The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1907-03-29
AN AUTHORS REAL
DETECTIVE WORK.

cicumstantial evidence, for tfefG Ss ~ -
case, however strong, against an &c
cnsed person that l cannot frame as
strong o theory for the defense. Hav-
ing made ta!x :s;pa.ttee.nent :p.ten R to q friend
wno is practical worker In, Prison fe!
form, he told ME that he had seen q
woman whom he believed to be innoy
cent serving life sentence for ,havin}
poisoned her husband. He asked me 4
visit her and II l came away with the
same opinion as himself to interest my
self In her behalf. consented.
I ! found Mrs, Julia Ringland a pretty
Yoman af thirty. had long conver.
eetIoii with her, not with q .visw to
! icern I,1 '- ~ h.r suiIt Of &aocence from,
her arguments, but to make up my
nfnd'1pon the hisher PlaneSof tntuis'
ton. IfSdid notNspern I'd me to be pos
sible for rcdneds Person. as Mrs Ring.
land was, IL guilt Of frightful crime
to appear to me tQshe. Innocent. After;
q iongk kouyersats s her perfectly
crime she had nst committed. This
conclusionehad nothing 80 do with any
appeal whatever to my reason.
This IL a synopsis Of her case: She
married Feter Ringland. man twenty
years older than. herself, stingy,
---,---~+o-sAs~ger Of the olden type.
hlnSiand. never In good health. at last
gradually sank away and died, What.
he died Of no ope knew, for he was TOO
mean to have doctor. He was burial
and his wife proceeded to take posses.
sion Of his estate.
One day Ernest A. Parsons received
at his club through the mail a note
signed Julia Ringland, Of whom he
mad never heard. In 1t she admitted
that she loved him. but would not per
mit him to be near her SO long Ms bcr
huspaho hred. The note ended with
the single worn "uoit,,
1t happened that tho. ~
Parsons In the club, EdwafTI-. n
sons. The note had been ADDRESSED.
L. \. Parsons and had fallen into the
wrong hands. The Parsons who re-
ceived 1t talked about 1t. It's existence
reached the ears of Peter Rlngland's
relatives. and they accused the widow
of having. poisoned her husband. The
body was eXhumed, the stomach ana
lyzed and arsenic found in sufficient
quantity to Kill several men. The note
and the arsenic were the main points
'on which the prosecuting attorney Sc
cured Il conviction.
My proving Mrs. Ringlund's inno-
cencc depended solely upon one point
her husband must have taken ar
senic' without the knowledge Of any
one else. The attorney for the defense,
had taken this position. but could ADJ
duee no proof that Ringland had eveis
hbushs u gam Orf sGnfc IN his life.
He had investigated every drug storeS
IN the suburban town In which Ring
land had lived, but not one had ever
sold the drug to the deceased.
One day possible solution to the
problem occurred to me. RIngland was
SO stingy that he might have bought
the drug wholesale. The theory was
certainly farfetched. but determined
to investigate the wholesale druggists
thoroughly. There were five OF them
In the city. l went to all of them and
asked If they had had any account
with Peter Ringland Not one OF them
had ever had such un account on It's
books. Besides, they would not have
sold the goods to any one not in III"
drug business certainly not at the
Wholesale price. Since had made up
my mind that proving Ringland's pur-
chase OF the drug himself was the only
possible way Of establishing his Wild
ow's innocence. l determined to push
further in my Investigations. Was 1t
not possible that Ringland had had tho
dru. sent to him under an assumed
name!
I requested every wholesale drug
store In the city to make up state
ment OF oil tho arsenic 1t had sold
In the town where Rineland had lived
within two years prior to his death.
There were a number OF quantities Of
arsenic on one Of the statements that
had been billed to tho Rideewood
pharmacy. The items arrested my at
tentIon. for tho articles were all
arsenic. inquired for the Ridgewood
pharmacy and was told that K ae Aae-iaaort4 -.iaot
exist and never had Existed Then I
knew I had found What 1 had been
hunting for. AZ a.
I still had - JJ~oAoss Uproof' snae
ningland had sre<eaved the goods. I
! !sfd Afd4- tho matter hunted up at the ex-
press Office snd found receip6 fof
packages sig,ed ''Tho Ridgewood fhar'
macy, por p. r." In Peter Ringland
handwriting. The dates Of shipment
and the receipts accorded exactly.
Armed with this evidence, the lawyer
who had defended Mrs. Ringland II
court. working with me. secured
pardon for her. the only means availa
ble OF doing her Justice. or. rather.
getting her out Of prison. There ar
nc words or phrases capable Of ex