Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-09-02
LURE OF MILLION
WAS BIG MOTIVE
IN CORD MURDER
Slayer Sought Lumber Con-
tract Is the Latest Clue
Unearthed
Sc CHING OFFICE HERE
Prosecutor Resolved to Hold Olaf
Peterson as Material Witness"
Until He Gives Facts

4
man Of this city and Laurel Springs,
| N. j., in the opinion of his partner, Olaf
| Peterson The latter now is under arrest
] at Camden as a material witness, but It
! is expected he will be released today and
probably will Join Prosecutor William J.
| Kraft in running down the murderer.
The discovery of two letters in the
| murdered mans pocket, one addressed to
| a married woman and the other to an
unmarried woman, has also added TO the
! mystery. and from the attitude of the
| authorities these letters may figure
| prominently in the case. The letters
| were written i'm ink by Cord and were
stamped ready to mail. They were found
| by Constable Headley when he took the
clothes Of the man to the roof of his
! office building to air. Headley refused
| TO give the names of the women to whom
the letters were addressed, but asserted
| that they were not directed to women
| living in the neghborhood of the murder.
Detectives started to search through
| Mr.. Cords papers in his office in the Bull
| litt Building early this afternoon. II was
! learned that Cord had a private safe to
which no one but himself knew the COM
| bination. A locksmith will be brought in
| to open It.
The new clue, the most definite so far
brought to light in the sensational Cord
1 W
| EVENING LEDGER reporter in an exclu-
| sive interview with Mr.. Peterson a few
| hours before he was put under strict
| surveillance by Prosecutor Kraft. After
his first interview with Kraft, Peterson.
| obeying the orders of the Prosecutor, re-
| fused to talk. Detectives dogged his
heels for hours prior to his arrest, pre-
venting reporters from reaching him.
At the time of the interview Peterson
said that he would get" the murderer Of
| his partner. adding:
And I'll have him by tomorrow night"
| PETERSON GIVES Suspicious.
Mr. Peterson told about his suspicious
| while he was crossing the Delaware River
| on a Pennsylvania Railroad ferryhuat
| yesterday morning. The theories ad-
| vanced at that time by Prosecutor Kraft
and his detectives, who had abandoned
| the robbery motive idea and had come to
the conclusion that q business deal Of
some kind was behind the shooting, were
explained to him.
81 haven't anything to say just now"
said Peterson, but by tomorrow night
! expect to have something for the news
| papers"
do you believe the motive for the
! murde" had something to do with a busi-
! ness dta.l?" Mr. Peterson WAS asked
you hit It," he said.
WAS it lumber"
"Yes-and there's bunch of money in
It. too
How much money!?
Mr. Peterson drew out an envelope and
figured for time on the back of it with
a pencil.
zone million and fifteen thousand dol
lars" he said
Two hours later, after Mr.. Peterson had
been thoroughly grilled by Prosecutor
Kraft and his assistants, he met the same
reporter in a restaurant at 6l0 Market
street, Camden.
They've threatened to arrest me-" he
said angrily, after I've done my best to
help them along in the case. I'm sorry
/ went to the police at ALL"
The lumberman was interrupted at this
point by the arrival of Prosecutor Kraft's
detectives. They called him away to a
table at which there were seats for but
four persons, and he was given no chance
to say anything more.
II was announced at noon today by
Wellington B. Butler, first assistant to
Prosecutor Kraft, that Peterson probably
would be released before night Mr. But
Ter said that Peterson had told the Pros
ecutor several things" not made known
yesterday. Just what these things"
were he would not say.
That they were looked upon as highly
important. however, was indicated when
Prosecutor Kraft and his second assist
courthouse Immediately after a two or.
three hour interview with Peterson The
only information they would give as to
their destination was that they intended !.
to be gone until later this afternoon and
that they were at work on the most inn
portant clue to the mystery so far
brought out.
A detailed alibi has been obtained from
Peterson by the prosecutor. Detectives
have run down every shred of informa-
tion in this and have found Il is correct.
From the time Cord left Peterson In their
office in the Bullitt Building this city.
until the body of the murdered man was
found, every move of Peterson is ac-
counted for
Until today Peterson has not seen it to
tell all the prosecutor and his staff of
detectives wanted to know about his and
| Cords lumber deals.
Peterson spent the night In a cell AT
the Camden County courthouse and early
today, before he had breakfast, was
called into the office OF the prosecutor
There he was given to understand that
on his answers to questions depended his
freedom. He was notified that his policy
of evasive answers adopted yesterday
must come to'an end, or he would be \
detained indefinitely.
The prosecutor has almost unlimited
powers under the New Jersey witness
law. lie might keep Peterson in Jail for
more than month. This authority has
been confirmed time and again by the
| New Jersey courts.
Peterson proved difficult witness until
| today. He Is a Swede, about so years
old, OF medium height, but strongly built.
He talks slowly, with a slight accent. but
directly.
The detectives base their belief that
! Cord met the murderer In this city on the
| taet that Cord Is known to ferryboat at
tendants on the Reading line from Chest
nut street, which he generally used, that
all the ferryboat men have been ques-
TONED and that they say they did not see
him Monday night
Because OF the location of the spot In
| which the body was discovered. on the
river road, II is thought that the man
with the grievance induced Cord 10 go
with him In an automobile TO see Peter
son al the latters home In Riverton. On
the way the man shot and killed Cord
and threw his body into the gully, A
man going to Rtyerton from this city
would use the Pennsylvania ferry al Mar
ket street rather than the Reading. which
would take him long distance out OF
the way