The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-10-16
Attorneys in the Sapp Murder
Case Agree Upon This Date.
OLD STORY REVIVED.
Mrs. Webster, an Ex-Postmis-
tress, Tells of Indecent Letters.
Says That Defendant Didn't
Send Them to Miss Sapp.

airy hearing of Samuel F. Whitlow fol
me murder of May Sapp has been Sc
1Tl nearing On Thursday october "a
Inc time was agreed upon by the at.
torneys IN the case last night.
n Good Word for Whitlow.
IN an interview here Mrs. r. d
webster of Bronson, Kan, who was
at the time postmistress and who was
the star witness in the famous case
years ago wherein Bert Peckem was
accused of writing obscene letters to
Miss May Sapp, says that Sam f
Whitlow, who is now awaiting trial
on the charge of numbering Miss
Sapp, is not guilty of writing the let
tiers. Since Whitlow has been under
arrest he has been accused of writing
the letters instead of Peckem who
spent his entire fortune to clear him
self of the charge. Peckem was new
| er acquitted of the charge, but the
case against him was thrown out of
| court.
ster said: mo, Whitlow is not guilty.
l saw the man who, 1 believe, wrote
| the letters
| Mrs. Webster was asked to relate
| the story of this case as near as she
| could remember it.
81 believe it was about 5 o'clock in
| the evening along about the middle
| of March in 1895 when John Sapp
came into the postoffice where 1 was
| busy getting out the MALL began
Mrs. Webster. He asked me for his
mail as was his custom and when I
gave him letter addressed to May,
| he started to turn away before he
| looked at the letter, but upon doing
| so he turned and said: why, here is a
| letter for May 1 do not know why
he should have made this remark I'M
| less it was because neither of the
Sapp girls ever received letters only
from some mail order house which
they had written to. They, unlike the
ordinary girls, never correspondent
with cousins or distant relatives I do
not know what kind of reply L
made, but he then said:
az know it is a letter from one of
those little friends of hers who re-
Gently moved to Kansas City from
their former home in the Walnut
Grove school district
Mr.. Sapp started to turn from the
window for the second time but he
did not appear to be satisfied, con-
tinued Mrs Webster. HE stopped
again saying 4 can not make out this
postmark.' speaking to me. As l had
just finished some work which | was
doing all the time he was talking to
me 1 said to give me the letter and L
would see if I could make out the
postmark. He then handed me the
letter.
.'Why, Mr.. Sapp this letter was
mailed on the train," / answered hiIn
Those little people up at kansas lily
would not have mailed the letter on
the train. but would have dropped it
in some mail box on the street cor
ner" returned Mr.. Sapp.
with that Mr.. Sapp left the post
office and returned to my work with
out thinking more about it until the
following Saturday when Mr.. Sapp came
into the postoffice and said something
about the letter May received. -.
HE asked me if would know WIN
Merrifield if I saw him. I told him,
would not but asked him why?
HE replied by telling me about the
letter which came to May through the
postoffice the day before He said that
NAV opened the letter when he gave 1t
TO her and upon reading it handed it
back to him saying, L know that boy
never wrote the letter.
1.-The contents of this letter as near as !
can remember, continued Mrs. wen
Nav, I have something to tell you !
which you should know. If you will |
meet me at the Bronson hotel on -,
the exact date L do not remember, Will |
tell you etc.
."This letter was signed Will Merit |
field the name of a friend of Nav Sapp, |
who lived near Kincaid, Kan, believe. |
well to return to his conversation |
with me-" remarked Mrs. Webster, MI !
Sapp then asked me if he could get a
letter to Will Merrifield so that | could |
see him take it from the postonfce. |
replied by telling him the only way l |
knew was to mark across tho face of j |
to be Identified
s.Mr. Sapp did as suggested and ad
dressed the letter, dropping it into the |
postoffice.
young man about II years OIL, being !
distinctively a blonde with light hair
and blue eyes, but I had never seen |
him May Sapp was then only Is years
old.
An Unknown Man Calls.
at was about $50 O'Clock in the /
h II ho hTIc les
getting out the evening mail and every
one about town were gone home to
their suppers when man put his head
in the window and said:
cts there any mail for Will Merri-
feld?
81 Immediately recognized the name
as the one addressed by Mr.. Sapp and
delayed going to the win
think The man who called did not
stand in front of the window but
dropped back behind the boxes, where
could not see him. When 1 went to
the window he appeared, however and
said that he hardly expected mail be-
cause his home was in Fort Scott. At
ter running through the various mails,
where I knew the letter was not,
finally pulled down the right letter.
SAYING that it had marked on it ito
be identified 1 then asked him If he
knew any one in the city who could
IDENTIFY him. He told me that he was I
A stranger in the city and knew but
few people, but he finally said that he
knew Jim Osborne. 1 told him that If
Jim would identify him I would give
him the letter. He said all right and !
started out, but instead of going south
% the livery barn, where he would
Ind Jim he went north aud out of
own as fast possible.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you that when
his man. because he was man about
wenty-seven years old, who asked for
he letter, first appeared at the win
low tf,oucbf he was yOung fellow |