St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-09-10
SHIFTING The BLAME.
New Light Thrown on the
CPonin Tragedy by a Po-
lieeman.
He Collared Kunze and "The
Fox" and They Were Re-
leased.
No Doubt That the Crime Was
Committed in the Carl
son Cottage.
Five LuekleSs Farmers Lose
Their Lives by a Boiler
Explosion.

CHICAGO. Sept. 9.-lt seems that al
thOugha great deal of matter mas been
published about the CrOnin murder, the
true story of the discovery Of evidence
at the Carlson cottage has never been
told until now. 1t is also singular that
the reporters who were working on the
case never discovered that Oh the night
of May Z. three days after DR.. Cronin
was killed, two men, now supposed to
have been Kunze and CoOney, were ar
rested and taken to the Lakeview sta
ton and discharged in the morning by
Capt Wing. A local paper stated re-
Gently that there was certain Irish Of
fcer upon the Lakeview police force
who was suspected Of direct implication
in the murder of Cronin. Other such
statements were printed in the same
paper Of later issues. Finally the officer
determined to tell his story, which is
now made public for the first time. Of
ficer Isaac Robinson has been on tn e
Lakeview force several years, and has
always borne good reputation. He is
AN FRESHMAN BY PARENTAGE,
but is not member of any Irish secret
society. Robinson had the beat in which
the cottage was located, and it was his
duty to patrol Ashland avenue and the
intersecting streets for several blocks
north and south of the Carlson house.
At different times before the murder
Robinson noticed men gong in and out
of the cottage and noticed lights within
it. He thought the cottage was not Oc-
cupied and asked Carlson who the men
were that went into it and why the
lights were lighted, Carlson told him
that he had reuted the place TO two
men who sometimes slept IN the cot
tage and who expected to soon move IN
furniture and commence housekeeping.
On the night of May 6, however, Robin
son saw man crawling out OF the base
ment of the cottage and accOSted him.
Robinson has never seen Burke, but he
believes that Burke was the man who
talked with him that evening. he said
that he and his brother were renting
the cottage. and that he had been IN the
basement simply TO see if there was not
q good place there to store some old fur
uiture. Robinson was not satisfied With
the explanation. but he did not think he
was warranted in arreSting the man.
At O'Clock the next night, May z. Rob
inson turned the corner on Roscoe
street and
CAME UPON TWO MEN
who were talking together in the shad-
Ow Of little real estate Office 100 feet
south of the Carlson cottage. They had
the door of the Office open and were
talking about hiding something under
the floor. Robinson decided to make
an effort to discover who they were and
what they were doing there One of
them. who was shorter than the other,
spoke in broken English with German
accent and said that they had lost their
way and wanted TO get down
town. He said they were
painters and lived on the West
side. Robinson asked them why they
were standing and talking on the corner
if they wanted to get down town, and
why they did not ask some one in the
neighborhOOd and find out the way.
The tall man with dark muStache, and
who spoke with an Irish accent, an
swered evaslvely, ana Robinson deter
mined TO arrest them. Just as he
started for the patrol box man ran
across from the direction of P. O'Sulli-
vans barn. and asked what Robinson
was going to do with the men. Robin
son recognized this third person as the
man he had seen crawling from the
basement of the Carlson cottage, and
told him he was going to the station,
and if the stranger said much would
take him along. The man said no more
when he saw tt at the officer recognized
him. Robinson went to the station with
the two men, and they were
QUESTIONED BY CAPT. WING.
They gave their names and supposed
addresses and repeated the story they
had previously told to Robinson. No
charges were entered against them on
the books, consequently the officer does
not remember the names they gave.
They were taken down stairs. kept in
custody until morning and then released
by Capt. Wings orders.
whats the use Of sending them 10 the
brldewell to cost the city Of Lakeview 25
cents q day. said Capt. Wing 10 Robinson.
The two men thus discharged, it is
now believed by Officer Robinson. were
kunZe and COOney. Their description
answers that Of the two suspects very
closely. At the time of their arrest ii
was not believed that DR.. CrOnin was
murdered, it being supposed that he |
had left the city of his own accord. Two |
nights later. Robinson says he saw one
of the men he had arrested coming out !
of the cottage after midnight. He did |
not accOst him because he considered |
that he had been 1ebuked by Capt. |
Wing when the latter discharged the |
prisoner. Robinson talked with !
the neighbors about the goings on
in the cottage and concluded there must |
have been q crime committed there. He |
told Carlson of his suspicious, and |
young Carlson went into the cottage |
and found the blood stains. The |
thought that Cronin had probably been !
killed in the place suggested itself to |
Robinson, and he told Capt. Wing of |
his suspicious. Capt. Wing listened to
his story but did nothing. Robinson |
learned more about the strange oc-
cupants of the cottage and again spoke |
to Capt. Wing. Three times in success !
sion the officer claims to have told Wing
of his belief that Cronin was killed in
the cottage, but nothing was done until |
the week after Cronin's body was
found. Liet. Schuettler was then sent
from the Larrabee street station to
Lakeview, and, while talking with
Capt. Wing, learned Of Officer Robin
sons suspicious. Sehuettler went to
the cottage and examined the blood
stains and satisfied himself that the
murder had been committed there.
Robinson has not as yet been summoned
as a witness by the state.
Frank Roesch, who was a wagonman
in the Lakeview station at the time
Robinson brought in his two prisoners,
says the German brought in by Robin |
son as a prisoner was not KunZe.
Roesch says further that il was not
Capt. Wing who discharged the two
prisoners from custody in the morning,
but sergeant.