The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1890-12-18
CORRESPONDENCE.
DR.. CronIn's Death,

Dub Dt Ntll bh1N NapNe 49,
take place again. will give you numer-
GUS readers little more of the DIR. Cronin |
affair, as they may have not known all
about this wonderful dark and foul deed. |
Patrick O'Sullivan's love of liberty is |
stronger than his allegiance to the Irish |
Nationalist and he has made state |
ment of his connection with the murder
of D1. p. H. Cronin. By so doing he has
has thrown light in dark places. He is
angry, defiant and determined. He is
now serving life sentence in the State
prison at Joliet, this State. He says that
he is guilty of nothing more than aiding
in conspiracy to identify an alleged
British spy and to secure some papers"
O'Sullivan now realizes that the securing
of papers was not the chief purpose of
the conspiracy and that Cronin was not
a spy. He also says that he never was
involved in any conspiracy to murder
Cronin. He was a member of the Ma
tionalists and it was common talk among
the members that Crenin was a British
spy, and an enemy to the Order. He be
lieved the statements made to him, and
as an ardent friend of the Irish cause he
came to look upon DR.. Cronin as traitor
to the people of his native land. He was
told that DIR. Cronin could be identified
as a British emissary of necessary and
that upon his person could be found pa
pers which would not only prove him to
be an enemy of the Irish Nationalist,
but which, unless secured, might be used
as evidence against prominent Irishmen.
Drawn on by the enthusiasm of his oath
bound associates, O'Sulliyan says that he
entered into the conspiracy with Daniel
Coughlin, Martin Burke, Patrick +.
Cooney and Others, whose names he Will
give at the proper time. Daniel Cough
| lin had absolute charge of the matter,
and the other acted under his instruc-
tons. O'Sullivan does not tell wholwas
next in authority above COughlin. The
iceman says that he was not acquainted
with the inner workings of the con-
spiracy, he was the dupe. 1t was he
who was assigned to look after the
securing of the Carlson cottage. He was
sent to make contract with DR.. Cronin
to furnish medical services for his
(O'Sullivan's employees at the rate of
$50 year. He was the one who was to
send card to DR.. Cronin's house in
order to inveigle the victim into the am
bush of the murderers. He was the man
forced out into the affair while the 9TH
ers remained under cover and perfected
| IllGlI plans vi doSdSSlldllOu ulhhONl w
him. O'Sullivan says that up to the
very hour of the murder he was in igno-
rance of the real motive of the prepare
tons which the cOnspirators had been
carefully making for seventy-two days.
He knew that the Carlson cottage had
been rented and furnished by Martin
Burke 1.-THE reader will remember this
Burke was the man who was getting
away to Europe and was caught in Win
nepeg) and he also knew of the other
arrangements for leading DR.. Cronin into
the trap; but COughlin repeatedly
assured him that the intention was to
get possession of CrOnin and examine
him for documents which were valuable
to the Irish cause and which would prove
the treachery of the man who professed
to be a friend of Ireland. O'Sullivan was
at the cottage on the night of May LIST,
1899, but he was not in the front room
when the fatal blow was struck. The
mysterious driver of the white horse had
been sent to DR.. Cronin's residence car
rying one of O'Sullivan's business cards.
The iceman either does not know or re-
fuses to give the name of the driver.
There were three of us in the front
room of the cottage at s o'clock that
evening"" SAID Sullivan, there were
Martin Burke, Patrick Cooney,. and my
self. We were waiting to see whether
our plans were successful. Twas feeling
pretty nervous, for | did not like the
way Burke and COOney acted. did not
see any weapon and | will always say
that did not 90 there that night to
commit murder" but at the same time
knew as much as the others this plot.
When the buggy bringing DR.. Cronin
drove up the street toward the cottage,
see what he says: II Wedkened and be-
gan to realize that there might be
trouble, struggle at least, and so l
went out through the back room and
down the rear stairway. | stood back of
the house trembling well he might
with horror as heard the sounds of the
struggle within Tit haunts him day and
night. O'Sullivan's story in regard to
being in the back yard at the time of the
killing is corroborated by testimony of
Mrs. Carlson and of the German washer
woman who saw DR.. Cronin enter the
cottage. Both of them testified at the
trial that some one was standing at the
rear of the house at the time of the muir
der. In continuing his story, O'Sullivan
says that after remaining outside of the
house for a time, undecided what to do,
he went in and found DR.. CrOnin lying
apparently dead on the floor of the front
room. The walls of the room were
spattered with blood and there was
pool of blood on the floor. Dan. Cough
lin was in the room. He had been wait
ing up the street and had come in at the
front door just after Burke and Cooney.
1.-THE Fox had completed their bloody
work. As O'Sullivan came in the back
way, Coughlin walked up to the body of
Dr. Cronin on the floor, and began kick
ing him IA dead MANI, in the head.
O'Sullivan caught hold Of him and told
him to stop. Coughlin paid no attention
to the iceman, and continued stamping
upon the head of the lifeless man. Then
O'Sullivan drew revolver and said:
you scOundrel you have killed this
man, and now you are kicking his dead
body. If you don't stop I'll shoot you"
COughlin ran out of the room at the
point of O'Sullivan's revolver O'Sulli-
van left the house and had nothing to do
with putting the body into the trunk and
dispOsing of it. 1t was his understand
ing at the time that Martin Burke struck
the first blow which dazed and stunned
their victim although it did not prevent
him from struggling until he received
swear upon the witness stand if an OPP
portunity is given him that he did not
furnish the weapon with which the muir
der was committed, and that if one of his
ice picks was used it was without his
knowledge. The mysterious wound
upon the back of Cronin's head was
caused by a kick from Coughlin after
the victim was dead. The above is in
substance the story told nv tim I ala
View iceman after nearly year of peni-
tertiary reflection in Joliet prison. 1t is
the story which he wished to tell the
jury when he felt the coils of circum-
stantial evidence tightening about the
defendants in this great trial. He says
that he placed all the facts at the dis
posal of the attorneys and that they told
him it would be unwise for him to tes-
tify. Hopes of acquittal were held out
to him and so doubling and fearing he
kept quiet, under protest II he had
been placed on the stand the whole
mechanism of the Clan-na-gael conspir-
acy would have been laid bare, Some
one might have gone to the gallows but
O'Sullivan thinks he would have gone
free. His own life and liberty, his little
property, and his many friends (of like
character), in Lake View are dearer to
him just now than any oath-bound obi
CATION to men who as he claims deceived
him.
Preparations for the great Fair are
slowly progressing. Director General
Davis and President Palmer of the COM
missions staff have left here for Wash
ington, and the White House, tho result
of which will be known in all the papers
| throughout the world