The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1913-09-12
IN WREN BEHALF.
Continued from Page ID

tered letter receipt in the chimney Of
said Wren ) house 1t was then sug
gcstcd ~ Engineer Madden to inform
Wren S counsel and he did so.
Thomas NJ. o Conner of Brattleboro.
81. worked on the new construction
Job as a Boston X Maine conductor
lie reeites that on the day after the
finding Of Hamilton 5 body he and
Harder and Riley went to the loca-
tion whore the body was found, going
there out Of curiosity. ami that he and
Harder dug the letter and receipt out
of the ice with a iacknife and exam
ined them. He SAYS they took the re-
ceipt, letter and envelope TO the en-
9lne and they We're read to Engineer
Madden, who suggested that they give
them to Mr. Russell 1T Brattlcboro, who
was superintendent Of new construction
work.
As they were somewhat damp.
Mr.. o Conner saws, eve placed them
on the back end of the boiler of the
locomotive, which was quite hot. About
an hour after that while backing mp
the papers were blown out Of the cab.
| remarked there goes our evidence to
hell and someone said let it 90 and
we kept on Mr.. Q Conner also saws
they found torn handkerchief, 4
piece of chewing tobacco, a piece of
yellow chalk, lot of matches ana
some discharge slips.
Bartholomew r. Riley Of Erattle-
boro, Boston & Maine freight brake
man, says that in February. 1913. he
worked on the construction train with
f. J. Madden. J. D. Harder and T. \.
Q Conner and that in the operation
of their train they carried laborers TO
and from work On either the 9th or
Ith of February he and O 'Connor and
Harder Went to the place where il was
claimed Hamilton was killed. They
saw considerable blood and found the
various articles referred to. He says
q Conner and Harder dug some papers
out of the ice, including a letter which
one Of them read aloud. 1t was from
2 woman in Long Island and acknow-
lodged the receipt Of so from Hamil-
ton.
Mr.. Riley says he did not have any
of the papers in his hands but learned
later that they were blown out of the
cab and lost. The tobacco and hand
kerchief, he says, ''were left on the
engine and | do not know what did be-
come of them. He says that when
the papers were first found O Conner,
Harder and Madden talked over what
to do with them and it was decided
to turn them over to the Holbrook,
/ Cabot & Rollins corporation, having
charge of the construction job.
/ The deposition of Mr.. Riley is dated
Aug. % and concludes as follows: -
\ first told Mr.. Joseph Madden of Keene
about the finding of the papers when
! he made an inquiry of me in regard 70
them in the early part of July. 1918.
| do not recall of talking with any
other person in regard to them exccnt
our train crew up to the time ] told
Mr.. Madden about them in answer to
his inquiry concerning the finding Of.
them. | did not undcrstand% that he
things we found were of any consc-
duence in connection with tie trial of
John Wren until my attention was
called by Mr.. Madden to their impor-
/ tance
Edward J. Madden of Brattleboro,
engineer, says that on Feb. or Z his
train transported a gang of laborers
from about a mile and a half north of
Camp one to Camp two and that while
they were eating their dinner at Camp
two Harder, Riley and O'Connor went
to the scene of the crime. On their re-
turn they told him what they had
found and read the letter to him. The
letter, he said, was from woman in
Long Island and ac knowledged the re-
fceipt of $40 and spoke of her father 5
! health q told them, Mr.. Madden
says, ''they had better take them to
the superintendent of the construction