St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-11-26
Counsel for the Cronin Sus-
poets Conclude Their Very
Shaky Case.
MilFman Mertes' Testimony
Puts Several Policemen in
a Fad Light.
He Informed Them Of the
Struggle in the Carlson
Cottage.
States Attorney Longeneek-
er's First Step in Rebuttal
Easily Checkmated.

CHICAGO. Nov. 25.-When the court
opeped this morning in the Cronin case,
William Mertes. the milkman, was
called by Mr.. Forrest. In reply TO Mr..
Forests questions, Mertes testified
that il was a day OF two after DR..
Cronin'S body was found when he first
spoke to police officer. Two officers,
witness did not know their names, came
to him and asked if he knew anything
about a murder having been committed
around there. Witness then told them
that about three ekS before that time
he saw a buggy, coming north, stop in
front of the Carlson cottage. A tall,
slim man. wearing dark brown over
coat, got out of the buggy and went
into the cottage. Witness did not re-
member whether he told the officers
that he could not remember the date, OF
not. but did not think he told them that
il was too dark 10 recognize the man
in the buggy. Witness said he
also told the officers of the noises
he heard in the cottage. After the man
entered the cottage, the other drove
south toward Lincoln avenue. Before
court opened this morning the attorneys
for the defense stated that their
CASE WAS NOT CLOSED,
as was supposed Saturday. Several
witnesses on behalf of kunZe will he
introduced, and some testimony for 9TH
erS of the accused. Mr,-FOrreSt said,
however. that he thought the defense
would he able 10 conclude their case to-
day. Following Mertps. some show of
attention to the interests of Suspect
Kunze was made by Attorney DOnahue
by the calling of former employer of
the hitler German TO the stand. j. w.
Fralich. a painter, Swore that kunZe,
under the name of John KrOgel. worked
for him April 20 to June -. That he
attended to his duties on May 4. work
ing from s a. m. till p. m,
and that he reappeared promptly
on the following Monday, and
discharged his duties as usual: did
he have a muStache then?" asked At
torney Donohue. "YeS. just about
the size it is nOw,'' the witness replied.
That is considered an important point
BY the defense, as Mertes N others
who SwOre TO seeting KunZe anOut that
time declared that he had no mustache.
or at least a very small one. Then an
attack by the same attorney was made
on old man CarlSOn'S testimony about
a conversation between Burke and
O'SulliVan on the afternoon of March
10, Immediately after Burke. or as he
was then known, Williams. had con-
cluded the negotiations for the lease of
the cottage. Carlson swOre that BOurke
went at once to O'Sullivan. who was
standing in the alley, and said to him:
81 have got the cottage" Carlson was
very positive about having heard that
remark. and implying as it did that
O'Sulliyan was fully cOgniZant of the
early
PLANS OF THE CONSPIRACY
was an exceedingly damaging bit of evil
dence against the iceman. Dyer ThOmp-
son, all emplOye of lceman Henry Nc
Bride, swore that on the afternoon of
March IS ne was unloading car under
the HaISted street yiaduct consigned to
O'Sullivan. and that from 2:30 TO 7:30
O'Sullivan was with him watching the
unloading. On the crOSS-eXaminatiOn
By the states attorney the testimony of
the witness was somewhat shaken in
regard to the exact date. He stuck To il
with tolerabe firmness, however. and
received confederation from his en-
ployer. Henry Mcbride. and Charles
Thompson and John Doyle. his fellow
employees. Detective Crow then swOre
to having had a conversation with Milk
man Mertrs on the day after the post
mOrtem examination on Dr. CrOuin'S
body, and that during that conversation
MerteS told him that he did not Temem-
Der the night he saw the two men drive
up to the Carlson cottage ,One of them. the
one whom Mertes OH the stand sw0re
was Coughlin going into the cottage, and
the other. whom he on the stand, identi-
{1aN "A ri MI, Inacrnt1nh
however, that Mertes also swOre Oh the
stand that he at first did not recollect
the date, but fixed it definitely later
when talking il over with his wife. the
testimony of Crow can have no little
effect. A suspicious circumstance was
brought out in the detectives evidence.
He swOre that MerteS, in the same con-
versatiOn, spoke of hearing sounds of
fight Immediately after he saw the tall
man enter the cottage. He. the detect
i've, was asked on the crOss-examination