The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1928-01-16
THE "CANARY"
MURDER CASE

MURDER CASE
CONTINUED from pare one)
public; but Markham, after being
defeated, - you remember, on Z
hopelessly split ticket ct tho next
election, withdrew from politics; and
last year Vance went abroad to live.
declaring he would never return to
America. AZ . result ! obtained
permission from both Of them 70
publish my notes in full. Vance
stipulated only that I should not
reveal his name; but otherwise no
restrictions were placed upon me.
] have related elsewhere tho %.
culiar circumstances which led to
Vance's participation in criminal re-
search, and how. in the face Of
almost insuperable contradictory
evidence, he solved the mysterious
shooting Of Alvin Benson. Tho pres.
ent chronicle deals with his solution
of Margaret Odell's murder, which
took place in the early fall Of the
same year, and which you will recall
created an even greater sensation
than its predecessor.t
A curious set of circumstances
was accountable for tn, way In
which Vance was shouldered with
the new investigation. Markham
for weeks had been badgered by the
INSTRUMENTATION newspapers for
the signal failures Of his office IN
obtaining convictions against Ger.
tain underworld offenders whom the
police had turned ovef to him for
prosecution. As q result Of prohibi.
ton new and dangerous and
wholly undesirable, kind Of night life
had sprung up in New York. a
large number Of well-financed cab.
arets, calling themselves night clubs.
had made their appearance along
Broadway and in its side streets;
and already there had been an up.
palling number of serious crimes,
both passional and monetary, which,
it was said, had had their Inception
in these unsavory resorts.
At last when . case Of murder &C.
companying q hold-up and Jewel
robbery ir one o. the family hotels
uptown was traced directly 70 plans
and preparations made in one 81 the
night clubs and when two detectives
Of the homicide bureau investigat.
ing the case were found dead one
morning in the neighborhood Of the
club with bullet wounds in thsir
backs, Markham decided 70 pigeon
hole the other affairs Of his office
and take hand personally in the in
tolerable criminal conditions that
had arisen.
Sunday, Sept. -
On the day following his decision,
Markham and Vance and were ut.
ting in 4 secluded corner Of tn
lounge-room Of the Sutyvssant
Club. We often came together
there, for we were all members II
the club, and Markham frequently
used it IS kind Of unofficial mp
town headqu1rtery.,~ -
Its bad enough to have hah The
people in this city under the impress
sion that the district attorneys Of
flee is q kind Of high-class collec.
ton agency" he remarked that
night, without being necessitated 70
turn detective because I'm not givon
sufficient evidence, or the right kind
Of evidence, with which to secure
convictions"
Vance looked up with . slow
smile, and regarded him physically.
'The difficulty would seem to be, !"
he returned, with an idoleut drawl.
"that the police under the notion
that evidence which would convince
man Of ordin'ry intelligence,
would also convice q court Of law.
A silly notion, don't y know. Law
yers don't really want EVIDENCE: they
want erudite technicalities. And
the average policeman's brain is too
fortnight to cope with the pedantic
demands of jurisprudence"
cts not as bad as that" Mark.
ham retorted, with an attempt 1t
good nature, although the strain Of
the past few weeks had tended to
upset his habitual equanimity. If
there weren't rules Of evidence.
grave injustice would too often b
done innocent persons. And even Q
criminal is entitled to protection in
our courts"
Vance yawned mildly.
Markham, yon should have been
q pedagogue. It's positively
amazin' how you've mastered I'll the
standard oratorical replies to csit.
icism. And yet, I'm unconvincpd.
You remember the Wisconsin case
Of the kidnapped man whom the
courts declared presumabl.. dead.
Even when he reappeared, hale and
hearty, among his former neigh
bors, his status Of being presumably
dead was not legally altered. The
visible and demonstrable feet that
he was actually alive was regarded
by the court Is m immaterial and
imperinent side-issue. Then
there's the touchin' sit,ation - 90
prevalent In this fair couutry-of .
man being insane In ono stats and
man, swaddled in the darkness az
ordin'ry common sense, would ray
that . person who II . lnnatic on
one bank Of the river would stu be
Z lunAtic Il he was on the opposite
bank. And he'd also hold-erron-
eously, no doubt-that + . man Was
living. he would presumably BE-
"Why this academic disserta-
tion :" asked Markham, this time =
1T seems to touch rather vitality
on the source Of your present Pre-
dicament," Vance explained equally.
The police, not being lawyers, have
apparently got you into hot watsr.