Four days after this he was met in New York by Richard Powers, of Chicago, ex-president of the Seamen's Union, and a warm friend of Dr. Cronin, who taxed him with being concerned in the manufacture of the bogus dispatches. Starkey not only denied this with some show of feeling, but also declared that he was not acquainted with Long. Strange to say, John F. Beggs, the Chicago lawyer who presided at that time over Camp 20 of the Clan-na-gael, was also in New York at that time. On Thursday, May 23d, the day following the discovery of Cronin's corpse, numerous telegrams, in cipher, passed between Starkey and Mason, the former's address being given as 135 Fourth avenue, New York. The following day Starkey was seen in conversation with certain members of the executive committee of the Clan-na-gael, and in about a week he reappeared in Toronto, vigorously disclaiming all connection with the movements of his friend Long. All the circumstances pointed to the fact that the sole object of the Toronto end of the conspiracy had been to distract attention from the scene of the crime, in order that the search for the body, then decomposing in the catch basin, might be discontinued, and, had it not been for the opportune discovery, this portion of the plot would have been entirely successful. No effort, however, was made by those interested in bringing the murderers to justice, to pursue the inquiries in this direction, owing to the fact, that, however important the information obtained, it would not have been admissible before an American court. The result was that the mystery surrounding the "hidden hand" that directed the movements of Long and Starkey had not been dispelled up to the conclusion of the trial.
WOODRUFF'S SECOND CONFESSION.
Another confession was poured by Woodruff into the willing ears of Captain Schaak about this time. In it, the man of many aliases told an entirely different story to that which resulted in his commitment to jail. According to his latest narrative, he was hired to take the wagon to the Carlson cottage, saw Dr. Cronin cross the threshold and pass through the doorway, and waited until the trunk had been brought out and placed in his vehicle. Then he was told to drive along the route so frequently described. It was the intention of the men, Woodruff went on to say, to sink the trunk in the lake, but they became scared at meeting several policemen, and seeing the manhole of the sewer, and which in the darkness looked much larger than it really was, they directed him to stop. Having lifted off the cover of the man-hole, the men were disgusted to find that the trunk was much too large to go into the opening. Accordingly they decided to take the body from the trunk, put it in the catch-basin and take the trunk back to the cottage. The discovery being made that the key was missing, one of the men broke open the trunk, and assisted by the other two, forced the body through the manhole and into the catch-basin. The cover replaced, the trunk was again thrown into the wagon and the horse's head turned toward the cottage. After going a short distance, however, the noise of a wagon was heard coming from the south. One of the men, who was sitting on the trunk, threw it out of the wagon into the ditch, and commanded Woodruff to lash his horse and drive as fast as he could to the west. At Fullerton avenue, the men got out of the wagon, while Woodruff drove to the barn. Concerning his previous confession, he admitted that the statement that there was a woman's body in the trunk was untrue, and added that the names of King and Fairburn were those of old friends, and had come to him on the spur of the moment. Inasmuch, however, as the prisoner, having access to the daily papers, could easily have concocted this story from the published reports and surmises, little stock was taken in his second "confession."
CHAPTER XIII.
SULLIVAN'S ARREST CREATES A SENSATION—HIS FRIENDS STAND BY HIM—THE NOTED IRISH LEADER IN COURT—EFFORTS TO SECURE HIS RELEASE—JUDGE TULEY GIVES HIM HIS LIBERTY—ARREST OF MARONEY AND MCDONALD IN NEW YORK—THEIR EXTRADITION REFUSED.
Although, from the nature of the testimony before the coroner's jury, and the numerous developments in other directions, the arrest of the ex-president of the Irish National League of America was not entirely unexpected, it nevertheless produced a profound sensation, not only in the United States, but also across the Atlantic. By many of his friends and acquaintances in Ireland, the news was at first received with incredulity, and afterward, when confirmation had been flashed over the wires, with expressions of astonishment and denunciation of the course of the authorities. Men like Charles Stewart Parnell and Michael Davitt were not slow or conservative of words in giving utterance to the opinion that a serious mistake had been made; that Sullivan was an honest man, a patriot, a true worker in the cause of Irish liberty, and altogether a man whom it would be impossible to convict of identity with a conspiracy to assassinate one of his enemies. Meanwhile the Chicago friends of the accused lawyer were not inactive. Bright and early on the morning following his arrest they were in conference, for the purpose of determining upon the best course to pursue in order that his freedom could be secured. As a result of their deliberations, Counsellor A. S. Trude, one of the leading members of the Chicago bar, appeared before Chancellor Tuley upon the opening of the court, and secured a writ of habeas corpus, calling upon Sheriff Matson to produce his prisoner in court at three o'clock in the afternoon. The news spread rapidly. Popular feeling had been re-kindled by the events of the week, and, long before the hour designated, the court room was besieged by a crowd of people anxious to see the distinguished suspect. Sullivan was brought into the court room promptly on time, under escort of the sheriff and a couple of broad-shouldered deputies. Owing to some difficulty in securing a vehicle, and the stoppage of the street cars through an accident, the sheriff and his prisoner had been compelled to walk from the jail to the court room, a distance of nearly one mile, and strange as it may seem, although the route took them through a leading thoroughfare crowded with people coming and going, not one seemed to recognize the official or his companion. No one would have imagined for a moment that the latter had been the occupant of a cell over night. His linen was immaculate, and his attire—a neat fitting Prince Albert suit of black diagonal, with a black cravat tied in a simple knot over the snowy shirt bosom and the turn-down collar—was absolutely faultless. The occasion was one to try the soul of a strong man, but as he looked over the court room and glanced into the faces of many of his bitterest enemies, his expression was stoical, and he shook hands in a cheerful manner with several friends who were in court to show their allegiance to him. As counsel, he had Attorneys Trude, Windes and McArdle—the two latter his law partners—ex-Senator Duncan and Hiram Gilbert. The people were represented by State's Attorney Longenecker and his assistant, Frank Baker, the former occupying his favorite attitude of leaning over the bar of the court while the arguments were in progress.
It was developed at the outset that the unconditional release of the prisoner was not desired, but that it was simply sought to secure him his liberty upon substantial bail. The proceedings opened with the reading of the petition to which Mr. Sullivan had affixed his signature. In this he declared that the evidence before the coroner's jury, and upon which his arrest was based, had been wholly insufficient to warrant that action; that there was no competent evidence, direct or circumstantial, tending to prove that he was guilty of the murder of Patrick H. Cronin, or an accessory thereto, or had guilty knowledge thereof, or knowledge or thought of conspiracy to accomplish the same; that the verdict was based upon a large amount of incompetent and wholly irrelevant testimony calculated to create prejudice, and that the verdict rendered, so far as it reflected upon the conduct of himself (Sullivan) was the result of passionate prejudice, created by the admission of such evidence. The document concluded with a declaration that the petitioner was not guilty of the crime with which he had been charged by the verdict, and that he had had no connection whatever with the murder of Dr. Cronin.