Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1914-05-08
With love,
ESTHER LEE DUFFY.
THE COLLINS FIRE CASE.


We seldom make extended COM
menus on cases that are tried in our
courts, but this seems to be such an
extraordinary one that we deem it
fair that we should give short
statement OF the circumstances, ana
we have obtained from MIR. Files, At
torney for Collins, the following
facts, which we have stated as brieI-
~ as possible. <
About October 18th last the house
and contents of Collins in Fayette
was set on fire in the absence OF Col
Inns and his family. One Fred Moog
was suspected of the crime and ar
rested by the fire marshal. They OBJ
tanned from him an alleged confess
sion, in which he said Everett Jay
told him Collins would pay twenty
I'VE dollars TO have the house burned
and that few days before the fire
Collins instructed him where to start
the fire, and that he did set the fire
and burn the house. Thereupon Jay,
Moog and Collins were all taken to
me Bryan Jail. Collins was allowed
the liberty of the town, Jay and
4noog being kept locked up. Mr.. Jay
says that after Collins was allowed
the liberty Of the town the fire mar
shaPs told him that if he (Jay) would
confess and implicate Collins they
would let him out, jay says he told
them he knew nothing about the fire
and would not confess to something
ne knew nothing about. Thereupon
all three of these men were arrested
and brought to Wauseon and examin-
ed before Justice Deyo, Collins and
Jay pleading not guilty. Ie developed
at that hearing by the testimony of
Moog that he had been confined in
the state hospital for the insane at
Toledo in 1911 and the immediate
cause of his arrest at that time was
his threat to murder the family of
Jay. It also developed the fact that
just before the fire he had been con-
fined in the Lucas County jail for
about two months for crime in that
county; ALSO that just before Moog
was convicted in Toledo he had given
a bicycle to Collins to secure a debt
of twelve dollars to Collins, payable
in six weeks. As Moeg had paid no
part of. it at the end of eight weeks
Collins sold the wheel. When Moog
returned he wanted the wheel; Col
lins could not return 1t, and thereup-
On Moeg said he would get even with
Collins, Outside of the fact that the
house was burned and the statement
of Meeg, there was not a single fact
of consequence either against Collins
or Jay, On Tuesday before the time
of the trial on April 30th, the defense
had DR.. E.. H. Rorick, examine Moog
IN the Jail preparatory to raising the
question Of his mental capacity, and
he Judgment of DR.. Rorick was that
his mentality was such as to render
lim incapable of distinguishing be-
ween fact and hallucination. The
defense also had DR.. G. w. Hartman
IN the list Of witnesses to examine
Moog. DIR. Rorick arrived just be-
fore noon. For some reason the state
claimed they first learned on that day
that Moog was mentally wrong.
Notwithstanding that he testified at
the preliminary examination to being
in the asylum as above stated, and
the fire marshal was present and
heard that examination. and the fact
as stated by George w. Griffin, the
agent that insured the property, that
he told the fire marshal before any
arrest was made that Moog was
crazy and so unreliable that nobody
who knew him would believe him
under oath and that nobody believed
that Collins and Jay were guilty. On
such a state of facts two men, whom
everybody, with scarcely an excep-
ton, believed tc be innocent. were
thrown into Jail and compelled to
give $1,000 bonds each or remain
lin Jail until their trial, leav.
ing their wives and small children
with ne means of support and to gel
their living the best they could. AT:
ter the jury was sworn and court re-
cessed until ene o'clock, the State al
the instance of F. 8. Ham, who ha(
rst been taken into the case to as
sist the prosecutor, learning of thes'
facts, had DIR. Miller and DR.. Camp
Nell go to the Jail and examine Mool
and both of them agreed with TIL
statement before made bv DIR. Ror
ick, and SO testified to the court, al
tho neither of them knew of DR.. Ror
icks examination. fhereupon, ol
motion of the state the court direct
ed the jury to return a verdict of no
guilty as to Collins, and the othe
, three indictments against these me-
were nollied and all of the defendant
were discharged.
} Under the above facts, and with n
: reliable basis fro it, these fire maj
/, shal's relentlessly pursued these in
nocent men, and Fulton county pay
3 the price.