New-York tribune., 1922-04-15
Irish Soldier.
Near to Death.
Keeps Silence
u Don't Know Groans Pat.
rick Connor When Father
and Detective Question
ON Attempted Murder
Revenge, Parent Says
But Other Members of Fam
lily Scout Idea Sim Fein
Had TO DO With Shooting

Hoveriug on the thin line between
q turn toward recovery and a decline
TO death. Patrick Connor, erstwhiIe
soldier in the Irish republican army.
lay on bed in the Reconstruction Hos
pital Yesterday and refused to give
even his aged father information con.
cerning the motive for his attempted
murder last Thursday night or the
IDENTITY OF his assailant.
The young lrishman was shot at
{ ighty-fourth Street ana Central Park
West. in what had every outward indi-
cation Of carefully laid conspiracy
to get" b m. In the absence of other
facts the police are inclined to be
lieve that the motive either was one Of
revenge or an effort to put MIN out Of
the way. on the ground that dead men
tell no tales.
For hours detectives and the elder
Connor sat by the youth, during his
conscious moments. pleading with him
to reveal his secret.
NO. Nol No!' he groaned, in reply
to each question, rolling his head from
side to side. Il don't know"
-
tive for the shooting. One was that
there was a girl in the case. Another
was that d bootlegging feud was at
the bottom of it, But the report which
the detectives gave the most credence
came from the lips of the elder Con-
nor.
Says Life Was Threatened
I'VE all came to this country about
syun
ms son Michael, my wife and myself ."
he was reported to have said, "While
Patrick was in the Irish republican
army he was captured by the British
and put in Jail. Later he was released
and then was accused of having given
secrets to the British. His life was
threatened, so we all came to the
United States
Later the elder Connor was declared
10 have amplificd this story by saying:
"The shooting OF my son was a
message from over the sea. A sergeant
Of the Royal Irish Constabulsry could
tell lot about it, if he would
After making this statement. the
Young mans father could not be in
duced to give more information Both
his wife and daughte law, when
seen at the family home at 483 Colum-
bus Avenue took issue with the OBJ
servations OF the elder Connor, but be-
yond that could be induced to add
little information Of value.
Don't believe what my husband has
told you said Patrick's aged mother,
as she sat weeping beneath a highly
colored lthograph depicting the Trial
Of Robert Emmett" "He was in an
accident once and is not always respon-
sble for what he says.
u don't know who shot Patrick. I
only wish | did know, and may the man
who did it come to harm. But | don't
believe that any one in Ireland had
anything to do with it.
Declares Boy Not Traitor
eve were all too good Irish patriots
for that My boy was no traitor. Why,
the black and tans made our lives B
hellon earth there, raiding our home in
Cork half dozen times because they
knew Patrick was one Of those fighting
for Irish freedom. Once they came
and took the bed out from beneath
Mlchael's wife here, knowing she was
coingsto have a baby.
Both women talked freely on the
subject of the black and tans, but all
interiections as to the movements of
Patrick in Ireland and in this country
or as to Snn Fein activities in which
he had been concerned were met by
eyasive answers or silence.
One report was that the young man
had been employed by 3. Altman &
Co, but inquiry there brought an an
swer that che is not one Of our en-
ployees, and there is nothing on our
records to show conclusively that he
ever was"
AT the hospital it was said he has
an even chance for recovery.