Perth Amboy evening news., 1905-01-16
PATRIOTIC FANATIC
"Gessler Rosseau'' Discovered
to Be a Dangerous Crank.
MADE AND USED INTERVAL MACHINES
Prisoner Has Confessed Attempt on
Frederick the Great Stntue i"
Washington and on steam
shin Umbria at New York.

PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 10 Tess
Ter Rosseau," who was arrested III tlls
civ on Thursday with an unloadeo III
fernal machine in his possession, mas
admitted TO the police that he is the
man who attempted to destroy he
statue of Frederick the Great III Wash
ington last Tuesday, and also that it
was hc who sent the trunk containing
an internal machine TO the British
steamship Umbria at New York i'll
MAY, 1908.
The prisoner. whose right name is
not known, made these admissions in
tbe office of Captain Donaghy of the
Philadelphia detective bureau after he
had been identified by persons brought
here from New York and Washington
for that purpose. He gives no reasons
for the attempted outragcs. except that
there are too many foreign affairs in
this country" After having Rosseau
under fire all afternoon the police class
ed him as an american patriotic fana-
tic
The apprehension of Itosseau was due
TO the disappearance of Owen Kelly, Il
wealthy Irish-American, who is prom
inent in Irish-Amcrican societies in this
country. Kelly disappeared on Oct. 20,
and from time TO time the newspapers,
particularly of the east. have published
articles OIL the mysterious disappear
ance. These. the police believe, UNI
dUubtedly attracted Rosseau'S atten-
ton.
On Thursday he 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 Il secret so
ciety that was organized for the pur'
pose of blowing UP British ships in
American ports. The valisc he carried.
he said. contained explosives. Patrick
Kelly notified the police and Rosseau
was taken into custody.
The valisc contained an internal ma
chine of the clock arrangement variety,
but no explosives. About the machine
was wrapped Il Washington newspaper.
This gave the police the clcw that he
might know something of the explosion
at the statue of Frederick the Great.
In reply TO n question he admitted the
attempted outrage on the statue. He
said he had manufactured the Internal
machine himself and that il consisted
of Il candle. fuse and dynamite en-
CINE Where he made it he would
not say. 1t was his intention, he said.
to blow up the statue at night, because
he did not want to hurt anybody. The
failure to destroy the statue, he said.
must have been due to the melting tai
low spelling the use or interfering
with the dynamite. RosScau then gave
the police the interesting information
that he had intended making a second
attempt to blow up the statue, this
time with a time clock machine. As it
was difficult to get past the sentrics
after nightfall he intended going to the
arsenal at about dusk, arrange the in
fernal machine so that il would eX-
| plode at about midnight and then hang
it on the statue.
Where he had been between May.
1908, and last week he will not say,
always replying. ''That is for you to
find out"
He said that he made part of the
! Umbria Internal machine in Chicago
and then took it to New York in Il
trunk. The trunk. he said. was moi
strong enough, so he purchased II
better suited for the machine. In New
York he obtained a room at Mrs. Cur
rvs place and there finished the work
of making the machine. He admitted
writing the note TO Police Commission.
err Green, which read:
"The Malta grcets you and wishes
you well. The society has declared
war against England aud has ordered
the destruction of every steamer flying
the British flag that sails out of New
Yor, The society has undertaken to
clear New York harbor of British ships,
and it will succeed"
The prisoner was closely questioned
regarding the motive for blowing up
the Umbria, but to all questions he
made Il noncommittal reply.
He said he was born in America and
that he was a farmer. Where in Amer
lea he was born and where his present
home is he would not say. lie adj
mitted his name was not 'GeSsler Ros-
seau." lie said he had read much and
that he was Il student Of social econo-
my. lie took the name of Gessler
Rosseau because two of his ideals had
those names-.Albrecht GeSslcr. the
Swiss dictator, who was killed by Will
liam Tell in 1907. and Jean jacques
Rosseau, the French philosopher and
writer.
He would not say anything of the
Owen Kelly affair, and the police he
lieve he knows nothing about it. lie
said:
Il did not expect to get any money
from Kelly's brother. because did not
think he had any"
5 The police, after they concluded
their 'Sweating'' process, expressed the
belief that he is what they term III!
" \ D1npi,n,, ,nt,iatt. fnnatis.f that he