New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-02-14
Burns Traps Man Sought
in Los Angeles Times"
Explosion.
DEATH OF CARON
FURNISHED CLEW
Report That Prisoner Had
Died Aided Him in
FOiling Police.

Matthew A. Schmidt, for whom WILL
lam J. Burns has been looking since
General Harrison Gray Otis's LOS
Angeles Times" was dynamited, on Oc-
tober /, 1910, with the loss of twenty
one lives, was arrested last night at
Broadway and Sixty-sixth Street
Magistrate McQuade, who is sitting
in Essex Market court, had been told
that the arrest was imminent, and had
agreed to hold his court open to hear
the case. This is most unusual in the
procedure of magistrates courts.
Schmidt was brought in about 93O
o'clock. He was held without bail for
hearing February "a, at 8 o'clock
Burns Traps Fugitive.
The prisoner said that he was a
machinist, and called up his employer
in Brooklyn. Detectives alleged that
the man on the telephone denounced
the arrest as frame-up. Schmidt also
announced that he would retain big
lawyer" for his defence.
For three days, Burns said, his men
have known where they could find
Schmidt. They delayed in making the
arrest, however, because they thought
that David Caplan, another man sought,
might also be captured They had re-
ports from the underworld that both
men were dead, but when they found
that Schmidt was still alive they
thought their information regarding
Caplan might also be untrue.
Burns said that he first revived his
search for Schmidt after the explo-
sion in Lexington Avenue last July in
which Arthur Caron and two others
were killed. He saw some connection
with his Interpretation of Schmdt's
record in this explosion. he said, and
redoubled his efforts to make an ar
rest Police Commissioner Woods,
aided BY assigning Captain Deevy and
Detective Barney Flood to the case.
Fugitive Admits Identity.
These two men, with Burns; his
son, W. Sherman Burns, Guy B. Bid
dinger and Daniel l.. Dehon, were in
the party which made the arrest.
Schmidt admitted that he was the
man indicted on the Coast. He is
known, the police say, as Leonard and
Schmitty. He waived extradition and
announced that he expected to have a
pleasant trip to San Francisco. When
the handouts were placed on his hands
he said to Magistrate McQuade, as he
was being led from court, 81 guess they
are on tight, all right"
Worldwide Search Made.
William J. Burns gave out the fol-
lowing statement on the arrest of
Schmidt:
at will be recalled that at the time
of my investigation of the blowing up
of The Los Angeles Times when 1t
occurred, there were three men
charged with purchasing 1000 pounds
of so per cent dynamite from the Giant
Powder Works, of Giant, Cal. The
names given by them in purchasing
the dynamite were Leonard, Capp and
J. B. Brice.
eve subsequently learned that Leon
ard was NJ. A. Schmidt, alias 'Schmitty,'
formerly of Chicago, and Capp was
David Caplan, of San Francisco, and
that J. B. Brice was J. B. Mcnamara.
Schmidt and Caplan were never appre-
hended, Notwithstanding the world
wide search that was made for them.
In fact, every detective in the civilized
world had their description and was
looking for them. Their capture was
reported many times. Their friends,
Continued on page 3, column