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VOLUME 1 0 N UMKftB 2-10.
AKHOST. OHIO, SATURDAY fiVJKNlNa. FEBRUARY 1, H)02.
PRICE ONE CENT.
DYING IN JAIL
"We Could Have Escaped
But For the Woman."
They Tried to End Their Lives When
Capture Was Certain.
Erring Wife of Warden Soffel Gave Her Husband
Chloroform.
Bullotln.-Butler, Pa., Fob. 1. 1:20 J
p. m. The Biddies arc believed to be
dying, and,- contrary to expectations,
Jnek may pass away first.
lnllaniatlon lias set In, In bis bowels,
which were torn to pieces, with bullet
wounds, and It Is said he cannot live
long.
Ed Biddle is in a dying condition.
He is in convulsions and tlio death
rattle has been detected In his throat.
Mrs. Soffel has" developed pneumonia
and her condition Is more serious than
ever.
Butler, Pa., Feb. 1. Corneiefl on
a snow-covered highway, seven- miles
from here, the two fleeing Biddies,
with their accomplice, Mrs. Kate Sof
fel, gave battlo j'esterday afternoon,
just at dusk to. three Pittsburg detec
tives. The fugitives were all -wounded,
vanquished and captured. .The olllcors
of the law did not receive a scratch.'
Mrs. Soffel was wounded at the lirst
shot, according to her own statement.
The battle raged along a roadside, and
Winchesters, shotguns and revolvers
were used. The Biddies were defiant
to the last, and only succumbed from
"Ipss of blopd after the officers shot In
to them at close range. The capture
was uiado at about 5 o'clock at a point
seven miles northwest of hcie,vpu lie
Now Castle road, between Mt. Chest
nut and Prospect. Previous to that
time the Pittsburg officers, had sever
al times secured a trace of the fu
gitives and had parsed them at Mt.
Chestnut. The detectives made In-
uulrles at n point within 2W yards of
where the trio was slopping to gel din
ner. The detectives -went on to Pros
pect after scouring every road in the
vicinity, ajul theie they telephoned to
eveiy surrounding town. Tl.ey ,clo
phoiic'd to Mt. Chestnut and secured
the Information that the suspects had
taken dinner there and were Just about
leaving. .lumping Into the hlelgh with
which they had come from Butler, and
lor which a fiesh team had previous
ly been engaged, the party started
back ut full speed lor Mt. Chestnut.
The Biddies and the party of detectives
jnw each other about the same time.
The light which followed was" fun
of sensational Incidents. (
After being almost killed the two
men and the woman were taken to
Butler, the men placed in jail and Mrs.
Soffel in a hospital.
Mrs Soffel is resting easy. Her only
wound was Mnadc by a bullet which
penetrated the left breast within an
Inch of the nipple. It was from a
calibre revolver and coursed around
the fifth rib on the left side, lodging
under the shoulder blade.
About it o'clock doctor G. K. MeAdoo
operated on her, removing the, bullet.
l Mrs. Soffel tells two different' htor.
les of the shooting, one to the effect
that she shot herself during the light
and the other that sho was shot by
Edward Biddle. Thu bullet did not
go through her outer garment, which
Indicates that the shot vns Hied by
herself or by Biddle by putting his
hand under her coat. A legal battlo
is expected when the Pittsburg author
ities arrive today. It Is said the only
way the I'lttsburgers will be able to
beeure tho Biddies will bo by a writ
of habeas corpus. Tho Butler author
ities will light against their being tuk-
Declined to Pay Fire
Insurance, Claiming That
Liquor Was Kept In the House.
Tlio caso of Mr. Llsszlo Veon vs. thu
British Merchant Insurance Co., which
has been pending in Common Pleas
Court for somu time, .was on Friday
marked settled at plaintiff's cost.wlth
out record. The contention was over
n tiro lusurtiuco policy. Mrs. Veon
conducted a hotel, known as tho "Kid
ney ITouse," In Stow township. The
building was Insured, It Is said, upon
condition that uq liquor bo kept In It.
en away
From tho statement made last night
by Biddle, dying In his cell, It is evi
dent the escaped convicts nnd their ac
complice had aranged to commit sui
cide lu case capture became imminent.
In addition ".lack" also told how they
escaped. Thu manner of getting out
of jail, aec6rdlng to his statement was
'as has already been published, lie
Bays Mrs. Soffel helped them to escape,
but would not say that she supplied
the saws. The sawing of thu bars of
tho cells, he says, was completed -Ian
uary 14, and that several times pre
vlous to the day on which the escape
was made their plans failed through
some little detail. "Jack" again, le
iteratcd that he never killed anyone
and that he never put a bullet into any
one except Keeper Reynolds. He said
the lirst crime he over eommlttifV
.was assisting, to" rob a liquor store at
... -..., .......tii-.i 11...1 i .i
Carnegie, win. uuiiiuifu inm "v ""
participated in number, of robberies
after that. After they had left tho jail
they went to a house near a railroad
In Pittsburg. They remained there all
of Thuisday. The peoplo in the house,
"Jack" said, when they read of the es
cape frgni the Jail roeoguizcd'theni uud
would only let them 'remain after the
Biddies gave Uioimu JijlVueh of ihouey."
They remained: - uUlhe house until.
Thursday night. ' ' ' ,
Leaving it us soon as it grew dark.
Jack says he wanted to stay there, and
that Ed was also wlllhig to stay, but
that "the womnu! was nervous uud
afraid they Would 'bo caught.
"1 wouldn't let them -go alone," Jack
said, "and as soon as it grow dark, we
went down the street, and toqk a
Perrysvllle live, ear, Wo rode to tho
end of the line and from theie walked
until we reached tho farm whore wo
stole tho horse. If 'it had not been tor
the woman we we-uld not have been
caught, for we could easily have got
ten another horse, aud by this time
been more than 100 miles away. It's
a lead pipe cneh that we could have
escaped Hut wo 'could nut let that poor
woman' go by lierself. Sim did all' she
could for us betiaycd her husabnd,
deserted her family all to help us out,
and wo would lmvo been a great deal
worse than we,arc thought to be, it we
had thrown her down. "
"Vhen we saw the officers coming to
ward us ontjic road, wo knew it was
all up. We did not fire a. shot at tho
officers but agreed to kill ourselves. 1
shot myself in the mouth."
"Ed shot himself over the heart and
Uio woman shot herM'jf lu the breast
We knew we luul'iio chance to get
away and we knew we would swing if
taken back and that Is why we .vanted
to kill ourselves."
Pittsburg, Feb. 1. District Attorney
John C. Haymaker, left for Butler at
J0:15 this morning. Ho stated that ho
did not think he would havo any dim
eulty in straightening out the tangle
at Butler in connection with tho ar
rest of the Biddies aud also said that
If Jt was at all feasible the Biddies
would bo removed to this city at the
earliest posslblo moment.
The declaration by Edward Biddle
that hn did not shoot Detective Fitz
gerald and was not Implicated In the
Kahney murder is given no credence
.by Superintendent of Police Deinmel
Not long after the policy was obtained
tho building burned down, but the In
surance company declined to pay tho
pulley, claiming that It had been dis
covered that liquor had been kept lu
the house. Mrs. Veon denied this ami
brought suit to obtain payment of
tho policy. In the Hettlonient she re
ceived nluiort tho full amount of tlio
policy, but wiia cbllged to pay the
costs.
and Detective Kelly.
Former Warden Soffel has mado the
btartllng revelation fthat he had been
under the Influence of chloroform dur
ing the night when tho Biddies broko
Jnll. lie believed the anaesthetic, was
admlnlstred by his wife ' The Butler
officers demand half the reward of $.",
000 and in order to, hold the prisoners
warrants were sworn out for the Bid
dies, charging them with felonious
shooting, In attempting to kill Mis.
Soffel. District Attorney Haymaker
says the position taken by tho Butler
officials is wholly untenable.
As there is nothing to hold Mrs.
Soffel as ii prisoner Mr. Haymaker will
prefer charges upilnst her of felonlops
assault and battery and assisting pris
oners to escape from a' place of con
fntemcnt. Kubelik's Luck.
Chicago, Feb. 1. When .Ian Kubo
llk, draws his bow across his violin
this afternoon lit' will ,be richer by
nearly .?22,0Q0 for his four concerts In
Chicago 'and records of the Auditorium
theater will bo broken.
Pouring; Through
Can&I Valley,
Sweeping Away Lives
and Property.
i 'it
Picture Painted by an
. Akronian.
Mr. Buchtel Not Alarmed by the
Prospect.
Tlio valley of .the canal flooded, the
rubber shops inundated, houses swept
away, ami many people oiowucu hj-
ii flood lining the valley from Water
st. to Main st. this Is the picture
painted by an Akron man In writing
to BepresentatlvcWin. Buchtel asking
that he use his Influence to see that
tho reservoirs south of the city shall
not be converted Into public parks and
the like. He contends that some far
mer or other person for splto, or some'
such reason, might cut the reservoir
embankments and iet loose a flood of
water from the reservoirs and Long
lake which would sweep, all before It.
"Fiddlesticks," said Mr. Buellel.
"There would be no such danger, but
for that matter the hill introduced
does not apply to any of our local
lakes or public laifds."
Mi Buchtel re'tuined from Colum
bus, Friday evening. Speaklngof the
bill to abandon the canal, he said ho
did not believe It would pabs, much
as many peoplo desire It. 'lie has In
view a measure providing for a com
mission to appraise and sell hi parcels
tho canals and State lauds, If the bill
goes through, u member of thu pio
posed body to bo the State Engineer,
Mr. Chin-leu 13. Perkins. Mr. Buchtel
says the canal waters are necessary
to Akron and her factories and must
be secured to this elty whenever the
canals bliall bo abandoned.
FLOO
I H&.ve Absolute Faith In
, Future, S&.ys
J. Plcrpont Morprnn utands on record
as a staunch believer lu a contluunnuo
of the country's prosperity. When ask
ed If he thought tho turn had been
reached, hL Mild:
"Such a question scarcely neqds an
answer, for the facts speak for them,
selves. The phenomenal prosperity of
tho country Is so self-evident that you
j have tho answer to your very liand.
More: not only Is the prosperity bfre,
but all thu signs, all the piomlses, nil
tho indications are that It Is hero fQr
t u long UuJe' to come. I have absolute
USED GASOLINE
IN A LAMP.
A Mistake, But Fortunately, the
Damage Was Small,
Thp mistake of using gutolliio In a
lamp, under the impression that It. was
oil, very nearly, resulted lu a serious
lire aL PJ08 South Broadway, Friday
evening, at (1:1-. One explosion oc
curred, and tho tlreineli averted anoth
er by pitching a lamp from the house.
The explosion vwis' lnthe lesidence of
Mr. Aaron Hubler, and lire depart
ments 4 and 0 responded to the ahum.
The life was soon put'out, and dam
age done "amounted to bcaively more
than .flu.
AKRON TOm
HAVE LARGEST
Delegation at "Municipal League
Meeting.
(Special Correspondence.)
Colulnbus, O., Feb. lMt Is expected
that at least thirty cities and towns
of the Stale will be represented at tho
annual meeting' of .the Ohio League of
Municipalities, which is to be held
here next Tuesday; Wednesday and
Thursday. Despite tin: fact that Cleve
land, Clnelnuatl, Tok'do and Dayton
will all send delegates, the largest
delegation Is looked for from Akron,
Secretary Griffin saying thatdic expec!.
ed there would bo at lejist -" delegates
present from the metropolis of Sum
mltt'county. 'tj,
Xeniu lias given notice that the next
meeting Is wanted there, and .Mayor
I.lnklmrt of that city, will bo a can
didate for president of tho League.
LARGEST
Attendance thelligh School Mas
Ever, Had.
Professor Koney, of Chicago, who
trains tho "Honey,, hoys" and several
large bo$- choirs iil7CiiTeaRoV'ltddressod
the pupils of the High school Wed
nesday afternoon. Ills talk was par
ticularly .directed b (he training of
boys' voices,
Both High schoJ societies have
started lu With uuutuully bright pros
pects for thorterm. The Academic so
ciety Initiated '22 lew member's and
the Pllllonia'thean Jli. This Is tho
largest number of new members that
has been received Into tho boeletles
for several years.
Tho High sehooi this term is
crowded to its utmost .capacity. The
number of pupils actually attending
Is greater than It out has been.
The chapel has been reseated, so as
to bccuro the best results In music.
Each pupil Is assigned a definite seat
which lie Is to retain throughout the
term.
GATES HAS
MADE A MILLION
By Getting Hold of Links Wanted
by the Pool
Now York, Feb. 1. John W. Gates
has made another coup and is said In
cidentally to have made n million dol
lars, perhaps more, by the sale of n
group, of ro.ids to the big railroad
pool Tho Morgan-Hill group. lie In
dheetly has become the medium
through whom unilrol of certain
"Link" railroad., of tho Mississippi
and Missouri A'nllcys has been obtain
ed for the Buillngtoii, The dral is
said to Involve SIO.OOO.OOO In money
and more In railroad securities.
J, P. MORGAN.
"MY CONFIDENCE
HAS BEEN ABUSED
ORGANIZED.
Barberton and Norton Democrats
Arranging Primaries,
Democrats of Barbcitou and Norton
township organized Friday night to
make arrangements for holding the
spring prlmailes. W. A. Mm ton was
elected president; James McNumara,
secretary, nnd A. J. husk, treasurer.
An Executive committee composed of
two members from each ward In the
village and four from the township
was also elected, as follows, with W.
A. Morton, as chairman: Ward A,
Manuel Wcrntz, John It. Davis; B,
Win. Mitchell, Moses Hastings; C,
John Paul, Wm. 1). I'rtitziiuin; D,
A. A. Alt, Ceo. Weyrick; .from the
township, Dr. S. S, Wagner, Fred J.
'Hies, Jr., John Wiser, John Mencer.
A meeting will be held Wednesday
evening, Feb. 12, to bet u date for
holding the primaries.
Pathfinder's New
President.
Succeeded the Late N.
R. Stelner.
He Has Long Been jnterested In
the Order.
Mr. U. F. Hourlct was 'chosen Su
prcrue president by' the trustees of the
Pathfinder at their 'meeting Saturday,
to fill tho vacancy caused by tho
death of the late N. 11. Stelner. T.
Harvey Smith, of Mussillou, treasurer
of Stark county, was chosen to 1111
the place vacated by the promotion of
Mr. Hourlct, "who was formerly Su
preme outside guide.
Mr. Hourlct Is ope of Akron's most
prominent younger business men, be
ing connected witli the Akron Iteulty
Co. He was an intimate friend of Mr.
Stelner and will proyo u worthy suc
cessor. The new trustees of the Pathfinder
are: C. C. Berry, Fred E. Smith, Dr.
W. C. Jacobs, C. A. Stebblns and U.
F. Doiulet.
PRIMARIES
Will
be Arranged For In Two
Weeks.
The Republican County Executive
Committee will meet In Walsh block
Fob IB,' at 1 p. in. to arrange for the
primary election in April.
NEW CHOIR
Will be
Led by Mrs.
Marvin.
Frances
A new choir was organized at the
West Congregational church Friday
evening to be led by Mrs. Frances Mar
vin, who will also ho the soloist at this
church the coming year. Mrs, Marvin
and the choir will have charge of the
music at the church tomorrow.
the
J. P.
fnlth lu the future,"
"As to recessions, as to sct-baeks,
wheie is there sign of anything ills
cotiraglngV There Is enough business
already hi hand to keep the country
busy for a year to come.''
W. C, T. U. Meeting.
The regular meeting of the Woman's
Christian Temperaiice Union will be
held at the rooms .Monday afternoon
at !J o'clock. Mrs, A. B. Coats will havo
charge of the devotional services and
.Mrs. Kelly Hays will read a paper
descriptive of the wolk of tho W. 0.
T. U. - -"
HOURiET
A General Shaking
Department
The Result of Charges Against Operator
Russell Will be the Beginning.
"If my charges against Patrol Oper
ator Edward J. Itussell arc proven
true," said Chief of Police Durkln,
Satuiday morning, "the result will be
merely an Incident in n general cru
sade I am about to make for better
police service. Heretofore, I have had
little worry over the conduct of the
olllcers, owing to the fact that I had
abundant confidence In them. It is
now plain that my confidence has been
abii'-ed, and It Is only with a view to
the proper discharge of my duties that
I have begun a crusade.
"Mr. Itussell is accused of neglect
of duty and falsifying records of re
ports of men on beats. It has been
complained that some of the officers
on beats havo not been serving full
time, that they have occnslonally
knoeked off earlier than nsnal, and
that the .records showed that they
had rung up regularly. This is wjmt
Is aimed at In the charge of falsifying
recoids. Xow, If my charges against
Mr. Iflissell rfre Sustained, It w.lll also
be self-evident that other officers arc
guilty of misconduct."
It is known that some vigorous com
plaints have been mnqe by letter to
the Board of City Commissioners
against certain officers, but all such
letters have been promptly turned
over to the Chief of Police. In some
Instances the attention of such officers
WILL MEET
Summit and Mahoning County Representatives
to Get Together.
Bepresentatives Wm. Buchtel and C.
F. Seese plan to meet the lteprcsentn
tives of ilahonlng county In Colum
bus, Monday night, and discuss with
them a new form of government for
Akron and Youngstown., In case the
Pugh-Klbler bill, giving a new form of
governinent to all cities, does not
become a law, which is considered un
likely. "Our general Idea Is," said Mr.
Buchtel, Saturday, "to frame for Ak-
I"
Fountain Pens Add
To the Cost of the
Gefneral Assembly of Ohio.
(Special Correspondence.)
Columbus, O., Feb. 1. Legislatures
come high, mighty high, but we must
have 'em, at least the people seem to
think so. The present General Assein.
hly has been In session just four
weeks and ?5(!,000 has already been
appropriated for "contingent expen
ses," that Is for the payment of tho
members' salaries and mileage and tho
And a Normal Supply
to Local
Hut It is thought the sec-saw play of
the natural gas Is at an end, "with the
victory on our side." After answering
about 11,000 questions, in n non-com-mittal
way, the clerks at the East
Ohio lias Co.'s ofllco weie able to an
swer at u:ao Friday morning; 'It's
on again." And Manager Terry said:
"The break In the main seven miles oil
the other side of tho Ohio river, has
been permanently lepalved. Tlo gas
was turned on ut half-past nine lu (ho
morning and by night the supply will
be normal. 1 trust that all our pat
rons will uno great cine to avoid ac-
Idents, mid I think that within n few
days tho service will lui nil rigui
again."
Many caM suppers were cen Frl-
-CHIEF OF POLICE DURKIN.
Up of the Police
Promised.
have been called to the complaints
against them, and if circumstances
wilt-routed It, they have been, repri
manded. In most Instances, the let
ters have been signed, but the signers
when requested to do so, would not ap
pear to stand by their charges.
There is a disposition ameng some
of the older officers to accuse that a
number of Uie latest additions to thu
force believe themselves to have ac
quired their lKisitlons wholly through
political "pulls," and to Imagine them
selves guarded against punishment for
any minor offense they might com
mit. In view of this, an effort will be
made to show that although polities
may figure In getting a man on tho
force, It will not bo suffered to In
tel fere with Ids service.
Mayor W. B. Doyle, when spoken to
with reference to these matters, de
clined to give mi expression of opin
ion. "I have been watching the Itussell
case," he said, "and as It may be nec
essary for me to make-a recommenda
tion later, It would be impolitic for mo
to express, nn opinion now."
Hearing of charges against Operator
Itussell, to have been held Saturday,
nt 1:.'!0 p.m., has licen postponed to
Monday. Mr. Kussell sent a certificate
from his physician, stating that he1
was physically unable to attend a trial
Saturday. He was taken sick sudden
ly In the morning.
TO
ron and Young-town a bill changing
the form of government for the two
cities so as to have the City Commis
sioners elected Instead of appointed,
reducing their number to two or three
and making the Mayor an ex-ofilclo
member of the Board. I believe that
some such law can be enaeted and,
should the Pugh-Klbler bill pass, it
will supplant anything else that may
have been done and no Injury can re
sult and no cxpeuse will have been
incurred."
solarles of the small army of em
ployes. Even this amount does not
cover near all tlio expenses, for there
Is still some money due the members.
Then there is n bill of abont ?.ri00 for
fountain pens, with which every one
of the members has been supplied.
These pens cost $.'1.30 each, and it Is
the lirst time In the history of tho
State that they have been supplied to
all the Legislators.
E
Is Promised This Evening,
Consumers.
day evening, and breakfasts were lit
tlo better. In many Instances peoplo
had to go to bed earlier than usual
to keep warm. Many people have gone
back to coal, and tlio Akron (ia.s Co.
has been receiving orders almost by
the hundreds. .
Funeral of Edwin McCauley.
The funeral services of Edwlii Mc
Cauley, a prominent citizen of Hud
son, who died of Blight's disease Wed
nesday evening, were held Saturday
afternoon. Mr. McCauley was CO
years old.
The Weather:
OEXEHALLY
AND SUNDAY,
FAin TONIGHT
HXOErX SNOW
NEAR LAKES,
A
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1
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