Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-08-09

The mystery that has been racking
the brains of County Prosecutor
Louis Hoods staff and of all the
court interpreters as well as lot of
other Interpreters around town, for
more than two months has been
cleared up But 1t was not through
any work of the sleuths or in
terpreters
The mystery maker himself let the
cat out of the bag simply through a
little piece of carelessness. About
two months ago letters began coming
to Prosecutor Hood written in a
tumble of English words. coupled
with words in another language that
was as Sanscrit to all the IN
terpreters. Also the letters were full
of curious hieroglyphics that are APP
parently meaningless.
But there was enough of the con-
tents of the letters decirhered to
make 1t plain In each one that the
writer accused some persons of oc-
eupying a home that belonged to him
and many and various dire threats
were made against the interlopers
and also against the prosecutor and
his staff If they did not put an end
to the alleged grievance.
The puZzling script looked like Ger
man to the uninitated, but Sam Birn
and Judge" Abe Cohen, official inter-
prefers, took look at it and said 1t
was not German. Nor was 1t Polish.
Russian, Hebrew or any of the
languages they were familiar with.
Joe Federico, Italian interpreter.
threw up both hands. The unknown
words were not In any Italian dialect.
Arch Wettach, stenographer to the
grand jury and skilled In the French
language. could not make the par
leZ vous" tongue III the words and
the prosecutors staff was stumped
County Detective AL Hargan. Joe
Quicker and Tom Meyer all took a
crack at trying to get 1t interpreted
Quicker. taking the letters to a Swiss
cheese factory Down Neck in the vain
hope that the words were in that lit
tle-used tongue. Nothing doing
Never tried a Greek and a Chinaman.
Still nothing doing Finally Hargen
ran against a native of the Neither
lands. who said the words resembled
those of low Dutch, but as used in
the letter made no sense.
Hargan and the rest of them were
still struggling with the letters. most
of which bore postmarkS of Verona,
Caldwell and Cedar Grove, when be-
hold, the mystery suddenly solved 1T
self For in came a letter postmarked
Cedar Grove and enclosed in an en-
velope bearing the imprint of the
Essex County Hospital for the In
sane.
The county detectives rested easy
for the first time in two months, for
a little more work developed that the
signature on the letters. which all
the experts and interpreters had been
unable to make out, was that OF
Henry s. Sutton, jr., an inmate OF
the Overlook asylum, who has as
his pet delusion that the big group
of county buildings at Overlook are
his own personal property, and that
all the other inmates. physicians,
guards and nurses are interlopers.
Pen, ink and paper have been put
ont of the reach of Mr., Sutton and
the prosecutors staff have gone back
to the easy days of rest that marx
the summer vacation.
Denutv Surrogate Charles F. Kocher
and former County Counsel j. Henry
Harrison went on a fishing trip to the
Adirondacks recently and, while they
are telling of the glorious time they
had catching the finny denizens OF
the clear mountain lakes. they are not
long shot. Here is what they are not
telling:
Early one morning Kocher and Har-
rison. together with an Adirondack
guide. started out in a canoe for some
fishing Kocher carries considerable
weight: so does Harrison. And the
guide was not featherweight by any
means. So the canoe had some load
aboard.
After padding out to the open lake
lines went overheard and soon Kocher
got bite. And 1t was some bite, for
he had caught a seven-pound North
ern pike. which is some fighter when
it is /roked. Kocher got one look at
the fish as it jumped to get away from
the line and determined that prize
was not going to get away.
To make sure of landing 1t Kocher
stood up in the canoe; that is, he did
for the slightest fraction of a second,
and then Kocher, Harrison and guide
were floundering in the water with
the fish. Now, to make the story real
good we would have to tell how
Kocher lost his prize fish, but this is
n truthful chronicle. even If it is a
fish story, and Kocher did not lose
the fish.
Not he He managed to scramble
to the overturned canoe. still holding
TO his fishing line and got a strange
hold on the canoe and held to that.
while Harrison and the guide pushed
and swan with the canoe back to
shoal water. The fish is now being
mounted and will adorm Mr.. Koch
er's den at his home in Bloomfield
The Court House employees were
rather startled on Thursday morn
ing when the different offices were
invaded by a group of boys and girls.
numbering about forty. who filed in.