The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1877-04-13
The Case of Phair.

OF JOnn Ihalr last FRIDAY. The Boston
Globe of that morning had published
Phair's "dying statement" which occu-
pied five or six columns of fine type in
that paper. We condensc our account
from its issue of the next morning:
Among the Boston men who walked
carelessly and in their usual manner
into their offices or counting rooms Fri
day morning to transact what business
the rainy weather had left to them, was
Mr.. NJ. ID. Downing, manager of the
American Novelty company, at 80
School street. Mr.. Downine's custom
is invariably to buy his papers on his
way to the Office, glance through them
hurriedly and to attend to business.
Friday morning one of his young men,
Mr.. Robert /. Loheed of South Boston,
came i'll with the announcement that the
Globe had put out an enormous bulletin
announcing that ''Vermcnt was to hang
Il man to-day who claimed his limo
cence.' Mr.. Downing at once sent out
for copy of the paper. This itself was
unusual, as he usually buys the Globe
and Herald avnry morning on his way
| to his office. lie cannot recollcct to have
sent out to buy paper in the forenoon
for three years. This was at about fif-
teen minutes of IL o'clock Then he
did another thing he never did before
read long newspaper story in business
hours, Coming down to this part of
Phair's statement, he sat almost rigid
In his chair, so overwhelmed was he
with establishment:
My unfortunate trip east occurred ON the same
day the woman is supposed to have been nun
| dered. Her house was discovered TO be on fire
between 80 and O'Clock ON that morning and /
proved on my trial that left Rutland ON ihe 30
morning tram for Providence, II. L. Now accord
ing to the II. and II. Railroad time table, and the
regular running Of The trains on that road, was
in Bellows Falls at the time her house was on fire,
and could not possibly have had anything " do
with the crime. reached Boston about 10 p NJ,
and Immediately on the arrival OF the train, and
In company with Mr.. and Mrs. George Stewart OF
Rutland, took hack and crossed that part of the
| city which leads direct from the Fitchburg depot
| to the Boston and Providence depot AT the latter
depot took the first train going To Providence,
which left Boston at O'Clock =. NJ, and arrived
in the former place about O'Clock T.. NJ, my bust
ness to Providence being ifpossible to secure en-
ploymcnt with the American Screw Co. or the
Corliss engine works, both of which are well.
| known firms OF the plnce After consulting few
workmen who were In tho employ of both these
| firms, as to my probable chance of getting suita
BILE job, was discouraged by being told that thes ~
companies we've then dischargng some OF lhcg
| being members Of the Workingmen's rnjnn OF
which was also member; knew il couldn't
get work through their aid, II would DC useless
for me 10 apply M the cpmpany's Office. remained
in Providence over night andhaYing no more than
enough money To secure respectable lodging for
at a regular hotel but at an ordinary lodging
| house, where a room and bed only was To he had
| by paying seventy five cents for the same before
retiring for the night was not asked TO register
| my name az this house, and in fact don't think
there was register in the house, but was simply
morning, Ny supper and breakfast was taken nj
a restaurant near by the lodging house at a cost
OF forty cents per meal making the whole cost of
| my meals anu lodging Sl.55. Had stopped at a
iirstclass hotel, my name would have been written
upon Its register and enabled me to prove an abb
| that would have upset all this MISREPRESENTATION
and wrong. For ii was claimed thai Mrs. Frees
Jewels were sold in Boston at the time was in
| Providence; and as those Jews had sworn a false
| Identity en- nae, ! WAS Obliged 10 prove that |
stopped IN Providence on that night, as had sta.
ted. This was Il hard thing for me TO do as The
following lacls VIII show In the first place, nev.
er saw any but strange faces from tie moment
| separated nom Mr.. and Mrs Stewart, at the Bos.
ton and Providence depot. until my return To
| not take single number of any house or place
had entered while in Providence Third, Provi-
| denDe has population Of nearly 100000 inhabi.
tants, and il city had never been in before
Fourth, while on my journey had never dreamed
mat such an accusation awaited my return home,
| Ion God, above all others, knows that my "trip had
| been contemplated at least one month before ii
was taken, and that no dishonesty attended 1t.
Finn, and last when arrested and accused of the
unfortunate woman's death, had only my wear
ing apparel in general and 50 in money to my
name. Had then the one sixth part OF the money
expended by the prosecution in eifecting my foul
CONNECTION, haven't doubt might have cleared
myself as honorably as ever man was acquitted in
any court OF Justice on earth. This did moi have.
and consequently gas obliged to submit to the
gross injustice knew was being done me.
After reading this part of the state
ment MI. Downing jumped out of his
chair and exclaimed; "My God, they
have got the wrong man This man is
innocent His words and excited man
ner astonished his associates, and as soon
as he became calm he stated that he
went to Providence on the morning of
June 10, 1874, and returned upon train
Which left Providence in the forenoon
and reached Boston about noon on that
day. His memorandum book was re-
ferred to at once and the time was found
| to be correct. On that train, coming to
Boston, he met and talked with man
whom he firmly believed to be Phair.
and on reading the aboyo statement OF
Phair's he saw how important q link he
might possibly supply. The reader
will remember that the murder was
upon June ., 1874, and that Phair
claimed that he was in Providence on
the evening of that day, and left there
on the forenoon of the 10th, arriving in
Boston at noon. This led Mr.. Down
ing to recall 10 mind all the circumstan-
ces of the trip, and his recollection Oft
facts is about as follows:
Mr.. Downing left Boston by the early
train and came back in the forenoon, as
stated, being anxious TO keep an APP
poiniment with a gentleman In Bos-
ton In the afternoon on an important
business matter. Stepping into the
smoking car at Providence he rode i'm
that until he had finished a cigar, and
then passed into passenger ear. The
man whom he now supposes TO be
Phair sat in seat alone. Taking seat
| by his side, Mr.. Downing soon entered
into conversation with him. The man
said he hailed from Vermont, where
upon, Mr.. Downing, who himself was
born and raised in Vermont. inquired
what section the man came from. ~
am from Rutland" said the man: "
came down yesterday, and tried TO get
work of the Screw company in Provi-
dence, but it is so dull ! could moi, ana
4 am going back TO Rutland" This led
to further conversation. Mr.. Downing
was in line of business in which he
employed good many agents, and be-
ing fayOrably impressed with the mans
appearance and his evident intelligence.
he told him il he did not find any work
he had better take nh agency for Rut-
lapd and vicinity for his goods, The
idea did not seem TO impress the man
favorably, SO the subject was dropped.
Neither knew or inquired the name OF
the other. They talked on general top
les aud separated. Mr.. Downing paid
no particular attention to the report OF
the murder or the trial, and read nei-
ther. OF course he could not have
known that Phair was the man he had