Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1892-12-22
Martin j. Burke, One of the
Murderers ofDr. Cronin,
Dies in Prison.
He was Conscious of His Ap.
preaching End, but Died
in Il Chair.
The Strange Fate That Has
Bcial!cn Those Connected
With the Murder.

Martin j. Burke, one o! the men
sent to Joliet prison for life for
completely in the noted murder of
DIR. Cronin of Chicago. died at the
pcnilcntiary Friday evening OF quick
consumption. His long expected
confession did not materialzc as far
rs known. Burkc contracted a
severe cold while working in the
cooper shop last simmer and wa,
transferred To lighter work. He
steadily grew worse, however. aud in
September was placed in the hospital.
suffering from the disease which
carried him away His decline has
been rapid and Wednesday. attcrmall
ing an examination of the man. DR..
Frcdcricks, the prison surgeon.
expressed the opinion that Burke
could not live more than a week.
Burke was conscious of his rapidly
approaching end and requested to
see Father Daniel. the Catholic
priest who visits the prison. Father
Daniel came and after noting the
condition Of the man administered
the last sacrament The end came
rather unexpectedly. He WAS sitting
in a chair talking To his nurse about
himself and had Just said: "lfI die
| want Forrest To come down and
take my body TO my folks, when his
head fell toreward and after one or
two @asps life WAS extinct.
Forrest is the attorney who con
Quoted Hurke'> defense and has since
labored assidouSly with his appeal to
the supreme court.
The prison officials say that never
to their knowledge since his imprison-
ment has Burke spoken ono word in
regard To the Cronin murder
TIE CONSIDERATIONS doom.
The fate OF nearly all the proni-
nent actors in the CroniD murder. to
which the latest addition is the
Death of Martin Burke at Joliet.
forms a weirdly remarkable chapter.
Pat O'Sulliyan. one of Hurke's fcl-
low prisoners. died in prison last
May. ABOUT a month before John
lieggs, who as senior guardian of
Camp 20. of the Clan-na-Gacl was
prominently identified with the case.
died. DR.. Lewis. dentist who was
working on Cronin's teeth at the
| time of the murder. has recently died
of consumption. Edward Spclman, Il
wealthy brewer of Peoria. who tcsti-
4 lied IN the case as a prominent Can
nc-'iael, waS killed about year ago
| by fall from a ladder. Tom Dcs-
mond oil san Francisco another Clan
ne-Gacl. is permanent cripple from
/ a fan one night while on his way To
a meeting of Camp %. Michcal Can
! non. witness in the case and
popularity supposed to have had much
/ knowledge OF the trouble leading up
to the murder, died recently of pncu-
monia. Frank Shea, another wit
ness. went the same way Peter
NcGechan. who was accosted on the
street about week before the fatal
| night by Cronin himself and accused
OF being party to the plot to murder
| him, secured work in Il south side
rolling mill and met horrible death
on the same day by falling into a
| pit. Robert Gibbons. who was one OF
| the alibi witnesses. for Burke, got
into quarrel Il couple Of years ago
with Police Captain Schuettlcr, who
was active in running down the
conSpirators. and as the result Of a
threatening movement on Gibbons
part Schucttler shot him and was
cXoncratcd by a coroncr's jury In
addition, several other deaths have
occurred among the ''anti-Cronin'
gang, some of them natural and some
OF them violent.
Representative Lind. of Minnesota
purposes to have an act passed or else
a provision attached to the postotlict
appropriation bill compelling Tho