The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-11-25
THE DREAM CASE"
How Mrs. Phillips Was Robbed
by Her st. Paul Sister.
ELLAcoLBY MAKES CONFESSION
She Directly Charges Mrs. Alone With
tho Theft OF the ST 900 Bill
for Revenge.

The celebrated "dream case" in st. Paul
is one that is of local interest in Seattle.
The story of the case is we'll known to
the public. it having attracted attention on
account of several unusual features. In
brief, it is the theft of 81 900 bill from q
Mrs. Phillips, wife of Douglas Phillips. ex-
policeman and ex-license collector of this
city, who. last June. was on visit to her
sister, Mrs. Alone, IN st. Paul. the woman
who is now convicted of the theft. Mrs.
Phillips had several thousand dollars
sewed up in a skirt, the money being the
proceeds of the sale of her homestead.
When she was on her return 10 Seattle
Mrs. Phillips dreamed that Mrs. Alone
had stolen the money. She investigated
the skirt and found her roll of money
minus $1,000. She returned to st. Paul
and started an official investigation which
resulted in the arrest and Indictment of
Mrs. Alone and her servant girl, Ella
Colby. Last Friday morning, when the
case was called Ella Colby created a SEN
sation by refusing to stand trial and by
pleading guilty to the charge. Prior to
that time both of the accused women had
insisted on their innocence.
Then the trial of Mrs. Alone was begun.
Among the telling points in Mrs. Phillips
testimony was the skirt itself, which was
being worn by the witness, and had to be
removed from her person for the examine
ton Of the jury. In one of the pleats in
the hem of the skirt Mrs. Phillips had car
ried her money. and the jury was shown
where the pleat had been ripped open and
reserved. A feature of the resewing was
the difference in the thread used, aud that
it had been done by left-handed person.
Mrs. Phillips said that her sister, the pris-
oner, sewed left-handed.
The court room was crowded during the
day by the acquaintance Of the interested
parties and other curious spectators. The
center of interest was the good-looking
and well-dressed prisoner. who bore with
perfect composure the concentrated gaze.
and seemed battered by the admiration
her presence evoked. She is plump, rather
below the medium height and does not
look her confessed age OF 26 years. the st.
Paul papers also say that the Seattle
woman was not averse to admiration of
the onlookers. The confession of Ella
Colby is told by the Pioneer Press as fol-
lows:
.'She told me about stealing the 81, 900 BILL"
said Ella Colby, the servant girl, yesterday in
testifying against Caroline Alone, alias Thomas,
in the dream case" "She said." continued
witness, ''that could put on men's clothes
and"
"WelI, 60 on, what next?' said County Attor-
ney O'Brien, as the girl hesitated "There was
no next said wouldn't do it," replied the
good-looking domestic.
Then in series OF "she said" and 81 said' the
witness told her story, and as in all such nara
tives, the "she said' end OF the conversation
'got the worst of it" Mrs. Alone. AS she Is
called since her divorce from Mr.. Thomas, was
said to have another plan OF disguise when the
girl refused TO wear male attire. She proposed
that Ella Colby wear mourning and go to Duluth
to change the 81, 600 stolen bill. Ella to
go to any bank for the change, and to
be very careful lest "some man" should
her in the possession of so much money and
'.get it away from me; kill me, or something
of that kind" Ella Colby said that she agreed
to the proposition, and it was arranged that she
should go on Sunday evening. Mrs. Alone
then gave Ella suit OF mourning, dress, hat,
gloves shawl and everything, and s1l TO pay the
expenses OF the Duluth trip, and also the $1,000
bill. But instead of going to Duluth and get
ting the dill changed, Ella went to Minneapolis
and gave the money to her lover, "Patsy But
ler." This was the last of the money, SO far as
the two women were concerned, according to
Ella Cobys story. She claimed that Butler
gave her small amount of money on various
occasions, but the aggregate amount was small.
Ella Colby also advanced what she said was
Mrs Alone reason Tor stealing the money from
her sister Mrs. Phillips. 1t WAS 10 ayenge her
self upon Mrs. Phil ps for not tsstifying in be-
half OF Mrs. Alone in the divorce case. "Mrs.
Alone had intended 10 take only 500, as that
sum would satisfy her revenge" said Ella, "and
she got the big bill by mistake"