Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1893-12-29
NEARLYCONFESSED
Judge Longenccker Tells How Close
He Came to Getting u Confession
From Burke

Giving the Details of the Murder of
DR.. Cronin-He Thought He
Had 1t Sure,
But When He Went to Burke's Cell
Next Day Burke Refused to
Say Anything.
CHICAGO, Dec. 2G.-According to q
story in The Times, Martin Burke was
at one time, after his extradition from
Winnipeg, OH the verge of making a
complete confession of all the events
connected with the murder of DR.. Gro
min. Judge Longenecker, at that time
prosecuting, now tells what a narrow
escape he had from securing from Burke
a confession which would have changed
the whole complexion of the celebrated
trial of the conspirators who hired the
Carlson cottage for their awful butchery.
Judge Longenecker's Story.
Burke reached Chicago in charge of
Chief Hubbard, who had taken immedi-
ate supervision of his extradition, and
had gone to Winnipeg to bring Burke
home, had him carried at once to the
Harrison street station. Here, I feel, I
made my first mistake. Perhaps ought
to have had him taken to some other
station. l went directly to the
station, where Chief Hubbard and 1
held a long interview with the prisoner.
I tried my best to get him to confess,
and am confident that I should have
succeeded had nobody else seen him be-
fore my next visit.
Burke" l said 10 ll!,n, 1--WE have got
evidence enough to hang ycu. There is
not the slightest dcu't of that. We
know that. you hired the Carlson cot
tage. We know that you bought the
furniture which Was PIT in it. We
know that you fled to CuEm,,a us soon as
the murder was discovered. We knew
all this and a good deal more. ard we
can prove all we know. Now We also
know that you We're not alone in the
murder. There were others. Now, the
people who are behind the murder don't
a l. anything for you. 1t is the others
whom they are going to try to get off.
They will simply use you us a scape-
goat, as a bridge to carry themselves
and the rest over safely. Burke, you
had better use the only chance you have
to save your neck, and turn states
evidence. 1 talked a long while with
him in this strain. Then l showed him
a letter from his mother. 1t seemed to
be the finishing stroke.
Thought He Would Confess.
"When l left him that afternoon, both
Chief Hubbard and myself felt there
was not the slightest doubt that he would
confess all about it when 1 returned on
the morrow. l left strict orders that
nobody should be allowed to see Burke.
But ex-Mayor Cregier and Stephen D.
May, who was at that time city prose
cutor, if l remember Alright, procul ed
; admittance and had a talk with him. I
don't want to be understood as impugn-
ing the motive of either ex-Mayor Gre
gier OF Mr.. May. 1 feel positive that the
ex-mayor was heartily with us in our
efforts to convict Burke. Mr.. May also
had a perfect right to see him in his ca
pacity of city prosecutor. 1t is quite
probable that they both wished to see
Burke from mere curiosity. Mr.. May
had formerly been a partner Of Lawyer
Forrest, who was. defending the other
prisoners. Whether anybody else saw
Burke or not that day I do not know.
Still, there were plenty Of police officials
who had the right Of entrance to the
cells.
lsurke's DemeanOr Changed.
"But the fact remains that the next
morning when Chief Hubbard and l
visited Burke, fully expecting to hear
his confession, the prisoners whole de-
meanor had completely changed. In
stead of looking like a man who seemed
to have lost the last straw of hope and
had determined to save himself by con
%fession, Burke was defiant. He laughed
at us, and told us that he guessed he
wouldn't confess. AS Burke was leav-
ing the station I told him again that he
was being used as a scapegoat. To
prove it I said:
"'Just you tell your Wisconsin law
yer when you see him that you have
made up your mind to confess every
thing and plead guilty. See how quickly
he will try and persuade you not to
do So
II think that Burke may have done
20, and that his lawyer from Wisconsin
may have wavered a little. This may
account for his being supplanted by Mr..
Forrest almost Immediately afterward.
I have always believed that Burke in
tended to confess, but was braced up
and prevented from telling anything by
the mi mysterious power which lent
courage to O'Sullivan and the rest when
ever they began to despair"
Distribution Of Jack Rabbits.
DENVER, Colo, Dec. 26.-The Atchison,
Topeka and Santa Fe brought Parson
Uzzle 1000 jack rabbits from Lamar,
not charging him anything at all for
transportation, and furnishing a special
car for their jackships. The rabbits We're