The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1898-10-21
INDICTMENTS AGAINST ALL.
Grand Jury Votes to Hold Alleged
Train Robbers.
PROSECUTOR LOWE TALKS,
Says Fund Has Been Raiseu to Corrupt
witnesses-Does Not Believe IL Would
Be Possible to Convict Train Robber
In Jackson County.

KANSAS CITY, Mo-, Oct. 15.-Inere is
little doubt that true bills of indict-
meut were found against Jesse James,
jr,, and Andy Ryan yesterday by the
grand jurvon the charge of robbing the
Missouri Pacific train near Leeds on
the night of September 20. The vote
is given as 10 to 2. Three others were
also indicted, but their identity is I'M
known. They are, presumably, Charles
Polk, Caleb Stone and the mysterious
sixth man whom the police are keep
ing in hiding.
1t looks as though the strong alibis
of Jesse James and Andy Ryan would
certainly be shaken and possibly en-
tirely destroyed. The police certainly
have more evidence than has been
offered before the grand jury on the
case, and sensational developments
will certainly appear in the next few
days.
The police have extracted a confess
sion from w. w. Lowe. In itself it
amounts to little. The manner of OBJ
tainiog it deprives it of much weight.
The clues that it furnished were valu-
able. Each one was followed up and a
very complete chain of evidence estab-
iished. The authorities have had ten
days to work upon it. They have lost
no time.
The police went over every inch OF
the ground told of in the confession.
They went over it many times They
verified everything in it as far as pos
sible. The confessor was taken to
Sells livery barn. He was told to
pick out the buggy which was used.
Without hesitation he selected the
right one from among half a dozen.
On the field he took the officers direct
to the patch of weeds where the masks
and guns were hidden. 1t was just as
he had described. The masks were
there. The guns were gone. Lowe
and the officers went to where the
horses are said to have been hitched
near Jesse James house. Everything
was as Lowe had described. The
minutest statement was correct. The
cartridges which Lowe said he had
thrown away were found as he had
described.
County Prosecuting Attorney Frank
Lowe places implicit confidence in the
confession Of w. w. Lowe, the self
confessed train robber, at the same
time he declares there is very little
chance to convict any of the accused
men. He bases his claim on the theory
that train robbery is such common
thing in Jackson county that every
intelligent and law-abiding citizen
disqualifies himself for jury duty in
such cases by keeping thoroughly
posted on all the details of every rob-
berry.
1.-THE consequence is" said Mr.
Lowe, "that when the jury is selected
to try these cases every man on it will
either have gotten on by deliberate
perjury in order to befriend the ac-
cused or will be so ignorant he cannot
be made to understand the evidence.
"There have been many theories ad-
vanced as to why Lowe made his con-
fession," continued the prosecutor,
"lots of people asserting that he had
been bribed to makeit. will tell you
just why he made it, He had been en-
gagged in a train robbery with crowd
of men whom he supposed were his
friends He was arrested and held for
ten days and no move was made by
them to come to his assistance. Sew
eral times he was on the verge
of confessing, but each time held back
In hopes they would do something for
him. Finally he became satisfied that
they had deserted him and were going
TO let him be made the scapegoat and
railroaded to the penitentiary while
they enjoyed the money he had helped
to steal. Then he concluded to try
nnd save himself and he made his con-
fession Just note the difference be-
tween his case and that of Jesse
James. AS far as anyone knows Lowe
had always been an honest man and
his father before him had been honest,
yet no one rushed to his assistance
to have him released on writ of ha-
beas corpus.
1.-THE court house crowd has raised
5000 to defend Jesse James and swear
he shall never go to the penitentiary.
They have hired a lot of detectives and
have set them to work looking into
the facts connected with loves con.
fession, and claim that when the case
comes to trial the city and railroad
detectives will not dare to pres:
It. 1t will be pressed fast enough, but
as to securing a conviction that is an
other thing. There are plenty of dep
uty marshals and deputy clerks to &c
into court and swear to ahbis for Johr
Kennedy. Kennedy and James are
warm friends and when the former
was out of Jail he spent most of hi
time hanging around James cigal
stand in the court house"