News Items from The Kansas City Journal ~ Old News That's New to You from Vintage Kansas City.com

January 20, 1910

TWO SERGEANTS STEP UP.

Commissions as Lieutenants for

James and Anderson.

The first promotion of any moment to be made by the present police board took place nar the close of the meeting yesterday when Sergeants Robert E. L. James and Frank H. Anderson, who have given the better parts of their lives to the service, were made lieutenants. Anderson is said to be a Republican and James is a Democrat. Neither man got much encouragement from former boards though their records are both clean.

Anderson, now assigned to desk work at No. 3 station on the Southwest boulevard, went on the force November 9, 1889. On account of his intelligence and adaptability for the work he was assigned for m any eyars to duty in the city clerk's office where he served papers in condemnation suits and did clerical work. On January 9, 1907, while H. M. Beardsley was mayor, Anderson was made a sergeant by a Democratic board. His promtion is said to have been due to former Mayor Beardsley's efforts.

Lieutenant James went on the department as a probationary officer July 22, 1889, a few months before Lieutenant Anderson. As a patrolman James has walked every beat in Kansas City. On July 22, 1902, he was promoted to sergeant.

James early showed particular efficiency in handling large crowds. While outside sergeant at No. 2 station in the West Bottoms during the destructive flood of June, 1903, James distinguished himself.

Last July, when still a sergeant, James was assigned by the police board to Convention hall as instructor in the matter of police duty. This pertained to the old men, already on the force as well as new recruits. In all 241 policemen were instructed in groups of from twenty-five to seventy and their instruction lasted from seventy-two to ninety hours per group. Lieutenant James also had charge of the initial opening of Electric park a few years ago. For two weeks he has had charge of the desk at No. 7 station in Sheffield. Lieutenant James was born at Tipton, Cooper county, Mo., October 17, 1867. His father, Dr. P. T. James, was assistant surgeon general to General Sterling Price of the Confederate army. Some time after the war the family moved to Holden, Mo.. Lieutenant James is married and has four children. He is a brother of Dr. Samuel C. James, a member of the general hospital staff of visiting surgeons and physicians.

Labels: Civil War, Convention Hall, Electric park, general hospital, Mayor Beardsley, No 2 police station, No 3 police station, police board, politics, sheffield, Southwest boulevard

November 4, 1909

PEGASUS AIDS EDUCATION.

Rosedale Boy Who Expects to Pay

Way in College Writing Poetry.

JAMES P. CANNON.

James Cannon, a member of the junior class of the Rosedale high school, hopes to win his way through the Kansas university next year by writing verse and short stories for the magazines. Some of his work has already been published and found favor, especially with the faculty of the school where he is known as "the judge."

The boy is 19 years old and when considerable younger developed a remarkable aptness in getting up short sketches of Kansas life, stories of the legal profession and essays on serious subjects. One poem entitled "The Day of Judgment," written a year ago, brought many favorable comments to the youthful author. It follows:

There shall be exact fulfillment
Of the prophecies of old.
Every act of simple kindness
Shall be paid a hundredfold;
Every stranger that we've sheltered
From the cold, and wind, and rain,
Shall become our intercessor
After we have plead in vain;
And the foods wherewith the beggars
In our charity we've fed
Shall be offered in atonement
As the Sacred Wine and Bread;
And the poor shall be exalted
O'er the lords of greed and gold --
There shall be exact fulfillment
Of the prophecies of old.

Cannon became known as "the judge" in rather a peculiar manner. Last winter three boys who became acquainted with him while he was working in a restaurant at 920 Southwest boulevard were arrested for gambling with dice and thrown into the Rosedale holdover. They had no money to employ counsel for their trial in police court and as a last resort sent for Cannon who, with a very limited knowledge of law, won the case over the city attorney. "The judge" has stuck with him since and bids fair to remain his permanent sobriquet. He says that if he ever becomes known in the literary field it will be his nom de plume and that he intends to make it famous.

Last Friday night when consternation reigned in the High school over the non-appearance of Juvenile Judge Ben B. Lindsey, of Denver, to fill a Chautauqua date with an assembled audience of about 600 patrons of the school, Cannon was elected by the principal to take his place. His knowledge of current events made this possible and when he at last sat down after a half hour's discourse on the delinquent magistrate he was greeted with a demonstration that would have been complimentary to any orator.

James Cannon is the son of John Cannon, a real estate agent of 1709 Kansas City avenue, Rosedale. At the death of his mother several years ago he left his home with the object of making his way in the world and incidentally in literature.

Labels: Denver, Rosedale, schools, Southwest boulevard

July 19, 1909

SIX MEN HELD UP

IN A SINGLE NIGHT.

IN EVERY INSTANCE ROBBERS

SECURE MONEY AND ESCAPE.

Five Highwaymen With Revolvers

Get Dollar Apiece From One Vic-

tim -- Diamonds and Watches

Among the Loot.

Six holdups occurred in Kansas City Saturday night and Sunday morning. In every case the robbers succeeded in getting money, and some of the victims gave up their watches.

Frank Serrett, 829 South Valley street, Kansas City, Kas., the first victim to complain to the police, reported that two men held him up in the alley between Main and Walnut on Ninth street. While one of the highwaymen searched his pockets, the other man kept him covered with a pistol A watch and $10 comprised the booty.

At 10 o'clock Saturday night George Mangoe, 115 1/2 Central street, Kansas City, Kas., reported that he had been robbed by two men, and his watch stolen. The robbery occurred at Ninth and Wyoming streets.

It took five men to stop and rob James Bone, 4413 Bell avenue, at about 11 p. m., at Forty-first and Bell avenue, at about 11 p. m., at Forty-first and Bell avenue. According to Bone, all of the robbers were armed with revolvers and held them in sight. He gave up $5 to the brigands.

A watch at $7 were taken from J. W. Brown, 1326 Grand avenue, at Thirteenth and Franklin streets by two men.

H. A. Lucius, 215 West Fourteenth street, reported to the police that he had been robbed or $50 near 2854 Southwest boulevard.

G. W. Shaw, Strong City, Kas., entered police headquarters early Sunday morning and informed the police that he had been robbed in front of a saloon near McGee and Third streets. He reported the loss of an Elk's tooth and two unset diamonds.

Labels: Bell street, crime, Fourteenth street, Franklin street, guns, highway robbery, jewelry, McGee street, Ninth street, Southwest boulevard, Third street, Thirteenth street, Wyoming street

June 5, 1909

ROSE TAKES MURPHY'S RIG.

Officers in Rosedale Put Abrupt End

to Her Brief Ride.

The hankering after horses of Rose Smith, a woman living at Thirtieth street and Southwest boulevard, who "just loves to drive," yesterday afternoon for the second time caused her arrest.

Rose climbed up on Thomas Murphy's hack, which was standing near Summit street on the Southwest boulevard, and whipping up the horses, drove away toward Rosedale. When Murphy came out of a store he discovered that his hack was gone, but he had no trouble in following. Rose was arrested in Rosedale by the city marshal, who delivered her to the Missouri officers.

"I just loves to drive horses," was the woman's explanation. "I wasn't going to steal them at all -- just out for a little drive."

Rose Smith was arrested in Kansas City, Kas., a month ago for undertaking a trip which differed very little from yesterday's feat. On the former occasion she took a horse and buggy.

Labels: buggy, crime, Kansas City Kas, Rosedale, Southwest boulevard, Summit street, Thirtieth street

April 21, 1909

BEHEADED BY LOCOMOTIVE.

Switch Engine Derailed by Clothing

of Night Watchman Killed

on Belt Line Track.

L. Hougardy, night watchman for the Cypress Incubator Company, was decapitated and his body mangled by switch engine No. 2118 about 100 feet east of Penn street on the Belt Line tracks at 9:45 o'clock last night. Money in the man's pockets, together with his clothing which wadded up in front of the wheels, derailed the engine.

Engineer William White and Fireman Stoiver, by their combined efforts, could not dislodge the body, so No. 3 police station and the coroner were notified.

"I was keeping a sharp lookout on all sides because of the rain," said Engineer White. "I did not see the man, and can not yet understand how he came in front of the engine unnoticed, unless he had been murdered and laid across the rails or had been hit by another engine. The first notice I had of the accident was the jolt of the front wheels leaving the rails."

Engineer White has the reputation of being a careful engine driver of many years' experience. He lives at 2107 Belleview. Fireman Stoiver lives at 2719 Holly street.

Hougardy's identity was learned through his failure to pull the Western Union hourly call box. He lived near Broadway and Southwest boulevard.

An autopsy will be held today.

Labels: accident, Belt line, Broadway, death, Holly street, No 3 police station, Penn street, railroad, Southwest boulevard

March 20, 1909

AUTO OWNER'S GOOD START.

Runs Down Man the Day He Pur-

chases Machine.

While driving a small automobile, which he had just purchased along the Southwest boulevard near Summit street, on the way to his farm in Gardner, Kas., yesterday afternoon Morris Harrington ran into Andrew Anderson, a laborer, knocking him down and severely bruising him. An ambulance was called from No. 4 police station and the injured man was treated by Dr. H. A. Hamilton, after which he was removed to his home at 2136 Summit street.

Harrington was held for an hour at No. 3 police station until he could arrange bond. He said he was unused to operating an automobile, and that when Anderson stepped in front he could not turn the guide wheel fast enough to steer clear of him.

Labels: automobiles, doctors, No 3 police station, Southwest boulevard, Summit street

March 15, 1909

DEAD SISTER'S HAIR IN CHAIN.

Highwaymen Gave It Back, but They

Kept the Watch.

Two unmasked white men held up and robbed Edward S. Frances of 2317 West Prospect avenue at 8 o'clock last night near Broadway and Southwest boulevard. Both highwaymen had revolvers. After relieving Frances of $1.70 in small change one of them was about to slip his gold watch into his pocket when the victim interposed.

"Look at that chain," he said. "It isn't worth much to you, is it? Well, it's made out of my dead sister's hair. Will you give it back?"

The robber obligingly detached the chain and it was the only article about Frances's person he was allowed to keep. Both then hurried away.

Labels: Broadway, crime, guns, highway robbery, Prospect avenue, Southwest boulevard

December 17, 1908

RIOT GUNS FOR

POLICE STATIONS.

BATTLE WITH FANATICS EXPOSED

DEPARTMENT WEAKNESS.

To Be Available When Needed, and

Not Locked Up, as Were the

Rifles During the Re-

cent Riot.

The board of police commissioners yesterday decided that it had been taught a lesson by the riot of December 8 and that it wound never again be caught unprepared. When riot guns were called for on that day, not knowing the magnitude of the trouble or how many men might be encountered at the river, a key to the gun case first had to be sought. Then there was no ammunition for the old Springfield rifles in store there, and there was another twenty minutes' delay until loads were secured from a vault in the commissioners' office. If the trouble had been more serious the town could have been sacked before police were properly armed.

Yesterday the board examined the latest make of riot gun, a weapon that shoots six loads, nine buckshot to each cartridge. It is worked the same as a pump gun, and one alone will do fearful damage, if handled properly.

It is the intention of the board to purchase a sufficient number of these guns and place them in glass cases in stations Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6. Those stations are situated at headquarters (Fourth and Main), 1316 St. Louis avenue, 906 Southwest boulevard, 1430 Walnut street and Twentieth street and Flora avenue, respectively. They are regarded as the most likely districts in which riots might break out.

The glass cases containing the riot guns are to be built near the floor so that, in an emergency, they may be broken and weapons, loaded for just such an occasion, may be found ready for action.

The question of a reserve force of men to be kept on hand at headquarters all the time, was also taken up. It was decided, as a nucleus, to assign two men on duty there from 10 a. m. to 10 p. m. who, with the "shortstop" man, would make three who could get into action on a moment's notice. Had that number of men been sent out to deal with James Sharp and his band of fanatics, the board believes that the result would have been different.

"We have been taught a terrible lesson," said the mayor, "and the fault should rest on our shoulders if such a thing should ever occur again and find us unprepared. Henceforth we intend to be ready for any situation that may arise."

Labels: Adam God sect, Flora avenue, Fourth street, guns, Main street, police, police board, Southwest boulevard, St Louis avenue, Twentieth street, Walnut Street

December 14, 1908

THEY PAY NO RENT

IN GARFIELD COURT.

LANDLORDLESS TENEANTS LIVE

THERE IN FILTHY HOUSES.

"When the Horse Moved Out," Said

One, "Me and My Old Woman

Moved In" -- Children Are Not

Allowed to Attend School.

If you are "broke" in conscience, as well as in purse, go out to unwashed Garfield court the first of the month and try to collect the rent. Some of the tenants might be gullible enough to succumb to your bluff, for as far as they know they are landlordless now, but are looking for the owner to turn up almost any time.

Approximately, Garfield court is near the corner of Twenty-ninth street and Southwest boulevard., but that is just a ruse to misdirect the feet of the unwary stranger. You get off the Rosedale car at Twenty-ninth street and ramble off in a general northwesterly direction, which y our pocket compass, if its needle is a well-trained one, will indicate. About this time you will run into a clothesline in complete apparel. Then off your port quarter across the Frisco tracks you will make out a champagne colored cow, tethered near a pile of garbage. You must next bear off in a course laying due sou'-by-sou'west, until an imposing looking woodshed is sighted. Be not deceived, for that is not your destination, but if you will only keep a few more feet you will have at last attained Garfield court-on-Turkey creek.

HERE, DISENCHANTMENT BEGINS.

In name it sounds like a group of detatched apartments inhabited by the bon ton, and in fact Garfield court doesn't look so impossible when looking down between the row of eighteen houses which face each other. They are all two-storied, the lower half of stone and the upper of frame construction. But when you get around at the rear and look into some of the unoccupied houses your leniency fades.

The court is under the taboo of the board of education and all of the children, there are seventeen of them, hailing from the unsanitary row, have been barred from the Lowell school for bacteriological and kindred reasons. The tenement commissioners have been after the city health officers to adopt remedial measures in regard to this particular tenement for the past year, but the festive germs still hold high carnival there without molestation.

THEY PAY NO RENT.

"What you goin' to do when the rent comes 'roun'?" is a question that doesn't bother the tenants in the least, and they live in blissful gratuity, rentally speaking. Thus ownerless, it should give rise to little wonder that the court is a good deal run down at the heels, from both physical and sanitary standpoints.

"What rent do you pay?" was asked o one of the more loquacious tenants.

He said, "I don't mind tellin' you, stranger, that we don't pay none, and we don't intend to pay any until the last gun's fired.

"Some time ago somebody came down the row, sayin' we'd have to get out, but that didn't amount to shucks. We just stayed here an' 're here yet.. Yes the other side of the row is fillin' up right fast and I guess they won't be any empty ones left, before long.

WHEN THE HORSE MOVED.

" 'Bout a year ago somebody had a horse in here, then they led him out on the railroad track and let a train run over him. I guess the fellow got damages all right. When the horse moved out, me and my woman moved in."

Most of the tenants said they had been there since the Armourdale flood. All of the houses are in wretched condition and it is hard to understand how they could have been allowed to run down, for with expenditure of a reasonable amount of money they could be put in habitable shape again. The cellars are filled with silt deposited by the overflow of Turkey creek and in every room of the unoccupied houses is indescribable filth.

The city water has been cut off on account of non-payment of bills, and the sanitation of the tenements consequently impaired. Dr. Charles B. Irwin, inspector under the tenement commission, is thoroughly aroused over the conditions and his report to the commission recommends immediate remedial measures.

Labels: real estate, Southwest boulevard, tenement commission, Twenty-ninth street

October 28, 1908

LONELY OLD MAN WEEPS

FOR HIS MURDERED SON.

Elle Bassin Has a Load of Grief and

Labor Almost Too Heavy

to Bear.

Sitting alone in his little shoeshop at 1221 West Twenty-fourth street there is an aged, white-haired man. The police say he has no more heart for work. He stares vacantly into space and occasionally a tear drops from his furrowed cheek. The old man is Elle Bassin, father of Nathan Bassin, the young man murdered in the shop at 10 o'clock Saturday night by highwaymen. The aged man is nearly blind and depended upon his son to take the work off his hands. Now the support of the widowed daughter-in-law and her two children has fallen on him, and the burden is a heavy one.

EDWARD CASSIDY.
Confessed Slayer of Nathan Bassin.

Confined in separate cells two young men sat in the county jail all day yesterday. It was their first day there, and no one called on them. They were Edward Cassidy, who has a home at 908 West Thirty-first street, and Thad Dyer, 703 Southwest boulevard. They are the cause of the aged shoemaker's grief. Cassidy confessed that he and Dyer went to the shop bent on robbery. They met with resistance from Nathan, the son, and Cassidy shot him dead. Dyer was guarding the door at the time. Both men say they are sorry, really sorry, that they took a human life.

Thad Dyer, Accomplice in the Killing of Nathan Bassin.

THAD DYER.
Accomplice of Cassidy in the Bassin Murder.

Dyer's father, Edward Dyer, is a member of the fire department, and the boy had a good home, but he was wild and often fell into the hands of the police. Both boys were born and reared near the Southwest boulevard, and have known no such thing as restraint since childhood, the police say. Cassidy has an impediment in his speech that gives the impression that he is not very strong mentally. Neither boy attended school to any great extent.

They are being held in the county jail without bond awaiting trial by the criminal court on an information charging them with murder in the first degree.

Labels: jail, Jews, murder, Seniors, Southwest boulevard, Twenty-fourth street, visual impairment

October 27, 1908

CONFESS MURDER OF

SHOEMAKER'S SON

EDWARD CASSIDY AND THAD

DYER CAUGHT BY POLICE.

Went to Bassin's Shop to Rob Him

and Killed the Young Man When

He Interfered With

Their Plan.

When Edward Cassidy and Thad Dyer entered the little shoe shop of Elle Bassin and his son, Nathan, 1221 West Twenty-fourth street, at 10 o'clock Saturday night, they were bent on robbery. The confession of Cassidy to Captain Walter Whitsett late yesterday afternoon settled that question. They figured no interference, but when Nathan Bassin objected and grappled with Cassidy, the latter said he drew a revolver and shot him dead.

The murder took place in the shoe shop at 10 o'clock Saturday night, and when it was discovered it was a mystery. It remained so until Sunday morning, when Patrolmen Fred Nissen and W. J. Graham got a clue which led to the arrest of Dyer and Cassidy. A grocer, William Doarn, at the southwest corner of Twenty-fourth and Mercier streets, remembered that the two men had been in his place just before the killing and had said, "If you see anything happen around here tonight you haven't seen us."

Dyer was the first to confess yesterday morning after being questioned a long while. Then he laid the crime on Cassidy and said: "We went into the the shop with the intention of trying on a pair of shoes and wearing them out without paying for them . When we started out the young man grabbed Casssidy and he shot him . Then we both ran."

PURPOSE WAS ROBBERY.

This story didn't sound, as there were no shoes for sale in the shop. Dyer stuck to his story until Cassidy confessed; then he said the latter's version was correct. Casssidy told the following story to Captain Whitsett and afterwards made a statement to I. B. Kimbrell, county prosecutor.

"We were broke and wanted some money. We met in Water's saloon on Southwest boulevard about 8:30 p. m. Then we visited different places until about 9:45 o'clock, when we decided to hold up the old shoemaker. We went to Doarn's grocery store, across from the shoeshop, and saw Will Doarn in the door. We asked him not to say anything about seeing us in the neighborhood if anything happened.

"I'M AWFULLY SORRY."

"Then we went across the street," continued Cassidy. "Dyer stood in the door of the shop as I entered and ordered 'Hands up." The young man grabbed me, and I shot him. I wanted to get away. That's all. I'm sorry, awful sorry. I never went into the thing with the intention of killing anybody."

Cassidy and Dyer both ran from the place immediately after the shooting and separated. Cassidy remained about the Southwest boulevard until late and then went home with a friend. He lives at 908 West Thirty-first street, and Dyer at 703 Southwest boulevard. Dyer said he went home.

Dyer is the son of Edward Dyer, a member of the Kansas City fire department. The father was at police headquarters insisting upon his son's innocence yesterday just after he had confessed his part in the murder.

Both men are well known to the police. Cassidy was recently arraigned in the municipal court by Sergeant Thomas O'Donnell on a charge of vagrancy. They were taken before Justice Festus O. Miller late yesterday afternoon and arraigned on a charge of murder in the first degree. They waived preliminary examination and were committed to the county jail without bond to await trial in the criminal court.

Labels: Captain Whitsett, grocers, Jews, Judges, Mercier street, murder, police, police headquarters, Prosecutor Kimbrell, saloon, Southwest boulevard, Thirty-first street, Twenty-fourth street

October 18, 1908

HEAD SEVERED BY AN AX.

Negro Fell Dead and Police Followed

Blood Stains to Crap Game.

William Williams, a negro 19 years old, fell dead in a doorway at Penn street and the Southwest boulevard at midnight. His head was nearly severed from his body. He had been seen running in Penn street just before he died.

Spectators telephoned police station No. 3 and officers were sent to the scene. The coroner was called and stated that it appeared to be the work of a strong man with an ax.

Sergeant Thomas O'Donnell followed a trail of blood in Penn street, picked up bloody dice on the way, and finally followed the stains to a spot near a box car on the Belt line tracks near Twenty-fourth and Penn streets. He said the place looked like it had been the scene of a crap game.

The body was sent to an undertaker and the police threw a patrol out through the district in an attempt to apprehend the murderer.

Labels: gambling, murder, No 3 police station, Penn street, police, Southwest boulevard, Twenty-fourth street

September 21, 1908

PICNIC PARTY DUMPED.

Their Vehicle Got in Way of a

Street Car.

Several members of a picnic party were injured when a wagon in which they were returning from the outskirts of the city was struck by a Rosedale car at Southwest boulevard and Mayflower street shortly before 1 o'clock yesterday morning. Frank M. Spencer, owner of the wagon, of 2040 Penn street, is suffering from a sprained ankle and possible internal injuries. The others escaped with slight bruises.

The accident is said to have resulted from an effort of the driver to pull from one car track ot the other without noticing the approaching car. The force of the collision threw the vehicle on the sidewalk and against the office building of the Rochester Brewing company.

Labels: accident, breweries, Penn street, picnics, Southwest boulevard, streetcar

September 19, 1908

EMBEZZLEMENT THE CHARGE.

Took Four Policemen to Arrest Two

Greeks Wanted in Chicago.

Nicholas Antonopolus and James Anton, Greeks, were arrested yesterday afternoon by Detectives Gent and Wilson and Patrolmen M. Sheehan and Peter Douglas and taken to the Southwest boulevard police station and locked up for investigation. The men are wanted in Chicago, where they are alleged to have embezzled various amounts from creditors. The largest debt is for $600. The police say they were in the grocery business in Chicago until a week ago, when they came to this city and engaged rooms at 1310 West Twenty-fifth street. Requisition papers have been applied for.

Labels: Chicago, detectives, embezzlement, immigrants, police, Southwest boulevard, Twenty-fifth street, visitors

September 6, 1908

C. W. ANDERSON ARRESTED

IN RAID ON POKER GAME.

In His Behalf 20,000 Kansas City

-ans Once Petitioned President.

Was Pardoned From Prison.

It was 9 o'clock sharp last night when Charles Ryan, inspector of detectives, called in his men -- twenty of them -- and ordered them to go out and look for poker games, which the late grand jurors charged a week ago were operating unmolested by the police.

The twenty men went. It was nearly 11 o'clock before they had any luck. Then what they ran upon was really startling. Detectives Robert Phelna, Eugene Sullivan, J. L. Ghent and "Lum" Wilson made their way to 722 East Twelfth street. As they neared the number they said a "lookout" ran up the steps and gave the alarm. Being armed with a warrant the two doors were broken open and Detective Ghent was especially surprised.

There in the midst of six other men stood Charles W. Anderson, alias William January, for whom only a short year ago 20,000 people of this city and vicinity had petitioned President Roosevelt for his release from the federal prison at Leavenworth, Kas. And the petition gained his release, too. That was on July 19, 1907.

Last year, Benjamin T. Barnes, 2345 Southwest boulevard, a harnessmaker and former convict, wrote to Warden William McClaughry that William January, who had escaped from the prison nine years before, was living here under the name of Charles W. Anderson. The arrest followed, and when it was found that January -- for that was his name then -- had been living an exemplary life during his nine years of freedom, and that he had married and had a sweet 3-year-old baby girl, the whole of Western Missouri and Eastern Kansas was aroused. His arrest took place on April 20, 1907, and he was taken to prison the next day. When President Roosevelt received the petition containing 20,000 names, with the information that as many more could easily be added, he set July 19 as the day when William January, then living at 1117 Holmes street, should be free.

When January came out he applied to the courts and soon had his name changed to Charles W. Anderson, as that was the name he assumed when he escaped from prison. Every hand in Kansas City was outstretched to aid the long-suffering man just out of stripes. He chose to open a restaurant on East Twelfth street, however, after being interested in a pool hall.

Last night when the detectives followed the lookout to the second floor, after breaking in two doors they got Anderson and six other men. They also got a round table, cards and chips. At the station no one would admit that he was gamekeeper. Sergeant Patrick Clark said: "Then I will hold you all under $51 cash bond each until I find out who was running this place."

The men were lined up to give their names. Anderson gave the name of John W. Smith just as a young player in answer to a question said, "Me? Oh, I got my chips from Anderson there."

Anderson was then informed that his bond would be $51 and the others $16 each. The former gave his at once and, after a short talk, with the men, who were consigned to the holdover, made his exit.

The game at 722 East Twelfth street was the only one bothered by the police last night. It is said that there are others.

Labels: Charles Anderson, detectives, gambling, Leavenworth, President Roosevelt, prison, Southwest boulevard, Twelfth street

August 4, 1908

TOBY'S GENTLE DIVERSIONS.

One-Legged Man Amuses Himself by

Shooting Into a Crowd.

A one-legged man called Toby, got into a fracas in the saloon of Edward Powers at Southwest boulevard and State Line last night, and shot into the crowd with a revolver evidently loaded with blanks, for he did not damage. Then he hobbled over the state line and was safe from the Missouri police. A two-legged man, Wade Smith, was not so fortunate. Someone in the crowd hit Smith as he was trying to make his getaway with the crowd and he started in to lick the bunch. He got the worst of it, and in addition was arrested and taken to the Southwest boulevard police station and locked up. A charge of disturbing the peace will be put against him in police court this morning.

Labels: police, saloon, Southwest boulevard, State line

May 30, 1908

BLACK HAND IN

POLICE FORCE.

MOVES MEN LIKE PIECES IN A

GAME OF CHESS.

SHADOW OF MICKEY O'HEARN.

COMPELS TERROR AND SILENCE

WHEREVER IT FALLS.

"I Get My Orders From the Boss

Down Town," Boasts an Insub-

ordinate Sergeant --

What Happened to James.

"You'll only be here a few days."

"To hell with the captain. I get my orders from the boss down town."

Could it be that his avowed friendship for Alderman Mickey O'Hearn, and the fact that Mickey was for him when he made sergeant, inspired these remarks from Sergeant Charles Beattie? They were made some time ago in No 3 police station on the Southwest boulevard to Sergeant R. L. James, who, at that time, was in command of the station nights. There was more truth than poetry in the remarks, for James was moved at the next monthly meeting. It is said five persons heard the remarks of Sergeant Beattie.

It is a well known fact to all who understand police duty that the sergeant in charge of a station has full charge of the men in the entire district. On the night that the remarks were made it is reported that Beattie, who was serving as outside sergeant, changed a patrolman whom Sergeant James had ordered to walk the Southwest boulevard until the saloons closed. It was Saturday night and things were doing on the boulevard.

When the patrolman was told to go another beat he went to the station after his lunch, so report says. There this dialogue is said to have taken place:

"It's only 11 o'clock, officer. I thought I told you to stay on the boulevard until the saloons were closed," said James.

"Sergeant Beattie has ordered me back on my beat," was the reply.

ORDERS FROM THE BOSS.

Just at that juncture Beattie entered and an explanation was asked for. He said that he had ordered the officer back and intended that he should go there, too. He was asked if he didn't know that the sergeant in charge of the station was his superior officer and t5hat he is said to have replied: "Oh you'll only be here a few days."

James, according to the witnesses, must have felt the influence of the unseen power which has for nearly a year been guiding the affairs of the police, still he fought for his authority.

"I don't want to quarrel with my men, and won't," he is reported as saying, "but, Beattie, if you will be here tomorrow at 9 o'clock we will put this whole matter up to the captain and see who is right."

"To hell with the captain. I get my orders from the boss down town," is the reported remark of Beattie. Then the officer was ordered by Beattie to go hence and he went.

A full report of this affair was made to Captain John Branham, who has charge at No. 3 police station. The captain made his report and the correspondence was sent to Chief of Police Daniel Ahern. There the matter has apparently rested, for Beattie has never called "on the carpet" to explain his remark, and James "got his" at the first of the month. It is also said that the matter of James's removal was taken up with the commissioners later and that they knew nothing of it. Yet the board unanimously adopted a resolution in July last year, saying that only the commissioners should have to do with the shifting of men.

WHAT UNSEEN FORCE?

Who moved Sergeant James? What for? He is rated as one of the best officers on the force and there is not a black mark against him. What force was brought to bear? How did Beattie know that James would be moved? Beattie is said to be a close friend of "Mickey."

A reporter attempted to interview Sergeant James last night in regard to the affair. Here is all he got: "Yes, I was once at No. 3. I was moved from there and made relief sergeant. If there was any trouble down there, a full report was made on it, and that is all I have got to say unless called on by my superior officers or the board."

Before Beattie was made a sergeant, he walked a beat on West Twelfth street, by the Century hotel and theater. There he came daily in contact with Joseph Donegan, manager, a close friend of O'Hearn. He also saw O'Hearn many times a week for the Century was a hang out of his when not at his saloon. Many reports came to headquarters of a poker game in that neighborhood, but it was reported "impossible to get at it."

THEY'RE AFRAID TO TALK.

Good men on the police force who got "in bad" by doing their full duty are now living in deadly fear that their names will be published.

"What do you care?" one was asked yesterday. "You did your duty and got the worst of it, didn't you?"

"Yes," he replied mournfully, "and I know just why I got it and who gave it to me. But I have a family to support and I need my job. If you run my name I'm afraid the man who had me moved will have me fired."

All through the whole department that unseen power is felt. All seem to know what and who it is, but they fear to say so, unless called on to do so by the board of police commissioners.

A new man said yesterday that O'Hearn moved to the Century hotel in the Second ward just to run for Alderman there. The January Home telephone book gives his residence as 3427 Euclid avenue.

The police board seems to be resting fairly content while the force is being manipulated to suit a saloonkeeper-politician and his friends. Or is the board "wise" to what is going on -- and willing to stand for it?

Labels: Alderman O'Hearn, black hand, Euclid avenue, hotels, No 3 police station, police, politics, saloon, Southwest boulevard

February 28, 1908

THIEF HAD VARIED TASTE.

Whisky Alarm Clock and Pair of

Scissors His Booty.

Stultz Bros., wholesale liquor dealers at 618 Southwest boulevard, reported to the police yesterday that a thief had broken into their store Wednesday night and had stolen six quarts of rock and rye, three gallons of straight whisky, an alarm clock and a pair of scissors.

The variety of this booty sorely perplexed the police. It was the oddest combination ever recorded in the grand larceny department of Central station. After a closed session of the board of logical deduction, the local Sherlocks submitted the following theory as their best:

The thief probably had a bad cold, so he stole the rock and rye to cure the cold. Naturally, after effecting the cure of a bad cold, the thief wanted to celebrate properly, so he stole the three gallons of straight whisky.

This much of the strange mystery being deduced along safe and sane lines, the rest comes easy. He took the alarm clock in order to wake up the jag, and the theft of the scissors probably was for the sole purpose of "cutting it all out."

Labels: alcohol, Central station, crime, Southwest boulevard

October 3, 1907

WOMEN HURT IN RACE.

Mrs. C. B. Stevens and Mrs. R. S. Fis-

ette Drive Into Rosedale Car.

An impromptu driving race in Roanoke boulevard last night resulted in a collision with a Rosedale car at Southwest boulevard and Genesee street, and two women were severely injured. Mrs. C. B. Stevens, the owner of the horse and buggy, was taken to her home at 1180 Kansas avenue, in an undertaker's ambulance. Her companion, Mrs. R. S. Fisette, residing at 1621 Kansas avenue, was taken to the Eleanor Taylor Bell Memorial hospital in Rosedale. Both suffered severe bruises about the head, shoulders and back.

The street car crew, J. H. Drilling, motorman, and William Jordan, conductor, was arrested by Patrolman Todd, but released on bond by the commanding officer at No. 3 police station. The men will appear today before the county prosecutor.

Mrs. Stevens and Mrs. Fisette, driving on Roanoke boulevard, refused to allow two young men in another buggy to pass them. The two parties raced until the men turned west as they neared the Southwest boulevard. The women kept on their way and attempted to turn east onto the boulevard when the buggy struck the fender of the car. A buggy wheel went off on the fender, left the car and the women were thrown to the pavement.

Labels: accident, buggy, Genessee street, hospitals, Kansas avenue, No 3 police station, Roanoke boulevard, Rosedale, Southwest boulevard, streetcar

September 27, 1907

SHE HAS NOT GONE AWAY.

Wife of Missing Michael Donnelly

Still in the City.

Mrs. Michael Donnelly, who, it was reported, had followed in the wake of her husband, Michael Donnlly, national organizer of the Butcher Workmens' union and mysteriously disappeared from the city, is at 1810 Washington street.

She stated last night that she gave up her restaurant and boarding house at 3103 Southwest boulevard because the expense was too great. Most of the boarders that she had there will still be with her at the Washington street cottage.

She has at yet received no word from her husband and refuses to express any opinion as to what has become of him, on the ground that her fears are of too serious a nature to be given publicly.

Labels: butchers, missing, Southwest boulevard, Washington street

September 22, 1907

FATAL ENDING OF STABBING.

Benjamin Clay Dies from Knife

Wounds Inflicted by Jesse Walker.

Benjamin Clay, 30 years old, a bottler, living at 2443 Penn street, died yesterday morning at his home from a stab would in the left temple inflicted by Jesse Walker, 19 years old, who lives at 2436 Washington street, the night of September 11. Dr. George B. Thompson, coroner, performed an autopsy yesterday. Walker is being held at police headquarters. Statements were taken from both the young man and his father, Albert Walker, yesterday. Should Jesse Walker be tried on a charge of murder, it is probable self-defense will be his plea. In his statement he says that Clay attacked him in a saloon at Southwest boulevard and Penn street, grabbed him by the hair and beat him on the face. He broke away from Clay and ran into a side room with Clay pursuing him, and that Clay was reaching in his pocket, apparently to draw a knife. Walker pulled out a knife and stabbed him three times, twice in the body and once on the left temple. Walker then ran and Clay chased him a block.

Labels: Coroner Thompson, murder, Penn street, Southwest boulevard, Washington street

September 4, 1907

HORSE FELL INTO BASEMENT.

Man Arrested Blames the Mishap to

a Woman Driver.

Patrolmen Abbey and Fagan arrested Edward Vaughan late on the evening of Labor day, alleging that he was beating a livery horse which landed in the basement of a saloon at Twenty-fourth street and Southwest boulevard. There is a fire station at that point and the firemen had to cut the harness to extricate the horse from the basement.

"I was lighting a cigar," explained Vaughan, to Judge Kyle yesterday, "and one of the young women took the lines. Just then an engine whistled and away went the horse. I didn't drive it into a basement to get all skinned up as I did and try to hurt others."

Justice Young defended the case. Vaughan was discharged.

Labels: animals, cigars, Judge Kyle, saloon, Southwest boulevard, Twenty-fourth street

August 4, 1907

BY AUTO TO DENVER.

"JACK" CUDAHY WILL TRY TO
ESTABLISH RECORD.

MADE THE START LAST NIGHT

HOPES TO TRAVEL 813 MILES IN
ESTABLISHED RECORD.
Crossed the Kansas State Line at 10:30
p. m. in Fifty-Horse Power Welch
Touring Car, Accompanied by
C. E. Ettwain and Two

Chauffers.

"Jack" Cudahy, manager of the Cudahy interests in Kansas City, and a motor car enthusiast, started at 10:30 o'clock last night on a trial run to Denver, a distance of 813 miles. He was accompnaied by C. E. Ettwein of the Ettwein Motor Car Company and two chauffers.

The effort o J. P. Cudahy to set a new record for the distance, following closely after the proposed speed trial to be made by J. A. Whitman, who was scheduled to start yesterday morning, will create some surprise in local automobile circles, as Mr. Cudahy's run was arranged for and the start made without the knowledge of many of his closest personal friends.

At exactly 10:30 o'clock the big fifty-horse-power Welch touring car quietly left the state line at Southwest boulevard near Bell street. The only witnesses to the start were W. W. Cowen, president of the Kansas City Automobile Club, and L. R. Moore. Mr. Cowan drove his car to the state line and started the party officially.

The car carries extra tires, fifty gallons of gasoline and provisions. Three acetylene lamps were placed in front to insure safe travel at night. Mr. Cudahy and Mr. Ettwein will eat on the car and the only stops made will be for gasoline and perhaps for repairs. Mr. Ettwein was at the wheel on the start and expected to reach Lawrence, Kas., at 12:15 this morning.

When Mr. Cudahy heard that Whitman had declared he could make the run in twenty-seven hours, he made that statement that if Whitman could do it so could he.

"I expected to go to Denver by rail tomorrow night," said Mr. Cudahy, "but after thinking over the matter I decided to try out my car on a long run. Denver looked as good to me as anywhere else and having great confidence in the speed and durability of my machine I saw no reason why I could not make the run in as good time as anyone else."

With good weather, which means fairly good roads, and no bad luck the party expects to reach Denver some time early tomorrow morning.

There is no speed record between Kansas City and Denver and if the Cudahy party succeeds in showing even creditable time it will be up to someother Western enthusiast to come forth and show something better. The best time is expected to be made in Western Kansas where the roads are level and there is little travel.

Friends of Mr. Cudahy will be informed at every opportunity as to the progress being made by the party while enroute. Mr. Cowen yesterday wired to many of the principal points along the route in search of information about the condition of the roads and the weather outlook. With the exception of probable rain storms in Western Kansas the outlook for fair weather and passable roads is especially good.

Labels: automobiles, Bell street, Denver, Lawrence, Southwest boulevard

July 16, 1907

BROTHER "PEACHES" ON HIM.

Abraham Lieberman Said to Have

Jumped Eastern Bond.

In a spirit of reveng, engendered by a quarrel, David Lieberman of Nineteenth and Wyandotte streets, gave information to the police that led up to the arrest of his brother, Abraham Lieberman, a junk dealer at 2811 Southwest boulevard, who, he claimed, is wanted by the police at Rochester, N. Y. The brothers quarreled last week, and, according to the arrested man, his brother tried to borrow money from him and on being refused gave the police information against him.

Teh informant appeared at No. 3 police station Saturday night and said that his brother had "shipped out" of Rochester while under $500 bond awaiting trial there on a charge of selling stolen property. Sergeant William Carroll and Patrolman Ralph Truman arrested Lieberman yesterday and he is being held here for further instructions from the authorities in Rochester.

The police say that both men are living in Kansas City under assumed names, and that their real name is Franks.

Labels: jail, Nineteenth street, No 3 police station, police, Southwest boulevard, Wyandotte street

July 15, 1907

THEY WERE DRINKING BEER.

Six Men Arrested at the Morris Hotel

on Southwest Boulevard.

Patrolman J. B. Franklin and Kaliel Zammer yesterday found six men drinking beer in a room on the second floor of the Morris hotel, 201 Southwest boulevard. In the room they found two cases of beer and in a closet of a room across the hall eight more full cases of beer and a bucket containing eleven half pint bottles of whisky. The liquor was taken to the station with the six men. Two of the men, Mike Dalton and William Meehan, who said they were "porters" for Morris, were released on $100 bonds each. The others were not held. Morris was arrested later and released on a similar bond. The charge against the men is selling liquor without a license.

Labels: alcohol, police, Southwest boulevard

June 1, 1907

THE INFORMER GOES

BETRAYER OF ANDERSON RE-

MOVES TO INDIAN TERRITORY.

HAS SOLD HIS BUSINESS

HAD LUCRATIVE TRADE BEFORE

HE GAVE UP EX-CONVICT

Pledged Himself to Reveal the True

Cause for His Act When Ander-

son Is Released, but It Is

Not Believed He Will

Ever Tell.

Benjamin F. Barnes, who informed on Charles W. Anderson, the escaped convict, has removed his harness shop business to the Indian Territory. At 2845 Southwest boulevard his wife, with its former good patronage regained for her little bakery, is waiting with her infant and her 5-year-old son until the location of the new home is finally decided upon.

Barnes' goods were sent to Ada, I. T., where he has an uncle. This is near Sapulpa, and from Sapulpa Barnes had a long distance telephone talk with his wife before the goods were sent yesterday. She says they expect to locate somewhere in Texas and that the harness stock is to be stored at the uncle's only temporarily.

It was in Indian Territory that Barnes nineteen years ago committed the crime for which five years later was captured, and sent to the federal penitentiary, where he knew January, alias Anderson. Later both came to Kansas City. Barnes says that he found out Anderson caused him to lose a position with a saddlery concern about three years ago and had, after that, done things to injure his business on Southwest boulevard.

Against this is Anderson's alleged statement since returning to the penitentiary that Barnes made a practice of demanding sums of money from him. Barnes says that his business was profitable and that he did not need money.

After Anderson was returned to prison, Barnes announced that on his being set free he would exploit his motive for notifying Warden McClaughry. As Anderson will not be set free until July 19, and Barnes is already residing in a distant territory, Kansas City will probably be cheated out of this revelation.

While a notable change has taken place to the sentiments of the Southwest boulevard people on the Barnes-Anderson case, their gossip has developed some new observations. Men who at first were anxious to help tar and feather Barnes or drive him from the town, now agree that an injustice was done to him and that the wave of sympathy on the other shop was inexplicable in the light of the fact that most normal people do want the authorities to know the whereabouts of escaped convicts, whether good or bad.

Mrs. Barnes, the mother of a babe of 5 weeks when the sensation came, comes of an excellent family now living in St. Joseph, Mo. Two of her uncles held superintendents' positions with the Metropolitan Street Railway Company in the city for years, and are similarly engaged on other roads now. One of her own cousins in a practicing dentist of the city. The family, it is said, did not know Barnes was an ex-convict at the time of the young woman's marriage. Mrs. Barnes says they are leaving merely for business reasons and that all the neighbors were friendly and considerate with them.

Labels: bakers, Charles Anderson, Metropolitan Street Railway Company, penitentiary, Southwest boulevard, Texas

May 6, 1907

FOUND DEAD IN A SHED.

Patrick Pendergast, Cousin of the

Alderman, Dies Suddenly.

The body of Patrick Pendergast, a laborer, 35 years old, was found by a neighbor in a shed in the rear of his home, 616 Southwest boulevard, yesterday forenoon. The deceased was a cousin of Alderman Pendergast. The coroner was summoned. Death was due to natural causes.

The man was unmarried and had lived in Kansas City all of his life. A sister, mrs. Margaret Holmes, of Chicago, will come to Kansas City today to take charge of the body.

Labels: death, James Pendergast, laborer, Southwest boulevard

Special Report -- C. W. ANDERSON

WHERE IS BARNES?

Still Missing at Midnight.

Has B. F. Barnes, informant against Charles W. Anderson, the escaped convict, left the city, or made way with himself during a fit of remorse over his act? Mrs. Barnes, though greatly worried, believes her husband will return and satisfactorily account for his mysterious absence.

He disappeared from his place of business at 2845 Southwest boulevard yesterday morning, and at midnight last night had not been heard from by his family. Before leaving he told his wife that he was going "uptown." He added that he probably would not be home until late. He did not return for luncheon nor for dinner in the evening, and when he had not returned at midnight his wife began to feel some concern about him.

"I don't see what is keeping him," she repeated time and again as she paced the floor, now and then stopping to gaze longingly out the window. She carried her infant baby in her arms and spoke at times consolingly to her 6 -year-old boy.

"My husband never stayed away from home this way before," said Mrs. Barnes, "and for that reason I feel concerned about him now. This recent trouble has weighed heavily upon both of us, more so than most people, I think, suppose. My husband has been placed in the wrong light by the people, and the same conception as has been formed of his character has been taken of me. There are two sides to this matter, just as there are to most cases of this kind, but the impulsiveness of the people has caused them to take snap judgment on us for what has been done, with the result that we must suffer worse than really is our lot.

"There is an underlying reason for what my husband did, but what that reason is we will not discuss now. I am sorry for the whole thing, as is my husband, and though I have suffered -- God knows I have suffered -- I hold no resentment toward the public or Mr. Anderson. My sympathies fare with Mrs. Anderson and her baby, and for their sakes I hope the president will pardon him."

Mrs. Barnes is a neat appearing woman, a brunette, and comely, and of intelligent and refined appearance. She conducts a bakery and confectionery adjoining the harness store of her husband, and has been doing a profitable business. The family live in three rooms in the rear of the store. A woman friend of the family has been staying at the Barnes home during the past several days, and has assisted in taking care of the household.

Labels: bakers, Charles Anderson, Southwest boulevard

Special Report -- C. W. ANDERSON

HE HAS NO REGRET.

INFORMER TELLS WHY HE

BETRAYED ANDERSON.

BEN T. BARNES.
"The Informer" Who Betrayed Charles
Anderson in Hope of $60 Reward.

Ben T. Barnes, an ex-convict, who conducts a harness shop at 2845 Southwest boulevard, is the person who betrayed Charles Anderson into the hands of the law.

Barnes has no regret for his act.

The tears of the heartbroken Mrs. Anderson have failed to touch a softer side of his nature. The blight cast by his act upon the name of the innocent Anderson child brings him no twinge of remorse.

Barnes knows the horrors of prison stripes -- the encircled his body for months. He knows the terrible penalty society inflicts upon its wayward members, even after they have satisfied the judgment of the law. Yet, with scheming, deliberate, cruel malevolence he consigned a fellow being who was leading an upright, honest life, respected by his neighbors, happy in his home, to a fate as pitiless as the tomb.

He sent Charles Anderson back to walled-in cells of steel, wrecked a home where love was the guiding spirit, and for what?

Was it for the $60 reward the government pays for escaped convicts?

Barnes says it was not. His letters to the prison warden tell an entirely different story.

In his home in Southwest boulevard Barnes gave his reasons for "turning up." He said: "But the public evidently wants escaped convicts to be left at large, and, as far as I'm concerned, they can have the rest of them free, since they think the law is wrong.

"It would never have been done if it had not been put up to me in such a shape that I was bound to do it for the benefit to myself. Anyone who had been in my place and under obligations to tote fair with officers, would have done the same thing. I am hoping and working to have my citizenship restored, and I was told by interested persons to 'come through' with the whereabouts of this man, and it was business for me to do it.

"It would never have been done if it had not been put up to me in such a shape that I was bound to do it for the benefit to myself. Anyone who had been in my place and under obligations to tote fair with officers, would have done the same thing. I am hoping and working to have my citizenship restored, and I was told by interested persons to 'come through' with the whereabouts of this man, and it was business for me to do it.

Lucille Anderson, Innocent Victim Devastated by Loss of her Father.
LUCILLE ANDERSON
Daughter of Charles Anderson, an Innocent
Victim of Ex-Convicts Cupidity.

"I can't understand how people who believe in supporting the majesty of the law can turn indignantly against me, I suppose it will gratify these gushing people to learn that I happen to know six or eight other escaped convicts at large in Kansas City. They are all, of course, from one prison, and there are many others from elsewhere. Do you suppose anybody is going to report such men to the officials when the public makes a hero of the wrongdoer and wants to mob the man who showed him up? I was not to judge Anderson . The law said he was wrong. It wasn't my business to take issue with the law.

Barnes is proud of his own record for honesty and industry since he got out of prison. He married seven years ago, telling the girl and her mother beforehand his history. Now he lives in a room in the rear of his shop and there are two children. He has conducted the same shop for four years, and says he is not afraid that the notoriety will injure his business.

"Everybody knows that I'm square," he says.

Labels: Charles Anderson, Southwest boulevard

February 8. 1907

STRUCK WITH A BEER GLASS.

Saloonkeeper Arrested

After Injury to a Traveling Man.

In a fight in the saloon of Charles Dittmar, Broadway and Southwest boulevard, yesterday afternoon, William E. Hines, a traveling salesman from New York, was so seriously cut that he had to be taken to the University hospital. Hines did not say what started the trouble, but said it was Dittmar who struck him. He was hit with a beer glass and received a deep cut two inches long on the left side of the face, a cut an inch long under his left eye and a number of small cuts and bruises about the head and face.

Dittmar was arrested and taken to No. 3 police station, a few blocks distant, where he was released on his personal recognizance.

Labels: Broadway, No 3 police station, salesmen, saloon, Southwest boulevard, University hospital