and the mother are nleo sick
with diphtheria, but Kruggcr would
not allow them to take medicine, or
a doctor to see tlii-in, it is claimed.
When the citizens of the village
heard of the child's death, feeling
ran high and a mob threatened to deal
wltn Kruggcr, lint cooler heads pre
vailed, and he was saved from vio
lence. The township trustees took a
hand In the case, however, and Dr.
Moody Is at present attending the
pntlents. The two children arc grow
ing better, but the condition of the
mother Is very critical. Feeling at
Litchfield Is very bitter .-.gainst Krug
ger, hut there Is uo longer danger of
violence toward him.
Established Here.
St. Thomas.
Admiral Dowey has been an earnest
advocate of the acquisition of the Dan
ish West Indies. When some tlmo
ago the sale of tin Danish West In
dies was token up by Seeictary liny
anil M, Brim, and removed from pri
vate bands, It was announced that Ad
miral Dewoy hail prepaied plans for
tho fortification of the Islands In eon
junction with members of the General
Naval Board. These plans an now
In the possctiiiuu of alio Navy De
partment and will Uo utilized In the
future work.
SEARCHED FOR
HIDDEN WEALT
Spiritualist Said Gold Was Buried In
the Cellar.
Isaac Crouse Dug In
Threats of
Nesting under the hill, at US WII
Hants st. Is a small cottage. Its out
side walls darkened by age and frrs-,
ioed grotesquely by contact with the
weather. It Is different within. On
every hand things ate cozy and com
fortable. This Is the home of Mr. and
.Mrs. Isaac Crouse. He Is a laborer,
aged 71, and his wife is un invnlld.-
Mrs. Crouse Is a patient woman, and
seldom complained, and njthough her
husband was obliged to Uf on sonic one
In the Imue constantly to care for his
wife and look after household affulrs,
he likewise did not complain, but
went about Ids work cheerfully. lie
and his wife are much respected in
their neighborhood.
Hut almost like the proverbial
thunderbolt from a clear sky, trou
ble came'iindiiit present a great deal
of gloom hovers over the homo. It
has added to Mrs. Crousc's illness,
and made life more tempestuous for
her husband.
A week ago Emuin Green was hired
to wait on Mrs. Crouse. Kin ma la
aged ."8, and is a spiritualist. Re
sides, she had faith In a certain for
tuneteller who did business at Bettes
Corners. And site is alleged to have
also claimed to be a medium. Through
her own powers of dlviuutlon, aug
mented by advice from the Bettes
Corner fortune-teller, Emma claimed
to have found out that long years ago
a box of gold was hid iu the cellar
All I Waait Is a.
Good Fadr Triad.
"All I wnnt is a good fair trial and
everybody to lie there," said Follcu
Patrol Operator Edward J. Itussoll.
Thursday, referring to tho charges of
his conduct -ind fal-dfyhig records,
made against him which the City
Commissioners will hear Saturday.
Mr. Russell says ho will he able to
clear himself of all the allegations
HOT TIME
FOR JOHN T.
Springfield Saloonists
Preparing It.
Alleged That the Detective Ac
cepted a Bribe.
"The Famous" John T. Norris, detec
tive, who hns been successful in se
curing Indictments against persons,
pictures and other articles, and wljo
acqulred a local fame through" his hav
ing taken the trail of the swindlers
of Houston Kepler, has stirred up a
hornets' nest at his home In Spring
field, nnd saloonkeepers there who
were recently Indicted through evi
dence secured by the "Fnmous" John
T. for keeping their places of business
open on Sunday, claim that they will
retaliate on the detective and make
a heap or trouble for him.
The saloonkeepers claim that John
T. was hired to gather uvidencc
against Itev. .M. J. Flrey, of that
place, and formerly an Akron pas
tor, and that the work was necessarily
done on Sunday.
Burnett and Iteeder, who were In
dicted by the grand Jury for running
a pool room. Insist that Norris ac
cepted a bribe of f"ir0 from them for
protecting him, and wty (hat they
can produce receipts, along with wt
nesses of the various transactions.
The Indictments lmvo stirred up a
heap of excitement In Springfield, and
the allegations against Norris linvu
added to the Interest In (he matter
there.
It l stated that John T. may re.
eelvo n telegram from Springfield at
any time, -which may read something
like the following: "Buts, blue bluzos,
greyhound, sour kraut, thunder un.l
lightning." This will mean that tuu
climate and eiivlrniiuent at Spring
Held will be loo torrid for Itejt results
and tho coutluuatlou of health fur
John X.
Vain, But Found Only
a Law Suit.
of the C'rou'e home. She told Mr.
Crouse all about It and said the
money could be obtained by digging
directly under a prop which held up
the chimney. -Mrs. Croupe objected1
to any trifling with the chimney prop,
but her husband heeded Eiumu. He
eo braced the chimney that It couldn't
full, knocked out the prop, and dug1
a deep holo iu the cellar. No money
was found. Emma, said to dig up tho
whole cellar, as It was surely there.
Mr. Crouse objected and the matter
tlroppcd. No specific sum had been
stated by the fortune-teller, but Em
ma was to have $100 for her share.
A few days after the dlgsring, Emma
again called on the Bettes Corners
fortune-teller, and upon her return
claimed to have been told that Mr.
Crouse had found the money and hid
It with a view to dprlvlDg Emma of
her share.
Of course, this was denied by Mr.
Crouse. Then Emma threatened to
sue him. It Is this threat hanging
over them that causes apprehension
nnd nervousness in the Crouse home.
But Mr. Crouse did not go after the
hidden treasure without having a
witness to his operations. His grand
son, Arthur Crouse, was with him.
"And avc will both testify that no
money was found," said the grand
father, "if I am taken Into court"
Neighbors, however, are comfort
ing them with the assurance that no
suit will ever be started.
Edward J. Russell
made against him and desires the ful
lest publicity at his hearing. If any
movement is made toward conducting
the hearing before closed doors, he will
object vigorously. Mr. Russell Is a
son of Mr. John Russell of East Ak
ron, .and his friends hope he will have
no dltllculty In making his record
clear.
ENDED.
-
Last Lecture In University Exten
sion Course.
The sixth and last lecture in tbtf
University Extension course, at thr
High school, was delivered Wednes
day evening by Prof. Jerome E. Ray
mond. Ills subject was "London,'
anil his word pictures of this wonder
ful city were greatly added to by
stcreoptlcon views. He referred to
England's wars of the past and pres
ent, and seemed In his description, of
the South African struggle to give a
slight coloring of sympathy for the
Boers. This lecture course has cov
ered a series of interesting subjects,
belnt: a de.-criptlon of six of the cap
ital cities of Europe.
GOOD REPORT. '
What Delegates Noted at Brick
layers' Convention.
.Messrs. James J. Mahony, A. J Tidy
man and Samuel Headley, delegates to
the convention of the International
Bricklayers Union, held at Pittsburg,
submitted a leport to the lueal Brick
layers' union, Vlii-day evening.
The report was .complete la
every detail, even embodying speeches
of Iten Tlllct, the English labor lead
er, and James Duncan, vice president
of the American Federation of Labor.
The International Union is iu splen
did shape. During the administration
of President Geo. T. Gibbous the mem
bership has been increased 3,111.
There are splendid prospects for In
crAsed work, and no labor troubles
are anticipated. At tho convention it
was decided to pay the president a sal
ary of 1,000 a year, far his wholo time.
Heretofore ho has received no salary.
The salary of the secretary was In
creased from 1,000 to ?l,S0O, and the
salary of the trea.urer was Increased
from 1,000 to $l,'2.i0.
The delegates were complimented
on their coniplctereiwrt, and a vote of
thanks given them.
The Weather:
CLOUDY TONIGHT: SNOW IN.
CENTBAL AND EASTERN POR
TION; FRIDAY, SLJjy ILY CLOUD?.
4.1
f
5. At.
a? J