Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-01-17

Man Now In Custody In Philadelphia,
confesses That 1t Was He Who
Sent TrunkfuI Of Dynamite to the
umbria in May, 1903.

Philadelphia, Jan. 16.-"Gessler
Rosseau," who was arrested in this city
on Thursday with an unloaded internal
machine in his possession, told the po.
lice Sunday that he was the man who
attempted to destroy the statute Of
Frederick the Great in Washington
last Tuesday, and that 1t was he who
sent the trunk containing an Internal
machine to the British steamship Um-
bria at New York In May, 1908. He
was identified as the man who attempt
ed both crimes. He gives no
reasons for the attempted outrages,
except that there are too many
foreign affairs in this country" After
having Rosseau under fire all the after
noon, the police classed him as an
American patriotic fanatic 1t is
probable that Rosseau will be turned
over to the police Of New York city.
Did Not Aim to XIII.
The apprehension OF Rosseau was
due to the disappearance of Owen
Kelly, wealthy Irish-American, who
is prominent in church circles. Kelly
disappeared on October 25. On Thurs
day Rosseau called on Patrick Kelly.
the brother Of the missing man, and
offered to take him to his brother in
New York for $500. He said he and
Owen Kelly belonged to secret soci-
eties that were organized to blow up
British ships in American ports. The
valise he carried, he said, contained
explosives. Patrick Kelly called the
police and Rosseau was arrested The
;valise contained an internal machine
iof the. clock arrangement variety, but
noSexplosi He said he tried to de-
stroy the Frederick the Great statue at
night, but he did not want to hurt any
body The failure to destroy the
statue, he said, must have been due to
melting tallow spelling the fuse or In
terfering with the dynamite. Rosseau
then told the police that he intended
to make second attempt to blow up
the statue, this time with time clock
machine. AS it was difficult to get
past the sentries after night. he in
dusk, arrange the Internal machine so
that It would explode about midnight,
and then hang it on the statue.
Tells Of umbrIa Explosion.
Regarding the sending Of an Internal
machine to the steamer Umbria, Ros-
seau said that the police report Of all
his movements after the Umbria Incl
dent up to the time they lost track Of
him was correct. Where he had been
between May, 1903, and last week he
will not say, always replying: "That's
for you to find out"
He said that he made part Of the
Umbria Internal machine in Chicago
and then took 1t to New York in a
trunk. The trunk, he said, was not
strong enough, so he purchased one
better suited for the machine. In New
York he obtained q room at Mrs. Cur.
ry's place and there finished the ma
chine.
He said that he wrote a note to Po-
lice Commissioner Green which read !:
"The Malta greets you and wishes you
well. The society has declared war
against the English and anticipates the
destruction of every British ship that
sails out Of New York. The society
has undertaken to clear New York
harbor of British ships, and it will
succeed.
Note Saves Many Lives.
Z I h5 5 .+t.
It was this note Of warning which led
to the finding of the trunk on the
wharf before it was placed on the
steamship.
Rosseau said he expressed the dyna-
mite found in the trunk under the
name of a contractor.
! The prisoner was closely questioned
Regarding the motive for blowing up
the Umbria, but to all questions he
made a non-committal reply.
| He said that he was born in Amer
| lea and that he was a farmer. He ad
mitted his name was not "Gessler Ros
seau." He said he had read much and
that he was student of social econ
omy He took the name of "Gessle1
Rosseau" because two of his ideals
had those names, Albrecht Gessler, a
Swiss dictator, who, tradition says
was killed by William Tell, in 1907
and Jean Jaques Rosseau, French
philosopher and writer.