The Minneapolis journal., 1903-03-20
THE BURDICK MYSTERY
Some Facts Are Coming to Light
Which May Yet Clear
.- It Up. ~.

Buffalo, March 20-At least one rea-
son has been supplied for the threat made
by Arthur r. Pennells against Edwin L.
Burdick in the letter where he wrote,
are times when his manner towards you
makes me want to kill him. This letter
was sent to Mrs. Burdick and it. is the
friends Of Burdick who have put 1t into
the hands of the authorities. =:
It was learned to-day from a friend of
Pennell that some time after December,
1900, the time when the letter was writ!
ten, Burdick seized his wife in their house
one night and choked her until. she
signed paper. of whose contents she was
not aware. It was an order on the safe
deposit company where Mrs. Burdiok had
a private drawer or box and It gave Bur
dick access to the drawer and its con-
tents. Armed with this paper, Burdick
secured property Of his wife which in
cluded letters from Pennell to Mrs. Bur
dick and reports of detectives on Bur-
dicks movements. Although this Incl
dent occurred before Penneu had written
the threatening letter, 1t is understood
that the choking episode was not the first
in which Pennen deemed that Mrs. Bur-
dick was being treated harshly by her
husband. 'Pennell had a great influence
over Mrs: Burdick, so great that he is
credited with having caused her to write
the letters in which she asked her hus-
band to take her! back the first time she
was in exile. -: .s'. E.. :.t%a@ - :. -
Mrs. Burdick was subject of much
concern to Pennell, and the thought that
Burdick had treated her harshly or had
kept her from her children probably had
a stirring effect upon the lawyers peace
of mind. -. -~~-. .,'-
Pennen's dislike of Burdick was not
spasmodic. He caused Burdick: to be
'trailed as steadily as Burdick .shadowed
=; - 1-+>
dick and Mrs Paine in this city and to
watch Burdick and Mrs. Warren in Cleve-
land. For over a year he knew of Bur-
| dicks every movement, and he, spent
| thousands Of dollars on the task. The au-
| thorities have traced expenditures of
| more than $1,000. Burdtck learned Of this
espionage by finding in Mrs. Burdick's 8
safe deposit. box some Of the reports OF
Penneu's detectives. Pennell stood by
Mrs. Burdick in Burdick's fight for di-
vorce, and hired these detectives and
spent thousands to get Burdick at his
mercy. A detective agency Of this city
tracked Burdick on visits to hotels, on
drives, on trips out Of town. One Of the
reports told Of the appearance Of Mrs.
Warren, the little friend:'' ~. -: +
| Mrs. Burdick had considerable property
of her own, and it was her habit to keep
her private papers, as well as some per-
sonal and private letters, in q box at q
safe deposit company. She had her pri-
vate Yale key to this box and Burdicls
had this key duplicated without his wife's
knowledge. ~ .s..-, = g-. "a
Some three or four months before the
murder Burdick brought some papers tc
| his wife, which he said needed her sig
nature. She did not notice the text OF
| these papers and signed them all. One
of them was an order to the safe deposit
company permitting her brother to have
access to the company's vault room and
to her; safe. This paper Mrs. Burdick
lsigned without the slightest knowledge
of it's import. q
Shortly after this Burdick visited the
safe deposit and with the bogus order
and duplicate key carefully examined his
wife's papers and letters. Mrs. Burdicl
went to the vaults a few days later and
complained that her private safe had beer
opened and her effects disturbed.
! Doubtless done by your brother she
was told.
tBut I have no brother" she replied.
Then the order was shown her and she
admitted that the signature was gen.
4 uine The nature Of the whole transac.
ton soon came to light and Burdick's
part in making both key and false order
was exposed.