Willmar tribune., 1909-01-13

ever seen alive.
1t did not take many hours to
prove that the unoffending clerk of
Robarts & Company and the unknown
individual whose body had been found
near Victoria park were one and the
same person, and that the old gentle
man had been brutally murdered for
his money. The eyeglasses and the
gold watch and chain were both miss
ing. The blood-soaked cushions, the
general disorder of the railway car
riage, and the imprint of the bloody
hand on the door of the vehicle
proved that terrible struggle had
taken place before the foul deed was
accomplished. 1t must have been done
very quickly because the distance
from Fenchurch street, from whence
the train started, and Hackney was
only a matter of three miles-in fact,
the deed must have been committed
Immediately after the train left the
city. for the body had been thrown
into the bushes of Victoria park, and
the murderer had evidently jumped
from the train before it reached Hack
ney station
The hat found in the coach had a
lining which indicated that it had
been manufactured by Walker, a fash.
ionable halter in Crawford street, Mar
leybone. Col. Fraser had an interview
with the halter and ascertained from
him that the hat must have been pur-
chased within two weeks of the day
OF the murder. He said that it was al
most impossible to keep track of his
customers, especially as he transacted
considerable transient trade. He had,
however, a vague impression that the
hat in question was purchased by a
short, stout, red-faced man, wearing a
blue coat with brass buttons. The man
carried whip, and from his dress,
manner, and conversation, was evi-
IDENTIFY a cabman. Further investiga-
ton among the officials of the North
London railway brought to the front
guard from the Fenchurch Street
station who remembered having seen
two men enter the fatal carriage on
that evening in July. TIE first man he
described as an old and rather re-
spectahle-looking person. The details
corresronded to nicely to the ap-
pearance of Mr.. Briggs, tho murdered
bank clerk. The second man, he said,
had entered hastily, just as the train
vas about to leave the station and
jumped into the carriage after Mr..
Briggs He was rather yough-look-
ing individual, poorly dressed and evi-
IDENTIFY laboring under great mental
excitement. He was not an ill-looking
man, as men 60, having square Ger
man type of face, blue e%es which
were half closed, and very fair hair.
He was short in stature, ard his legs
seemed very light for the upper part
of his Eody which was squarely built
and powerful looking. This was an un-
usually Intelligent description, and the
police occurred London III The hope of
dragging in some man to answer this
description.
But the days went by and there was
no result. The newspapers were filled
with tho details of the crime and there
was great public Indignation. The old
est citizens of the metropolis wrote
scathiI2 letters to the London Times
in which they inquired dramatically
whether it was possible Cor man to
go on railway journey ia the heart
of the British Empire without in
curing the risk of being murdered
The poIi:e chafed under this criticism.
but still they did not appear to make
any progress. Col. Fraser sat in his
office dIy by day and tried to solve
the pro. l.lem. He finally resolved that
, it woull: be necessary to trace the
gold watch and chain that had been
| stolen tom Mr.. Briggs before it would
be possible to get clue to the man
who hac committed the murder. Every
pawn-s!:cp in or around the metropolis
was visited but none of them pos
sessed any jewelry that cprresponded
to that which had been Atolen from
the bank clerk in the railway carriage.
Col. Fraser was not satisfied with
these reports, and determtn1d to per-
sonally prosecute his inquiries and
researches in another dire..tio He
selected the jewellers of LoAdon and
began his work in the locality known
as Cheapside.
To his delight he came c1.on a sig
niicant clue within "a hou.s. Mr..
Graves, q jeweler in Cheapside, pos
sessed a gold chain which WAS identi-
cal with the one that had been owned
by Mr.. Briggs. The jeweler said that
he had accepted the chain in ex.
| change for another one which he had
given to a foreign looking person who
had called at his establishment. To
add to the importance of this discov-
cry, it was learned that the exchange
of the jewelry had been made on the
day following the murder of Thomas
Briggs.
The news of this first link in the
chain of evidence was widely pub
lished in the London newspapers. On
the day following, while Col. Fraser
was seated at his desk in the policr
headquarters, the door open.d and +.