Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-12-16
Did you buy a revolver that day?"

Where"
AT a secondhand store on Kansas ave-
Was that pistol discharged at the time?"
Yes: the man took the cartridges out
while | examined the gun. l turned to look
at something passing on the street and he
gun Went of It f Startled led me s5 as much nue. as as
dentaI?'
Yes. it was
w hat did you pay for it,"
$3.50"
Why did you buy the gun?"
was being swindled. and as / was going
back 10 see johnson Jordan l wanted to
take the gun with me.
later went TO Jordan's house and founu
la MN and some other colored man in the
mouse. he didn't have the watch, but sent
aaWa man me- after ter it :, gave him S. and they
on the car, | gaye him 10 cents. and started
10 @ me station, as | presumed. to get the
Watcn: wa, ne soon came back, and said kes-
son couidnt get the watch as ii locked
up in the safe in the Office and there was
a crowd there; l asked him what he did
Kesson.
Il went 10 supper then. went uptown and
was near Stansfield's drug store when the
cutting scrape occurred. l then went to
Jordan's house. l stayed there awhile
waiting for 10 Johnson to come back with
The the watch aS and and chain. Johnson did not
10 Bee Adams and see if Johnson had
some some baG pack there; there Jordan told me that
street. and he supposed that was the rea-
| son why 10 Johnson did not return"
DID you draw a gun on Jordan at his
house," '
No"
dan testified TOP
No not in that. and but little truth in
anything else he said"
Did you have talk with Adams"
Did Jordan ask Adams anything about
a bomb?"
No: they. talked confidentially, out Of
''l'hen what was done?"
,o JORDAN suggested that we go to the
i iSers Club perhaPs we could 1 fl find Johnson
some one TO send TO the station for the
watch. He soon found Peary Atkinson. TO
presumably to the station. He soon came
back, and SAID kessou had sent Jordan
word, word that t unless he got out of town he
s. if he. got the watch.
4 took Jordan out on the back porch of
ahe n9 Giu9 f ana an b toId MN M he had swnded m me-
tinued the witness. Il told him that
would take some steps to recover my
| The defendant was then asked that if, at
| any of these conversations with Jordan.
| Harper or Smothers. he ever said he want
| ed a man put out of the way or his father
| murdered. He replied emphatically:
| No, sir. No such thing was ever sug-
! geSted or even thought of by me-
John says he returned to Lawrence the
| next morning on the plug, but he was
| badly worried over the loss of his watch
| that he was in no condition to go to school,
and he decided to go to Kansas City and
| see about getting a job as advance agent
for a theatrical company. While there he
| drank Two cocktails, beer. and brought Il
| bottle of champagne back To Lawrence.
| He said that while in Kansas City he
i teIegraphed Jesse Harper I, meet him con-
| G.v Ia ffh n mr. IN 1l hA h4Ih
| with Jordan. They talked the thing over
that night at Harpers house. While there.
John hired Roy Harper to take oa mote ess
| that he never sent Il note to Ed Miller, the
| drug store porter. After the Harper con-
| ference, the defendant said he went 10 Il
whist party. Later he drank his bottle
| OF champagne. The next morning Re was
| feeling sick and he went downtown early
water with Mr.. Carpenter. took a cigar
and returned to the Beta house.
John declared that the testimony of Ed
| Miller. the drug store porter, TO the ef-
| feet that he wanted 10 buy some poison.
was absolutely false. Being sick, he left
| for Topeka on the noon train and took
| dinner at home. He saw DR.. Grubbs that
| day. got II prescription which was filled
| at local drug store.
| room. Collins said that he frequently oc-
| oupied the spnre room in which he slept
| the night of the murder. He took nap
1
| He testified that, on the night prior to
| the murder, his father and mother spent
the evening away from home. he and Grace
| remaining at the house. Before going out
| for the evening" Mr.. Collins told John not
| to go back to Lawrence in the morning.
These were the last words he ever heard
| his father utter. As he said this. tears
| began to trickle down his cheeks. He
| played the piano that evening for few
| minutes. then went upstairs and walked
| out on the front veranda. where he smoked
| a cigar. This finished, he Went in, locked
| the door and went to bed. He went TO
sleep and did not hear his parents re-
| turn.
The first thing he heard after going to
! sleep was a loud report. He jumped out
| of bed and rushed out in the hall. He
| found Grace there. Mrs. Collins eXclaim-
ed: Papa Is shot; go and get help
He pulled on few clothes. ran down
stairs into the room where his father lay.
! He then rushed across the street and tele-
| phoned to the doctors. He did not see the
gun in the hall. but stepped on it: After
! for help. John returned TO the house and
| knelt down by the side of his fathers bed.
| Attorney Hayden asked:
John. did You Kill your father?'
! Looking his attorney squareiy in the face
and with firm voice John replied:
killed. him. inn 'a had "Gs no motive tR' for not killing
him; Such a thought never entered my
Did you know your father was to be
killed."
! 'Dlu you contrlNe win anyone TO nave
him killed.
! No sir
John said that. while kneeling by the
bedside, he cried. but that he tried TO con-
ceal his grief. He did not know who took
the pistols out of his fathers bedroom, no-
did he know what became of them
In reply to question. John said the
relations between himself and Miss Bab-
| cock We're close and affeCtionate, and that.
while they had talked about marriage. no
| engagement was ever made. There was
an agreement, though. that they would
marry in year or so if they We're of the
same mind.
John then told about his father being
held up by colored man near the starch
factory and also another time at Sixth and
, Van Buren, street. He said his father lived
in constant fear of his life and always car
ried a loaded cane. The defendant said he
had told Miss Babcock many stories about
| his father some being true and some un-
| true. He also said he intended to tell her
about his dealings with the negroes. but
his courage failed him.
John admitted having written the state
ment over his signature. now in the hands
of the sheriff. but said it was false. He
made the statement to the effect that he
did not know where his watch was, in
tions, because he considered them disgrace
full. and did not want them to become
public.
Did these transactions with the negroes
have anything TO do with the murder OF
your father?"
NO. sir
Here the defendant admitted having writ
ten the note to Joe Smothers. which read
your while"
What We're you referring to-"
Gambling transactions
John said Harper lied when he said he
tJohn) had given him his diamond stud.
| He declared 1t was either stolen from him
or someone got il out of a shirt which he