The Saint Paul globe., 1898-07-03
Won ARNOLD'S SAD APPEAL
Ex-DETEcTIvE, WANTS TO BE
RELEASED FROM PRISON
In n Plaintive Letter He Asks Clerk
of the Court Rogers to Certify
That He Never Was Convicted In
This COunty-The Clerk Sends
the Necessary Testimonial WITH
out Delay. js1h 8

When Charles Joseph Won Arnold,
yclept Baron Won Arnold, is not ,figur-
ing in Incidents local and lurid. he is
playing stellar roles in sepisodes inter-
national. When he bestowed the light
of his presence on ST. Paul he was
starring In a small way. He was
baron who had suffered expatriation,
but who was something of a detective.
His career in st. Paul was pyrotechnic
in that it included everything from a
runaway marriage to the bringing off
of a balloon ascension In which the
aeronaut died and left no will. He
came here some years ago..
The baron was one of the kind of
German barons that have served the
French dramatists through all time.
He looked like the keeper Of a barber
shop located in the basement OF
fourth rate hotel when he lived here.
He was ilIterate; he lacked principle
and a hair cut. But he had way with
HIM that was taking. His taking way
resulted in the acquisition Of a wife.
and eventually he quit being a private
detective with a lot of mysteries to
work up ard pursued the uneventfM
career Of a saleonkeeper during the
term of one license. At the last he
instigated a balloon ascension ait South
st. Paul. in which the balloonist fur
nished the spectacular part of funeral
that was held the next day. Then the
baron left these parts and his career
had no particular local interest until
yesterday.
There came to the office of the clerk
OF the court in the mail yesterday
morning mss:ve enclosed in porten-
rious cover, which was addressed, in a
hand every line of which evinced
disposition to curry favor, to The Hon.
Clerk of the County Court, RAMSEY
County. st. Paul, Mimi, U. S. A. The
impressiveness Of the superscription
was as nothing compared to the en-
closure.
It was written on blue tinted foreign
note, and was headed insan elaboration
of German script:
Her Majesty's Prison, Holloway,
London"
1t was subscribed to by Charles
Joseph Won Arnold. The burden of the
missive was a petition that the honera-
BILE clerk Of Ramsey county might do
the subscriber justice in small mat
ter, but in which the future OF the
subscriber was concerned For God
and humanity's sake" wrote the baron,
send me a certificate to the effect that
[ never was arrested and convicted in
the Ramsey county court and that I
have never done time on that convic-
ton. I have been on a pleasure trip to
Germany and when I arrived here I
was seized and put in prison. A police
detective has sworn against me that l
was a convict and that I done time in
Minnesota. 1 never did and you can
testify to it. I have thirty days to
prove it and for Gods sake let them
know. The judge and the governor OF
her majesty's prison Of Holloway have
given me permission to write this let
ter
There was a good deal Of repetition of
the same sort in the missive and Mr.
Rogers sent on the required certificate,
for the baron was never convicted here.
Mr.. Fitzgerald, knowing something Of
the means that are used in tyrannical
and despotic countries to influence Of
ficial personageS, laid the baron under
eternal obligations to him by pasting
golden stamp that looked like a title
of nobility or four hundred thousand
dollars on the certificate. The baron
had until July IA to get the certificate,
so that the letter that was mailed yes
terday will probably get him out of
Jail.
Previous to the receipt Of the letter
the baron had not been heard Of locally
since his appearance in the Fair will
case in California, in which he had
figured as private detective who had
tried to get one Of the witnesses out
of the way by marrying her off. The
girl he married in ST Paul Is still in
this neighborhood somewhere.