The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1901-05-18
A PRIEST
DEAD A WEEK

Edward S. Phillips. pastor OF St.
Gabriels Roman Catholic church,o ,ol
Hazelton. Pa, The priest who came
TO New York last March to inter-
cedc with J. Pierpont Morgan in
behalf of the striking coal miners
OF Pennsylvania, was found last
night in the massage resort oi Or.
Kirk Stanley in the rear OF 4 squat
id tenement at No. $50 Ninth ave
nue..
The body when found was badly
decomposed and the priest had been
dead Tor at least a week. The lace
was almost black and was scarcely
recognizable. The head rested in
a little pool of blood on the hoor'
The priest was fully dressed, with
his overcoat over his black irock
coat, and his derby hat beside
him.
Beside the body stood a glass
candle holder The candle had
been burned down to the socket.
Searching the pockets ot the dead
man, the policeman found letter
from John Mitchell. president oil the
United Mine Workers, and address
ID to the Rev. DR.. Edward s Phil
lips. HaZclton, Pa, several tele-
grams from Mitchell addressed 10
the PRIEST a half fare railroad cou-
pom such as is issued to clergymcn
receipts from Barclay streetg glass
concern for statuary purchased by
Father Phillips; various religious
trinkets, a gold pen, a silver crucl-
fix and silver pencil, but no mon
ey. His gold watch was missing,
but the chain was in the waist
coat
The identity of the dead man was
not until this morning, when Dr.A'
+. Dougherty, OF Wlllkesbarre, Pa.
arrived here. He is nephew OF
Father Phillips, and he positively
identified the body. Then he told
how the priest left lIazelton, on
April 20, with 5000 in cash i'll his
possession, with the declared intcn-
ton to come to New York to buy
bas reliels for the stations ol the
cross in his church, St. Gaorlcl's,
of Hazclton. lie was not heard
from in New York, and Tor the past
two weeks quiet but persistent
search has bean made for him here
by his friends, aided by the police,
who we're asked to send out se-
cret general alarm TO all precints
in Gre ater New York.
Strange facts surround the case.
Father Phillips. it seems, was not
altogether the simple pastora char
acter which was plcturesquely in
genuous in behalf of the miners
would lead one to suppose, He was
not ascetic. The detectives learned
to day that The priest had been llv-
ing first at the Hotel Nendome, and
then at various Raines law hotels
ami was known TO the bartenders
as fairly liberal spender, and
good fellow.
Alter his mission Of peace last
March had been performed and he
had returned 10 his home he came
back to New York. 1t was not to
see men in Wall street that he
came this time. nor to plead ior
dissatisfied workmen, nor to settle
strikes. Father Phillips came back
to an obscure little place in Eighth
avenue, allied the Central Hotel, and
which is known TO the habitues as
Fitzgerald place.
Here in this part OF the town,
while the police were quietly look.
ing for him on general alarm, the
priest spent his time with Kirk
Stanley,the strange doctor who had
lived in half dozen different board
ing places in tow. aud skipped
from number OF them without p ay-
ing his board bills. According to
this doctor, who is now locked up
on suspicion OF knowing more than
any one else about the priests
death, Father Phillips and he, with
two women, went TO the little rear
tenement on the night Of May s.
What happened after that the doc
tor does not know. And from the
condition in which the body was
found, it is probable that it was ON
that very night that the priest died
and that his body had been lying
IN the same room in which it was
found ever since, with this doctor
l;rinr heS,lr II