The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1885-08-20
HAHRRLL.


Ii has new been about fiVs months /
since s.. Louis was startled by the dis
covery one morning OF a dead man |
packed away In trunk up IN room No. |
IA ct the Southern hotel. II soon be-
came evident that one William Lemon
Maxwell, friend Of O. Arthur Preller,
was implicated In the mystery. The
body found !n the trunk was supposed
70 be that Of PrelIer and the man MAJ
well at once thought TO have been his
murderer The latter was traced TO q
ship bound for Auckland, New Zealand,
and in due time arrested charged with
the crime. Officers were sent across the
Pacific with acquisitions for his
return. In one of his trunks, It is said,
was found white shirt, undershirt and
drawers, which had been cut and strip
ped from PrelleF. Wrapped up with
them was PAIR Of curiously curved sur
geOn's scissors, with which the garments
had been neatly ripped off the body.
There were also collars and cuffs marked
&C. A. p" and (What wern't mentioned
IN the Auckland papers, towels stained
with blood and marked Southern Ho-
TEL" All these these things were wrap
ped up together and thrust into the
trunk as though the man who had done
It was in o great hurry. MAXWELL and
party passed through Kansas last
Saturday on the Santa Fe and
St Louis and San Francisco roads and
arrived at st. Louis early Sunday
morning. Circumstances point to the
guilt of Maxwell. The latter, however,
makes bold to say that Preller is now
alive and that the scheme was
one of Preller's to obtain
insurance money. If Maxwell can
prove his statements, aud he alleges he
will have al St. Louis the necessary data
and evidence tor that purpose, the con-
spIracy is indeed a remarkable one. The
dispatches lately have carried the belief
that Maxwell was very retieent and non
cOmmIltal generally since he landed in
San Francisco about week since. II
however transpires that he had talk
with California secret service officer
on the eve OF his departure for the east,
and the following is taken from that H.
terview and will be of Interest to our
readers just now:
Ale seemed 10 feel relief, and lighting
q fresh cigarette, said: You know
enough about this case TO know there Is
9 mystery in il which has not yet come
out l will tell you frankly that l did
not murder Preller; that Preller is alive
70 day. and proof of his existence will be
forthcoming by the time of my trial.
You can't blame me for lying to these
people. Here is q crowd OF reporters,
some Of them trying to wheedle and
others to bully my secrets from me.
Then come detectives and say this
thing and that has been discovered; we
have all OF this circumstantiAl evidence
against you; what can you say to it.
Knowing every fact IN the case as do, l
know that they are lying or are on an
entirely wrong scent, so l simply puzzle
them more or stuff them with new in
ventions They have all got one theory,
and they are trying 10 lit facts to that
theory, instead of making a theory from
the facts. They have been IN here to-
night with certain articles and have said,
you did this at such q place. when l
know very well thst no such occurrence
cNcC nappcbSu. AnSy nave HoCSu HAo
very we'll IN my first visit to this city,
because l made no effort to cover my
tracks. used the same name and the
same disguise as French officer all
through from the time left st. Louis to
the time boarded the Auckland steam
er and through the voyage. It came into
my mind on the tram because the people
asked me questions, and it
was amusement To mystity
them and tell them stories.
This was the origin of the French cap
tain and his exploits, 1t was simply
blind to preserve my identity unsus-
pected, and to allow me to reach the col
Onies, which, 1 thought, could be easily
done before any news of the st. Louis
affair could reach them. l didn't know
that cable communication was SO perfect
or that the news could possibly be sent
| to Auckland before the steamer reached
there"
"But what about the st. Louis mystic
ry? Can you give any details."
"'All can give you is an outline, and
that is more than any one else has got
out OF me. They brought IN here to-
night General ClunIe, u lawyer OF this
city, who offered to get out habeas corpus
papers for me tomorrow. and who was
anxious TO 60 on to ST. Louis as my
counsel. He may be square, but it would
not do tor me to trust a stranger
with my secrets No, prefer TO wait
till get to st. LOUIS before engaging
counsel. Here is the gist of the st.
Louis mystery which has puzzled the
country for four months. Preller aud !
were old friends. We came to Boston
together ON the steamer CepthaionIa.
We were constant companions, and
made arrangements to meet at st. Louis
at the Southern hotel, and there TO carry
out a scheme which PrelIer had devised
for getting insurance ON his lie. We
met according to agreement. We were
in room IA in the hotel for about all
the time we spent there, but, mind you
Preller was at the hotel only three days
He remained in seclusion for the re-
matnder of the mystery at the Southern
hotel, and he lett ST. Louis alive and well
on the same daY that / started west.
That wasn't PrelIer's body found in the
trunk at the hotel When the case comes
up for trial shall have proof of where
the body found in the trunk was pro
cured, who It was bought of, at VIVA
hour il was brought to the hotel, and al
the details of the plot can tel
you now that the corpse wal
brought TO the hotel III a trunk in broad
daylight and was carried up to room IA
Everything was arranged to give colol
to theory of sudden murder and hasty
fight. Nothing was omitted which
thought would add to this misconcep
tiOn. My design was to get clear out o
the country before the body was dIscov
cred, and once In Australia l thought i
would be easy to bury my indemnity in tn
East IndIas until things had been for
{ gotten. / will show you how entirely
trusted Preller and how completely
. was his assistant in this scheme, when
tell you that / don't know to-day how
large an insurance he carried on his life
knew 1t was for Bug sum and CAV
my help In the enterprise solely becausl
he wac an old friend and associate. Wher,
: he IS, or what arrangements I have TO
communicating with him, of course til
out of The question for me to tell, bu
you can rest assured of the accuracy O
these facts have given you. and they
will all be proven on trial.
. Governor Riddle and Al. Green ough
to be happy up ct Minneapolis witt
their Messenger. They say that the
citizens of their town are the bigges
hearted people on earth. We wish tbs
two solid Kanssns long lease on theil
bonanza, They, too, are a big invest
ment for Minneapolis, and the people car
MT treat than too vvoIl ~ T1trouiz.