The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1910-08-08

and admit that Grace Burns was evel
seen in the company of a man. Sew
eral expert detectives were here, but
they were unable to locate any one who
had any evidence that was deemed wor
thy of causing the arrest or even the
suspicion as to the guilty party.
Tho First Clue.
The first actual clue was obtained by
one of the federal authorities when he
was escorting a convict, Tommy Ryan,
from Monroe, Wash, who said that
Charles Mccartney, while in Fargo,
went by the name of Roy Smith. There
had been bad blood between Mccartney
and Ryan, and this led to the disclos-
ure on the part Of Ryan.
Mccartney, who was doing time at
Leavenworth federal penitentiary, was
brought back to Fargo to testify in a
| case against one Goodheart. The first
thing the prisoner said to Max Rich
ards, then head jailer, after being land
ed in the Jail, was that he knew why
he was being brought back to Fargo,
and on being asked, he said he was to
be tried for the murder Of Grace
Burns.
! When Mccartney first saw Tommy
Ryan in the Cass county Jail, he said:
For Gods sake Tommy, you would
not hang me, would your"
Goodheart told Mccartney If he INC
Cartney) gave him away, he Good
hearD would hang him.
Identified Mccartney.
]. w. Hodges of this city stated to
the federal authorities that he knew
Grace Burns by sight, and that several
days prior to the murder he had seen
Grace Burns and a strange man several
evenings on the Great Northern rail-
road track, about 300 feet from the G.
N. bridge. Mr.. Hodges resides about
$50 feet from this place Of meeting. He
thinks that 1t was the night before the
murder which he ascertained by certain
data, that he saw this man and Miss
Burns at the same place, that it started
to rain a little and the two climbed
into box car on the siding near the
place of the crime. Mr.. Hodges went
out to the car to order them out, when
they at once left for town. He followed
them to point near Casselman's drus
store, where he (Hodges) walked up
to see if he knew the man. He iden-
titled the man as Roy Smith, alias Nc
Cartney.
Searched the Murder Scene.
Edward Johnson says that the morn
ing after the crime was committed,
while he and his son were out working
in the garden near the railroad bridge,
they saw a stranger come over the
bridge from the Minnesota side, jump
down the embankment into the long
grass, all the time trying to hide his
face He had on a pair Of overalls and
wore a black felt hat, the same as in
McCartney's photograph. The man
went down the river bank. looking very
closely at the ground. He then walk
ed to the center of the railroad bridge,
and gazed for quite a while out over
the water. Mr. Johnson is not positive
as to the man being Mccartney, but
says it was his build, a young man
with the same manner and gait. Mr..
Johnson's son is positive Mccartney is
the man he saw at that time.
Ethel Graves, on June of last year,
identified a photograph Of Mccartney
as Roy Smith, and said that she had
seen him with Grace Burns a number
of times, and had seen him at Grace
Burns house.
Jealousy the Cause.
The federal authorities are Of the
opinion that Grace Burns was MUIR
dered because of jealousy, and they
take this view because it was learned
that she had been keeping company
with one Red Emerson by name. On
the person of the dead girl was a
newspaper clipping showing that Red
Emerson had been in a hospital, hav-
ing met with injuries by being hit
with an automobile. This clipping and
the fact that she had been keeping
company with Emerson is what the
authorities think led to the jealousy
and murder.
John Smith, the liveryman, states
that Roy Smith or Mccartney, worked
for him July /, 1907, and prior to that
time Mr.. Smith states that Mccartney
came TO him the morning of the funer-
al and asked if he could drive hack
to Grace Burns funeral and this was
done.
How He Was Dressed.
Then follows several who saw Nc
Cartney and the Burns girl together
several times, also some who say they
never saw Mccartney after the flu
neral Of the girl Chris Johnson tells
of Mccartney having told him that he
had just got out of Moorehead jail
for holding up a preacher. Johnson
claims that Mccartney was dressed
in new pair Of overails of blue and
white stripes, and black Stetson hat
without the crush in it.
Bonnie Stevens, according to the fed
eral authorities, states that he saw
Mccartney the night before the mur>
der, also that he saw Grace Burns.
He saw Mccartney in Lehr's pool
room; that Mccartney had frequently
told him that he was crazy about Grace
Burns. Bonnie Stevens says that some
of the boys told him that Mccartney
fell in faint at the cemetery when
they lowered the body into the grave.
Some Startling Evidence.
Rystrom, the tailor, says that on
Friday night, June 81, 1907, the night
Of the murder, he saw a young man.
small build. walk slowly past his house,
cut across the grass and walk straight
to where the crime was committed.
This was about 10 p. m, quite dark
and he could not recognize the mans
face.
Adbon Grundein, June Z, last year,
stated to the officers that he saw Grace
Burns between 7 and s o'clock the
night Of the murder down on the river
bank about thirty or forty feet away
~ A.