The Detroit times., 1914-04-25

y
leath. Kelley was arrested Friday
4 afternoon.
The remarkable letters from the
arebug also state that the writer was
The man who shot and killed Patrol
man Fred Holwedel, shot TO death in
an east-side alley last August The
letter states that Holwedel was about
TO capture the firebug when he was
shot and killed,
The letters also state that the writ
or was responsible for the blaze in the
Riverside Storage Co. and tell or how
he was thrown out by John II Burns.
manager of Adam Hone a Co. in the
Riverside building. One letter threat.
ems death to Burns. either by shoot
! ing or by burning him TO death In his
home at No. % Hosmerave.
Through this connection, Kelley has
been positively identified as the fire
bug. as Mr. Burns has identified him
rs the man whom he threw out. Burns
also says that he has seen Kelley at
many other fires, verifying another
statement in Kelley's letter.
The handwriting OF the anonymous
letters also tallies with the handwrit-
ing OF Kelley, found on the books OF
worked during his service in the fire
department. from Dec. 10, 1909, until
4 Aug. %. 1910.
Further. Detectives Plies and Gross
man, and officials OF the Are depart
ment, Working under the orders OF the
. fire commissioners. who have been
panic-stricken by the big run Of incen-
diary fires. have verified every state
. ID IL, LOT ac n a
cation of the fires, and the way they
were started.
The frebug was apprehended
through the letter telling OF starting
the fire in the plant Of the Riverside
Storage co. The letter told that a
"Mr. Hope" had thrown the writer out
of the place.
The police conducted an investiga-
ton in the hope OF finding the mys-
terious MIR Hope in the plant of the
storage company
Instead they found Burns, manager
for Hope & Co, who told of throwing
a man from the place Asked whether
he could identity the man. Mr. Burns
said he could. and stated that he had
seen him at practically every fire he
had witnessed in several months.
A watch was set and Burns was put
on the lookout for the man. but he
failed TO show up.
Later the police took several fire.
men into their confidence and asked
whether they had seen any one man
at majority OF the fires they had
been called to. The answer came
readily, Yes, Kelley, the eX-fireman,
is always present"
Tho million lOOEpd IN Kelley rec
ord as a fireman, found when he was
on the city's payroll and compared
the handwriting OF the letters with
that OF his signatures on the fire' de-
partment rolls They found that the
writing corresponds exactly and were
sure of their man. A watch was kept
and Friday the man was picked up at
fhiFd and Mfehisan-aFes.
Besides the loss of three lives re-
ferred 10 in the strange confession
OF the frebug. a property loss of near
IL 81 600. 900 vas involved in the va
rious incendiary fires which he admits
having started, and the officials are
shuddering as they think OF some OF
the fiends futile attempts, which he
tells about-for instance. an attempt.
ed act OF incendiarism in the Avenue
theater building, at s o'clock in the
evening, when the theater was y icked
with an evening audience, tut the ire
bug was frightened away b. SCRUB
woman. That episode is one "1ich
Las been verified
Kelley has police record, having
been arrested May 20, 1911, for break
ing and entering and was paroicl FOR
one year. by Judge Connolly. Later
ne violated his parole, and vas haled
TO court, but sentence was suspended
on him. and he was again ven his
liberty.
March rs, 1913. he was again arrest
ed for breaking and entering, and. ac-
coTding 20 the police records, that
Cast is still pending.
Kelley II said to have been working