Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1898-02-28
THE DURRANT CASE.
1t Has Left It's Terrible Blight on the
Church and Pastor.

With the burning of the murderer's
body ends the Durrant case and no
one is more CAD of the fact than the
people of the church over which there
has been so much notoriety. Their
only hope now is to forget the whole
affair and to remove with as little stir
as possible everything that may bring
the case again to mind.
Talk of leveling the tower is grow
ing again, and had the trustees the
necessary money it is not probable
that it would long remain to tell of
its horrors. But money is not SC
plentiful as to allow OF this being
done at once, and SO for awhile yet
the belfry, with it's broken doors and
It's narrow stairway, the dull stains
on the floor and the memories that
will cling around it, will stand as a
relic OF all that has passed behind its
usty latticed windows.
The pastor, too, can now return to
his work with some assurance that he
will not be molested. For months
asst he has been practically under a
guard, for he believed that there
was plan to make away with him.
That some day he would be. found
dead, letter telling of his suicide in
MS pocket and another confessing his
guilt OF the belfry murders. That his
fears were not without foundation was
not wanting confirmation. He was
constantly being called for by people
who would give no name, to travel to
all parts of the city and at all hours
OF the night and day.
lie was at one time called on n
perform wedding in the church bv y
man who wished to be married with
out witnesses and late at night. The
man would give no name, nor would
ne tell the name of the bride to he
He told the pastor he wanted to he
married quietly, and he wanted none
but the minister and his bride and
himself present. He was told he must
nave witnesses, and that there would
be meeting of the young people in
the parlors of the church that night.
and one of them could come up to the
big auditorium and be a witness. This
seemed to meet the disfavor of the
lnslstent swain, and he said he would
think of it. The result of his thoughts
was never known by the pastor, for
the man and his bride was seen no
more.
The attitude of the pastor during
the nOtoriety of the case was not
clear one nor comfortable one. He
has been referred to as the enemy of
the Durrants throughout the whole
trial, and all that has followed it, but
he claims that the first assault was
made upon him by the prisoner and
his friends, and that after such
show of antagonism he could not Of
fer to assist them, knowing that he
himself was considered by them as
their greatest enemy.
The first idea he received of the
.undercurrent against him was when
he was shown a telegram from Los
Angeles telling the chief of police to
arrest the pastor at once; will fol-
low later with facts" Right or
wrong, the pastor attributes this tele-
gram to the emissaries of the defense,
who were. working every means to
stay the tide of public opinion which
Was turning SO fast against Durrant.
There was no name signed to the tel
egram, and there was no Indication as
to who sent it. Chief Crowley paid
no attention to it, and the fact of
it's existence was never known to
more than the pastors most intimate
friends.-San Francisco Call.