In response to Mayor Caldwell's notice to the postmaster at South Bend,
Ind., the Mayor on Saturday, Feb. 8., received from that city a letter
written by Scott Jackson to William Wood, South Bend, Ind.
As soon as he received it the Mayor sent for D. D. Woodmansee the
attorney for Jackson, and with his consent opened the communication. It
was dated Feb. 5., the day on which Jackson was arrested. It was marked
8:30 p. m., less than two hours before his arrest. It was written on
letter-heads of the Palace Hotel, while the envelope bore the style of
Al Heider's Hotel, on Fifth Street. The letter says:
"2-5-96.
"Hello, Bill--
"Write a letter home signed by Berts name telling the folks that he
is somewhere & going to Chicago or some other place--has a position
etc--and that they will advise later about it--Say tired of living
at home or anything you want. You know about the way he writes. Send
it to some one you can trust--How will Smith at La Fayette--tell the
folks that he has not been at I but at La Fayette and travelling
about the country get the letter off without one seconds delay--and
burn this at once. Stick by your old chum Bill--And I will help you
out the same way--some times. Am glad you are having a good time--
D.
"Be careful what you write to me."
"Bert" in the letter means Pearl. In that portion of the communication
which explains that "he has not been at "I." "I" evidently stands for
Indianapolis.
After the letter from Jackson to Wood was opened and read, a reporter
went to Jackson and asked him if he wrote the letter.
"Yes, sir, I did."
"What does that signature, the letter D., mean?"
"Why, he called me 'Dusty,' and I signed it for that."
"Who is meant by Bert?"
"That is a nickname we had for Pearl. We always called her Bert."
"Then Bert means Miss Bryan?"
"Yes, sir."
"Now, why did you write that letter?"
"Walling told me to write it. He said that something had to be done, and
I did it."
"Did he dictate it?"
"Oh, no, I wrote it Wednesday evening after supper."
"Why did you tell Wood to be careful what he wrote?"
"Because he was writing vulgar letters. He wrote me two postals to the
college that were awful."
"What did you do with them?"
"I tore them right away. Besides all this, I din't know at what time I
might be arrested."
Walling was then visited and told of the story of Jackson.
"No, I didn't tell him to write it.
"I met him on the street Wednesday afternoon, and he told me that he was
going to write."