New-York tribune., 1881-11-21

Saturday. Officer Edelin declares posltlVely
that Jones is not the man. Jones Is saiu
IN he an eccentric and almost IRE
sponsible person. Many people visi'eu
the District Jail yesterday and en-
deavored to catch glimpse of Gulteau,
The assassin repeated his offensive statement
.hot bo is cared for by the Lord, but is SAID
IN have exhibited nervousness at the thought
of facing the crowd again to-day. 1t is said
that important changes will soon be MADE III
the Treasury Department.
THE MAN WHO SHOT AT GUTTEAU.
. STRONG PROBABILITY THAT HE HAS ESCAPED
OFFICER EDELIN, READY TO SWEAR THAT WILL
IAN JONES is NOT THF MAN WHOM HE FIRED
UPoN-JoNEs A HALF-wITTED CREATURE
WASHINGTON, Nov 2O.-Willam Jones, the man
who WAS supposed to have fired into the prlson-vah
Yesterday afternoon, with the intention OF Killing
Guiteau. was taken to the Second Preclnc' n'atloh
last evening He was very much under Tue lnnu-
ence of liquor when arrested and was unaoie 'osdS
much about his suspicious movements. Ihis moIn-
inc he had become sober enough to appreciate his
positiou and at once secured r. X. Elliott as couh-
sci to defend him upon his arralgnment in the 70
lice COurt tomorrow Jones is well-known to the
nolce having been arrested several times upon Var
ous charges within the past years. Helstwenty-
nine wears old and owns and works fine farm upon
tbe Rates Road about three miles from the clty'
He is regarded as "cTank" by his nelghDors'
His main amusement for the past two years mas
been to persOnate policeman, and after arrestihg
some unsuspecting wayfarer and making pretence
of taking him to the station house. to release MN
with a warning not to be caught offending again.
He spends much of his time in the saddle and Is an
ACCOMPLISHED horseman Upon recent occasion he
L IL fr,cf arNta
grounds of the Soldiers Home, and COM
PEELED the driver to halt. The occupants, a
gentleman and two ladies, protested but with much
severity of manner Jones called out {: This thing
has been going on long enough; you must go with
me to the station house have my orders to arrest
youD Explanations failed to satisfy him, and sup
posing him to be an oficer-thOugh laboring under
an evident mistake-the party accompanied hlm 10
the station house. Just the three were about TO
a1ght from their carriage however. Jones laugh-
ingy bade them good-day, and putting spurs to his
horse quickly disappeared. Shortly afterward ne
arrested woman, and on this occasion he was lined
in the Police Court. His freaks were always OF
harmless character and he was never known to use
carry a revolver.
Those who know him intimately say that he is
rather half-witted than crazy man. His appear
ance and demeanor to-day would seem TO indicate
that he rather enjoys the nOtoriety which he ex-
pects TO gain from the situation. When asked by
gentleman who was admitted to see him this after
noon why he did not hit Guiteau he laughed ana
said: at wasn't that shot at him, want to see
them prove it," So confident were the authorities
that the right man had been secured that no further
search was made and it was not until 5oclock TINS
afternoon that any of the officers who were on the
van at the time of he shooting was sent out to the
station house where h is confined, to identify him.
II aliY r1o ci+f in Ou
with the driver, and who fired at the horseman as
he wheeled and fed rode out TO the station house to
see the prisoner about o'clock. After thorough
scrutiny of his features and conversation with
the prisoner Officer Edelin, withdrew to the front
of the office and said to the officers and reporters
who were waiting: Gentlemen, that is not the
man. should know the man fired at yesterday
among a million. mot only fail to identify this
man Jones as the man. but could swear that he is
not the man" Ofhcer Edelin, then specified the
points of difference between them as follows:
".Jones has a light complexion, with hardly per
ceptible mOustache, whereas the man who fired at
Guteau was swaTthy man, apparently about
forty-fve years old. with very heavy stumpy
black moustache and a keen black eye. Besides,
the latter was cool and SOBER and the manner in
VIII ch he planned and executed his wOrk-even
though he failed-was that of clear-headed, deter
mined man. rather than of half-witted crank
Again the horse he rode a heavy sOrrel, with
white forelegs, while JOnes's horse has not white
feck upOn it."
The authorities are pretty well satisfied from
Officer Edein's statement, that they have not yet
secured the right man, and as Edelin, is probably
the only person who was in a position to identify
him, Jones will doubtless be released tomorrow
As an interval of an hOur and half elapsed be-
tween the time the rider escaped from the pursuing
nd he W mounted officers
sighted the eccentric Jones there IS room for seye al
theores-eithcT that the real culprit made good his
cscape-as he had ample time do door that Jones,
after as he supposed. having eluded his purSuers.
concluded to celebrate his exploit with grand
"spree." Still another theory has been advanced,
viz: that Jones was an accOmplice to the extent OF
lending his horse 1t may be that after receiving
back the animal on the outskirts of the District,
and learning what had been done, he was just drunk
enough to enjoy being pursued by the police, know
ing that he could not be held as the real criminal
This new phase of the case has added unexpected
complications and created no little stir at Police
Perry Carson, the colored man whose post of duty
was at the rear of the in which Gutcau was
conveyed from the City Hall to the Jail, yesterday
afternoon called at the police station tonight and
positively identified Jones the hoTseman who
followed the van from the City Hall 10 East Capt.
tol and First-sts., where the shooting occurred
Carson SAYS that when the van reached the Capitol
grounds Jones kept pretty close behind 1t, and
when they reached the corner of First
st. he rode past the rear end of the van. Almost
immediately he heard pistol shot fired, and then
another but whether Jones is the man who fired
the first shot, he cannot say, as from the position he
occupied Il was impossible to see what happened
The impression prevails at police headquarters
tonight that Jones is tho man who fired at Guiteau
notwithstanding the lack OF identification the
part of Officer Edelin,.
GUTTEAU AN OBJECT OF CURIOSITY.
HUNDREDS OF VISITORS AT THE DISTRICT JAIL
THE ASSASSIN STILL REPEATING HIS ASSERTIONS