Loup City Northwestern
VOM -Mi; XXIX._ LOUP CITY, NEBRASKA, THURSDAY, MAY 25, 1911. NUMBER 29.
IMPORTANT NEWS
NOTES OF A WEEK,
-ATEST HAPPEMN&6 THE WORLD
O^ER TOLD IN ITEMIZED
FORM.
EVENTS HERE AND THERE
Condensed into • Fen Line* for the
Ptou of tne Bus/ Man
Latest Pe*»oral Infor
mation.
Washington
Seer*- mz; at State Kncx has finished
s draft at the arbitration pact for the
l uied Blairs sad has eafemitied H M
the British and French sHtbaasadors.
• • •
Secretary MacVeagb Invited popu
lar .- ubarn pours to a S50.M6.M0 issue
■at cavsimmaat hoods to reimburse the
treasury frteni fund for expenditure
an account of the Panama canal The
government * Announced Intention is
to give preference ta small bidder*
• • •
Domestic
President Taft ha* signed a proc
lamation establishing tbe Harney ns
tiema. forest in South Dakota. It
embraces isl>28 arre*. formerly In
tbe Black Hill* forest, and 58.727
acres taken from tbe public domain.
m m m
Chester. XU., lay* claim to tbe cham
p«m tr*--cream eater erf tbe state. On
a »age- Henry J. Heine, eraser of a
back Lae. ate um gallon in IS min
ute*
e e e
James Eliott, a structural iron
a other of Pmsbur* appeared before
labor leader* there and made an al
leged cosfeasioe. In abtrb be charged
tJSrer* of tbe National Erectors' a*
sorts'.-n. and detectives employed by
It arlth tbe wrecking of buticing* con
stmeted by non union labor.
• • •
Fire which for an hour endangered
tbe entire Kan a a* City stockyard* aad
the Live Stock Exchange building <3e
stroyed sheep peat covering a square,
burned I MP sheep aad partly de
stroyed two mote barn*
• • •
Fetlsetr a the bringing of 1» -arts
ukm! lurmer state banks at Okla
homa w hick have ~nationalized" since
the re-eot special one per cent a»
w-asment for the guaranty fund, salts
were brought against 14 more basks
to recover tbe amount of the asaesa
awt
• • •
Throngfc hypnotic Shgze*t an Melrb
wr Luvaterborg. a man of giant slat
tare, wto for more than three years
has bee* completely paralyzed from
the waist down, was able to raise him
self from tbe operating table In St.
Mark's hospital. New York city, and
• • •
la a sett repute with sensational
barge*. Attorney General Wicker
sham. through his special deputy
-ark MtKerrber. et’ered suit in tbe
Cxi'ed Stale* circuit court In New
York city asking that a permanent in
)unniti* be leaned against tbe lumber
Croat reetra-nttg It from continuing s
vmspsmry in undue and unreason
able restraint of trade"
• • •
Tttt I—LOU state senate adopted. 29
to It. tbe resolution of tbe Hein com
su«*w dec taring that WUlais Lorimer
wouid not bare been elected to tbe
l Riled Plate* senate te May 3909.
bad It Rot been for bribery mod cor
ru**K*. and ukitg tbe national upper
bouse to reopen tbe Illinois scandal
To Oil resolution was added an
amendment criticizing those senators
•be bolted Albert J Hopkins, tbe prt
ttary waiwt. to succeed himself.
• • •
Mayor Thomas E Knotts of Gary,
it* already under indictment by the
Lake county rrand Jury, mas arrested
by deputy Utt.f* an warrants rharg
tag him * ‘ti embezzlement, perjury
aad malieasaace la office.
• • •
Fre»aslsng upon bis twelveyear-old
mm to puli tbe trigger Fred Hus i
fony*li year* old. ■ prosperous farm
er of Green u art. Ccma.. he Lie ted tc
b* crazy, bad hi* bead blown off wjta
hla own shotgun.
• • •
Foist* Commissioner Oopsey of Xew
Tusk has teen attacked by Juries
('.ntiast. bead of tbe municipal c;rl!
>.rv»ce board, foe alleged ooUiion o!
rtwtl serric* nUea. a shake up ot tbe
(*MMM In expected.
• • •
Cot, Henry * Betzs* a well knows
Laaader and a director in many prom
!t>**t *n«-ainal corporations commit
ted suicide In Central'park. Xew York
cay. by shouting He was badly bit
is the euitapoe of the Columbus and
UsMthdo so ti r !■!
y m 13 r "tdON*
• • •
A nensatlon has beet caused at
tnrtpat. X T_ by tbe arrest of twe
uuzuJ a-year-old acbocl boys on a
charge preferred by Avery Murphy
fourteen years old. who says they tied
him to a t*m* and aitempted to bum
him ail re m Indian fashion.
• • •
Farmer Free-d< *t Booserelt has an
ardrie on "The Arbitration Treaty
With Great Britain- in the Outlook in
wbheb be any* tbe t uned States ought
s***f ** naelf to arbitrate ques
utma reorectJtsg ns honor. tndepesd
•sen aad integrity.
■, - , ~ 14
i|.-i HgiFr:
Will Rogers pleaded guilty at Las
Vegas. X. M., to the charge of kidnap
ing Waldo Rogers, the grandson of
Henry L. Waldorf, general solicitor
of the Atchison. Topeka ft Santa Fe
railroad. Joe Wiggins, an ex-convict
and alieged accomplice of Rogers in
the kidnaping, pleaded not guilty.
• • •
All records for maximum tempera
ture on May 18 went by the boards
throughout the middle west and as
far south as Memphis Deaths and
prostrations were reported from vari
ur places. Chicago and vicinity being
hardest hit. in the city there were
seven deaths anil a dozen prostra
tions. '
• • •
The death rate in New Tork is de
creased each year, figures showing tte
rate for three months of 1911 to be
17 per 1.000 as against 17.45 in 1910,
which is equivalent to the saving of
6.500 lives.
• • •
Lack of harvest hands In Canada
has caused J. G. Vpterward, a Cana
dian immigration inspector, to go to
Kansas City in search of men. He is
seeking help for the farmers of Sas
katchewan.
• • •
The General assemblies of the Pres
bj-terian church and the Southern
Presbyterian church met in annual
-eRrion, the former in Atlantic City
and the latter in Louiskille. Ky.
• • •
A drunken negro, recently released
rc>tn Sing Sing prison, killed two
white men. stat bed three other white
niec. two of them policemen, shot a
fourth w hite mui and a little girl, in
a wild fight when a passenger on an
elevated train at New York city at
tacked the negro for smoking on the
platform of the train.
When swimming in Tippecanoe lake
Bernard Minear and Morris Gary, high
se bool pupils, were drowned at War
saw. ]nd They had been missing and
search for them resulted late in
night in the finding of their bodies.
• • •
The supreme court of the District
of Columbia, on its own initiative, In
stituted proceedings for contempt
against President Gompe-s. Vice-Pres
ident Mitt hell and Secretary Morrison
of tbe American Federation of Labor.
If adjudged guilty the men may be
sentenced to imprisonment.
• • •
Tbe principle of arbitration of prac
• "ally all disputes between nations
a-sumed vitality when Secretary of
F'ate Knox submitted to the British
and Frer. . ambassadors the draft of
a convention to serve as a basis of ne
gotiations The fact that tbis move
ment would be inaugurated with
France as well as Great Britain came
as a surprise.
• * •
Former President Theodore Loose
rejt told about 1.-'K> New York clergy
men that materialism ard paganism
are a serious menace to the welfare
of the fnited States. He declared
that men who blow up the buildings
of capitalists at tbe behest of labor
leaders are murderers, and that unless
s- -r.»*t!.:nr is done to remedy present
conditions, tbe results will be dire.
• • •
Personal
Miss Gertrude Emily Gaynor. eldest
tiaugi ter of Mayor Gaynor. was mar
r:*-d :n Wilmington. Del., to William
Seward Webb. Jr., son of Dr. and Mrs.
W; i:am Seward Webb and a grand
son of the late W. H. Vanderbilt.
• • 9
Robert Todd Lincoln, son of Abra
ham Lincoln, presented his resigna
tion as president of the Pullman com
panv at a meeting of tbe directors in
Chicago and was elected chairman of
the board. John Sumner Runnels,
fee-president and general counsel of
the company, was elected president.
• • •
Rev. John F. Carson of Brooklyn
was elected moderator of the Pres
byterian church on the second ballot
by the general assembly in its one
hundred and twenty-third session at
Atlantic City. X. J.
• • •
F'urvesant Fish. Ill. arrived in this
world late Monday night at the house
of his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Stuy
vesan: Fish. Jr., in New York. The
r.es arrival is a grandson of the for
mer president of the Illinois Central
railroad.
• • •
It is reported that the engagement
of Claude Grahame-VYhlte. the British
aviator, and Pauline Chase, the
actress, has been broken.
• • •
Foreign
Miss Dorothy Campbell, champion
of the United Stales, regained tbe
woman s golf championship of Great
Brrain by defeating Miss Violet Haz
let. the Irish champion, at Portrush
Ireland, in the final by 3 up and 2 to
flay.
• • •
!t was said at the home of Dowagei
I-auy Decies in London that Lady
Dec res is making satisfactory prog
t il toward recovery following the
operation for appendicitis.
• • •
•
Sot until Foreign Minister de Is
Barra has been made president ad in
terim of the republic of Mexico will
Francisco l. Madero. Jr., provisional
president, go to Mexico City to assist
in reorganizing the government, but
wiil remain in Juarez.
• 1 •
It is reported in Mexico City that
the government, by several arrests
made, frustrated a plat to kidnap
President Diaz and carry him in an
automobile to Pachuca. 56 miles from
j -hat city, where the rebels are in con
| trot
IS FATALLV BURNED
COMPANION INJURED TRYING TO
SMOTHER FLAMES.
NEWS FROM OVER THE STATE
What ia Going on Here and There
That is of Interest to the Read
ers Throughout Nebraska
and Vicinity.
Broken Bow.—Miss Fannie Ross,
living near Broken Bow. was fatally
burned Saturday morning. Mrs. Knoell
was also burned but not seriously. A
can of paint setting on a hot stove
exploded, throwing the blazing con
tents over the person of Miss Ross.
The women were ironing at the time
and as the paint began to boil Miss
Ross reached for it to set it off and as
she touched the can. the explosion
occurred.
Loses Part of Hand in Explosion.
Auburn.—The 9-year-old son of Mrs.
Rose McKee lost the ends of three of
his fingers and the other hand was so
badly lacerated that it will be hardly
possible to save the index finger, and
the palm of the hand is badly cut. He
was picking the insides out of a dyna
mite canridge while sitting at his
desk in the school room.
Dedicate M. E. Church.
David City.—St. Luke's Methodist
Episcopal church of this city was for
mally dedicated Sunday. The princi
f al services were a sermon by Bishop
McIntyre, reminiscences led by the
Rev. B. W. Marsh of York, sermon by
the Rev. G. W. Abbott of Omaha and
special music by the choir.
Lyons.—John Craig and bis mother,
Mrs. A. L. Craig, of this place were
killed and several injured, two prob
ably fatally, when a passenger train
struck a wagon in which they were
riding at a crossing near town. Parts
of the wrecked wagon lodged in a
switch and derailed the train.
Will Raise Frogs for Market.
Nebraska City.—William Liebold is
home from Langdon. Mo., where he
was receiving instructions regarding
the raising of frogs, an industry he ex
I»ecis to start at once. It is the first
venture of this kind in this part of the
countrf.
Is Badly Fractured at Any Rate.
Lincoln.—Probably the record for
assignments has been broken in the.
appeal of William J. Ainley to the
supreme court. Eight hundred and
eighty assignments of error are made
by his attorneys.
Drowned While Fishing.
West Point.—Thomas M. Frantz, the
oldest practicing member of the Cum
ing county bar and a former member
of the legislature, was accidentally
drowned while fishing at a mill pond.
__
,
Deshler will have a ball team this
j season.
Four conventions opened at Lincoln
in one day last week.
The Methodists of North Loup are
building a new church.
B. C. Ratho. a Sterling shoemaker,
su cided by shooting himself Tuesday.
Fremont will have a holiday when
the State ball league opens the season
there.
A well organized movement for pav
ing the public square is under way at
Aurora.
A civil service examination will be
i held June 3 for rural carrier at Com
stock and Lynch. Neb.
Mr. and Mrs. Will Hayward of Ne
; braska City have returned from their
trip around the world.
The Nebraska Press association will
: hold its thirty-ninth annual session at
Omaha. June 5, 6 and 7.
Benjamin Voight. who was injured
in an auto accident several days ago
at Aurora died as a result.
The annual convention of the post
masters of Nebraska will be held at
York June 13. 14 and 15. instead of at
Omaha as at first arranged.
Deshler has sent a car load of
brooms to Boston.
Kearney is sore afflicted with dan
delions. and has started a movement
lor their extinction.
Andrew J. Minor of Lincoln, a
member of the house of representa
tives during the recent session, died1
Wednesday of heart failure. He was
6S years old.
Thomas C. Kelsey, a prominent
labor leader and a general of a divF
eion of the Coxey industrial army of
the early nineties, died at Lincoln on
Tuesday morning at the age of sixty
I six years.
Ernest Hunger, familiarly known as
i "Dutch" Hunger, was appointed chief
| of police by the new excise board of
Lincoln.
Charles Tuck of Scottsbluff had his
head caught between a heavy wheel
and the body of a traction engine, and
is in the sanitarium with a badly
crushed skull. It is quite doubtful if
he recovers.
Democratic State Chairman John C.
Byrnes of Columbus was stricken
with appendicitis Wednesday and his
condition became so critical that he
j was taken to a hospital for an orora
| lion at once. ‘ ,
The Fairmont Methodists will erect
a S 10.000 pressed brick house of wor
ship.
The race meet which was scheduled
for Broken Bow during June has been
declared off.
Dr. J. M. Carr of Fairmont lost a
foot when a gun supposed to be un
loaded exploded in his auto.
Six horses were burned to death
when the barn of Jack Hillyer at Bea
trice was destroyed by fire.
Marvin Pape, a Hooper boy. was in
stantly killed when he fell from a
tree while hunting birds' nests.
The village board of Chappell has
let the contract for the construction
of a water and electric light system.
John Barrett has carried the mail
from the Surprise postoffice for twen
ty-one years. He has never missed a
train.
Dr. J. L. Webb, a pioneer resident
of Beatrice, died suddenly after an ill
ness of a few hours. Death was caused
from acute gastritis.
J. P. McRea of Bloomington dreamed
the bouse was on fire, and jumped out
of a hotel window at St. Joseph,
breaking a leg.
Robert Murray of Silver Creek fell
from the roof of a barn to a cement
walk eighteen feet below, and was
fatally injured.
William Leiboldt has stocked his
farm near Nebraska City with frogs
and tadpoles, and be will endeavor to
raise frogs for table use.
Ben Greenwood, living near Diller,
plowed out and killed eleven rattle
snakes in two days last week while
breaking up a piece of new ground.
Henry Palmer, who killed his wife
at Hastings some time ago. plead
guilty and received a sentence of
twenty-two years in the penitentiary.
A junior band has been organized in
Tecumseh. The band includes thirty
five boys and will be conducted under
the direction of the vTecumseh military
band.
Charles F. Bryant, an inmate of the
hospital for insane at Ingleside, near
Hastings, hanged himself with a piece
of barbed wire and was dead when
found shortly afterward.
The son of Frank Gundy. 7 years of
age. residing near Broken Bow. was
burned in a horrible manned, when an
older brother playfully shoved hiiy
into a smoldering strawstack.
During a thunder shower Saturday
evening lightning struck a barn on
1-ee Huston's farm near Geneva. One
horse and a colt, with feed and har
ness were burned with the building.
The golden wedding anniversary of
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Wilms was cele
brated with appropriate ceremony at
the First German l.utheran church at
Hastings. Rev. L. Frank, the pastor,
officiating.
Major Penn to Instruct Guard.
Major Julius A. Penn of the Twelfth
infantry, United States army, now
with his regiment in the Philippines,
has been assigned by the war depart
ment for duty at Lincoln in connec
tion with the Nebraska national guard.
His assignment is under a new act of
congress which permits officers on the
active list to be assigned as advisors
of the guard in the various states.
Morefield Asks for Tubercular*.
Moorefiela. Frontier county, is the
fourth town in the state that has
asked the state board for the proposed
state hospital for tubercular patients.
Governor Aldrich has given T. K.
Stewart, former bookkeeper at the in
stitute for the feeble minded at Bea
trice, the alternative of making up the
entire amount of the shortage revealed
on the books of the institution or
stand prosecution. The governor says
he does not want to be captious about
the matter, but that if Stewart does
not make restitution an action will be
begun.
Adjutant General Ernest H. Phelps
is preparing an order notifying the
Nebraska national guard that the an
nual encampment will be held from
September 27 to October 6. The camp
will be near Omaha, but the grounds
have not been selected. The guard
will spend two days in Omaha and
participate in street parades.
Assistant Adjutant General Scothorn
of the G. A. R. has compiled a con
solidated report showing that there
were 4.540 members of the G. A, R.
in the department of Nebraska Janu
ary 1, 1910, and that at the close of
the year the number had diminished
to 4.226. a net loss of 214. More than
200 of the loss was caused by death
The supreme court held scvera
months ago that another woman. Ger
trude Johnson, was qualified to hold
the office of county superintendent in
Cherry county.
J. H. Broady of the state commis
sion to codify the Nebraska statutes
has returned from a trip of in spec
ticn in Ohio. Wisconsin and Minne
sota. where similar work has been
done. The information he obtained in
other state* will be made use of by
the Nebraska commission.
Minatare, Scotts Bluff county, pro
poses to bid for the state hospital for
tubercular patients. I. L. Lyman, ed
itor of the Minatare Flee Press, haa
written Land Commissioner Cowles a
letter asking for information in regard
to the form of the bid which the state
board requires.
DISASTER IN FRANCE
MINISTER OF WAR KILLED BY A
MONOPLANE.
SEVERAL ALSO 0
Accident Occurs When Machine
Plunges Into Group Gathered to
Witness the Start
Paris.—France paid a terrible toll
Sunday for its magnfiicent endeavor
to attain supremacy of the air when
a monoplane, the driver of which had
lost control, plunged into a group ol
members of the cabinet who had
gathered to witness the start of the
race from Paris to Madrid, killing the
minister of war and injuring the
prime minister, his son and a well
known sportsman.
The dead:
Henri Maurice Berteaux. minister
of war.
The injured:
Antoine Emmanuel Ernest Monis,
premier and minister of the interior.
Antoine Monis. son of the premier.
Henri Detusch de la Mourthe. the
aged patrno of aeronautics, automo- *
biling and other sports.
A large number of the other per- j
sons of note had narrow escapes from [
injury.
The accident occurred on the avia
tion field at Issy les Molineux, where
200,000 persons had gathered to see
the start of the race
Mr. Train was piloting the mono
plane. With him in the car was M.
Bounier. a passenger. Neither of
these men was injured. The machine
was wrecked.
Minister of War Berteaux was hor
ribly mangled. The swiftly revolv- j
ing propeller cut off his left arm. i
which was found ten feet away from 1
the spot where he was struck, the)
back of his head was crushed in. his
throat gashed and the whole of his
left side cut and lacerated.
Premier Monis was buried beneath ;
the wreckage of the monoplane. He I
was taken out as quickly as possible .
and examined by military surgeons. I
who found he had sustained com
pound fractures of two bones, his
face badly contused and there were
bruises on the breast and abdomen.
M. Deutsch and M. Monis were not
seriously hurt.
Among those who had narrow es
capes from injury was M. Lepine, the
prefect of police.
M. Berteaux's body was placed in a j
closed automobile and escorted from
the field by a squadron of dragoons
with swords at salute, while tens of
thousands of persons stood uncover
ed. An intimate friend of the family
communicated the news of M. Ber
teaux's death to his wife.
PEACE OFFICIALLY DECLARED.
Document Signeed Pledges Cessation
of Hostilities.
Juarez. Mex.—Officially deesignated
representatives of the Mexican gov
eernment and the revolutionists at 10
o’clock Sunday night signed a peace
agreement at the customs house here
intended to end the hostilities that
hav been waged in Mexico for the
last six months.
Though covering only the principal
points ngotiated thus far. the agree
ment practically records the conces
sion by the government of those de
mands which started on ovember 20
last by an armed revolution in Mexico.
Telegrams announcing the signing of
the agreement were dispatched
throughout Mexico to revolutionary
and federal leaders alike.
Squaw Man Shot on PHarie.
Lander, Wyo.—Word was received
here that Lee Reagan, a squawman.
living on the Shoshone Indian reserva
tion. had been shot and Itilld by his j
companion, Cal O’Neal, another ’
squawman. The two men had lefti
Fort Washahkie to round up some cat
tle.
Killed a Chinese Banker.
Laredo. Mex.—At the end of a rope
which had been tied around his neck.
Dr. J. M. Lim. a Chinese banker, was
dragged around the plaza in Torreon.
Mex.. until his body was a mass of
broken bones and bleeding wounds.
Nebraska Banker Dies Abroad.
Redonda. Cal.—James Forbes, vice
president of the National Bank of
Anoka. Neb., who came here for his
health, died Sunday night. Mr.
Forbes, who was 71 years old, is sur
vived by a widow and five children.
Good Roads Congress.
Birmingham. Ala.—Delegates from
18 states are gathering here for the
fourth National Good Roads congress
which will convene Tuesday. Presi
dent Arthur C. Jackson, of Chicago
was one of the first to arrive.
Weather Bureau Investigation.
Washington.—Complaints by apple
growers in the west that the weather
bureau's forecasts cannot be depend
ed upon and that disastrous results
to crops have followed erroneous pre
dictions form the basis of the decision
reached by the house commission on
expenditures on the Agricultural de
partment ot Investigate the weather
bureau. The committee also will look
into charges made by James Barry,
former chief of the climatological di
vision of the weather bureau, against
its management.
BUTTONING UP WIFE
NEARLY COSTS $1,C;D
6T. LOUISAN, DUE IN COURT, DE
LAYS HOUR TO HELP SPOUSE
AND LOSES BOND.
St. Louis.—The arduous task of but
toning his wife's dress almost cost Ja
cob Belly of Walnut Park J16 a minute
—and he devoted 60 minutes to mad
ame's toilette—in the United States
circuit court of St. Louis.
Belly was found guilty of attempting
to extort fl.OOO from Frederick Essel
brugge, a wealthy North St. Louis mer
chant, by "Black Hand" methods. His
bead was declared forfeited because
Explains to the Judge.
he had to wait for his wife to finish
dressing to accompany him to court.
The minutes spent by Belly in but
toning his wife’s waist up the bach
and in waiting for her to get her ha1
on straight before the two boarded a
car down downtown, would haYe cost
Belly and his bondsmen heavily had
not Judge Dyer relented, after Belly
explained, and set aside the forfeiture
of the bond.
Thus was it evidenced that even s
Jurist may have an appreciation of a
husband's predicament when wife has
to be “buttoned up.”
Belly's failure to put in an appear
anee in Judge Dyer’s court at 10 a. m.
when the verdict of the jury was tc
be announced, caused great excite
ment in the court room. Rumors thal
Belly had fled were current.
Judge Dyer, when ten o'clock had
passed, ordered the bond forfeited
and an attachment issued for Belly
Before this action could be taken
however. Belly walked into the court
room with Mrs. Belly. The latter was
securely fastened up the back and
wore her hat at a perfect angle.
Belly’s explanation of the cause o!
his delay created ripples of merriment
throughout the court room and every
body appeared satisfied when Judge
Dyer set aside the forfeiture of the
bond.
The verdict of the jury finding
Belly guilty of attempting to extort
>1.000 from Esselbrugge by threaten
ing letters, was then read. Judge
Dyer deferred sentence.
IT’S THE “ARMADILLO” NOW
The Latest Thing in Women's Hats
That Has Supplanted the
“Ding-a-Ling."
Chicago.—“The Armadillo,” that's
the name of the new headdress for
women that has supplanted the “Ding
a-Ling" bonnets. "The Armadillo” is
to be had in different shapes of coarse
straw. The name probably comes
Curious Hat Creation.
from the straw's woven resemblance
to that animals hide. The weaving
of the straw also resembles miniature
mountain peaks rising one on top of
the other, as it were, until the crest
of the hat is reached. However, there
is nothing of the far-away feeling of
a mountain peak in the appearance
of the new hats. They stick out like
the eaves on a Japanese pagoda. Of
course, many of the shapes still cover
the wearer's eyes and you may still
have three guesses as to the identitj
of your lady acquaintance when you
6peak to her on the streets.
'
HAS AREAL ML
DETECTIVE WILLIAM J. BURNS IS
WIDELY KNOWN AS THE
“NEVER FAIL.”
FAMOUS SECRET SERVICE MAN
Gained Much Fame When He Ran
Do#n Elusive Counterfeiters for
Uncle Sam—For 25 Years He Has
Successfully Tracked Criminals.
Los Angeles, Cal.—William J. Burns,
better known as “Billy” Burns to se
cret service operators and detectives
all over the country, and whose most
recent claim to fame was the arrest of
the McNamara brothers and Ortle Me
Manigal for the long series of dyna
mite crimes throughout the country,
is an Ohio product. He was formerly
cutter in a tailor shop at Columbus.
Something over 30 years ago Burns
earned a modest stipend as a cutter in
a tailor shop at Columbus, where the
uniforms for the police of that city
were made. John E. Murphy was chief
of police. He and Burns became great
friends. Often when Murphy had a
hard case he would talk it over with
Burns. After the police had worked a
week on a murder case Burns criti
cised the methods employed. He told
Murphy the men worked on bad lines.
Murphy suggested Burns try his hand
and the suggestion was promptly ac
cepted. One week later Burns landed
the man and secured a confession.
He was taken from the cutter's bench
and made a detective, and while he
was there made his name a terror to
criminals. After a short ezperienee
he went with an agency at St. Louis.
Later he became connected with the
United States secret service and han
dled with marked results a great mass
of important work. William P. Hazen
was chief of that branch of the treas
ury when Burns was called into the of
fice during the '90s and shown an al
most perfect $100 Monroe head silver
William J. Burns.
certificate that had been caught at
the sub-treasury at Philadelphia. A
few days later John E. Wilkie was
made chief of the secret service and
he gave Bums the work and told him
to use his own methods. It required
sixteen months' work, at the end ol
that period Burns had the two engrav
ers. the men who circulated the bills,
the plates, and over a million of the
bogus notes. He had also discovered
that a counterfeit equally good was al
most ready to be passed.
Soon after this a counterfeit silver
certificate $10 bill bearing the head
of Hancock appeared at Atlanta, Ga.
where the cotton exposition was under
way and many were put in circulation.
Bums was put on that. A line he
picked up led' to Kansas City and in
volved a prominent man at the live
stock exchange. The man was wealthy
and had been in business, known and
respected for 20 years. Four weeks
Burns trailed that man and, finally
made the arrest, found incriminating
documents In his pockets and caught
$20,000 of the counterfeit bills ad
dressed to the man at the express
office.
He cleaned up the Gen. De Mora
and Captain Requesans gang that op
erated in New York and manufac
tured bogus bills for circulation in the
central American states. He also
cleaned up the Brockway, Ulrich and
Bradford crowd of counterfeiters and
captured all the plates they used In
the manufacture of $20 silver certifi
cates.
When San Francisco citizens decid
ed cn an investigation of graft condi
tions in that city they went to Wash
ington to get advice about the firm
of detectives to make the investiga
tion. Chief Wilkie was asked about
it and he said Bums could and would
clean It up if they employed him and
let him alone. He was loaned by the
treasury department at the personal
request of President Roosevelt, and
it is recent history how he riddled the
gang that had been plundering that
city, secured confessions, sent a num
ber to the penitentiary and upset the
graft conditions.
In 30 years of detective work Burns
holds the enviable record of never
having lost a big case, never having
shot a man in making any of the
scores of important arrests he has
made. No man has ever shot him