Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-03-30
NEWS PROM rREpERrck.
Excitesnent Over an Ex-COnvic,'s Roturn-A
Police Magistrate Provided For.
Correspondence Of The Evening STAR

Excisenent Over an Ex-Convic,'s Roturn-A
Police Magistrate Provided For.
Correspondence Of The Evening star.
FaxDKRIcx, Nd, March 20, 1897
Frederick was thrown into state Of excite.
ment last Friday might by the arrival Of man
| who In the spring of 1886 had held the whole
town at bay at the point Of his pistol. and who
many feared would be apt to repeat his dra-
matte deed at this time. The man is David
Cronin who was released from the Maryland
penitentiary on Thursday last after serving a
fvo years sentence for assault with intent to
kill Cronin -is said to have been brave
Union soldier during the late civil war. and
while serving in the army he met Miss Katie
Myers in this city, whom he afterward married
In the spring of 1886 a. controversy arose be-
tween them as 70 the possession of some PEN
| sion papers, which Cronin claimed his wife
would not give up to him. In the course of
the dispute be pulled a pistol and fired
upon her, one of the bullets inficting slight
wound In her face. She escaped from the
house and notified the officers, but when they
repaired to the cottage to arrest Cronin he had
barricaded all tho lower doors and windows,
and with his pistol and a box of cartridges was
tortined in one Of the upper rooms, from which
ne hred several yoleys. All the afternoon he
hold them at bay, and. finally. toward evening.
he agreed to surrender. He WAS tried and
convicted aud sent to the peuitcntiary. While
ne was incarcerated his wife secured n divorce.
When he returned here last Friday he walked
by the old house several times and then en-
deayored to find his daughter, Mary, who had
during his Imprisonment become the wife of
Lewis Ruprecht. He said he only wanted to
secure the pension papers, but he acted in n
threatening and suspicious manner, and so
terrorized everybody in tho neighborhood that
writ was sworn out for his arrest. 1t was
served on him at the Croft House, and he gave
bond in the sum Of 81 900 to keep the peace.
saturday morning he left for Gettysburg, Pa,
where he expects to go to work.
The passage OF bill through tho Maryland
legislature providing for the designation of one
of the five magistrates of Frederick as police
magistrate has been accomplished and the bill
signed by the governor, who has named
Christian II. Eckstein for the place. This
office is unique one for n city like Frederick
and il is believed that its practical workings
will assist to some extent in solving one OF the
problems Of municipal government Of small
cities. The bill designates that the police
| magistrate shall have the power to commit in
all criminal cases, a power which has hereto
fore been vested in the mayor. He il to re-
ceIve from the county o salary Of $500 per year
| and from The city a silary OF S4O0, which will
doubtless be deducted from tho present salary
oil the mayor, which is ,000 Upon this
point the objection ia raised that it will de DIFF
ticuit TO induce suitable men to serve
as mayor at the nominal salary, but
the friends Of the measure claim
that il aims ut economy and will save
! the county at least q, 000 per year. This is to
be brought about by the fact that no other
magistrates to have jurisdiction in criminal
cases, and that the police magistrate is to re-
ceive fee OF only rs cents in each civil case The
commissioners have consented to build lock-
up in the city, where tramps and Migrants will
be committed over night and then sent to
Montevue Hospital near Frederick, to break
oyn for nod nd lndO nil IL
is believed. eradicate the tramp nuisance.
Other reforms are contemplated by the new
system, and its progress will be watched with
great interest by the taxpayers. The present
incumbent OF the Office il, OF course, demo-
GRAFT
Another important local measure passed by
the present legislature is the bill Of Mr. J. Roger
McSherry restricting the sale of LIQUOR at
grocery stores. The bill provides that no
grocery store keeper in Frederick shall sell
drunk upon the premises, and that the license
fee be increased $40. tits believed that this will
largely prevent the growth of intemperance
among those who have resorted to grocery
stores instead of saloons to drink. because it
could there be done quietly. The bill applies
to the city and not to the county.
In connection with the recent withdrawal Of
the Rev John n. Mccormick from the Southern
Methodist conference to enter the Episcopacy is
the interesting fact that other Southern Meth
odlst preacher, VINO like MIR. McC0rmlck hlled the
pulpit of Trinity NJ. L. Church South in Fred
erick o term OF years, the Rev. j. A. Register
also went over to the Episcopal church and is
now rector OF st. Johns P. z. Church in
Georgetown, ID. c. The several interesting
changes that have taken place recently among
the ministers OF the various denominations in
Frederick county have been augmented by
another, the Rev. q. w. Sechrist, formerly Of
the Manor Lutheran charge, having accepted q
call to the Lutheran church at Espy, Columbia
county, Pa. The Rev. j. Z. Zerger, who re-
Gently resigned the Utica Lutheran charge, has
accepted a call to the church at Letonia, Ohio.
County School Examiner Ephraim L. Bob.
litz completed the annual competitive exami-
nation Of the pupils Of the Frederick county
schools last week and as the result has awarded
scholarships to twenty or more of the pupils
whose averages were the highest. These aver
ages ranged from 81 to 81 per cent Examiner
Boblitz announces that there are funds enough
in hand to keep the schools Of the county open
until May.
The republican county central committee
have arranged to have district primaries in the
county on April 3 to elect delegates to county
convention to be held in this city on April 23,
when six delegates will be elected to the dis
trict convention at Hagerstown on April 20 and
six to the state convention to be held In this
city on May 4. F.McK.