, 1889-10-31
DR.. CR0NIN'S MURDER
States Attorney Longenecker
Makes a Full Statement.
WHAT THEY PROPOSE TO PROVE
The Taking of Testimony in the
Famous Case Is Then
Commenced.


and 1t required small army of bailitf,
to keep at bay the eager ones who de-
manded to be passed.
AT 10 o'clock court was called to order
and States Attorney Longenecker began
his opening address to the jury. He re-
viewed briefly the long.continued sitting
OF veniremen which resulted in the Sc.
lection of the twelve before him. He
defined the duties of jurymen and de.
iined the meaning of presumption oi
innocence. at was," he said, "a mere
negative which stood in the way of con-
viction in the absence of evidence but
must not be allowed to weaken the force
of evidence given" He defined the
meaning of reasonable doubt" which
he said must not be so stretched as 70
permit the juror to avoid doing his duty.
The states attorney then proceeded 10
dehne murder and to set forth what were
material allegations in the indictments
what IL would be necessary to prove,
They were that DR.. Cronin were Killed .
that the killing was done in this state
that 1t was done without adequate prov
ocation, and that these defendants did it,.
He then defined direct and circumstan-
tiai evidence. He spoke of the disap.
pearanco Of DR.. Cronin and the finding
OF his body eighteen days afterward, and
said the state proposed to prove il was
murder as the result of conspiracy.
The states attorney then proceeded to
speak of the motive for the crime, and
said that in order TO show what that
motive was 1t became necessary to ex.
amino into the history in this country of
/ "a INT Ion,
hood and commonly called Clan-na-
Gael. Before doing this he reminded
the jury that they were not trying the
Clan-na-Gael, but the prisoners at the
bar. He then proceeded to sketch the
history of the Clan.na-Gael, and said
the, triangle was supreme; that the
oaths of the members made the COM
mand of the order superior to the laws
| OF the nation.
Forrest objected to this line of state.
ment as inadmissible in advance of
proof.
Defense again made exception to this
| line of statement
| The states attorney then went on to
say that the members did not know who
constituted the triangle, SO secret was 1t,
but nevertheless they obeyed its orders,
and were sent ON various missions TO
England in the way of active work, and
ing this secrecy these men were BETRAYED
by the board TO the English authorities
and twenty of them are now in prison.
! This was, he declared to enable the
board TO steal the funds. At the last
showing made by the board it was
claimed the order owed them 5000
while there was $25o,000 in the treasury
when they took charge.
At this point the states attorney in
troduced DR.. Cronin's connection with
the order, and proceeded to sketch his
tory OF his fight against the triangle
and told of Cronin's expulsion and the
trial of Sullivan, Feeley and Bonnd by
the secret committee, of which Dr. Gro
min was member, in Buffalo year ago
last August. The states attorney went
on to stay that the committee was in ses-
sion three days hearing evidence, which
he stated would be introduced during
tho trial. Cronin wanted this evidence
published 10 all the camps of the order,
with report of the committee. The re-
port was not made to the camps till a
day or two after Cronn's death, and
even then Cronin's part was suppressed.
IL was sent out in this shape, i'm belief
that his body would never be found. IL
was sufficient to make away with DR..
Cronin, but the same unseen hand that
regulated the conspiracy from its inccp-
ton had to make IL appear also that
Cronin was traitor; for IL Cronin had
published his evidence against the tri-
angle, as he was about to do, il meant
the ruin of the triangle with the Irish
people, and TO have published the facts
to all camps was to convict the triangle OF
embcz2ling these funds that had been
accumulating for years. Ii would have
proved them traitors to the cause in
which these people had enlisted, and in
stead of doing that which was to benefit
poor old Ireland ii would brand them
tho worst men on earth among the Irish
people.
The states attorney then went on to
show how Coughlin began denouncing
Cronin as spy away back in February;
how Bcggs at "a certain meeting of
Camp 20 said Cronin's denunciation OF
Sullivan and the triangle had to be
stopped If il took blood.
The states attorney then went on to
talk about the charges made against
Cronin in camp 20. On the 10th OF Feb
ruary, Senior Guard Beggs wrote to
District Officer Spellman OF Peoria that
hc was directed to investigate the matter
and wanted the district officer to do so.
The latter on the 18th of February,
wrote TO Beggs that he knew of no law
or provision of the constitution requir-
ing him 10 investigate, unless charges
were made directly to him. Beggs on
the 18th, wrote back that while there
was no written law for this, there was a
law, and the matter had to be investi-
gated or there would be trouble. On the
following day man giving the name OF
Simons rented a flat at III Clark street,
opposite Dr. Cronin's office, and moved
in. on the 10th of March Martin Burke
appeared at the Carlson cottage under
the name of Frank Williams, rented the
cottage, and after talking with r. o.
Sullivan, went to III Clark street and
moved the furniture to the cottage.
some time in April =. o. Sullivan
made arrangements with Cronin by
which II the latter received one of Sulli-
vans cards he was to accompany the
messenger in order to attend profession
ally upon any of +. o. Sullivan's men
who might be hurt in handling ice for
him. The states attorney pointed out
that this seemed a queer contract, for up
to this time there never was any acct
dent to any OF i. .. Sullivan's men, and
there. were many. doctors nearer than
Cronin. Before that Daniel Coughlin
had declared in saloon that there was
a certain north side man, leading
Catholic, who would soon bite the
ground, or something to that effect. p.
o. Sullivan was with Coughlin that
night.
Longenecker told about Coughlin's
arrangement with Livery Stable Keeper
Dinan, and said that the state will prove
that Coughlin was seen going into the
Carlson cottage the night of the murder,
and that the horse and buggy procured
at Dinan's livery stable was the horse
and buggy which drove DIR. Cronin to
the cottage.
AT a meeting of Camp 20 ON the night
OF May some one asked whether that
secret committee had reported, where
upon Beggs said "That committee is
to report to me, and not to the camp"
we will prove that Coughlin told
other parties that Cronin was spy;
that the year before he tried to hire
man TO slug DR. Cronin, We will proye