davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1934-08-26
BY PAUL HARRISON.

LID Joseph X. DoakeS was dead,
sprawled grotesquely by desk in
his living room. Shot twice. and
as the New York City ballStic
n Bureau later testified, by his own
gun.
Murder" said the medical examiner. There
was no doubt of it; either of the wounds would
have been instantly paralyzing and almost i'm
mediately fatal. The pistol had been wiped
free Of hngerprints. Besides the victim had
grasped brass paper cutter, doubtless to de-
fend himself. The knife was tipped with
blood.
Nobody heard the shots. The house was In
o prosperous residential suburb, in the center
of q two-acre estate, and the windows had
been closed against q threatening storm which
hadn't materialized Doakes had lived alone
since the death of his wife, but . woman came
In each day to clean and to prepare his meals.
1t was she who found the body and ran scream-
Ing to q neighbors.
Motive method and time Of the crime seemed
reasonably certain. Footprints Of q man led
across the garden at the rear, and were In the
moist, bare earth of q shrubbery strip beside
the house. The center pane of q cellar window
had been broken. the glass tinkling lightly ON
q large coal pile inside.
The marauder must have unlatched the win
dow, climbed through, crept to the living room
rif1ing the desk. Probably he had found and
pocketed the pistol kept in one Of the drawers
when the elderly man courageously seized the
paper cutter and grappled with him.
THE robber had shot him twice, rified his
u pockets and fed through the front door
without waiting to rsnsack the house. He
must have been only slightly wounded by the
paper knife which hadn't penetrated deeply.
but he had left a few drops of blood on the
carpet.
Police made their routine inquiries They
found that Doakes was q retired contractor,
fairly well to do, and had no known enemies.
His next of kin and sole heir was nephew,
Herbert Doakes, So unmarried. employed as as
sistant manager Of q small motion-picture
theater resident In a rooming house in the
Broadway theatrical district.
Accounting for his movements Of the previous
evening. the nephew said that he and an un-
employed chorus girl named Mary De Vyne
had driven to Ooney Island Git being his eve
ming OF duty at the theater), and that they
had returned to the city about 10 O'Clock, ap-
Evening star., 1934-08-26

driver With the screwdriver, he pried open
the desk drawers to simulate robbery.
Police were unable to find that screwdriver.
but microphotographS were taken Of the marks
on the desk and of marks made on one Of the
rims of Herbert's car, where the rim was pried
OF during the changing of q tire. Enlarged
hundreds Of times and compared side by side
under .binocular microscope, the pictures
showed Identical ridges and indentations.
He hadn't disposed of the gloves. however,
not realizing that gloves often leave distinctive
prints of their own. In this case the slayer
had left very interesting smudge on the blade
Of the knife which he had put in the dead
mans hand. Photographed and greatly en-
larged, this print revealed the weave Of the
fabric and two three tiny flaws notably
tiny cut in the fabric. This checked precisely
with the thumb of Herbert Doakes' left glove.
THE police also seized suit which Herbert
on the morning following the crime had
sent to be cleaned and pressed. BY going over
the suit with q powerful vacuum which drew
air through q fine filter paper, they had ex-
tracted some tiny particles Of coal dust.
So now what did the suspect have to say
for himself? He confessed The alibis had
been framed, Of course; the girl was in love
were men to whom he owed money. Helping
him now, they would profit later.
AS the reader doubtless has guessed, the
foregoing is purely fictional case, compounded
to illustrate some Of the potentialities of New
York City's crime laboratory. It's installation
is so recent that it has not had any conclusive
and important cases. But it is one of the most
scientific crime e-hghting institutions In the
world
Evening star., 1934-08-26
Read this hypothetical murder
case and you'll get an idea Of how
the new police Technical Research
Laboratory is expected to solve
crimes in the story-book manner

time he said. The girl was pretty scared when
she was questioned, but she corroborated the
essential details.
There had been some robberies in the Doakes
neighborhood, and twice entrances had been
effected by jimmying q cellar window. Police
wondered why this window had been broken,
especially since steel tool later had been used
to force the drawers Of the desk.
Maybe the SherlockS from the police depart
ment's new Technical Research Laboratory
could find something. So a sergeant telephoned
Deputy Chief Inspector John j. OConnell. who
heads the crime laboratory and the police
training school The inspector sent out some
of his technicians, who arrived with q lot OF
kits and cameras and gadgets which caused
seasoned detectives to grim
One Of the experts went to work on the
footprints He did some measuring In the
garden with long set Of protractors. Then
he picked out an especially clear print and
took q picture Of 1t, using supersensitive flm
I'm camera so small that it looked like toy.
Next he sprayed the print with shellac, busted
1t with talcum and then took plaster inn
preston.
Another officer was squirting at the sill Of
the cellar window. The dust had been dis
turbed by the murderer, but f1bers of cloth
ing had been snagged during his entrance. The
window was removed from its hinge and care
fully put into police car, together with slivers
Of glass laboriously plucked from the coal pile.
| IPSTAIRS q fngerprint man was patiently
~ testing everything in the room which might
bear q trace. The brass paper cutter. the
desk drawers and inconsequential papers on
top Of the desk were taken back to the labora-
tory. :'
Herbert Doakes, Of course had been searched
and physically examined. There was wound
on his body which could have been made by
the paper cutter; only short. shallow scratch
on his right hand, which he said he had re-
ceived at the beach.
sample Of his blood was inspected. and it
wasn't the same type of blood found on the
carpet and on the knife. He was taken to the
basement on pretext and as he walked nat
urally across the floor he left footprints in n
layer Of dust. The prints were a shoe-size
smaller than those found outside his uncle's
house.
Herbert's room and his car. which had parked
on q side street. were searched. There was
q pair Of cotton gloves in the automobile.
unstained by coal dust or blood. There was no
tool in the car which matched the marks left
on the drawers of his uncies desk.
Evening star., 1934-08-26

proximately an hour
before the time Of the
murder. hey had
strolled down Broadway
to Times Square, had
had q few cocktails in
a grill, had strolled
back, talked to a friend
for a few minutes ON a
corner and had sepa-
rated.
The bartender and
the friend agreed that
they had seen Herbert
and his girl about the
Evening star., 1934-08-26

few hours later Herbert Doakes was for
mally charged with first-degree murder. He
was very unpleasant and abusive about such
an outrage. What did they have on him, the
loving law-abiding nephew?
s'well, I'll tell you." said an elderly police
official, who was anxious to obtain q confess
sion So he delivered lecture on the work.
ings of the Technical Research Laboratory
which went like this:
Supposing the murderer in the case was an
addict of cheap crime fiction and fancied that
he could drag q lot Of false clues across the
trail Supposng he had driven to the home
of Joseph Doakes without any idea of COM
mitting a crime. but to ask the old man for
money. Perhaps violent quarrel had ensued
from the uncle's refusal.
Then possibly, murder entered the visitors
mind. Maybe he snatehed the pistol from the
desk drawer where he knew it was kept, and
put an end to the unoblging oldster. His first
impulse would be to take Doakes' money and
flee. But wait q minute-why not make 1t look
like an ordinary robbery
Burglary footprints! The cops were
shrewd about things like that. But it hap
pened that bright young detective was shrewd
enough to compare the plaster casts with the
shoes of the elder Doakes, and found them the
same size and with the heels worn the same
way. SO the killer must have borrowed pair
of the victims shoes and made those tracks
across the garden to the cellar window.
"A THAT the killer didn't know was that scien-
w tifc sleuths also use protractors to meas
ure the length of stride and the angle Of the
feet. Did Herbert Doakes happen to walk with
his left toe pointed out trife more than the
other, possibly on account Of the leg which
once had been fractured? Well, that's the way
he walked In the dust In the basement.
At the cellar window the killer may have
discovered that he had no instrument to jimmy
the frame, so he had the bright idea Of going
inside and swinging the window inward so
that when the glass was broken with lump
OF coal the glass fell on the coal pile. That
would indicate entry from the outside-except
that microscopic study of tiny, slanting cracks
in the glass remaining in the frame proved
undisputabiy that the blow had been struck
from the other side. .-.
It was small hole, and the murderer wanted
to be sure that it would have been possible
for a man to reach through it and unlatch the
window. So he tried it, experimentally, and
scratched himself. Just the tiniest fragment
of skin fiber was detected on one of the jagged
corners of the glass. but 1t was enough to help
send man to the electric chair.
The murderer probably believed he left no
prints upstairs. But after firing the two shots
the killer may have reooiled In horror at his
act, and in steadying himself had pressed q
sweaty palm on q sheet of bond paper on top
OF the desk.
In the police laboratory each of these sheets
of paper was carefully treated with iodine
fumes. These brought out faint but definite
print which very much resembled the lines on
the heel Of Herberts left hand.
After making the footprints the murderer
must have gone to his automobile and taken
from 1t o pair OF gloves and q heavy screw
Evening star., 1934-08-26

LID Joseph X. Doakes was dead,
sprawled grotesquely by a desk in
his living room. Shot twice. and
as the New York City baniStic
Bureau later testified, by his own
gun.
The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1934-02-23

Published by Special Arrangement with The
Chicago Tribune-New York News Syndicate,
Inc,
The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1934-02-23

fled that the herder was killed about
four. The COW punchers knew by the
sun The homesteader had been sure
because he'd looked at his old silver
watch just before he heard the shoot
ing to see if he had time to go by Cur
ley Smiths and buy a pig and he'd
figured it vas too late. It was four
o'clock.
"Merricks an hour away. Me there
at four. Shooting at four. I'd heard
the clock strike the same time Editha
Caswell did and it struck three. Perjury.
Did she realize it? And why did she
do it?
THE little Minnesota courthouse was
crowded all through the trial. It wasn't
just us fourteen men and a murder
charge against us. 1t was a fight to the
finish between the cattle and the sheep
interests. But to Caswell it was some
thing else. He saw a chance of getting
me hanged for murder. He didn't care
about the rest of 'em. They could go
scot free for all of him and the sheep
business could go to the dogs-the cows
rather-if he could just get me good
and hanged. He was hell-bert on that.
And then here m his sister, the
states own witness, testifying that I
couldn't have been there at all.
THE jury wasn't out long, but it
seemed like a cold, cloudy century. I
was going round in circles in the dark.
Murder. Perjury. Editha must have
The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1934-02-23

staccato- "a quick thudding behind
us. Sharp sound of a galloping horse
and Buck Hardy, my foreman, pulls up
beside us 50 short his horses feet don't
stop while he swings off his sombrero
and tells me: Mac, them herders of
Caswell's has driven their sheep onto
u range over on Cottonwood again
and they won't o on
He'd whirled around and was on his
way, the words scampering back over
his shoulder. Flying hoofs were fling
ing dust in our faces as Editha and I
turned and Hoped along without a word
to Merricks. It wa or the way to Cot
tonwood.
II helped her off her horse-my sor-
rel that had been broke to the side
saddle-and mumbled something. !
didn't know what. I wasn't ever going
to see her any more, and the sui and
the moon and the stars weren't any of
'em e going to shine again. As I
wung back into my saddle I heard a
clock in the house strike three. Curious
how sometimes you remember things
like that. Three O'Clock.
II rode like the wind, but the sheep
wagon was an hour away. There was
a dozen cowboys besides Buck, four
teen of us altogether, and one stub
born sheep herder with his dumb, dirty
sheep. He'd been pretending he didn't
understand and kept saying I stay
The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1934-02-23
LOCFiINVAR & SON BY Est&n;ne Bennett

round somewhere in the proceedings,
not knowing much, but taking a long
time to tell It.
"And then the prosecuting attorney
called, Miss Editha Caswell.' I watch
ed her as she walked up and stood to
be sworn, but she was looking straight
ahead at the clerk. She didn't see me.
I might have been a wooden chair sitt-
ing around vacant. She was pale,
thinner, a little more fragile. All the
bright gayety gone out Of her face.
I'd done that to her. God! I wished
my father had let me fall out Of the
saddle and get killed when I was ten
days old, before he had a chance to
start me on my nice career OF riding
bronchos, punching cows, and shooting
at sheep herders.
"The lawyer asked her about riding
with me when I got word about her
brothers sheep on my range and how
I rode off. after Buck and had she seen
me since. She told them all about it
just the way till he asked her If she
knew what time it was when I left her
at Merricks and she said she did be-
cause the clock was striking when she
went in the house and she counted the
strokes. It was four O'Clock.
-Four o'clock; Everybody was flab-
bergasted. Me most Of all. Everybody
knew Merricks was an hour away from
that sheep wagon and they'd all testi-
The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1934-02-23

here. One of my boys rode up to the
wagon just as I got there to tell him
where he better go that would be nice
and warm for him and his sheep when
it come winter and no cowboys round
to bother him and the herder reached
in his wagon for something. A gun.
But it turned out afterward he didn't
have any gun and nobody ever did know
what he reached for. But we thought
we knew the gesture and fourteen shots
answered.
Fourteen shots and the sheep herder
fell dead with one bullet through his
heart. Our guns were all alike. No
body could tell whose shot killed him.
Fourteen of us went to trial for
murder. One was guilty"
But dad"
"Quit cutting in. This happened a
long time ago and I've never told it be-
fore. I'm liable to get mixed up and
forget.
I'VE all went on the witness stand
all fourteen of us, each one telling
about the shot he'd fired and the trouble
we'd been having right along with the
Caswell herders. Things looked bad for
us. Some of the boys had raised a
doubt about my being there when the
shooting happened-trying to make the
court and jury think I was just stand
ing by them. I would have stood by
them, of course, but not to the point of
perjury. A homesteader happened
The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1934-02-23
of Mines Plan
for Dormitory to Be
Acted on at Helena

To act formally on the contract be-
tween the State School of Mines at
Butte and the PwA in connection with
a loan and grant for a new residence
dormitory there, the state beard Of
education met at Helena a few days
ago, DR.. H. H. Swain, executive secre-
tary, announced.
While the legislative act authorizing
the loan and grant fixes the maximum
amount that may be obtained at $780,
900, not all Of this sum will be used,
DR.. Swain said.
The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1934-02-23

Editha Caswell to marry me.
I'VE were walking our horses down
along the river late in the afternoon
when it was shadowy and still. A little
breeze was fluttering the leaves of the
box elders. Something alive stirred in
the grass and weeds beside the road"
his voice was as quiet as that summer
afternoon of forty years ago..
"She didn't answer right away and I
waited, knowing life wasn't ever going
on the same any more. Either heaven
on earth from sunrise to sunrise or rid
ing roundo over a dull, drab range wait
ing for the last roundup.
"Then'-his voice suddenly crisp and
The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1934-02-23
tOopyright: 1894: BY ESTELLINE BENNETT)
I'm TWO PARTS-PART TWO)

~AASubo olh NGwS
Inc.
toopyright: 1884: BY ESTEILINE BENNETT)
I'm TWO PARTS-PART TWO
McVane was not listening. For the
moment Kendrick Junior was not yet
born.
II took my sorrel over the next day.
He was a wise little critter and took to
the side saddle like it wa something
he'd been laundering for ever since he
was q colt. I rode with Caswell's sis
ter every day and hung around Mer-
rick's all the evenings. Even Mrs.
Aerrick hadn't expected all that of me.
Editha played the banjo and sang
saucy, tinkly, little songs and she and
Mrs. Merrick tried to teach Tom and
me to waltz, but our feet had been in
the stirrups too long to learn any new
tricks.
when I had to go up On the Little
Missouri for a few days to see about
some cattle I was glad of an excuse
TO get off by myself for a spell and
kinda round things up and find out
what it was all about. It didn't take
me long. Wasn't but one thing could
make a mar so plumb locoed as I was.
Paying big prices for old anner and
passing up bargains in y%earlings. I just
had glimmer enough of to know
what was the matter and what to do
The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1934-02-23

Kendrick Junior was on his feet, eyes
Inning, hand outstretched, sullen lines
one from his firm, young mouth. "You
take the low road-the train west to-
night. III take the high road and be
waiting for you at the ranch with your
new daughter-in-law.
I'll show you whether the twen-
tieth century flyer has the CUTS Of the
nineteenth century cowboy"
The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1934-02-23

st reached down and caught her
round the waist and lifted her into the
saddle in front of me, and we were off
and away like a wind hat knows where
it's going and why. A broncho in &C
ton sure gives you the feel of speed.
"At Minnesota I had a sky pilot
OF your ~kind-waiting with a license
nd a ring. We"
"See you in a couple of days, dad"
The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1934-02-23
Farmer Harvests Cabbage

R.. J. Carmichael, Bitter Root grower,
harvested cabbage three times during
January, obtaining $500 pounds, and
expects to cut 300 pounds more this
month. His product is finding a good
market, as the heads are firm and in
excellent condition. This cabbage is
that which had not matured for Octo-
Der. Carmichael who resides three
miles from Corvallis, brought a speci-
men to Missoula as proof. The average
weight per head is four pounds.
The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1934-02-23

c. G. Main. burned in a fire that de-
stroyed his home and claimed the lives
of his wife and their 11-months-old
baby, was reported a few days ago by
his physician to have a chance to re-
cover. He is in a hospital at Havre.
The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1934-02-23
Work on Filtration Plant Started

Mayor P. j. Sweeney of Fort Benton
received a letter from bond attorneys,
stating they have approved of the water
plant bond issue and the transcript has
been sent to Washington. Lease &
Leigland. Great Falls contractors, have
moved machinery and men from bridge
construction on the Havre-G Great Falls
road and have begun work on the Fort
Benton plant.
The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1934-02-23
Faces Assault Charges

H. D. Fisher, II. of Missoula, ranch
er, faces charges of first degree assault
as a result of his wounding his ranch
hand, Harold Cromwell, 81, near Arlee
last September. Fisher maintained the
youth attacked him and he shot in self
defense. while Cromwell said the ranch
er fired at him when he announced his
intention of quitting his Job.
The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1934-02-23
New 500 Size
LYDIA E. PINkHAM'S
TABLETS FOR WOMEN

They relieve and prevent
periodic pain and associated
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Just a pain killer but a modern
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CAUSE of your trouble. Per-
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The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-08-29
Letters from Our Readers

important county office of sheriff
We know that in these days of
struggle the police power of the
state is being used everywhere to
suppress the proletariat. In the
farming and mining states the of
flee of sheriff is playing most
important part in carrying out the
dictates of the exploiters. This Of
flee is being used in the campaign
of the federal government to evict
100000 farmers from their hold
ings.
In Pennsylvania, Kentucky, West
Virginia, Utah and Illinois the mine
operators were able to smash the
strikes of the miners only by having
control of the sheriff's office. In
Illinois also the sheriffs are being
used to deefat the struggle of the
unemployed, as is shown by the
Hillsboro case.
Therefore in those counties where
there are strong United Farmers
League, Unemployed Councils and
locals of the National Miners Union
or branches of industrial unions
these forces must be united to cap
ture the vastly important and stra-
tegic office of the sheriff and turr
it into a weapon against the op-
preSSors. L. K.
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-08-29
WORKERS COUNCIL'
TRICKERY EXPOSED
Rayen Bosses Conduct Fake Ballot Offering a
Choice Of TueO Forms of Slavery

policy Of employer employee repre-
sentation in all their other plants,
therefore they are looking for a new
plan by which they will be able to
trick workers into thinking that at
least the company is giving them a
real labor organization without the
expense of having to pay union
dues.
In the past few weeks the bosses
have been utilizing all the depart
mental safety meetings to try 10
bolster up the waning influence of
the company union. To these meet
ing they send their most trusted
henchmen to talk to the workers on
the advantages of the new plan
over the old one. In one of the
construction department groups, the
bosses henchman speaker was ques-
toned by one of the workers, and
was forced to admit that in reality
there is no difference. At this ad-
mission the workers began to laugh
knowingly.
% now CIle COIupdIly Is pldIlllllS
to have the workers vote either for
the old plan or the new plan. The
conducting of the polling places is
so managed that all workers who do
not vote become exposed. Even
Herr Hitler has something to learn
from this method. Yet the bosses
and their government here in the
United States try to tell the work
ers they have democracy and free
dom.