The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-05-26
STORY OF A MURDER.
What Was Found in the Carlson
Cottage.
A POLICE OFFICER DUPLICATED.
Dan Csughlin of the Chicago FOrce-The MIX.
mar Who Heard the Dying Mans Cries
The Blood Stains.

One was dressed in long brown overcoat
such as Cronin wore, and got out; the
other, answering the description of the
man who came for Cronin in the buggy,
and drove rapidly away Cronin, if it was
he went up the cottage steps. The door
was opened before he reached it. As soon
as he got inside it was closed, and the milk
man heard loud cries, as if men were fight
ing. He believed then was the time of
Cronin's death.
The revelations this morning throw
strong suspicion of completely in the muir
der of Cronin on Detective Dan Coughlin,
of the city police force, and show the gross
incompetency, if nothing worse, of Captain
Setback, of the north side police, under
whose orders Coughlin works. To begin
with, it is known, i'll fact he admits it, that
Coughlin and Cronin were members OF same
Irish political societies and were enemies.
This lends significance to the following
facts: On the morning of the day OF the
murder Coughlin engaged from Livery
Stable Keeper Dinnan horse and buggy
| for friend of his to be called for that
evening About the time when the man
who decoyed Cronin away would have
called had it been he, this friend OF
| Coughlin called at the livery stable. He
closely resembled the man who did drive
away with Cronin. He was given white
horse and drove toward Coughlin's house
The horse was out two hours and came
back having been hard driven. These facts
were reported to Captain Setback by
Dinnan Setback says ne called Coughlin
to account Coughlin said the man
he hired the buggy for was a
friend of his friends in Michigan;
that he sent Coughlin out to find this man
and that Coughlin reported that he had
found and questioned him. and was salts
fed he had nothing to do with it. Setback
admits he did not require that man to be
brought before him, but allowed Coughlin,
who was himself under suspicion, to make
the report without any check to prove its
truth or falsity. Setback says ne took the
horse to CrOnin's house, and his house
| keeper said il was not the one behind
which Cronin drove away. The house
keeper contradicts this, and Dinnan says
Coughlin told him he couldn't find the man
| from Michigan. Coughlin says he is now
in New Mexico.
Superintendent of Police Hubbard said
| this morning that the explanation which
Detective Coughlin gave in connection with
| his hiring a horse on the day which DR..
Cronin disappeared was substantially as
! follows:
4 few days before May I, a man called at
the East Chicago avenue police station and
introduced himself as Thomas Smith, of
Hancock, Mich, and u friend Of Cough
| Inns brother and said he kept a livery
stable in that town. Smith claimed to be
on his way to New Mexico. Detective
| Coughlin showed Smith the points Of in
terest about the city, and Saturday, May I.
Smith said he would like to take Il buggy
ride that evening, but was afraid the livery
stable keepers would not trust a stranger
with horse. COughlin told him he would
| fix the matter with the man. Smith got
! the white horse and rig, and COughlin did
not see the man again for week or more.
When he met him he asked Smith why he
had not paid for the use of the rig. Smith
gave Coughlin s. and said he would give
/ him the other two later. Coughlin met
him for the last time one day last week and
Smith said he would start for New
Mexico the next day. Dr. Cronin's
| friends met this afternoon and completed
! the arrangements for the funeral 1t is
! thought that at least four thousand men
will march in the procession and that prob
ably ten thousand people will go by train
to the cemetery.
1t is denied that DR.. Cronin's clothes
were found in the Carlson cottage as stated
yesterday. An evening paper says the
! letter which was turned over to the police
as coming from one of the mysterious ten
ants of the blOodstailed cottage is cOnsid-
cred of great Importance. 1t is postmarked
! Hammond, Ind, and was received May 20;
enclosed in it were found Sl2 for another
months rent and the writer attempted to
explain away his hasty exit and the paint
daubed on the parlor floor. He said it was
painted to save his sister the trouble of
scrubbing the floor. He neglected to say
anything about theI footprints or the
! 0lOOdstains.
This afternoon Mayor Crezier had a
| two hours conference with the superin-
tendent of police and the corporation cOun-
sci. He said emphatically that eXtraor-
| binary efforts must be made to bring the
perpetrators of the crime to justice and
that the officers must be over-zealous,
rather than not active enough. Where
| there is doubt as TO whether severe ac-
ton should be taken, take advantage of the
doubt and act. The mayor said he would
rather be in the wrong nineteen times, in a
case of Importance like this, than give the
| murderers chance to escape.
Detective Coughlin was brought before
| the mayor this afternoon, the super
| intendent of police, the corporation
counsel and two friends of Cronin
being present. Coughlin was allowed to
tell his story and was then severely cross
| examined. It is understood that he became
| hurried and nervous, but said nothing that
could be used against him. When the con-
! ference broke up, none of its members
would talk. Coughlin, however, was taken
away by detective and placed under ar
rest More discrepancies have come to
! light this evening. 1t seems that the des-
cription of the man who hired horse now
given by Liveryman Dinnan, and the des-
cription he gave Captain Setback several
| DAYS ago are widely different, ana the police
are looking into the matter.
A free examination of the interior of the
cottage where the murder was committed
was allowed to-day by the police. Evil
dences of terrible struggle are seen. On
the south wall of the parlor are great
blotches of blood. A portion of the leg of
washstand and dressing case had been
broken Off The arm rest of a rocking
chair was broken and the pieces scattered
on the floor. There is every indication
that DIR. Cronin was not killed or even
rendered senseless by the first blow he re-
ceived, but that he probably made desper-
ate struggle for his life.
Events were brought to light this even
ing showing that arrangements for the
Cronin tragedy apparently had been begun
as early as February l. At that date a
person corresponding to the description of
the man who subsequently rented Carl
sons cottage opened negotiations for
a room directly across the street
from Cronin's office down town in
the Opera House block. The room
sought for was the one which affords
the best possible view from thai
direction into Cronin's Office windows. II
order to get the room it was necessary t
rent the whole floor, the agents of the build
ing refusing to deal for single apartment
and the whole floor was rented. In the