Loading...
The Blyth Standard, 1907-10-17, Page 2MANIAC SLAYS MAN HE HAD NEVER SEEN. Attacks Stranger and Almost Beheads Him With Hatchet. New York, Oct. 14.—Crazed by twenty years of losing litigation for a small es- tate and seeing intim Goddess of Liberty statue only a menacing enemy, who rightly lighted her torch to go in pur- suit of him, Charles Knack, 62 years old, fled from Battery Park last evening, as the rays flashed out from Bedloe'a Is- land, and dashed up Broadway, waking the echoes with wild cries and brandish- ing a hilted hatchet and a double dag- ger. Folloiting at safe distance ran a grossing throng till the old man halted in the shadow of a skyecraper just north of Exchange place. Blind to the fate that stood only a few paces away, James Daniell, a night watchman guarding the ruins of the old Consolidated Exchange, walked into Broadway from Exchange place and sud- denly discovered the man standing against the building. Knack asked some question end Daniell opened his mouth to answer. At that moment the hatchet swung upon his neck, almost decapitat- ing and instantly killing him. Horror gave place to vengeance in the minds of the witnesses, and several rushed at Knack, who fled up Broadway to Wall street and then eastward to Broad street. Leading his hundred pursuers were Arnold Rutquest, of No. 17 Stone street, and T. J. Fox, of No. 1,642 Park avenue, young men who had been strolling through Broadway when the etrango procession started from the Park. Tak- ing their lives in their hands they dash- ed upon the armed and frenzied man, re- ceiving severe cuts from his dagger, but finally overpowering hien, with the aid of two men of Company E, Twelfth In- fantry, U. S. A., Corporal William J. Fleming and Private Claude Travis. Tra- vis felled Knack with an ash can, which he picked up nt the curb. Knack, trembling and crying, his head cut and his arum broken in the battle against hie captors, was disarmed and helpless. No policeman had appeared in all this thee, but Detective Richard J. O'Connor, of the Central Office, happen- ed to be in the neighborhood and ran to the struggling group, too late to do more then officially arrest Knack. Daniell was dead when Dr. Stewart, of the Hudson Street Hospital, reached him, and the surgeon gave his services to the murderer, who was taken a prisoner to the police station at No, 98 John street. There he was interrogated by Assistant District Attorney Manley and Coroner Acritolli, who were both inclined to be- lieve him a madman, though official de- termination of that phase of the affair will be left to alienists. Knack was then removed to the hospital, under arrest. Public acquaintance with Knack's state of mind began just after sundown in Battery Park, where he was seated on a bench. He began to mutter to him- self and stir uneasily as soon as the Lib- erty statue light appeared, and suddenly he jumped up, swung his hatchet about hie head and ran toward the foot 01 Broadway. In his left hand he held a long, sharp- ened bradawl, whose point stuck up, and in the salve hand a penknife, opened, with the blade sticking downward. He cut and backed at every one in hie path, and in an meta t the few persona ahead of him Were flyingyfor safety and two score or ,more took up his trail as he luted northward. The crowd grew rap- idly, and numbered A. hundred ere Knack, who 'had stopped yelling, but was still swinging hie hatchet and double dagger, reached the American Express Company building, The watchman threw some- thing at Knack, striking him on the nose end cutting it. Knack did not turn upon this man, but darted across the street and continued up the east side of Broadway. Fleming and Travis, the infantrymen, were going down to the Governor's Island ferry dock and turned to look at the wild old fel- low, not knowing the was dangerous. They waved back some persons who came out of buildings and were watching Knack when Daniell turned out from Ex- change place. He was employed by the Rhinebeck House Wrecking Co., of No. 620 Bast Fourteenth street, which is demolishing the old Consolidated Ex- change. and lived in a furnished room at No. 340 West Seventeenth street. The soldiers saw Daniell etep in front of Knack, who had backed up against the corner building. Immediately after - wand they saw the hatchet swung upon his neck and saw him go down to his death. Then they ,joined in the pursuit. Knack told a rambling story of an ar- mored goddess, who lit n light in the park every night to chase him, and said the men in Battery Park hod chased him Mat night, He said Daniell had followed kiln from the park. beating him with a club. This is manifestly untrue, as is most of the rest of Knack's story, Knack's stunt, Mrs. Maria D. Knack, of Union Hill, N. J., deeded away to her adopted daughter and the latter's hus- band, named Usher, three lots valued at $21,00, and this transfer was afterward attacked on the ground of fraud by Knack's relatives, he having been left a third of Mrs, Marie D. Knack's estate by her will. The complaint was denied by the Chancellor, Knack has been sleeping in Battery Park during the days and every night walked northward its far es he could go. IIe walked to 128th street Sunday night to get away from the "armored goddese," he said. THOUGHT THEM EASY MARKS. TWO NEW YORK YOUNG MEN'S OPINION OF CANADIANS. They Sent Out the C. P. R. Stock Bogus Letters and Expected to Reap a Big Harvest—One of the Prisoners Con- fessed and Told the Police How the Game Was Worked. New York, Oct. 14,—Lucien Mesmin and Ogden W. Coffin, two youths ar- rested last night for swindling operations in Canada, were held in $800 bail to -day, charged with practising ,law without registration. It is possible that the Federal authorities will ;,make a move seripus charge against diem in connec- tion with their use of tine; mails. The detectives who made the arrests told the magistrate that the boys had mailed to Canada at Ieaof'",1,000 copies of a letter headed L. B. 'Drummond, Attorney-at-law, 608 Slxtit'avenue, New York City," informing the Tecipient of a legacy of five shares of 0a'tadiau Pacific Railway stock, and asking1#or n fee of $6. The boys apparently4pected to avoid conflict with the law '' -try nailing the lettere in Canada, failingk,te realize the offence of receiving the ans*ers here. It is not believed that the returns from the letters were Targe, the time having been too short. Mesmin, w o is regarded as the prime mover in the conspiracy, is twenty years of age, and the son of a wealthy dress goods importer. Coffin, aged eighteen, is a high school'etudent, and lives with Ms widowed mother on Amsterdam street. Inst week complaints were. re- eeived front various places in Ca4lada demanding tie punishment of Attdb ey Leonard B. Drummond, who, the COM.' plainant stated, was attempting to evtIit- die theta. The complaints led to an investf Hon, and yesterday detectives watch at 808 Sixth avenue caught young Coff opening the letter box in which wer thirty letters addressed to Drunmmond, The young man denied nll knowledge of Drummond, but the janitor identified hint as the man be had known by that name. Then'Coffin, it is stated, broke down and oonfeased. Inst summer, according to the con- fession, his mother sent him to New Hampshire to strengthen his headth, and there he met young Mesmin, who an- nounced that all Canadians were "easy marks," and that he had n scheme to get about ten thousand dollars from them. Accordingly, upon their return the boys hired an apartment at the Sixth avenue address and began sending out their letters. From a Canadian directory they ob- tained the names of several thousand likely victims in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta. They were careful not to vio- late the United ,States postal laws, and to avoid doing this Coffin went to Mont- real last week and posted the first two hundred missives there, returning in time to attend school on Monday. No attention was paid to whether or not the persons addressed in the lettere had recently lost relatives by death. Coffin said he wanted money to pay his ex- penses at college, and $200 or $300 to buy a handsome present for his mother. Detective McConville, who made the nrreste, stated that some of the thirty letters eonfiscatel contained five -dollar bills, but many of them simply request- ed further information. 4-♦ ATTACKED BY WOLF. TORONTO TRAVELLER'S ADVEN- TURE NEAR LANSDOWNE. Lansdowne, Oct. 14.—William Black- well, n well known Toronto traveller, while out hunting three miles east of here to -day had an exciting experience with a wolf. Mr. Blackwell was return- ing to his hotel along the railway track, when something came behind liim. On locking around be saw a big wolf about thirty yards behind. He fired his only remaining stet at time animal, but un- fortunately missed his murk. This seem- eed to make the wolf more desperate, and it came towards Mr. Blackwell at a rapid pace. Mr. Blackwell had to stand still, and when the approaching beast came near enough he used the butt end of hie gun on tht animal. After a hard struggle, .in which Mr. Blackwell received some ery severe wounds from the wolf's ewe, he finally succeeded bit killing It. 'is the first wolf seen in this section of the country for several years. Peitz, a well known guide of Lame downe, will accompany Mr. Blackwell to. morrow, when they will try to find "others. ACTOR'S ADVICE. SIR SQUIRE BANCROFT STIRS LONDON CHURCH CONGRESS. He Notes Common Faults in Pulpit -- Preachers Must Cultivate Voice Production, be Impressive and Devoid of Artificlaiity. London, Oct 14.—The most crowded session' of the church congress was that addressed by Sir Squire Bancroft on the subject of the art of reading end preaching. There is nothing more deplorable in the Church of England than the utter absence of oratorical ability on the part of the average preacher. Sir " uire Bancroft said: "When we call to mind the rare cost lavished upon choral services and the pains and practice taken to acquire skill to chant the litany melodiously why isn't the same labor bestowed on teach- inss young clergymen to speak audibly? The first duty of a preacher is to make himself heard. The second is that he must be impressive and convincing. "As n humble member of various congregations I have heard many ser- mons Most of them I have entirely forgot, a few 1 will remember t.ill 1 die. Why are most sermons forgot- ten immediately? Because they are badly delivered. Why are so many of the clergy who are simple, unaffected, delightful eompaniona six days in the week clothed in artificiality on the sev- enth day? "Many preachers know nothing of voice production, using all the head notes instead of the chest notes, and in this way fall victims to the well- known clergyman's sore throat, I never heard of an actor's sore throat. "A bishop once asked David Garrido 'Can you tell me why you players who deal with romance can profoundly move an audience, while we preachers who deal with reality fail to do so?' Garrick. an- swered: 'les, It is because we players act fiction as if it were the truth, while you preachers too often speak of the truth as if it were but fiction.' "Every curate should pass an examin- ation before he is allowed to mount a pulpit. If as a critic I lave said ono word to hurt I nm sorry. If as an actor I have said one word to help I am glad." The speech was received with great enthusiasm, but while Sir Squire Ban- croft was deploring the inaudibility of the average parson the meeting was stirred to hearty laughter by repeat- ed requests to him from all parts of the audience to "Speak up!" •-• THOROLD POLICE TANGLE. Mayor Millar's Action Results in a Deadlock, St. Catharines despatch: The Thorold police tangle is worse to -day than ever. Lnat month Night Watchman Reuter was suspended by peeve McGill and Council- lor Laughlin, two of the four members of the police committee, upon complaint of Chief Slice. An Investigation followed, and last night at the council meeting McGill and Laughlin reeymmemdod that Reuter be forthwith dhachnrged. Councillor Brod erick, also member of the police com- mittee, presented a minority report re- commending the night watchman's re- instatement. Mayor Millar is a fourth member of the committee and refused to sign eith- er report, with the result that both the motion to discharge and the amendment to reinstate were lost or 0 tie vote, anti to -day Reuter remains suspended with his future in obscurity. IRELAND i0 VANCOUVER, Marconi's Great Alm in Wireless Telegraphy: Halifax, Oct. 14.—Within a few days Mr, Marconi will be prepared to flash messages across the Atlantic at one-half of the present cable rates,'and then. the inventor of wireless telegraphy ivill turn kis attention to transmitting aerial messages from Cape Breton to the sta- tion he proposes erecting in Vancouver, from which the next step will be sending messages direct from Ireland to the Pa- cific slope That this is possible Mr. Marconi is confident, and he is just as confident that eventually he will be able' to encircle the globe. however, this is something he has not arrived at yet, and when your correspondent asked if the story that he had communicated with the Philippine Islands from Cape Breton was correct the inventor laughed. "It is absolutely Incorrect," said he. "There is no station in that region with trans- mission power to send a mesage here," supplemented Mr, Vivian, manager and engineer of the Marconi Company of Canada. ♦r• Bigelow's Confession. Denver, Col., Oct. 14.—Kemp V. Biges. low, arrested yesterday for sending in- fernal machines through the malls to Governor Bechtel, David 13. Moffatt and C. 13. Kountz, confessed to -day that lack of money was the impelling motive of his acts. He said he had conceived the idea of sending the dynamite, after warring the recipients, in the hope that be would thereby become a hero and reap financial reward from the wealthy, whose lives he would save, He detailed a trip to Eldorado, where he secured the dynamite, and said that he constructed the machines Sunday and mailed thein. He also planted 51 sticks of dynamite in the rear of Edward Chase's residence, and then notified the police that he overheard two men plot- ting to blow up the place and kill Bueh- tel, Moffat and Kountz. Bigelow has been turned over to the federal authorities. MRS. CASSIE CHADWICK DYING; ATE TOO MUCH RICH FOOD. Has Joined the Roman Catholic Church and Made Her Will. Columbus, 0., Oct. 14.—Mrs. Cassie Chadwick, the bank wrecker, to -day is reported much worse at the woman's ward at the Ohio Penitentiary, where she is serving a ten-year term, Her pulse weakened and ole is partly delirious, Physicians are making preparations to attempt to stay any sinking spells. They decline to say how long she may survive. Mrs. Chadwick has been confined to her bed since the first severe Attack, about three weeks ago, when, while talk- ing to her son, she collapsed and was unconscious for some time. It was at first hinted that she was "playing off" in order to excite sympathy and secure a pardon, but within a few days it was known that her case was serious, and she was placed under the constant care of the prison physicians. IIer trouble is due to heart failure and weak stomach, the latter, according to the physicians, being caused by indulging in rich food. She made profession of the Roman Cath- olic faith yesterda}•, and the rite of baptism was administered to her by Rev. Father Francis Kelly, the Catholic chap- lain of the State Prison. The ceremony was performed as she lay upon her bed. Her son, Emil Hoover, of Cleveland, WAR with her to -day, learning that his mother had made her will and was pre- pared for the end. GUILTY OF MANSLAUGHTER. TRIAL OF ENGINEER MURRAY STEPHENS AT ST, THOMAS. Prisoner's Statements—Former Al. laged Admissions Denied on Oath —Crossing Watchman and Sec- tiomman Contradict Engineer. St. Thomas despatch: Murray Stephens, who was engineer on She Wabash thea- trical special which collided with the C. P.,R. passenger train at the diamond crossing east of the city on August 24, 190d, resulting in the death of two train- men, was to -day found guilty by the jury at the Assizes on both counts of indictment, wilful neglect of duty'infail- Ing to stop the train on the approaching diamond crossing, and occasioning griev- ous bodily harm to C. P. 11. trainmen, Stephens will be sentenced to -morrow, being in the meantime out on $2,000 bail. The evidence was strong against Ste- phens, and it took the jury only half an lour to reach the verdict, Most damaging was the admission of two statements made by Stephens him- self shortly after the accident. One was at the inquiry before Superintendent Cuninglan to the effect that he never looked for the semaphore on the day of the collision, and the other wan nt the inquest, when he declared he did not step before crossing the diamond and never intended to. Stephens took the stand en his own defence and contradicted both of these statements, dcelared he did see the sema- phore when it was set against him, that he sad put on the air brakes and redueed the speed until the signal was given him, No sooner had he released the air brakes than, he declared, the signal was again thrown up ngabnst him, and, look- ing down the track, he saw the home sig- nal also against him. When he tried to reapply the brakes the air was gone, and the use of sand failing to have ef- fect he jumped and the train sped on to its doom. Hie evidence in this particular was corroborated by Fireman Potts, but Croesinl Watchman Aare and Section - mail Wilcox both swore positively that the semaphore had never been lowered, and the train did not at any time reduce its speed. Stephens admitted having taken the train 110 miles in 107 minutes, and al- though on the road fifteen years, had never stopped a train at the crossing where, the accident occurred unless a C. P. R. train was at the diamond first. HANGMAN LOSES HIS JOB. Van Hise's Noose, Which Killed 76 Persons, Ousted by Electric Chair. Trenton, N. J., Oct. 14.—lames Van Hise, of New Jersey, is out of a job, and the twenty-one sheriffs of New Jersey have: been rid of a duty that hat been for` years one of the drawbacks to an otherwise desirable office by the com- pletion of the installation of en electric chair at, tole New Jersey State Arian in which' condemned murderers will be put to death , 1t is likely that the first man to be put to death in the chair will be Michael Taonosi, of Libertyville, who was eonvicted`of the inurder-;pf Mrs, Delia Congellio last May. Probably the next will be Charles Gibson and Stephen Dor- sey, who were-convicte? loot week in Camden county of the murder of Mrs. Natoli. For many years James Van Hise hap been making his living by 'relieving the sheriffs of the different counties` of the; task of carrying out the law's severest decrees. Sheriffs are allowed $500 each for a hanging, but Van Hise has been doing the jobs at cut rates, from $250 up. Van Hise tried several year' ago to have himself appointed the official "hangman" of the State, and he also lob- bied strenuously against the passage of the hill providing for the electric chair. Van Hise's father and grandfather were hangmen, but some years ago the igno- miny of his occupation reflected so strongly against his children that they almost persuaded 11110 to give it up. 11e had practically decided to do so when he invented a method of adjusting Ike fatal noose so as to break the peck of the victim, this giving hien so much en- couragement that he determined to eon- tbnue his grewsonte business. Van Hiss's first victim was Bridget Dorgan, a Middlesex county woman who was hanged forty-five years ago. Tho sheriff of Middlesex county wanted to get out of the job, and as the county had no gallows Van Hise's father, a ship- builder, was engaged to construot one. The Van Rises, father and son, conduct- ed the hanging, James Van Rise has officiated at the hanging of sevonty-five persons, seventy- three men and two women. Some of these were in New York, where he frequently served as hangman before the adoption by that State of the electric chair A SAD STORY. Girl Sentenced for Life, But Did Not Know It. Cleveland, Oct. 14,—Tears stood in the eyes of the twelve men who as jurors in the trial for second degree murder of Maria Bennardn to -day brought in to Judge Schwan's courtroom a verdict of guilty against the girl, which means that only 18 years old now, she must spend the rest of her life behind the bars for killing Rafeale Barbeto, who, she said, bought her for $100, then failed to pay, but sought to take"Tier by stealth. Uncomprehending for she knows no English, and the court interpreter was absent, the girl was led bask -to her cell. There, later in the afternoon her attorney conveyed through too cuter - ureter the meaning of the. tears in the jurors' eyes. The Lawyer says she neither cried nor voiced complaint, only turned on her heel and marched back to her cell oat, A motion for a new trial will be brought, The girl had been living with an old man and when Barbato tried to climb into her room she shot him. She had pneviouelly refused to marry him be- cause he did not have the $100 which her old lover demanded in payment for surrendering her. -4. WHOLESALE WHOLESALE ROBBERY. Michigan Central Officer Located the Goods. St, Thomas despatch: For some time past the wholesale robbery from cars on the M. C. R. has been going on, and W, H. Beal, Myrtle street, a ear re- pairer, was suspected. Yesterday M. C. R. Officer D. Monyhan of Niagara Falls issued a search -war- rant, and with 'Police Constable E, Moy lan searehed and found about $200 worth of stuff stolen from M. C. R. cars, which was hidden from the cellar to the attic. There were kodake, cameras, tube, and crocks of butter, pails and cans of lard, whiskey, ,tobacco, jellies, curtains, clothes, eta The stuff recovered fills one of the cages in the lock-up at the city hall. While the search was going on, Officer Monyhan told Mrs. Beal to go and bring her husband. She wort, but that is the last seen of Mr. Beal. A warrant has been issued for his arrest. POULTRY AND APPLES. Big Market in England for Cana• dian Produce. Ottawa, Oct. 14.—Canada's commercial agent at Leeds reports to the De- partment of Trade and Commerce that prospects are unusually bright for high prices and a good market for Canadian turkeys, chickens and apples in England this fall and winter. The English crap of apples is very small this year, and Canadian sources of supply will be the main dependence of the English dealers. ale also notes that there is a good opening in Leeds and Sheffield for the Canadian manufacturer to supply wood- en handles for cutlery, tools, eta * WAR FOR AN INSULT. Japan Would Spend Last Penny to Uphold Dignity. Yokohama, Oct. 14.—Count Okuma, leader of the Opposition, discussing the statements made by Mr. Taft when he was in Tokio, says it is difficult to un- derstand the transfer of the United States fleet to the Pacific, but lie be- lieves the matter can be settled arnica- bly. Japan, although financially die - tressed, would go to war to -morrow with any Power if her national pride were insulted. Her citizens would spend their last penny to uphold her national dignity. 125 ELECTRIC CARS BURNED By Big Fire In New York Street Railway Car Sheds. New York, Oct. 14.—Hundreds of lives, were endangered, thousands of persons were thrown into panic, 120 electric curs used on several cross town lines were ,destroyed, and property loss to the ex- tent of $400000 was caused by a fire iu the Fourteenth street ear barns to -day, '`aa( The service on the cross town ear lines was hampered to -day and will not be put. on a normal basis until a sufficient uuni- ber of ears` to replace those Mlestroyed can be drawn from the other city lines. The fire had gained great, headway be- fore it was discovered, and when the firemen arrived. the adjoining tenement houses were cleared of tenants. Chief Croker led a big squad of men to the fourth floor of the burning car' barns. Their work was just beginning to - tell when the great steel girder -s, whieh supported the floor above, where 125 electric carp were stored, began to twist. and bulgeunder the intense heat. Crolc- er roai1ed to the men to run for their lives., - Lets tan a minute after the list man had reached a rope pot in place for the elnergeney, the fifth floor came down with a crash. A few minutes lat- er the Fourteenth street wall of the bnddwg fell into the street. lire flumes in the barn and several adjoining fume- f� meats, which had caught fire, were then subdued. ERIE DIRECTORS. Script Dividend Declared to be for - Best Interest. New York, Oct. 14.—Geo. F.''Baker,. William 0. Lane, John G,•,,MeCuls lough and Alexander E. Urr'4v8cre'jre- elected directors at the annual meeting of the stockholders of the Erie Railroad Company to -day. Several stoci holdera,t requested the reason for the deela•dtioh <p¢ahe recent dividend in script, to which ' President Underwood replied that the ,'directors of tiro road had acted "in the best interests of the stockholders." TWO YEARS INSTEAD OF TEN. Sentence of Broker Edwards Reduced at Winnipeg. Winnipeg, Oct 14.—Tho case of the' King vs. Edwards, the fraudulent stock broker, who was sentenced recently to tern years by Pollee Magistrate Daly, was resumed in the Court of Appeals this morning. Judge Richards, in pro- nouncing sentence, said he did so with a good deal of hesitation. Ile held that judicially they must treat the crime as a first offence. At the same time it was very serious. The accused wits not it young man, and the question of his age was considered. The sentence was that he should be imprisoned in Manitoba Penitentiary for two years and then dis- charged. TWO SCHOONERS WRECKED. Loss of the Erie Stewart and Ontario im Lake Erie. Chatham report: Wm•d WAS received in the city to -day that the schooners Erie Stewart, owned by John Piggott 1 Sons, and the Ontario, owned by Cap- tain Grenville, had been lost during the gale last night on the breakwater at Champton Island, near Southampton. The vessels left Chatham on Wednesday last for Parry Sound district. The On- tario was loaded with; hay, and the Erie was light. I3o11h are total losses. The crows were forced to spool an un- enviable night on the breakwater, but Inc all safe The Erie Stewart was a vessel of about 175 tons, and aver- aged about 175,000 feet of lumber for cargo. The other vesselis smaller. VANCOUVER ISIOT CASE. A. W. Reid Sentendtd to Six Months in Jail by:?. M. Vancouver, Oct bel, A. W. Reid, tine first of the rioters' cases, was disposed of nt the Assize Court to -day. The police testified that 110 had thrown a stone that broke a window: The defence was that Reid had suffered a sunstroke, wits highly emotional and easily carried away by excitement. Ile was found guilty and eentcnced to six months in jail. G. T. P. AT FORT WILLIAM, Forty Miles of Track Laid West and'a1 Trains Running. Fort Williatn, Oct. 14.—Nearly forty miles of track have been laid 'west of Fort William on the Grand. Trunk Pa- cific, and trains are running daily. The weather has greatly handicapped oper- ations, only a dozen really good days. having been experienced since July. Mr. Knowlton, division engineer, reports plenty of material available. Rev. J. D. Freeman, of Toronto, has accepted n call to the pastorate of the Belvoir Street Baptist Church, Leicester, England.