Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1900-07-19
ROMANTIC
Tale Of Snyder S Life.
Left His Happy Home
When Only a Boy.
He Fell In With Bad
Companions
And Was Arrested For Murder
of Merchant.
Rich Relatives Will Make Fight For
His Release.

From an inside source 1t Is learned
that the Supreme Court will grant
leave to file petition In error in the
case of Dan Snyder against the state
of Ohio, on error from Portage coun-
ty. says a Columbus special. The
point raised has never been passed on
by the Supreme Court and for that
reason it is looked ON in the light of
beiug doubly important.
The application was made by f. s.
Hauselman, member of the state
board of pardons, and s. b. Wolcott,
of Ravenna, and on first glance indi-
rates that they were placing their eli
ent's neck in jeopardy for the second
time. but that is believed to be not true
by the attorneys in the case. but If
their contention is found to be true, it
will result in freeing him from the
penitentiary, where he is now con-
fined on life sentence.
The circumstances surrounding the
case would make a good foundation
for a romance, all that would be re-
uuired would be the reformation on
the part of the man, the accumulation
of immense wealth, happily married
and live to a good, ripe old age. Sny-
der it is said, belongs to one of the
first families in Kentucky and they are
blessed with considerable money, but
the amount is not known, but certain
II Is that they have sufficient to make
the fight to save their relative and they
are dumping it in with a free hand.
| 1t seems that his mother died when
he was a mere child and he was placed
in a school for boys. After arriving at
a certain age, he chafed at the restraint
of the authorities and concluded to
care for himself. AS he had never had
any opportunity to learn any trade or
profession, about the only avenue open
| to him was to become tramp, which
he did, and from all accounts he was
equal to almost any emergency In that
line. 1t is known that he Travelled
all over the country as hobo" but
this is the first time he has been in
serious trouble, so far as known by the
attorney in the case or his friends. II
| In the course of his numerous pill
| grimages over the country he fell in
with James McGowan and Frank Som
mers, the former having served two
terms and the latter one term in the
penitentary prior to the last crime that
landed the trio in the big prison on
life sentences. With such influences
around him crime would be the natural
sequence.
| The three reached the vicinity of
Edinburg, Portage county, about the
tenth of last January, one of them
! wearing long macintosh coat, Tlfey
remained about for seven days forag-
ing on the country, for they did not
work, and that long macintosh was
always fiuttering in the breeze of win
ter and naturally attracted no little at
tenton from the residents OF that sec
tion of the country.
On the morning of January 13, an at
tempt was made to burglarize the gen
eral store of III. X. Goss of Edinburg,
and the owner made his appearance
while the men We're at work and was
shot and killed. The men made their
escape for some time, but they left the
eliminating macintosh, overcoats and
several other points of circumstantial
evidence that made it reasonably GER
tain that they were the parties who
had committed the double crime Of
murder while committing a burglary.
1t was shown that Sommers bought
six 80 .calibre cartridges from A. r..
Maley in hardware store in Charles
ton, on Jan. II, and two kinds were
found in his revolver, three correspond
ing to those bought from the Witness
The attorney claims that Snyder was
found not guilty of the crime charged
in the Indictment or of any other crime
that could have been formed under
such Indictment. Their point was ar
gued in the lower court where Il mo-
ton was made to discharge him under
the circumstances.
They assert that the murder was
committed while in the act OF commit
ting a burglary and that under the
| law all that the jury could do would