Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-10-03
IS HIGH
AGAINST WEBSTER
ogle County Coroner's Jury
Holds Young Doctor for
Murder Of Wife.
TRAGIC STORY is REToLD
Career Awaited Him I'm Cedar Rap
ids, Home of Girl Whom He
First Welded.


sitting in Ogle county late yesterday
afternoon returned a verdict that, in
their opinion DR. Harry Elgin Webster.
Polfclinic hospital interne. and con-
fessed slayer of Bessie Kent Web
ster, was guilty OF murder. The cor
oners jury recommended that DR..
Webster be held to the Ogle county
grand jury without bail. The verdict
Of the farmers composing the coron-
er's jury was received with express
sions of approval at Polo, ILL.,, where
the inquest was held.
The feeling against DR.. Webster
runs high in that community. At the
! inquest, while Sheriff Delaney was tell.
ing with some dramatic effect the
story of the Staying of the young wom-
an as told him by DR.. Webster in Chi
cago. several women in the audience
were unable to restrain their feelings.
JEKYLL AND HYDE LIFE.
The surprising confession made by
Webster of the Staying of his second
and bigamous wife. in lonely ravine
near Dixon, Ill, proves more striking
ly than anything else the part that
women have played in his life. He is
young man, only 2S, and his pros
poets in life were of the best. He was
married to the woman whom he said
he loved-and who, most assuredly,
loved him devotedly-early in Janu-
airy of the present year. One week
after this first marriage he contracted
a bigamous marriage with the woman
he killed. There were other women
who played a part in the DR.. Jel1yll
and Mr. Hyde existence of this young
physician.
The story OF the Staying of Bessie
Kent Webster, as DR.. Webster told it
to the police, is not story that tried
to place the teller of it in good light.
1t is sordid story.
TRAGIC WEBSTER STORY.
There were many events that led up
UP to the tragic ending OF Bessie Kent
Webster. Taken in their sequence
they are about as follows: DIR. Web
ster is the son of poor parents. His
mother runs a quilting establishment
at her home in Dixon, Ill. His father
is employed by Borden's Condensed
Milk company. His two sisters. Rilla
and Hazel, are telephone operators in
Dixon. The Websters were ambitious
for their only son. He, too, was fired
with the ambition of youth. He want
ed to become a physician. Father and
mother and loving sisters worked day
and night and saved every penny so
we'll and honestly earned that their
Harry might get the medical educa-
ton he craved and desired more than
anything else on earth.
Harry Elgin Webster is straight as
an arrow. He had laughing eyes and
his mouth is firm. He was the type of
man to attract women to him. He
was attracted to women.
He came to Chicago and entered
Rush Medical college. He was thor
ough student and, his superiors say,
was a Well-balanced young physician
While a student he met Miss Zoe
Varney, daughter of wealthy parents
of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Miss Varney
was studying music in the Chicago Mu-
sical college in Chicago. The introduc-
ton was brought about by two friends
of hers, the Misses Mary and Bessie
Fuller, also of Cedar Rapids.
CAREER AWAITING HIM.
W. E. Varney, the father, said: ~Al-
though I never told Harry this, in
tended to get him to move to Cedar
Rapids within a short time / have
some means and was going TO estab-
lish him in practice. We wanted our
daughter and son-in-law near US.
81 can't take you to Chicago" the
young man lied glibly to his real wife
ney. "The hospital rules are against
married internes. l would lose my po-
sition if it were known that l was a
married man. Stay at home with
your parents. 1t won't be long before
will be out of the hospital and then
everything will be all right. We will
be even happier then than We are
now
The trusting young bride believed
the doctor. So did her father and her
mother. She remained at home. The !
doctor returned to Chicago and to his
duties in the hospital.
VICTIM Is BURIED.
Chicago, Oct. 3.-Whi1e DR.. Web !
ster, confessed slayer of his biga- !
nous wife, sat in a cell at Oregon,
ILL.,, the body of his victim was bur
led today in Calvary cemetery. The I
body was taken direct from the train I
to the cemetery.
No DELAY IN TRIAL.
Oregon, ILL.,, Oct. 3.-State's Attor- |
ney Emerson OF Ogle county has /
planned 10 present the case of DR.. !
Webster to the grand jury and try
the prisoner without unnecessary de- !
lay. II is said the case may be pre- /
sented 70 the grand jury either to-
day or tomorrow
Csptain Hams Free Man