Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-08-29

night is still in critical condition ut
a local hospital, strong hope Is enter
tanned by the physicians that he VIII
recover. He vas sufficiently revived
from unconsciou snrss to tell the police
something of the man who shot hin:
and acting on the faint clue which Is
understood to have been given them
they have been working industriously
to clear up the mystery surrounding
| the shooting.
Mrs. Williams, who was in the roll
ing chair with Roberts, and the Negro
chair pusher, were subjected to a
sharp cross-examination and their
stories agree on the details.
| Mrs. Williams told the police that
the man who halted the chair came
I face to face with them and was walk
ing slowly. Peering through the glass
windows behind which Mr.. Roberts
and Mrs. Williams sat the man laid
his hand on the chair and showed one
of the windows aside, at the same time
showing a revolver. Thinking the man
wanted money. Mrs. Williams declared
she offered him her chatelaine bag.
The stranger waved it aside and or
dered Roberts to get OUT AS Rob-
erts got up Mrs. Williams says she
| looked hard ana saw for the first time
| that the man was masked. He shot
| four or FIVE bullets. one of them taking
effect in Roberts side. another pene-
| trating the back of the rolling chair
| and narrowly missing Mrs. Williams
and the others going wild Then. de-
clares Mrs Williams, the man coolly
| walked away in the direction of the
inlet" which is at the upper end of
| Atlantic City.
The Negro chair pusher admits he
ran away until the man with the re-
volvcr was out of sight He then call
| ed Policeman Rust, who assisted Mr..
| Roberts into the rolling chair to await
| the arrival of an ambulance. Mrs. Will
| liams made emphatic denial when ask
| cd whether the man might have been
| her husband. She says that MIR. Rob-
crts has long been a family friend and
| that her husband knew him as such.
She SAYS her husband had never ex-
hibted any signs of jealousy during all
| the years she has known Mr.. Roberts.
She added too that her husband knew
| of the presence of Mr. Roberts in At
| lantic city. Mrs. Williams was asked
whether the man who did the shooting
| made the reported declaration: You
will never take my wife out to din
ner again." as he fired the shots She
denied this as did also the Negro chair
pusher Mrs Williams was unable to
saw whether the man tried to kill her
| also.
THE ballet came comfortably close, y
| she said but if he wanted to kill
me, it SENS he could easily have done
| So
She further declared that she has not
the slightest suspicion as to the iden-
| tity of the assailant as she did not
think she had an enemy in the world.
Mrs Roberts, wife of the victim, ar
river here last night and has been at
the bedside at the hospital ever since.
She refusd to talk of the occurrence.
The police scott at the theory of high
way robbery and hint at sensational
| revelation upon the arrest Of those
whom they have under suspicion.
| John NJ. Roberts, brother of Charles
Roberts and ]. Olney Norris of Balti-
more, to see whom Charles came here
| today gave versions of the shooting.
| They insisted there could be no eXpla-
nation other than attempted robbery.
John NJ. Roberts said:
1T was plainly an attempted holdup
and nothing more. There is absolutely
nothing to conceal. My brother came
down here to see Mr.. Roberts on bus
| mess. Wednesday evening he invited
all the Baltimore and Maryland party
| here, including the gentlemen, 10 dine
with him at the Shelburne. The gen.
| tlemen declined the invitation, but the
| ladies', several of them, accepted. They
| went to the Shelburnc and returned
| 1t was later when my brother invited
| everyone to take a chair ride on the
| board walk. but only Mrs. Williams
| cared to go as the night was stormy
and they We're tired. So my brother
| and Mrs. Williams called a chair and
started, intending to take only short
ride 1t was positively not an arrange
ment of Charlie and Mrs. Williams to
| so out alone. They We're alone by
| chance and the fact that the rest who
had been to dinner with them didn't
care to take the ride. Had they not
| been alone they would never have been
held up for that was the very circum-
| stance that gave the robber nerve to
| tackle them. Mrs. Williams offered
him her purse but Charlie refused to
| let her give it up
| Mr.. Norris told substantially the
| same story of the shooting as related
| by Mr.. Williams, which he said he got
| from the wounded man Mrs. Williams
this afternoon made the following
| statement:
Mr. Roberts and I left the hotel in
| a rolling chair at about $40 o'clock
| Mr.. Roberts is an old friend of the
| family. When we reached Rhode Is
| land avenue, I suggested that we re-
turn. Mr.. Roberts told the pushcr to
| do so when the door was forcibly OPP
ened and we were confronted by a
| masked man who commanded us to
| hold up our hands and demanded mon
ed Mr.. Roberts refused to obey and
| as he advanced toward the NON the
latter fired and then ran away. Mr.
| Roberts said 1 am shot By this time
the pusher had secured an officer. The
| officer called for an ambulance and we
went to q nearby hotel to wait. Here
d physician took him in charge and
put him in an automobile and carried
him to the hospital. Two gentlemen
:hen took me back to the Brighton ho-