The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1891-04-08

locating the money OF OtneIN ise Ath hp1laliig
other people would be promptly followed by
the arrest. conviction and sentence Of the
others"
"But il is rumored there is confession
by Dave. What do you know about that2 p
"a know nothing about it, except that
there is no confession or statement Of any
kind pointing the way to the money.
think it probable Dave has, as he said, made
mitted his guilt, but he certainly has not
told the whole story. Whatever he has said
has been in the form Of deathbed repentance
and it is likely he regarded a mere admis-
sufficient for this. ] don't believe he has
implicated any one-not even his brother
Joe, though there can be no "glimmer Of
doubt that Joe and the brown derby were
in the Umberger homestead.
i" conclude that the whole story has not
been told, because it would involve the ar
rest Of the parties having the money. or
what is left of it (; make indelible the stain
upon witnesses for giving false testimony,
a1d still fail to procure for Dave what eari-
er, when offering confession TO Sheriff
McMillen, he hoped,-pardon, or at least
commutation. ii Dave made a confession
it must have been, think, under two con-
tending mental forces-one calling for full
enough admission TO win him the protec-
ton of religion according to his notion of il,
and the other loudly demanding that he
protect his friends. He has probably cut be-
tween, making scant his election on the one
hand, and leaving scant protection to his
friends on the other
What do you think of the possibility of
Dawes being guilty, and Joe not ~
" 1t is absolutely impossible. Three wit
nesses identified Joe with Dave before reach
ing the Umberger house, before they don nned
the handkerchiefs and false beard three
others recognized them as the men within
the house, in disguise. Joes brown derby
hat, with the hole in the rim, was the best
marked and best described article of apparel
worn by either at the house II was fully
described before the arrest, or its recovery.
The brown derby was present at the muir
der the brown derby was worn by the
siouter and shorter man. Since the trial,
and for use before the Board OF Pardons, the
Commonwealth has proven by four witness
es, in depositions, that this hat had the hole
in the rim the night of Joe's arrest, and
three others testified they had seen the hat
on Joe's head, and the hole in the rim dur
ing February, and before the murder.
Joe's last letter as published. written to
his wife on the morning of his execution,
contains no declaration OF innocence. No
innocent man could write such letter and
not make his innocence the chief burden OF
his story
Joe and Dave both stood upon the trap
with eternity but clock tick away, and
neither, in that awful presence, dared say,
g am innocent"
"No living man, innocent of crime and
capable of speech, can so to his death upon
the scaffold without using for his last words,
:" am innocent"
And more and ifanything stronger than
this, the earth cannot produce the monster
human who would stand for execution, gull
ty, beside and with an innocent brother and
not. with the last breath of his lungs and
the last motion of his lips proclaim that
brothers innocence. The evidence estab-
lished the guilt of both, the logic of events
confirm it. What the statement or confess
ion will show, remains to be seen"
Now that the case is over, have you any
thing to say about the trial, or the evidence,
or the efforts for pardon p
No, sir have already said more than
thought you could lead from me. have
done precisely what thought right in the
case, believing was aiding the court and
jury in arriving at a correct verdict against
the proper parties, for crime unmatched in
its brutality. The verdict and subsequent
events dispose OF the character of defendants
testimony"
well, one other question, Mr.. Kooser,
and I'll not trouble you any further. What
do you think of the now celebrated Beach
confession?"
ut is raw nonsense. Any average child's
mind could produce better romance. The
frame work of it lay out on top The men,
tai operation which produced it could be
traced with ease from the first struggle to
find a mysterious missing man for confessor,
through to the final disappearance Of the
stranger down the mud pike with a grip
sack full of money. He equsled the Wan
dering Jew for mystery, and beat him all
hollow in his supply of funds