The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1924-09-25
TELLS HOW
/ He KILLED
SPOUSE
CONTINUED from First Page.l
J little gesture with his hands.

SCA4 A4O NRAAtAA4NASsAs
II was dying for love. ana /
guess Elsie was. too. Her husband
was q good provider, but he was
not affectionate. We were two dis.
satisfied creatures looking to heaven
for u true mate. And behind these
bars, alone, deserted by all my
friends. can still honestly say to
you that I love Mrs. Sweetin as
much as ever. I still see her beau
tiful face as I lay on the cot in
this cell.
II love her with all my heart,
and know she loved me- Any
man can tell when a woman puts
her arms around him. Yes, I love
her better than life. She Is the
perfect woman.
Dreamed Of Woman.
II used to lay In bed dreaming
Of this woman, and the words Of my
wife, i have no time for that would
keep ringing in my ears.
Perfect love is not known until
perfect love is accepted and given.
The world has forsaken me but
that's when the Lord comes in, for
Il all forsalke. the Lord will not.
II remember the morning gave
my wife the arsenic. She lay in
bed, suffering from q paralytic
stroke. She weighed 40 pounds
and you can imagine the poor
Woman's7 plight. Four hours in
one position and not able to move
as much as her little finger. /
guess 1t was about q. m. that
the crisis was at hand. I though
for a moment she was going to
get wen and I prayed she would.
It was either q life Of nagging or
. life with my perfect mate, free.
But as the daylight was dawning,
I was hoping she would live."
Tears welled into his eyes and
repentance and contrition were
written on his face to give way
70 a more sinister look as he
went on:
Diagrams His Crime.
TT was just at dawn that my
wife in the faintest whisper, asked
Tor coffee. The weather was
chilly. / wrapped something about
my shoulders and went for the
coffee. I didn't say to myself now
here is the chance but perhaps my
subconscious mind was working for
! went directly to the kitchen
pantry and reached for the con.
tainer which held a death and a
new life-a free life to live over
again. I put a little powder in
the black liquid.
The parson depressed momentarily
to draw q diagram showing the
position Of his wife's bed in rela-
ton to the kitchen and the path
he had to travel with the death
portion.
81 watched her for two days and
nights after she drank that stuff"
he continued. God, she improved
. bit after she got the stuff in her
vitals for she could then move
about a bit until she expired"
Sweetin His Friend.
And in the midst Of this expo
sition Of the death throes of the
wife who stood by him for twenty
six years, the pastors mind re-
verted to the woman for whom he
had done murder. He broke off
his story abruptly to interject:
''She handed me many notes.
Sometimes as I stood in the door
way Of the little church when we
shook hands; sometimes she dropped
them as / walked a block or so
behind her."
The little clergyman was talking
almost breathlessly now. He seemed
anxious to unburden himself of the
whole sordid story.
"Wilford Sweetin and I were good
friends" he went on. I'VE wrestled
about like chums matching our
physical prowess. We never had
words. Mrs. Sweetin told me she
never loyed him. She married him
when she was a child and didn't
know what love was At least,
that's what she told me.
When told Elsie goodbye after
our conference at Mount Vernon
she sid: I'm be waiting for YOU
and 1t thrilled me. At first want
cd to stick to my original confess
sion wherein said that had
poisoned both. She said she would
S1AO CaEO VI nay CnlluTCus wanted
20 do that but my conscience was
not clear. So I told the truth. I
want eli the world to know I'm
sorr1 But what can I do?"
Wants To Be Chaplain.
The Rev. Hight has an idea. ''If
60 to the penitentiary," he muses.,
0SI want to be appointed chaplain.
have seen both sides Of life--thc
clean and the seamy--and be-
lieve would be fitted for such a
task.
1T feel as II this all was preor-
dained. God perhaps has thrown
me in with prisoners, the trans.
gressors Of the laws Of man, so
that may study them and pick
out their flaws.
tive got this scar, but now I
want to live better than ever. I'm
sorry this happened. It's 6illing
my family. But I couldn't help it.
Something just pulled me and I
couldn't stop. Call It fate or any
thiLg you like"
The pastor choked with sobs. He
was near the breaking point.
The little church bells again tolIed
softly. The interview ended. The
clergyman. in the rusty black