St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-03-02
HIS OWN White CAP.
Editor Smith, of Minneapolis,
in the Role Of a
Sphinx,
And the Question Is, Did He
Play a Game on Him
self?
No Motive Developed, but
There Was Certainly a
Woman There.
Some Interesting Revelations
or Complications of
Yesterday.

That James +. Smith, the editor OF
Furniture News, who was found with a
bullet in his head Thursday morning,
fired the shot himself there is but little
doubt, notwithstanding that he con-
tinues to claim that he was shot by a
tall man, who entered his Office about 9
O'Clock in the evening, and fired at him
point blank.
There are number of things which
go to bear out the theory that Smith
fired the shot himself, and that he him
self wrote the alleged white Cap" let
tiers in the GLOBE yesterday morning.
In the first place, Smiths story
does not hang together at all.
If a man had entered his Office
and shot him as he sat in his
chair the bullet would not have struck
him the way it did, but would have hit
the side. This fact, coupled with
Smiths statement that he did not get a
good description of the man who shot
him, has inclined the police to believe
that the wound was self-infiicted. Then
small revolver was found in Smiths
pocket, and when Supt. Bracket ex-
amined this he found that it contained
three empty shells, all recently fired.
The bullet found in the wounded mans
head was taken to a gunsmith, who,
after careful examination, pro-
nounced it of the same kind as those
remaining in the revolver found in
Smiths possession. The revolver found
on Smith was an old one, and had been
in his possession for some months, and
was slightly out of repair. Thursday
morning at 2 O'Clock on that day Smith
took it to Kennedy Bros gun store on
paired, stating that he had received a
number of letters from the White Caps,
and that he was
GOING TO DEFEND HIMSELF.
When he left the gun at the gum
store, every cylinder in the chamber
contained % calibre short cartridge.
When the gun was examined by Supt.
Bracket, Smith explained the empty
chambers by stating that he had fired
several shots to see if the weapon was
all right. Perhaps he did, but no one in
his office. where he says he fired the
shots, heard them. He had never
carried this revolver before, that any,
one knew of, and just why he should
begin to do so when he did, no one can
explain.
1t has been urged that had the man
fired the shot himself there would have
been powder-marks on his face, near
the ear, where the bullet struck. This
is no argument at all, however, as eX-
pert gunsmithS declare that a cheap
gun like the one found on Smith would
not necessarily burn the skin, even if
fired at very short distance from the
object. They state that there is no tell
ing what such weapon would do-that
the chances are ten to one that 1t would
not burn the flesh, or even blow powder
under the skin.
Mr.. Smith admits that he has been i'm
the habit of taking chlOroform to put
himself to sleep, and some of the men
in his Office declared yesterday that he
was addicted to the morphine habit. Be
this as it may, one or two physicians
who know the man Intimately state that
he is of very peculiar disposition, and
has more than once been considered of
singular mind. Then the story of
George Gray, the printer, who was the
first one to see him after the shot was
fired, throws discredit on Smiths story
in many particulars, and the failure of
Smith himself to satisfactorily explain
certain matters but lends color
to the story that he shot him
self, possibly with suicidal intent,
possibly for the purpose of gaining
public sympathy. That Smith himself
wrote all the alleged White Cap letters
is also reasonably certain. In the first
place they are all in his own hand
writing, disguised slightly, to be sure,
of the epistles are written on paper
taken from his Office at 252 Hennepin
avenue, where the shooting took place.
This was demonstrated yesterday, after
a careful examination of all the paper
in the Office. Smith insinuated yester-
day that he had reason to believe that
the letters were written by lady re-
Gently married, for the purpose of get
ting him to leave the city, as he knew
too much about her, but this was
laughed down by the lady's friends, and
an examination OF her writing showed
that such could not be the case.
SMITHS HAND Is VISIBLE
in all the letters, as any one who has
ever made study of penmanship can
plainly see. That he knew all about the
letters is also shown by the following
fact:
This letter was received by Mrs.
Smith, Mr.. Smiths mother, at her home
at 2427 Fourth avenue south, Feb. Z,
Mrs. Smith-We have repeatedly
warned your son, but he has not needed
our warning; and now we write you
and tell you that unless you succeed in
getting your son to leave the city, he
will meet with terrible punishment.
Now we mean business. Heed this
warning, madame, as you will be sorry
if you did not. WHITE CAPS.
1t was then, Mr.. Smith says, that he
gave orders at the postoffice that any
more mail for him or his mother should
be sent to his office instead of going to
the residence. 1t is very strange how
the writer of the letters was able to
know just what Mr.. Smith has done, in
order to prevent Mrs. Smith from get
ting any more of the letters, as is shown
by this letter, which was directed to
Mrs. Smith, but which was sent to Mr..
Smiths office by the postal authorities:
Mrs. Smith-Now, this is about the
last letter we will send you.
Now take heed. You may not
get this. but if you do not
your son will. We are tired of writing,
and now if your son is here after the
first he will surely be killed, and he
will be to blame. He need expect no
mercy after that. Either he must leave
or you will be without son. 1t is
either death or quit. Now good-by;
remember what we say, and if you
have to mourn the death of him, we
have to give you the credit of his
death. WHITE CAPS.
Feb. 9th.
SMITH WAS SEEN
at his residence. at 2427 Fourth avenue
south, last evening, and denied most
emphatically that he knew anything
ahont tho affair He admitted that he