The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-02-22
He STARTED N
Q)INIR[LL RAID
How Cole Younger Became a
Murderous William.
HIS PROVISIONAL PARDON
Causes Chicago Capitalists to
Lose Heavily.
HIS PROVISIONAL PARDON

The pardon of Cole Younger, perhaps
the most notorious bandit in the United
States, and the last survivor of the Jesse
James band of outlaws, by the Mime
sofa State Board of Pardons
caused the collapse of a Chicago
syndicate organized to make money by
exhibiting him, and resulted in the loss
Of more than So, 900 which had already
been spent on a melodrama called THE
Younger Brothers, Bank Robbers" which
had been specially written to star him
as an actor.
Strangely enough, the men who must
suffer the losses are the ones who have
exerted themselves most to obtain the
paroled conYict's absolute freedom. Most
of it viii fall upon r. L. Crescy. a Chi
cago real estate man, who backed the
enterprise. Two other Chicagoans, Err
nest Stout and Ben H. Atwell who
wrote the play, have only waste paper
on their hands and Autographs and pos
tiers picturing the ex-outlaw, to the value
of 5000 stored in Chicago, will never or
nament the dead walls
The reason is that the board in grant
one directing that he shall never return
voluntarily to the State of Minnesota
and the other ordering that he must not
exhibit himself or appear as an actor in
q public play. Younger is satisfied with
the conditions. He is anxious to go back
to his old home near Lee Summit Mo-,
and end his days among his friends in
peace He is not perturbed over his fail
ure to become an actor. He never had
any heart in the matter, anyway.
Thus ends the reparation which the
last Of the Younger boys has paid to
Minnesota for the great Mortified bank
robbery and the murder of Cashier Hay
wood in 1916. His punishment also pays
the debt he owed society for many other
crimes, for Cole Younger's record of out
iawry extended as far back as 1866, when
he Joined the Jesse James gang and be-
gan a career which has had almost no
parallel for daring and crime.
He has left Minnesota for Lee
Summit. in Jackson county, Missouri,
where he lived previous to enlisting in
the Confederate service in the early six
ties and where. at the old family home
stead. his relatives still live. He has
friends in that section who have re-
manned faithful to him through a quar-
ter of a century of imprisonment and
with them he will spend his remaining
years.
But it was changed Cole Younger
whom they saw. The once alert,
vigorous bandit is now a broken man
of ffty-nine years Old yet aged before his
years Twenty-six years in Saltwater
upon him which even his last year and
a half of semi-freedom on parole has
not removed.
His associates are all dead. His last
and best friend, his brother, Jim Young
CT, committed suicide last October. and
since then his health has slowly declined
and his spirit has been broken by lone
illness. Lately he has been cared for by
his niece. Mrs. c. B. Hull, of St. Paul.
the daughter of his sister.
How does man feel who mas just
regained his complete liberty after be-
ing Gagged like wild animal for more
than a quarter of a century? Here is
what happened:
Younger heard the first news of his
pardon on his way TO a newspaper office.
where he had been summoned, with the
announcement that the result would be
Immediately telephoned there from Gov
ernor Van SAINTS office.
He was met by a friend who grasped |
his hand.
Congratulations. Cole" he said.
The latter was surprised. What for?" |
he asked. Have they announced their |
decision?"
He was told they had. ''Wen, lin |
glad" WIS all he could say for a mo- |
ment. He continued on into the office. |
where many old friends had gathered |
to await the news.
Il am so happy" he said to them. 81 |
can hardly say anything
Then the conditions or his pardon were |
disclosed to him, but they did not affect |
him.
The people of the state need not be |
ashamed of what they have done l will |
be as good a citizen as any of them"
he said.
Il would not allow myself to be ex-
hibited in any event. I want to be a
citizen like any one else, and that's all
! ever asked. My future course will be
that of which any man might not be
ashamed.
i am going back to old Missouri and
my dear friends and relatives there. 1
Will not come back 10 Minneapolis. But.
nevertheless. l Will alN avs remember
the people of this state. l know that 1
owe much to the people of Minnesota.
I harbor no feelings Of ill-will or malice
against any one. least OF all would 1
against the people OF the state which has
cared for me the past year and a half
as il has
If l am able TO do so, I will come
back some day and show my apprecia-
ton. My best friends are here. and /
will never forget them.
Il haVer expressed my sentiments TO
che people Of the state before. ! don't
think I can say much more. My life
has been one such as few men have ex-
perienced. / have learned much by drink
Eng deep the drugs of the cup of life. Ex-
perience has taught me to live as be-
comes respectable citizen"
Someone mentioned the Mortified peo-
pie and their opposition TO the pardon.
"oh. don't think that l have any ll-will
against the people Of Mortified. They
have many Of them. signed my petition,
both For pardon and parole. Some of my
warmest friends are now in Mortified,
and some have stood Loyalty by me-"
Younger Immediately called upon Gov
Van SAINT TO whom he told his plans.
Later in the day he went to the peniten-
tfar n -nr |