The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-09-28

| Waite drew up document which Waite
signed before witnesses eyes. This docu-
ment was offered by the county attorney
in evidence.
Mr.. Heckbert, Waite's attorney, objected
| to the admission of this piece of evidence
but after looking 1t over the court saw
nothing Objectionable to it and the doou-
ment was admitted.
| This document was as follows:
WAITE'S ADMISSION.
July 81, 1897.
| In the middle of June between Reading
and Lynn / held up an electric car and
cleaned out the conductor and motorman.
Took two watches and about 500 in
money.
About November, 1896, and up to Feb
ruary 1897, building on the corner of
Temple and Congress streets.
| Put kerosene on the floor and then set
| fire with a match.
| The Casco building on Middle set the
same way.
Clapp block, Monument square, set
same way about q. m. About dozen
| in all fires set in Portland; also Earring
ton block.
Put dummy on the electric car tracks,
Portland & Cape Elizabeth railroad the
into the ditch for the purpose of rohbing
the conductor.
Saturday, July II, set fire to fruit
store, Portland.
| This is a true story.
| (Signed) WILBUR M. WAITE.
| Having signed this document before
the Eyes of the witness Waite was taken
out of the room for walk by the witness
on an excuse. While they we're out of
the room Prichard or Clark went down
to the police station and brought up two
police officers Patrolmen Heating and
Wakefield. These officers were placed in
hiding under the bed all ready for Waite's
return.
Meanwhile Waite and the witness took
walk down the street. Waite told wit
ness that he had set the fires from No
vember, 1896, to February, 1897. These
included the fires In the building at the
corner Of Temple and Congress streets,
in the Clapp block and the Harrington
block and several others. Witness asked
he had taken bottle of kerosene or
naphtha in his pocket and gone into one
of the buildings and after gathering to-
gether lot of rubbish had poured the
kerosene over the pile, applied o match
and gone out Witness asked him what
time of day he did this andWaite said tia
he had done 1t between six and seven
O'Clock in the morning as usual thing.
Witness asked Waite why he had taken
this hour and why he had not done it
during the night. Witness said he
thought the night would be q better time
for doing q job of this kind. Waite said
that he was wrong there for it was much
safer to do thing of his kind in the
early morning than 1t was in the night.
In the early morning between six and
seven o'clock, Waite said, the night
watchmen who had been on duty all
night went home and there were not
many chances of being caught then as
there was later. The witness said it was
agood thing to get the patrol system in
pretty well.
Waite then went on to tell the witness
all about the fires. He said he wanted to
change his statement a little and wanted
to add the building at the corner of Con-
gress and Temple streets which he had at
first neglected to put on the list. "And
about dozen other fires too," Waite
said. The witness said he could make ali
| the changes he desired in the statement
and Waite said he would change that one.
About this time they passed the place
on Monument square, the Mccarthy
had been burned ont. Waite turned to
| witness and said, "You might add that
one too.''
| The witness and Waite walked about for
some time and finally they went back to
| the hotel. By this time Clark or Pritchard
as his real name is had gone out and got
| the police officers into the room and under
the bed When witness and Waite entered
there was no one else here apparently be-
sides Clark and themselves. They seated
themselves at the table and Clark said to
Waite, 1--WE are now about to send this
document containing your bond, on to
the headquarters of the company for ap-
prevail would like to have you look it
over and see if it is all right. II you
want to make any changes you can do so.
I will read these statements to you one
by one and if they are all right you say SO
and then we will sign it and have it
| fixed up
Clark began to read the paper which had
been already signed by Waite.
| Clark read: In the midd Of June be-
tween Reading and Lynn, held up an
electric car and cleaned out the conductor
and motorman. Took two watches and
about 500 in money"
| Waite said that this was all right and
told Clark to go on. Clark continued to
read from the document every word of
which was heard by the police officers
under the bed.
| "About November, 1896, land up to Feb
ruary, 1897, building on the corner of
Temple and Congress streets. Put kero-
sene on the floor and then set fire with
match. The Casco building on Middle
street set the same way Clapp block,
Monument square, set same way about
In a. m. About dozen fires in oil set in
Portland. Also Harrington block
| Waite said that this was all right too,
and Clark read on:
| "Put dummy on the electric car
tracks Portland and Cape Elizabeth rail-
road, the first week in June, 1897, to
throw the car into the ditch for the pur-
pose of robbing the conductor.
Waite said that this was all right only
that the car had not been thrown into
the ditch because the dummy on the track
had been discovered before the car came
along.
Clark added to the document: "Sat-
urday, July H. set fire to fruit store,
Portland. This Is true story. Wilbur
NJ. Waite.''
| This having been done and the doom