Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1921-02-04
SMITH. MURDERER OF roA''E-
,..x IN SEATTLE, GUILTY
Gritty OF CRIME HERE
A CAREER OF BANDlTRY
MIL, Pay the Penalty of His Mis-
deeds i'm Waila Walla Pen
April list

expiaite his crime on the gaiio"s
.onfessed to killing f. II. Schultz of
.h;s cjty on December %, 1919, after
,abbing the Penney store. He also
mid of numerous other crimes COM
n,tted in the Puget Sound country.
To n P.-I reporter Smith described
tho murder of Schultz as follows:
He reached Olympia early that
onarnoon and rented room. He
damned to rob the dry goods store
Of F. Penney & Co.
1.-THE Penney stores are all the
same" he explained. Il know the
vav they run--one cash system. l
vent into the place about 6 p. M,
,rst before closing time. l bought
some things, then stuck up the cash
Tor on one side OF the store, and got
all his cash. While l was on the
other side a clerk yelled police and
murder and l ran.
"As got out Of the store, four or
five men grabbed for me. could
have killed half dozen-easy. They
chased me down the street. Schultz
had a gun, and he fired; l heard the
hullet whiz past ME. ! got behind a
wall, and shot once in the air. But
Schultz kept coming. and l fired
again: the bullet hit him in the eye.
knew he was dead by the way he
fell.
II lodged around the railroad
wards, went back to the hotel,
changed my clothes, and mingled
with the crowds in the streets. Ev-
erybody was discussing the holdup
and the killing and l joined in with
them. l took the next stage for
Tacoma, and on the way over agreed
that that fellow ought to he strung
up.' When we landed in Tacoma,
police detectives shook down the
stage. They never questioned me.
From Tacoma l took train for
Spokane. Out Of the Olympia job
I'd got about 5000. and something
like the same amount In checks. But
It0re up the checks always did"
Smith was born in Menu, in a
Rhenish province of Germany. TWEEN
ty-six years ago. He had told the
police his family name wass Schmitt.
But it wasn't" he declared at his
confessional. 1T was a long Ger
man. 1t doesn't matter now. Let
It go. Can't you give me the benefit
OF the doubt and call me Smith?
iii die with the name Smith"
i was thrown with distant rela-
tives who hated me-" the condemned
man recollected. "They turned me
ont OF home, and l grew up feeling
very bitter toward the world.
Uiited along on my own hook
tnough, and managed to get through
me common schools in Germany.
when ] was about fifteen or sixteen
came to America. In New York l
studied English in the night school.
ana soon got so I could read and
write English very we'll. l was al
ways fond OF reading"
smith insists that he led an hon.
est lie until the summer of 1918.
II something had happened
aont say it's anybody's fault--to
"esdy me a little I'd never gone
Nune, he commented. but I didn' t
friends"
smith slurred over his. early
!oah. He said he did odd Jobs,
suNaing. that came along. and
Inted from one section OF the coun-
ny to another.
began. N"' A'
pa you sympathize with Ger
Many" he was asked.
certainly" he admitted, ANY
,,0 Ivy porn there who said he didn't
con. 1et 1t was only sympathy. This
ru was my home. I,know that
ans sot only a few weeks to live,
v,, u I'm telling the truth. was
,ns TO fight for the United States.
Ama. .sted' and told them / was an
than 'Nan citizen, which was a lie, as
ia,s, 'ater found out. Eight months
dam 'ney kicked me out was a
N'mned Hun. they said.
1obless and Disgraced.
In ,n ''er that I couldn't get work.
tn ,s Se summer of 1918 l went down
op,oS Trays Harbor country, and as
somasa as "a get job they'd find out
fire me- ' l was a German and
whea hadn't eaten for three DAYS
thin pulled the first crooked
Red l suppose 1 could have beg
sindo"a '--l didn't. smashed a
store IN Montesano hardware
tols 1na stole two automatic pis-
tho ~, sold one--and ate, and kent
~ o.ner. used it.
Soma "snt to kelso and one evening,
POOL ho, lays later. l happened in a
the n." al bought something and
bag 'etor pulled out his money
wharo ne put it away and saw
herr We Kept 1t. l came hack tho