The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1905-07-22
G0TTSCHALk
CHEATS..GALL0WS
st. Paul Murderer Sentenced
to Die August s, Hangs
Himself.

ST. PAUL. July 1s.-Edward Cots
chalk. under sentence to be hanged on
Aug. 8. committed suicide shortly be-
fore o'clock this. afternoon. by hang
Ing. e. : II 1T
The guard. who has been with him
constantly since sentence Of death was
passed. abse1[ted himself for about ten
minutes and when he returned to the
condemned mans, cell, Gottschalk was
dead. He had torn a piece Of ticking
from his bed. wound it tightly about
his neck and then fastened it to hook
in the wall of the cell; raised himself
from the floor and strangled to death.
Gottschalk has had a most remark
able criminal record, being accused of
two Of the bleodiest and most mystic
| rious crimes in local police annals.
In February last, between IL and i
o'clock Christian Schindeldecker. q
butcher. was murdered in his shop on
| prominent business street. The body
was literally hacked to pieces with q
| cleaver. For time the police were at
! fault as to the. perpetrator of the
crime, but later suspicion fell upon
Gottschalk and a. young man named
! Joe Hartman.
Gottschalk was arrested and strenu-
ously maintained his innocence, de-
claring that If Hartman were found
ne would be able to prove by him that
| he had nothing to do with the crime.
On the day on which he was held to
| the grand jury, the body Of Hartman
heavily weighted with iron, was found
in, the Mississippi river near Fort
Smelling. His skull had been crushed
in with a pick.
| Gottschalk was placed on trial on the
charge of numbering Hartman and
when his case came up In court. he
aston1shed everyone by changing his
plea OF not guilty and in open court
confessing to the slaughter Of Hart.
| defense.
| He denied having killed schindel.
decker, saying that he watched outside
while Hartman murdered the butcher
Since sentence of, death was passed
upon him 0ottschalk has made several
attempts to either kill himself or break
out Of jail. but his attempts heretofore
had been frustrated.
| A letter was found on Gottschalk's
body by Cororer" Miller which reads as
follows: ...
Sheriff Miesen has treated me like a
dog. As soon as had been sentenced
to death he put me in cell with a
crazy man. who spit tobacco juice all
over the floor, got blood all over the
| mattress and got it oil dirty, and there
he made me stay until now, and would
come and aggravate me and curse me
| with all kinds Of names. and would not
even let me have d. bath since I have
| been locked up. And, Of course, this
hot weather. it is terrible without q
bath. So I concluded to take my life
rather than be treated so. Goodbye to
all my frtends.~>:; .a;,~.k
Written and signed by the accused
murderer, Edward *Gottschalk
p. S.-Thex government says I am to
all Of them, and the talk Of the papers
and. the big farmer. sheriff. II there
ever was big farmer he Is one. He
ought to be 'pl6wing corn on a farm
SOMEWHERE 81: - ::
Coroner Miller. Informed a. local
newspaper man that the attack on
Sheriff Miesen was absolutely uncalled
for. That the;man's body was per-
fectly clean, <sestlheG that he had had
ample baths rhsreell In which he had
been confined Wassalse spotlessly clean
Sheriff Meisenswas 1lso seen and de-
MED the statements In the letter. HI
"Gottschalk,: hass ben. alone lin !, hi.
cell since his sentence. and he has been
treated In a manner against which nc
reasonable person would offer the
slightest objection / have personally
Eexpended sums for asfew special dain-
ties and have supplied him with cigars
i The cells in the county Jail are at al
times kspt