Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-06-05
CAPT. sCHAACK TELLS HIS STORY

Woodruf's Confession and Its Corrobora-
ton by Other Shady Characters-AIex-
ander Sullivan and Dan Coughlin Ter
ribly Implicated IL the Witnesses Are
To Be Beiieved-The "Burgomaster -
Gets the Bounce for Unsatisfactory
Work - Another Clew Lynching at
Topeka, Kansas.
CHICAGO, June 5.-Startling evidence was
given yesterday before the coroner's jury in
the Cronin case by Capt. Schaack. 1t was
late when the "burgomaster" was called He
testified that on the day that the grand jury
took up the case the prisoner Woodruff, alias
King, sent for him and confessed that he
drove the wagon with the trunk that con-
tanned Cronins body from the Evanston ave-
nue. cottage to the catch-basin. He opened
the confession by saying that he was in a
saloon on Division street, near Franklin, one
day, with two men named King and Fair
burn, when a strange man entered and took
King aside. He produced a big roll of money,
and gave some to King and to Fairburn.
When he had gone Woodruff asked King
who it was, and he replied: "That is the great
lawyer, Alexander Sullivan
Impncat1ng detective COughtin.
Woodruff went ON to say that he was hired
by Detective Coughlin for the sum of sos
to go to the cottage and get the trunk The
two men before referred to accompanied
him. They first drove through Lincoln
park, where the trunk was taken out and
again returned to the wagon Then they
drove to the catch basin. After the body
had been placed therein and the trunk
dropped by the wayside they drove to a barn
where they washed and fixed up. Coughlin,
ne went on to say, told him several days be-
forehand that he had a job for him On the
afternoon of May he came to him and said /:
"Now's the night it has got to be done; if
you can't get ont before 3 o'clock it will be
no use" At 9 O'Clock he got the wagon
Corroborative Testimony.
After Setback had concluded, "Mai. ~
Sampson, man well known in the police
courts and the bridewell testified that
Coughlin tried to hire him some time ago to
slug Cronin, and promised to pay him hber-
ally for the job. A man named Billy Lyon
corroborated this, and an adjournment was
taken.
The evidence taken earlier in the day was
that of the Lake View police officers who
saw the mysterious vehicle on the fatal
night, and of the doctors who made the post
mortem examination.
The Burgomaster in Disgrace.
Late last night Chief of Police Hubbard is.
sued an order peremptorily removing Capt.
Setback from the command of the Chicago
avenue district and also suspending him
from duty. This action was based upon his
unsatisfactory evidence yesterday afternoon,
and upon the opinion that he had bungled the
case from the start He admitted to the
jury that he had not asked Woodruff to de-
scribe Alexander Sullivan, and in general
demonstrated that he had tried to shield
Coughlin to the hindrance of the investiga-
tion.
Claim to Have CIew
The police claim to have an important
clew to the murderers of DR.. Cronin. They
have found the expressman who hauled the
murderers' goods from the building at III
Clark street to the Carlson cottage Accord
ing to the expressman the fellows belong in
Chicago and he has seen both of them fire.
quently since he hauled the goods The last
time he saw them was last Saturday. The
expressman's description of one of the men
tallies closely with that of Simons, who
bought the furniture from Revell & Co.
and Of Williams, who rented the cottage
from the Carlsons