The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1888-10-03
AND KEMP
TRIED BY AJURYoF THEIR COUNTRY
HEN
ON A R OF ARSON,
N SETTING FIRE TO THE GLADE
HOUSE on THE NIGHT OF MAY
7. ISIS.
cummIns Convicted, ard Kemp
Goes Free.
BOTH NOW UNDERGOING TRIAL on
A CHARGE OF FIRING THE ODD
coFFRoTH AND
scULL BLOCKS on THE
NIGHT OF NAY Il.

NIGHT OF NAY Il.
Long before the smoke lad left the dying
embers that lay smoaidering meath the ruins
Of the Glade HOUSE. in the early morning
Of May sih last, the idea that the conhagra-
ton was Of incendiary origin bad gone
abroad. and gained general eredence. Ten
days aferward the buildings occupied by
the law Offices Of Colborn ( Colborn, the
I Odd Fellows Lodge. !. b SnydeTs general
store. CoHroth & Ruppeis law Office. J. O.
Kimmels and Squire Lint Offices and Chas.
Fishers Book Store were burned TO the
ground. and Tie awfal work was generally
attributed to the hands OF in~cendiaries. In
the course Of ten days it was known To a
few residents of Somerset and to those who
suffered by the FIRE. that detectives had been
put TO work on the case. and were eEdeavor-
ing TO fcrrit out the perpetrators Of these
dreadful midnight crimes
Almos; the entire community WIS startled
when. on the morning ofJuly End, i was
known that Edward Cummins and /. Newton
Kemp bad been arrested and placed iu the
county jail, charged with arson. GA the
iii day o fully a halsas corpus hearing was
beld before Judge Baer when such evidence
was produced 10 satisfy his Honor that
the prisoners should be resaan,ied 10 Jail
to await trial. in default Of S5.0o,00 bail.
After the sabeas corpus hearing the matter
Of the fire soon faded from public view only
to be revived'af the opening Of September
court, when an indictment was submitted 10
the Grand jury. who after examining the
many witnesses in the case approved the bill
Of Indictment and presented a it TO the court.
The case was called for trial Tuesday morn
ing. when every avaiIable sat in the court
room vas occupied, andthe aisies and space
rallied of for the Use Of the bar and courr
officers was densely crowded with interest
ed spectators. Atthe table ofthe common
wealth sat the prosecutor. ex-Sherih John
Winters, Dslrict Attorney Besecker. CofToth
and Ruppel and A. C. Holbert, Esq. At the
table opposite we're the prisoners Cummins
and Kemp with their c%ounsle, John z Scott,
". II. Kooniz, and H. II KUHN. Esq's. The
AEAlNA1 NUAh y tlAAAAA@FhtE = lily Wa NAA-
tered upon and each juror was examined
with such great care that Only two jurors
were in the box when the usual noon recess
was taken. The entire afternoon session Of
court was taken up IN examing jurors and
the box was only 1lied when the hour for
the adjournment Of the days session ar
rived, The jury was composed Of men not
only prominent in their different districts,
bat prominent in the eagnty, and was re-
garded by al as what lawyers term a sDDd
jury. Wm. H. Rappel, Esq, opened the
case for the commonwealth. and told The
jury what facts and evidence they meant %
submit TO them.
The prosecutor. John Winters. testiheithat
he was the lessee Of the Glade House al the
time Of the fire; early in the evening previous
to the Are Kemp had come to him and asked
for a bed. he showed him 10 a room on the !
third aoor. Before retiring for the nigZ
Winters made an examination ofthe house.
but discovered no Indications Of FIRE. Awoke
about midnight with the noise Of fire,
made an examination, found the dining
room all ablaze, started to give the alarm,
was met at the front door by Cummins, who
took up the cry of fire. Winters alarmed al
the occupants Of the house. having To break
oIeu the door Of one, and help him to a
place Of safety knocked at Kemps door,
but was unable to elicit a response
Mrs. Winters eorroborated her husbands
statement, and said that Cummins appeared
in her bed chamber before she was entirely
dressed, and she ordered him put.
Different guests of the Inflated house testl-
fed to Winters having apprised them Of
their danger; that Cumnins was the first
max they met on going down STAIRS and only
one or two Of them bad seen Kemp come
down stairs.
The location Of the origin ofthe FIRE. in the
rear Of the ~diuing-room was establ shed by
a number of witnesses.
One Brown and one Johnson both ex-
convicts, testified tha, Cummins when q
fellow convict in the Western Peuitentiary
OF PA. had threatened to burn Winters our.
Several other witnesses testified that Cum
minis had threatened to cause a c~onfagFafion
in Somerset
The detective Carpenter. testified that be
met Cummins first az the residence Of
- Ankeny. above Confluence, where Cum
minis was engaged at painting, be had been
made acquainted with Cummins fondness
for strong drink and be proceeded to ply
him with whiskey, kept him more or less
drunk, for a week or ten days; on one oc-
casion, when Kemp passed by Cummins r.
marked, Kemp is afraid III give himaway.
The detective told umnins be was crook
by profession and robbed and fred innumer-
able buildings, said they "conversei on al
subjects excepting honesty be brought
Cummins to Somerset in a state Of intoxica-
ton. and the next day took him 20 Johns
town where he was arrested for drunkenness.
The detective furnished Cummins with
whiskey and money. and had him released
from the lookup ON a sunday morning and
took him to a bill top in Kernyile where
Cummins confessed that three of them were
engaged in the fire, that Kemp had piled the
match, and that slim jim who would
meet them at the station in Somerset vas
the third.
The close c~ompanionship of Cunmins and
Kemp was established by the testimony ola
number Of witnesses.
Many other details Of minor importance
were laid before the jury BY the attorneys
for the commonwealth.
J.. R Scott, opeed the ease for the defense
with a very full recital of the facts they
would establish.
John F. Snyder was their first witness
and testified that ne was awake the night Of
the fire and saw the bright reflection in the
sky partially dressed he hurried up town
and discovered the fire was in tie Glade
House. in the door Oft hotel he saw a
colored man. he passed down the Casebeer
alley for water and saw the fire in the base
ment under the dining-room; when he re-
to the street a number Of persons
were there.
Mrs. W J. Higinbotham testified as 70 the
Of the kitchen and dining
pointed out the cooking stove as stand
ing Immediately below where the hre was
first discovered. the unsafe condition OF the ]
due and the damb-waiter adjoining ii and
to the dining room.
Cbas. Parson, IT.. testified that he was
for Winters slept in Office Of hotel. {
awoke him; saw Kemp come down {
stairs only partially dressed q