The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-05-02

You bet / would, SafQ w els
would have hired them. and 6utchlns
and Svmonds on top of them. Then I
( would have had a strong cornblnatlon-
Wasn't there some talk of lynch1ng
Willie?' asked the governor
Not right at that time, said Alien
There was some talk like that a day
or two later"
Didn't they try to organize Inob?"
I don't think so,2 replied. Allen.
oh you know better than that, put
in J. w Skinner They came to my
house one morning to get me to JOIN a
mob to 60 and hang Willie Then the
/ sheriff got wind of it, and spirited MIN
away to Fort Scott"
Governors Strong Words.
Why, that's a terrible thing, de-
emphasis. Trying to hang a little 10
/ year-old boy! You don't mean to say
that such a condition of affairs could
/ exist IN a civilized community If you
/ people down there were so devoid of re-
| sponsibility that you would talk of or
ganizing a mob to hang a 16-year-old
boy, you certainly were not in condition
to give that boy fair trial"
It's not any worse to hang a 1s-year-
old boy than anybody else, If he is
murderer said Seth Wells.
Yes, it is, Mr.. Wells; yes, 1t isl" de-
clared the governor vehemently. 1T is
quite different proposition
Here's another thing I want to
Z
don't you people find that missing uncle
of Willie Sell? He was under grave
suspicion at that time. No effort has
been made to find him, has there?
Where is he? Does anybody know?'
He was around there for q year or
two after the murder, and then went to
Missouri, think" said Allen.
Yes, and If we wanted Jim, we could
find him, believe said Mr.. Wells.
why don't the people who say Willie
is innocent find him ?"
Showed the Bloody Ratchet.
T. T. Dutton. the man who was corr
oner of Neosho county just before
the murder was committed, and who.
assisted the coroner at the time in in
vestigating the case, then asked per-
mission to show the governor the
Ratchet with which the murders were
committed. It was an ordinary look
ing Ratchet, with a rusty blade and
short handle. The traces of blood still
remained on the handle. DuttOn said
that the Ratchet had since the trial
been used for opening boxes at the
Bank of Erie until it had become
dulled.
DR.. Dutton also showed the COVER
nor a map Of the house, and told his
theory Of how Willie Sell committed
the murder. Then he gave some inn
portant evidence which he said he had
never before given at any of the pre-
vious hearings of the case. He said:
IT saw Willie very early that morn
ing and discovered that his hands and
wrists were as bloody as a butchers.
It looked as though he had washed
them off in cold water. took hold
of his hand and said;
20 Willie. what does this mean?
I don't know he replied
&c Yes you do know I said. Willie,
tell me just how you killed your faith
err mother, brother and sister?'
4" I sometimes get up in my sleep
and do things I don't know about re-
Piled Willie.
You must have walked up before
YOU finished the job, I replied. You
couldn't have had that struggle with
your father without waking up.
willie made no reply.
Z" DO you know the punishment for
Yes said Willie, I know they
don't hang in Kansas.
80 DO you know who will heir this
property of your father's?' asked.
COT course I do; I'd heir it. said
The applicants for the pardon pre-
scented petitions signed by 1900 people
asking that Willie Sell be pardoned.
The petitions come from all parts OF
the state, except Neosho county.
There were also a large number of
affidavits dispositions, letters and trans
cripts of testimony left with the COVER
nor for his inspection.
If the governor grants the pardon, it
will probably be on the ground that
Willie Sell did not get a fair trial in
Neosho county 10 years ago, on account
of the intense feeling Of the people
against MIN. He will hold that the tes-
tiuonv introduced was wrongly con-
strued by the jury. and that the attor-
neys who represented Sell did not make
the right kind of fight for their client,
also that Willie Sell was physically in
capable of killing the family.
e. ~
the testimony in the case, which it
seems very difficult to reconcile with
Willie Sells theory that the murder
was committed by some person whose
motive was robbery:
Willie's father had nearly $500 in gold
and bills in his pockets, which was un-
disturbed; he had a gold watch under
his pillow, which was undisturbed;
there was a pocketbook hanging on the
wall with some money in it, which was
undisturbed; there was another watch
in the house, which was undisturbed.
So far as known, not thing was taken
from the house.
There were bloody footprints all
around the room; back of the beds, and
near the bodies There were no other
footprints. The footprints corresponded
in size with Willie Sells feet. Yet
Willie testified that he took his clothes
off the foot of his bed. put them on,
and hurried out of the house in an eff
fort to follow the man he claims to
have seen, without walking about the
room at all.
The Ratchet with which the murders
were committed belonged to the Sell
family Likewise the butcher knife
with which the throags were cut. There
were blood stains on the matchbox and
lamp indicating that the lamp was not
lighted until after the murders had
been committed.
japanese LabOrers Land.
Seattle Wash, May 2.-The 500