Chariton courier. (Keytesville, Chariton County, Mo.) 1878-current, 1922-04-28

Degree. Result Of Looking Up a
Child's Mother. Thomas H. Ed
wards Taken by Police on Call at
House Where Gang Murder Took
Place.
Thomas H. Edwards, a prominent
citizen of Salisbury, No., while in
st. Louis on business, was asked to
look up the mother of small child
now being cared for by his relatives.
And in undertaking this commission
he ran into present-day police meth
ods, with the result that he was held
incommunicado for nine hours as
Suspect" in 'gang murder, sub
jected to bit of the police third
degree, and released only through
the efforts of a nephew who ap-
pealed to Circuit Judge for assist
ance.
Edwards is so years old, wealthy
grain elevator operator and miller of
Salisbury, former Mayor of his town,
deacon of his church, and former
Sunday-school superintendent. He
arrived in st. Louis Monday and
registered at downtown hotel. He
attended to his grain business Mon
day and Tuesday, but on Wednesday
started out to look up relative of
his sister-in-law, to inquire about
support for child.
! The woman he sought was Lor-
raine La We're, whose real name is
Lorainne La Grasse. She has a
child, now in the care of her hus-
bands parents at Salisbury, who had
asked Edwards to look up the child's
mother. Edwards called on his
nephew, N. Murry Edwards, an attor-
ney with Offices in the Pience build
ing, who obtained the address, which
was 1904 Olive street.
Held on Call at House
Thursday morning, about
o'clock, Edwards rang the bell at
1904 Olive street, and a policeman
opened the door from within.
'Does Lorraine La We're or La
Grasse live here?" he asked the po-
J liceman.
"What do you want with herr" the
officer inquired.
II want to see her concerning her
child, which is with her parents-in-
law at Salisbury, No." Edwards an
swered.
"That stuff don't go here" said
the officer reaching out and taking
Edwards by the collar.
Edwards demanded an explana-
tion. The police laconically re-
marked, "Old stuff" and had him
sent to the Newstead Avenue Sta
ton in patrol wagon.
Simon j. Wallace, ex-convict,
had been murdered at the Olive
street address early that morning,
but Edwards had not heard of it. It
was the home of Gregory II. Lewis,
former proprietor of a county road
house, and Lorraine La We're, or La
Grasse, manicure, was a lodger
there.
Edwards Held IncOmmunicado
Edwards was put in a cell at the
Newstead police station and held in
communicate, except for the detec-
tives. He asked for permission to
telephone his nephew, but this was
denied.
A large detective with a black
mustache strobe back and forward in
front of his cell, telling him that he
knew more about the murder of the
ex-convict than he had told. Ed
wards protested in vain that he had
no knowledge Of the crime. The de-
tective was insistent:
"You will tell what you know of
this murder, or we will kick hell out
of you," the detective told him.
This remark reused the ire of Ed
wards. He had been a professional
baseball player and all-round ath-
lete in the .heyday of his youth, and
he remarked that were it not for
the bars between them, he would
make the matter a personal affair.
Removed to Headquarters
After an hour of this sort of
thing he was ordered removed to the
hOldover at police headquarters. He
asked to. be allowed to ride in a
taxicab to escape the humiliation of
another ride in patrol wagon, Of
fering to pay the taxi fare for all.
This was denied him, and he was
taken in patrol wagon.
In the hold over he was placed in
> cell with seven other men, some of
whom were negroes, but he was
allowed to telephone his nephew, the
attorney, before being placed there.
When Edwards heard his uncle
was in jail, he FASTENED to police