The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-11-28

| no loea or intention or shooting him. dld
not turn around and take aim as one wit
ness testified. I never stopped running.
had been fighting Job Eldridge and was
| winded, and saw that my pursuers were
gaining on me- My only thought was to
frighten them. put the pistol over my
shoulder, thinking I was holding it an an
angle of about forty-five degrees, and pulled
the trigger. The first I knew of even hit
ting any man was when met Harvey and
Phillips at the Park Theater saloon"
Regarding his confession to Superintend-
ent Colbert. Burton said:
Colbert acted dishonorably with me in
| that case and he was ashamed to come here
and take the witness stand on that ac-
count. will relate the way I came to tell
him anything. Captain Turney, of Nash
vile, came to me one day and asked me if
my name was not Burton. denied it at
| first and he said:
'' Let me see that tatooed mark on your
arm
noticed him counting the stars care
| fully and knew what was up. I knew at
| that moment that Phillips or Harvey had
| told something. / then admitted that had
served a term in the Ohio penltentiary un-
| der the name of Burton, but told him I did
not know Collins. He said:
Well, 1 want to find this man Collins
| for the murder of the Indianapolis fireman.
He then left and in a few days Colbert
and the two Greenwood men came down.
| The chief of police Of Nashville did the
| questioning, and his manner was so in
| solent toward me that 1 refused to talk,
but told Colbert that 1 would talk to him
| privately. When we were alone he said
| to me-
NN1I arQ in hoH
You would be better off serving eight or
ten years in Indiana than your six years
here. Six years in this place will kill you.'
II felt that he was right about the six
| years, and believe now L could never have
lived my term out. He went on to say:
" We are not after you particularly. Col
Inns is the man want. The worst you
can get is ten years for your part in the
robbery, but cannot get you pardoned out
of here unless you confess to the shooting
Il then said to him: Well did do the
shooting
THAT is all 1 said, and I said it knowing
| that, without such a confession going to
the jury, could not be convicted, and ac-
cepting as true what Colbert told me about
| Collins being the man wanted"
HIS PAST LIFE.
Regarding his past life Burton said: 'T
|
training. My opportunities in life were
good, but l did not improve them. My
mother died when 1 was about ten years
old, and L went to live with my aunt. in
Cincinnati. She was as good to me as
mother could have been. 1 fell into bad
company, however, and got into trouble.
| she got me out of several scrapes but
! finally l was in too deep for her TO rescue
! me, and was sent to the penitentiary. l will
| never tell my right name or the name of
! my aunt or friends. You might think that
| as they have deserted me now would not
| care If l did disgrace them, but 1 would
| change my sentence now for the rope before
would say word to bring my disgrace
| upon them.
Il hate a man who will betray his friends
| That is why l am so bitter toward Harvey.
| de has betrayed me almost to the gallows
| IN the hope OF getting few years off his
| term in prison, when he is almost as guilty
| as am-guiltier morally. 1t was his job,
| the robbery Of EidridSe. He planned it, and
| ne ana Philips We're 10 get their bits of the
| money when the job came off. l killed
man accidentally, and it is made murder in
! the flrst degree because | did IL in escaping
| from a robbery planned by Harvey. He
| ought to be punished as an accessory, or at
least for the robbery. realize that de-
| serve my punishment, and am ready to take
aTdly cur get off,"
Burton told how the robbery was planned
and how he escaped after the shooting. The
| story was practically the same as it came
out on the witness stand.
Just to show you how unprincipled this
pair of indianapolis friends of mine are L
will relate a circumstance he said Il met
them at the Park Theater saloon, according
to our agreement made before l went with
Collins into Eldridge's store There l first
learned that l had killed q man, and we
started for Greenwood. When nearly there
. How much money have you got?'
II supposed he was asking in order to
give me enough to get away on II L did not
have II. i replied:
q I don't know. exactly, but I think I
have about $35 or $40.
He then told me that he had to pay a
debt of 81 in the morning, and asked if L
would not let him have some money. gave
last dollar with. have kept him up and fed
him when he had not cent to buy meal
with. For him to betray me is what hurts
me worse that the punishment that Is my
reward. / deserve the punishment, but not
at the hands of Carl Harvey
BURTON'S SIGNED STATEMENT.
The following signed statement made
for the Juuornal by Burton while the jury
was celebrating as to his fate-when he
felt that the gallows might be his fate:
81 expected at the beginning Of this trial
| that all the testimony in this case would be
! given and all the facts disclosed, put am
| sorry 10 say that such is not the case. Har-
| vey and Phillips, two factors IN TINS case
| ing for the reason that Prosecutor Wlltsle
knew their testimony would weaken the
|
| who concocted the robbery. He IT was VINO
| conceived the idea of robbing old man Ed
| ridge. He knew, from frequently having
! bills changed in the store, that the ola man
had the amount of money in MS posses
sion that he was said to have on the hlght
of the attempted robbery ($l0O) he wanted
to play, the good fellow and get something
for nothing
when he saw he was to be prosecuted
for attempted robbery, he agreed 10 give 10
| the police information which ne sald Would
lead TO the conviction of the murderer, pro-
yiding he himself was promised immunity
That he has done so is a fact apparent TO
every one who has listened to the trlal or
read the reports of il. He is scounuTel
of the deepest dye, void or the hrst eie-
ments of honor He is willing 10 cut lne
throat of his best friend, II by SO DOING ne
can further his own interests 10 punlsn
me and let him GO free seems 10 me traF-
esty on Justice. / am not complaining LOT
myself. however the jury sees NJ 10 punsn
me / will take it and hold no emmy 70
them for it. Under the evidence tney can
40 nothing but convict me, but Will rlse
liD to shield myself and impncate soIne one
else because l have to suner! NO; Woulu
sooner spend the rest of my life BEHIND tne
dark and gloomy walls of prison or dle
with a rome around my neck, rather tAdn
betrav the confidence imposed In me py a
friend or brother. Cur that Harvey Is, ne Is
sorry that he has done what ne mas, Wnen
he has not the moral courage 10 take the
stand and give a true version OF TINS case.