Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-11-05
THE D. 0. TESTIFIES
Speilman, of Peoria, on the
Witness Stand.
THE LETTERS FROM JOHN F. BEaGS

Peculiar Slip Of the Tongue Before the
Grand Jury, which was Rather Bad for
Coushlin - Osuliivan's Reckless Re-
mark to the widow Farrar-Tracing
the Wagon and its CHASTITY Load
Murders Most Foul, and Other Trans
gressions.
CHICAGO, Nov. 5-The witness in the
Cronin trial who was so hard to locate last
week-Edward Spellman. OF Peoria-was
present in court yesterday morning when
the trial was resumed and took the stand
Immediately. He was disappointing wit
ness to the state, which proposed through
his testimony to get a further twist on
Coughlin and also to implicate Bsggs. He
said he was member of the Clan-ns- Gael
or United Brotherhood as he insisted on
calling twas distric5 officer and had re-
ceived certain letters from Beggs He said
the executive of the order was a body to
itself and gave tie names OF Mortimer Scan
Ian, Lawrence Buckley and Rouayne, of
New York, as three of the members
The Beggs Correspondence.
The state produced several letters and
proceeded TO identity them when Attorney
Foster said il was unnecessary, as Beggs adj
mitted their authenticity. The letters from
Beggs referred to the production of the re-
port Of the trial committee in advance Of its
official publication in a certain camp and
the blowing OF enbers of disunion by certain
members lone being admittedly Cronin) and
wanted TO know if Spellman couldn't stop
it. There was nothing threatening in the
letters, except the declaration that peace
must be had in the order and by-gones al
lowed to be by-gones if it required war to
reach that result Spellman's answers were
simply a declaration that without charges
being preferred he could do nothing.
Correcting Former Testimony.
In speaking Of the matter referred to in
Begg's letters, Spellman said that he met
Beggs later, and tue latter told him that the
matter had been amicably settled This was
after Cronln's disappearance. The states
attorney asked witness whether he did not
testify before the grand jury that Beggs'
words were ATTENDED tor He replied that
he did not think he did; but at any rate he
was satisfied that the words sramicaoly set
tied" were those used by Beggs
Another of CoughIin's Remarks.
illness, in answer to questions said that
Dan Coughlin and a man named kunze (he
could not recognize the prisoner as the mani
called on him at Peoria, either in December,
January or Februry last; did not know
whether they talked of Cronin there, but
thought not The states attorney then
wanted TO know whether Spellmau had not
under oath, before the grand jury, said that
be did have a conversation with Cough him at
Peoria in which the latter said Cronin ought
to be killed. Witness replied that he testified
tefore the grand jury that Coughlin had
applied TO Cronin a very opprobrious cpl
tibet. not that he said he ought to be killed
Upon thinking the matter over be concluded
be might have done Coughlin an injustice.
He bad Immediately consulted friends who
heard the conversation and they told him he
was mistaken-that Coughlin did not say So
Witness had taken a gooi deal OF trouble TO
inform the states attorney OF this mistake
and that he would not testify to those words
at the trial Witness memory was rather
treacherous as to SOM matters the states at
torney pressed him about, but the feature of
his testimony was that relative 10 Cous him.
O'sullivan Comes in Again.
John A. Mahonsy swore that lceman O'Sul-
Ivan some time before the murder, while at
a clan meeting, asked him what sort OF a
physician Cronin was Receiving a favora-
BILE reply, O'Sullivan asked to be introduced,
and then made the famous contract for the
doctor to treat his employees when nything
happened TO them
Annie Farrar. widow and a former
patron Of OSullivan, testified that O'Sulll-
van called at her house in May TO see about
taking ice. TIE widow spoke to the iceman
about the finding of Croniu's BODY, and
said at Is something fearful TO decoy q
man away and murder him like that" To
this O'Sullivan replied: "rhey say he is a
British spy and has given away the secrets
OF a certain order, and if be did that he
ought TO he killed he got no worse than he
deserved"
The Wagon and Trunk.
The other witnesses examined were Lake
View policemen who saw the wagon and
trunk going north with three men aboard;
saw it at Ell ,ewster, and saw it return, the
time testified TO being just about the time
the trip would take, AMI the whole testi-
mony making it almost certain that the
wagon was the one used to make away with
Cronin's body