The Saint Paul globe., 1905-01-16
"GESSLER ROSSEAU''.
ADMITS HIS GUILT
Continued From First Page

He said he had manufactured the in
fernal machine himself and that it
consisted of a candle fuse and "dyna-
mite engine" 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 any,
body. Because of the ice in the Poto-
mac river he failed to find anyone who
would row him from Seventh street
wharf, Washington, to the arsenal,
which is on one bank of the river, and
he had to change his plans. The fall
ure to destroy the statue, he said, must
have been due to the melting tallow
spelling the fuse or interfering with
the dynamite. Rosseau then gave the
police the interesting information that
he had intended making a second at
tempt to blow up the statue, this time
with a time clock machine.
AS it was difficult to get past the
sentries after nightfall, he intended
going to the arsenal at about dusk, ar
range the internal machine SO that it
| would explode at about midnight, and
then hang it on the statue
This is the substance of his admis-
sion concerning the statue, according
to Capt. Donaghy
Regarding the sending of an internal
machine to the steamship Umbria,
Rosseau said that the police report of
all his movements after the Umbria
| incident up to the time they lost track
been between May, 1903, and last week
he will not say, always replying. That
! is for you to find out"
| Clears Umbria Incident
He said that he made part of the
| Umbria Internal machine in Chicago
| and then took it 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 room at Mrs Cur
| rvs place and there finished the work
| OF making the machine. He admitted
writing the note to Police Commits
| sioner Green, which read
| 1.-THE Malta greets you and wishes
you well. The society has declared
] war against England and has ordered
| the destruction of every steamer flying
| the British flag that sails out of New
| York. The society has undertaken to
clear New York harbor of British
ships, and it will succeed"
1t was this note of warning which
led to the finding Of the trunk before
|
! Rosseau also admitted obtaining the
| dynamite found in the trunk on. the
strength of 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 commital reply.
Having learned all they could re-
garding his attempts on the Umbria
| and the statue, the police officials
turned their attention to learning
something of the antecedents of the
man. He said that he was born in
| America, and that. he was a farmer.
Where in America he was born and
/ where his present home Is he would
not say. He admitted his name was
not "Gessler Rosseau." He said he
had read much and that he was a stu
! dent of social economy. He took the
name of 'Gessler Rosseau" because two
of his ideals had those names-AI-
-brecht Gessler. the Swiss dictator, who,
| tradition says, was killed by William
Tell in 1907, and Jean Jacques Rosseau,
| the French philosopher and writer,
/ who died in 177S.
Capt. Donaghy said Resseau would
not say anything of the Owen Kelly
affair, and the police believ6>he knows
| nothing about it. In reply to a ques-
ton as to his motive in calling on Pat
/ rick Kelly, he said: II didn't expect
to get any money because I did not
think he had any"
He was also silent regarding the
mysterious societies he spoke of for
dynamiting ships, and would not in
| criminals anvOne