Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-10-05

night This cell is known as No. q and is
situated In murderers' row, on the first
floor of the south wing of the prison. 1t is
the one occupied by Guiteau when Sergt.
Mason shot at him. 1t is a cell, too. from
which more than one murderer has
marched to the gallows. 1t is quite near
the rotunda of the prison, and it is under
stood Howgate was placed therein that he
might at all times be within the close OBJ
servation of the prison officials.
In conversation with a Star reporter Chief
Drummond explained that Howgate's trip
from New York yesterday was quite an I'M
eventful one. His prisoner he said, pur-
chased magazine in Jersey City, and
when not engaged in reading 1t he con-
versed with the officers on the general top
les of the day. In not the slightest manner,
said NJ. Drummond, did Capt. Howgate re-
fer to his own case, studiously avoiding at
all times anything connected with 1t or
leading up to it. He was perfectly calm.
cool and collected all the time. explained
Mr.. Drummond, seeming to take his cap
ture as matter of fact. and seemingly de-
termined to make the very best of the
whole affair, come what might.
DrummOnd's story of the Capture.
Speaking of his capture of Howgate, Chief
Drrmmond explained to The Stars repre-
sentative that the first intimation he re-
ceived that this last and successful search
for Howgate to be begun was between
the 10th and 14th of May, 1888. AT that
time" said Mr.. Drummond, 1.-The Hon. j.
Sterling Morton, Secretary of Agriculture,
sent for me and said: Captain, l want you
to find Howgate.' l replied that l should
do SO with the greatest pleasure, and the
Secretary continued: Now, you must be
unusually secretiVe about this. You must
rot tell a single soul that another search
has begun. But l must tell Secretary Car
isle 1 answered. He is the head of my
department. and l cannot work on the case
without telling him that l am doing So
Very WE'LL replied Mr. Morton You may
rot confide in anybody else Ask Mr.. Car
Isle to say nothing about it,
Secretary Morton went on to say that
numerous previous attempts to find How
gate had been frustrated by premature pub
licity; that Howgate always got wind of the
proposed searches while they were still only
propositions and managed to evade arrest
Why, if l could tell You the names of some
of the prominent persons in Washington
whom We did not wish to know that we
were searching for Howgate it would make
your hair stand on end So you can under
stand Mr.. Morton's anxiety to have this
last iunt carried on quietly.
Il told the Secretary of Agriculture that
L would attend to the matter. and left him,
going Immediately to Mr.. Carlisle. l met
the latter in the corridor of the treasury
building, and walked along with him. He
was going to a cabinet meeting. l said:
=" Mr.. Secretary, Mr.. Morton wants me to
look for HOwgate. Do you remember the
Eame?'
'Howgate. Howgate,' answered Mr.. Car
lisle oh. yes, he's that embezZer, the man
who robbed the weather bureau Why, GER
tanly, captain; do everything you can to
aid Mr.. Norton
Then 1 told him Mr. Morton had in
structed me to ask him to say nothing of
the search, and he readily promised to be
absolutely non-cOmmunicative
And that said Mr.. Drummond emphat-
icaliy, is the only occasion upon which l
ever exchanged with Secretary Carlisle a
single word about Howgate, the Howgate
case or the Howgate papers, save once sub
sequcntly. when he asked me casually how
1 was getting on with the search. and l
told him had not yet found my man."
'All this took place, mind you." he con-
tlnued. in May, 1888, so that when Cleve-
land was inausurated, two months pre-
Vlousy, ! was not working on the Howgate
case, and could not, therefore. urge it as an
excuse for holding my position, even if l
had needed any
Who Knew Of His Work.
Thus it was that these men, and these
alone besides myself, knew that l was
locking for Howgate. namely: Secretary
Carlisle Secretary Morton. Major Dun
woody and George E. McOmber. my per-
sonal deputy clerk and confidential man.
Even George A. Rock, the auditing agent,
didn't know it. though was obliged to ap-
ply to him for information of the descrip-
ton end history of the fugitive.
Il never spoke to Mr.. Charles Foster of
Howgate. From 1857 to May, '98, had had
nothing to do with the case So I called on
Rock. auditing agent of the secret service
division, and requested him to search
through the files of his department for the
name of Howgate, as l wanted to get the
en- bezzlar's description.
Rock reported that the name of Howgate
cid not appear on the records from the
time of organization to date. | recalled the
fact that when had worked on the case in
1872 AMI 1857 | had made special reports
Those reports, i inferred had been sent nv
a I
Brooks.to the War Department. because the
weather bureau, of which Howgate had
mad the management was in that depart
ment at that time"
Mr.. DrummOnd emphasized the statement
that there were no papers in the secret SER
vice files bearing Howgate's name. He
went to Major Dunwoody. a regular army
ohcer, anu from him obtained a description
of Howgate. This description was sent to
Mr.. Drummond on May Il, 1883
Mr.. Drummond then gave a detailed ac-
count of the search made by secret service
men, under his direction in New York IN
to october 81, 1893, when the work was sus-
pended, and then said that, at Mr.. Morton's
request he continued the search at his own
expense after ne left the service.
Trapped at Last.
-Four months ago" said the ex-chief Il
conceived the idea of asking book auction
GERS to send me catalogues of all the sales
of books they were going to have They did
Morton, telling him that If he would furnish
clerk from the Treasury Department
no knew HOwgate, | would send a detec-
tive TO go with the clerk to all book auc-
tons and look for the embeZZler. | knew
that If HOwgate I'm New York i'm the
book business. which was considered likely. !
he would be sure to attend a book auction |
soon or late
sure enough, on Monday. September "a |
Howgate turned up in Bangs auction room. |
Il hurried to Washington and called on |
Attorney General Richard Olney. l asked |
him for certified copies of the indictment
and bench warrant ana got them"
ION my own behalf l want to saw that I |
never removed a single paper relating to the
Howgate case nor to anything else from the |
secret service division or any other branch |
OF the Treasury Department. i never used |
my connection with the Howgate case as a |
means of holding my place.
II never saw Mr.. Foster after I was
asked to resign. Never at any time since l |
left the service has Mr. Carlisle or .p, |