Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-04-30
TIE MOTHER KNEW.
HARVEY VAN DINE CONFESSED
HIS MlsDEEDs TO HIS Wild.
OWED PARENT.
Grief Stricken Woman Tells Of Her
Sons Fearful confession-she Knew
All Before Trial and Kept Her Boys
Secret, Even From Sweetheart.

l.
OF bereaved and grief-stricker moth
er came last night the tale of how
Harvey Van Dine, the young bandit,
who paid with his life for his crimes,
had confessed to her long before his
arrest his participation in the car barn
robbery. At his mothers knee the
murderer had sobbed forth the story
OF his misdeeds over month before
1t was known to the police He had
told of his foil and protested his desire
to lead a better life.
At her home Mrs Sophia Van Dine
told, in the presence of her sons sweet
heart, Mamie Dunno, of the confession
he made to her. She spoke with the
quiet sorrow indicative of profound
grief and did not permit herself to give
way to outward grief.
Mother Keeps the Secret.
81 knew the story Of the crimes of
my son and kept his secret. No moth
er will blame me. They would have
done the same.
ut was all SO dreadful, for Harvey
loved me so. and loved him. No one
will ever know how much we loved
each other
Neidermeier the Tempter.
When my boy was working for the
Chicago Edison company he supported
me. You must not forget that Harvey
wanted SO much. He wanted an edu-
cation. He wanted to get married,
and he wanted to support me. Then
Niedermler came to the house. He
was we'll dressed and had everything
he al hof hn
knew how to live without working. 1t
was like drops of water falling on a
stone and eventually wearing it away.
Harvey gave way and became the COM
panion Of Niedermeier.
tTt was those two dreadful months
that ruined him." explained Mamie
Dune.
st was in the early part of Septem-
Der that Harvey became FESTIVE" CON
tinued Mrs Van Dine. 81 saw 1t but
did not know the reason. He went to
Ohio to work. but was homesick and
his conscience troubled him, SO he
came home. Shortly afterward - it
was on October = he told me why
he was nervous, and knew all"
The Mothers Sorrow.
OF the terrible struggle with herself
that followed and of the grief with
which her mothers heart was stricken
Mrs. Van Dine would tell nothing. But
to the board OF pardons she declared
that her son had knelt before her and
sobbed as he confessed his crime. 1t
had afforded him kind of a relief, she
said and after that he was more at
Mor1- orrncfoH md ha
fled to Indiana, to again become a
criminal
Victim Of Circumstance.
Mrs. Van Dine still maintains her
son was victim of circumstance.
"Why, he never thought of himself. 1t
was always Of somebody else," she
said. When lie was in Jail he was
thinking of what he could to to aid
others. A fellow prisoner was an Ok
ford man. He told my son his story
and Harvey asked me to bring his old
clothes and give them to the man. He
gave him food and tobacco as he did
other prisoners.
Flowers Give Mourner Joy.
every one knew him loved him.
Those flowers on his coffin will always
be sweet remembrance for me. All
my friends and his sent them, and
roses, the flowers Of love, ran riot ov-
er the coffin.
Poor Gus. No one sent him flow
ers. I took some off Harvey's casket
to put on his. I knew that Harvey
would have wished it,
Mrs. Van Dine said Miss Dunno had
never known of Van Dimes crimes I'M
til she appeared in court when he was
on trial "She never read Harvey's
confession" she said. "She was too
young to know about crimes. tried
to keep Mamie from going to court
with me-"
Mrs. Van Dine ended the interview
by referring to the stories printed
about her son. Life is tragedy and
we should not go beyond the truth to
e1,