Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1903-06-19
PUSHING KID"
STARK TO JUSTICE
tOriginal.l

"kl0 STARK was twenty-five, MS
wife forty, when they bought the Peach
Orchard farm. The wife had money.
Mrs. Stark seemed to have something
Of a rowing disposition, while her hus-
band was as fond of quiet as an old
man. She would 60 away, remaining
absent sometimes for a few weeks,
sometimes a few months. She had n
head for business and the faculty OF
keeping her affairs to herself. When
she returned it was noticed at the
bank where she kept an account that
she usually had money to deposit.
One evening after dark Stark drove
his wife to the station, and when lie
returned several men who had called
at the farm to win his vote for COM
ing election reported that he was very
much depressed. Indeed they found
it impossible to get his attention to the
matter about which they had called.
When four months passed and Mrs.
Stark did not return the wagging
tongues started in for clatter, which
grew louder and louder, then subsidized
into mysterious whisperings. A year
passed and no return Of the wanderer.
Two years after Mrs. Stark's depar-
ture Stark, who had not touched any
money deposited in his wife's name,
presented a check bearing her sigma
ture for $1,000. But the bank Off
Gals, who had long been suspicious
that he had murdered his wife and be-
lieved that he would not be satisfied
till he had appropriated all her funds,
scrutinized the check and pronounced
It forgery. Stark was arrested for
the crime. Since there was no evidence
Of murder. that charge could not be
added.
When 1t came to trial an expert pro-
nounced Mrs. Stark's signature a for
gerry. The body Of the check was in
Stark's handwriting, The expert on
cross examination explained to the
court that there were certain letters In
the signature which were made very
differently by Stark and his wife, the
expert stating that Stark in trying to
change the mode of making these let
tiers had made lamentable failure.
Stark was convicted, and, since every
body believed that he had killed his
wife, the judge gave him sentence Of
twenty years Imprisonment.
There were many people in Brown
ville-those of the wagging tongues
who were very much chagrined that
Stark was not prosecuted for murder.
These persons could not understand
why when all the correlative circum-
stances pointed to murder still there
was not tangible evidence necessary
for conviction. They bounded the
prosecuting attorney till he went to
work with will, secured the deposit
lions Of the men who had seen Stark on
the evening Of his wife's departure,
found some garments belonging to Mrs.
Stark buried on the place, and on this
framed theory for prosecution, and
had Stark taken from Jail to be tried
for murder.
By this time it was plain to every
one not only that Stark had murdered
bis wife, but that there was very good
evidence at hand to prove it. There
were people who had been as obstinate
with regard to Stark's innocence as the
wagging tongues had been In maintain
ing his guilt These people now gave
up In the face of the evidence and long
before the trial public opinion had pro-
nounced him guilty. Everything con-
spired to bring him to justice. He had
been convicted of forging his wife's
name to get her money, the circumstan-
tial evidence all pointed to her murder,
the prosecuting attorney had every in
ducement to convict him, the police
were DESTROYS Of closing the mystery
and stopping the murmurings under
which they had SO long suffered for not
solving 1t.
The prosecuting attorney proved by
the men who had visited Stark on the
evening of Mrs. Stark's disappearance
that he had acted as II he had just COM
mitted q murder. The exhumed cloth
ing was proved by competent witnesses
to have been that worn by Mrs. Stark
when she disappeared. These We're the
principal circumstances proving Stark's
guilt, though there were many minor
ones. The prosecuting attorney made
mastery effort, in which he scathingly
referred to the prisoner having mar
ried this thrifty woman to get her mon
ey and had murdered her in. order to
get it the quicker The prisoner sat
with q dazed look on his face that ex-
perienced court officials pronounced the
same as that universally worn by those
guilty of q great crime. The prosecut-
Ing attorney was holding the court
spellbOund by q picture of Stark Turing
bis poor but trusting wife under cover
of the darkness to some isolated spot
and had lowered his voice with the
words. "And drove 1t to the hilt," when
there was commotion at the door, and
a woman pushed her way forward with
every evidence of excitement She was
Mrs. Stark. Without word she |
plunged for the prisoner. took him In
- - ,,,o ,11 hio hood foil IN hor |