The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-03-17
HOWGATE MAY BECONE RICH.
If Acquitted He VIII Recover His Confs-
Gated Proper y.


days Baltimore American says:
The recent acquittal of Captain Howgat
has far more serious aspect TO the Gov
eminent officials in this city than appear
at first glance. After Captain Howgate'
flight from Washington. his property Il
this city was corfscated by the genera
Government, and the greater part of
sold to reimburse the government 20
Captain Howgate's alleged embezzlement
His acquittal, Of course, WIPES out hi'
guilt in the indictment already tried. ana
as that was the test case. the one upon
which the Government depended. il is bu
fair to presume that no better luck VIII
attend the prosecution in the eight gases
| vet to be tried. II he Is acquitted IN
the other cases. If all are brought TO
trial he will be in a position TO bring
suit to recover the property coniiscated
by the Government, and. in the opinion
of the best lavy ers of the city. ne has a
perfect case His acquittal of the
charges viii establish his innocence 30
far as the law is concerned, and the con
fscation will be shown 10 have been IL
| legal and without justification. He has
| for an attorney Jere NJ. Wilson, one of
| the strongest lawyers in the city, and
| Judge Wilson is confident that his clients
claim, I'm case Of acquittal i'm the other in
| diCtmentS, is as strong as it could pos
sibly be.
| Should he recover the property conis
| Gated by the Government at the time he
| fed from the indictments charging him
with embczzlemcnt and forgery, he Will
| be one of the richest men i'm the city of
| Washington. The property at the time Of
| its cOnhscation did not possess any great
value. but il is most Of il located i'm a
section Of the city that has Increased
constantly in value for ten years past, and
is now worth many times what it was a
decade ago. The value of the real estate
then taken by the Government was prob
ably not more than hundred thousand
dollars. Now it is worth nearly a million
and. if sold little over two years ago,
when the real estate boom was at its
height, would have been worth fully five
per cent more. Nearly all the property
in question is near the heart of the bust,
ness section, the house in which ne used
to live with his mistress being only a
square from f street, where business lots
sold at forty-hye dollars a square foot
two years ago. 1t will be a rather unique
condition if CAPTAIN Howgate RECEIVERS his
property or its equivalent, and settles
down again in Washington amid his old
friends That he would take this course
no one who knows him for a moment
really doubts for he is one Of the hardest
as a key Of spikes and as cold as a patert
refriserating car. He has no nerves and
no regard for public opinion. II he should
wish to take Up his residence in Wash
iESton, he would do it and live comfort
ably here without ever exhibiting any
concern for what had nnisied in the
alton and speaks English with ease and
ilan.,-' Tia wac ed""-t"d 81 "l"re'-"~
one of the pietticst little fairy stories
told about Captain Howgates escape has
become classic. This is the story OF his
daughters collision with HOwgate in
effecting his escape. The story, as usu-
ally told. is that Howgate was accom-
panied home by a deputy marshal, who
was asked 10 remain downstairs while the
prisoner went into the upper portion of
the house to take bath. The story then
relates that Miss Ida HoWgate, the
daughter. entertained the deputy marshal
10y playing for him at the piano such
beautiful music that he fell captive 10 the
siren-like strains and forgot bis prisoner
and all else in his absorption. ON his re-
covcry, however he instituted an invcsti-
CATION and founl that the Captain had
escaped long before. The story brings the
mistress OF the escaping prisoner into the
affair and places her outside the q street
door. where she waited with a closed hack
ana two of the fastest steeds in Wash
irgton for Captain Howgate, who is said
To have clambered down a ram spout TO
the ground on the & street side of the
house, where he entered the closed hack
and was driven furiously away by his
fGitEful female Fri md.
This story is all purely imaginative. and
the true story of Captain HOWgate's es-
cape has heretofore escaped publication.
1t is so simple and bare as con pared with
the beautiful romance just outlined that
IL almost seems a sin TO spoil such a rare
bit Of fiction. AS a matter of fact, there
was no collision of any SORT. and How
gates daughter was as ignorant of the
fact that he had left the house as the
deputy himself. There was no closed car
rege outside. and no clambering over
gutter spCuts to reach the street Ac-
cording to the statement Of Captain How
gate TO a personal friend, borne out by
the statements of others of the family, he
had no idea of escape when he went TO the
house TO get some personal belongings,
except. perhaps, vague hope that some
thing would turn up that would give him
an opportunity to set away. When he
asked the deputy to allow him to go up
stairs alone to take bath, he really had
no settled plan of escape. AS he left the
parlor in which the deputy was seated, he
started first for the stairs leading TO the
upper part of the house. then. noticing
that the door i'm the front of the house
was partly open, he went 10 it. pulled it
wide open and looked out. He saw no
one he suspected of being connected
with the marshars office. and. gaining
hope and courage, walked out upon the
broad veranda on the front OF the house.
lie looked i'm through the window and
saw the deputy marshal with his back to
the street. lie then went down the front
steps with a bold and fearless tread, and
walked straight up Thirteenth street until
he struck the open country far out be-
yond the boundary. Then he kept on
walking for ten months atterwards-a
tramp Of the most ordinary character, Of
ten without food or shelter and suffer-
ing keenly for the necessities of life.
The stories of his receiving assistance
from friends and allies who had prohted
by his course are as wild as the stories of
his escape. He left I'm bank only two
thousand dollars, which the wife and
daughter drew upon Beyond this IL is not
likely that he had a cent Five years ago
he started his bookstore in New York.
but up until that time his wanderings had
carried him to every section of the coun-
try.
This perfectly true story of how Cap
tain Howgate escaped from custody eX-
plains a remark which he made To his
daughter on being greeted by her when
brought back TO Washington by Drum
mond.
well, Ida" he remarked, II see you
have developed into quite a musician
since i saw you last
The point OF this quiet little joke Of
Howgate's lies in the fact that Miss How
t,Ia ha mia