The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-11-29
CONNORS GIVES UP
One Man Officers Were After
Surrendors Today.
Has Not Been Out Of the
City.
DENIES SPARR'S STORY
Says He Knows Nothing of
Nickum Murder.
Locked Up to Await Return OF
Sheriff..


hole punctured in it this morning
about o'clock, when Martin ]. Con-
nors, the Matt Connors of the Sparr
confession, walked into Sheriff Lucas
office and gave himself up He has
not been out of town at all since the
murder of Mrs. Nickum, but has been
working here all the time in gang
OF steam filters employed by contract
at the Santa Fe shops under Foreman
Gordon, who lives at S26 Monroe
street.
Mr. Connors did not know that he
was suspected of implication in the
Nickum murder until the State Jour-
nal printed the Sparr confession Mon
day afternoon. Foreman Gordon
showed him the story this morning,
and Connors was completely unnerved
by it. He burst out crying, and en-
phatically denied all knowledge of the
case.
1.-The only time 1 ever saw Sparr,
he said, was once up here in front
of a drug store. Sparr was about half
drunk, and wanted to borrow a quar-
ter. 1 don't know why he should
want to mix me up in an affair of this
kind"
Connors was not questioned closely
by the officials this morning. He was
taken from the court house, where he
went in company with his foreman,
Mr.. Gordon, to the county Jail. and
locked up in the hospital ward on the
third floor, to await Sheriff Lucas re-
turn from Kansas City. Sheriff Lucas
is expected home this evening.
According to the testimony of Fore
man Gordon, Connors is a steady kind
of a man, and was brought here from
Chicago to work on contract OF
steam fitting at the new shop build
ings.
When Sheriff Lucas returns this
evening from Kansas City, he and the
county attorney will put Connors
through a searching investigation. The
result will probably be Corners re-
lease. Until this examination is made.
Connors is not allowed to see any
visitors.
SO far Sheriff Lucas and his deputies
terson, the other implicated in the
Nickum murder case by the confession
of E. E. Sparr.
George Towson was Monroe Patter-
sons room mate at the Pleasant Home
hotel He says that he sat up till 10
O'Clock Saturday night of the murder
waiting for Patterson to come In Pat
terson did not come, and then he went
to bed and does not know when Pat
terson came in.
Mrs NJ. Herman, mother of Mrs. Mary
Clark, the proprietor of the hotel. as
sertS positively that Patterson came in
early Saturday night, and did not go
out again. Mrs. Kiernan sits up to let
the boarders in, and she is absolutely
certain that Patterson got in early Sat
urday night.
ION Sunday night" continues Mrs.
Kiernan, lit was different. Patterson
did not come in until o'clock Monday
morning, and he was drunk when he
came in
Patterson started in on his drunken
spree shortly after he got up Sunday
morning. He did not have any money,
and tried to borrow quarter of j. H.
Clark, husband of the proprietor of
the Pleasant Home hotel Mr.. Clark
refused to loan him any money. Pat
terson got enough to buy himself the
LIQUOR however, and was on a tear
ali day. Monday morning he was sup
posed to get up and go to work down
at his place in the shops. He would
not get up when his room mate, Tow
son did. and later, Mrs. Clark came up
into his room, shook him and told
him that he had only 20 minutes to
get to work Patterson responded that
he would not go to work that day. He
slept till noon. Some of his fellow
workmen left word for him to be sure
to report for work at the shops Tues
day morning, as they would hold his
place for him, but Patterson did not
get up until the middle of the fore
noon Tuesday. He then went down to
the shops, drew what money was COM
ing to him, and quit. One story is that
he went back Tuesday and applied for
cause of his drunken spree.
At any rate, Patterson quit his job
and did not get any pass from the
Santa Fe as he had hoped to do. He
of town to his sisters home near
Eudora, 80 miles east of Topeka. His
intention was to stop there a while
and then go on through to Kansas
City, which he makes his headquar-
terS.
Mrs. Mary Clark says: ''I don't be-
lieve Patterson had anything to do
with 1T. There were no signs of blood
on his clothes. I washed his under
clothes Saturday, and Monday morn
wake him, his underclothes and shirt
were hanging where / could see them
There were no marks of blood on them
that 1 could discover.
Patterson paid me in full for his
board before he left, and seemed to
have a little money left. 1 don't know
where he got the money, but supposed
it was his pay from the Santa Fe.''
Patterson is said to have held a card
in the printers union. It was claimed,
however, that he came to Topeka to
take place as a workman in the San
ia Fe shops. He first stopped at the
Pleasant Home hotel October %, and
then went away. He returned Novem-
time till Thursday, November "a, when
he paid his board and left.
Undersheriff Belts came back to To-
peka on the $40 plug Monday, without
any prisoner. He was on the trail of
Monroe Patterson, but failed to locate
him He said this morning:
81 think this man Sparr has been
giving up fake don't believe he was
telling the truth
Where is Sparr now?'' was asked.
Il don't know. I'm not keeping track
of him.
1t rather looks as though it would be