Los Angeles herald., 1909-04-21

Graves as the victim. I had no inten-
tion of harming him. I saw his name
on a bank window while passing along
Spring street and l suppose that
prompted me to use him as the re-
cipient of the threatening missives.
81 never thought much of the mat
ter While l was doing nothing at the
office 1 would write a letter to him and
when l went out for lunch mail it in
the nearest mail box. l intended to
write several more and stop. 1t was
more of joke than anything else and
l can't account for the desire to do
such a thing"
Ritchie IS an intelligent appearing
fellow and has not the characteristics
of criminal.
The police say he evidently wanted
the money to pay off the rest of the
installments on his home They be-
lieve he intended to carry out his
threats against the banker.
Guilty, Says DR.. Graves
DR.. Graves. vice president of the
Merchants National bank, said last
night in regard to the threatening
letters received from Ritchie that the
guilty one had been apprehended.
DR.. Graves, who is II years old, is
veteran of the Civil war, having fought
and acted as surgeon in the Confeder-
ate ranks, and is a man of determined
appearance. The doctor stated that
he is not a fatalist and therefore did
not consider his days numbered be-
cause of the threats.
DIR. Graves only regret was that he
did not have an opportunity to per-
sonally settle his score with Ritchie,
and as he stated, 'the courts would
not have been put to any trouble"
Mr.. Graves did not care to go into
details of the affair, saying that the
letters written would explain every
thing. His only concern was that his
invalid wife might hear of the matter
and in her condition the results might
be serious.
The doctor went armed after receiv-
ing, the first letter, which was intended
for his wife but which he intercepted.
Wife Had Been III
"My wife, had been i'll with paralysis
for nine months said Mr.. Graves,
"but had recovered to such an extent
that she went to Fresno to recuperate.
1t was but two hours after she started
north that the first letter was received
April 6, addressed in her name. |
noticed the typewriter address and
opened the letter, in which the writer
intended to tell my wife that my end
was near.
"It was fortunate she did not receive
armed. 1 could not understand who
might be at the bottom of it, have
been in business for nearly fifty years,
twenty years in Los Angeles, and know
of no enemies. l imagined that j. A.
Graves of the Merchants & Farmers
bank might be the one intended, ana
1 deemed it my duty to warn him.
GAS the letters kept arriving, de-
termined to investigate and finally con-
suited the police department.. | was
not at all afraid but l did not want
to be shot down without chance to
defend myself. The letters arrived al
most every day, and I was pleased
when I received the one telling me
to deposit $4,000 in the vacant house
on the northeast corner at 2277 Airing
ton, and Thirtieth streets.
Warned by Friends
"Friends tried to persuade me from
making the trip, and wanted to ac-
company me, but l was not afraid. The
time set was last Friday afternoon at
D. M, with instructions to come in
an open carriage. With my private
driver I started, first putting a loaded
rife in the bottom of the carriage and
having a revolver in my right hand
pocket, where l could reach it easily.
"I drove up to the house and, taking
bag, which contained iron rings and
washers instead of good, hard gold, 1
placed it as directed. Behind pic