STRANGE INFLUENCES AT WORK--MISS ANNIE MURPHY THINKS SHE SAW THE DOCTOR
ON A STREET CAR--HIS LONG AND MYSTERIOUS RIDE WITH CONDUCTOR DWYER--
REPORTER LONG ALSO ENCOUNTERS HIM, THIS TIME IN TORONTO--THE POLICE
AND PUBLIC SATISFIED BUT HIS FRIENDS STILL ANXIOUS--EFFORTS TO PROVE
HIM A BRITISH SPY--A BIG REWARD OFFERED.
Less than a week had elapsed from the events narrated in the first
chapter when sinister rumors commenced to gain circulation. It was
whispered about that the alleged "mysterious disappearance" was in
reality no mystery at all, that the physician had not been decoyed from
home; that he was alive; that he had left the city of his own free will,
and that the whole affair had been concocted for sensational purposes,
the motive for which would be brought to light so soon as the cardinal
objects had been attained. It was further hinted that the physician was
inclined to be extremely erratic at times, that his love of
sensationalism bordered on a mania, and that such a performance as that
of May 4 was entirely in a line with his methods.
A STREET CAR "CLUE."
On the heels of these rumors came positive statements of alleged facts.
It was first claimed that Dr. Cronin was seen on a street car two hours
after he had parted with Frank Scanlan outside of the Windsor Theatre
Building. Miss Annie Murphy, an employe of the City Recorder's Office,
was responsible for this story which was made public a few hours after
the arrest and "confession" of Woodruff. A comely and talented young
lady, with a reputation as an elocutionist of no mean ability, she had
frequently figured on the programme with the physician at Irish
demonstrations and Catholic entertainments. Consequently she knew him
well, and what she had to say commanded general attention, and a large
degree of confidence. It was not known at this time, however, that her
father, Thomas Murphy, was a prominent member of the Clan-na-Gael, and
an officer in one of the local camps to boot. Miss Murphy's statement
made on May 9th, when the popular excitement was at its height, was to
the effect that she had seen Dr. Cronin on a Clark Street car shortly
after nine o'clock on the night of his disappearance.
"I had been paying a visit to friends on Garfield Avenue," she said,
"and left at nine o'clock, taking a Garfield Avenue car. At the corner
of Clark Street this was attached to a cable train. When we reached
Division Street, I looked into the cable car, and I am positive that I
saw Dr. Cronin sitting in it, his arms folded and his head bowed as if
in deep thought. He did not look at me, nor could he have recognized me
if he had, as it was dark outside, while the car in which he rode was
well lighted. He had an oblong bundle of some kind resting upon his
knees, over which his arms were folded. When I read in the papers on
Monday morning that Dr. Cronin had disappeared, I told father that I had
seen him, and we both laughed at the idea that the doctor had been
murdered. When I reached the office, I told the same story."
"You are sure that the man was Dr. Cronin?"
"Just as sure as I am about my own identity," was the reply.
CONDUCTOR DWYER ADDS A "LINK."
Equally positive was the statement of William Dwyer, the conductor that
had charge of car 415, and it convinced a good many people who had been
inclined to the belief that Miss Murphy had been mistaken. Two weeks
later, when the body of the murdered physician had been brought to
light, Dwyer suddenly became an invalid, resigned his position and went
to Canada "for his health." This fact gives additional significance to
the circumstantial story that he told at the time.
"My regular run," he said, "is on the State Street horse line, but I was
called up to the limits barn Saturday night to take the place of
Conductor Humphrey who got suddenly sick. I was put aboard of car No.
415, one of the big, long ones. It was just 9:18 o'clock to a second
when we left the barn. There was not a passenger aboard. When we reached
Frederick Street a tall, good-looking man with a heavy mustache, and I
think a plug hat, got on. I took particular notice of him, because he
was a striking looking man."
"Where did he sit down?"
"In the middle of the car. He faced east."
"Did he have any parcels?"
"Yes. I remember that he carried a little box or case. I think it was
black. It was made of highly polished wood."
"What did he do with it when he sat down?"
"Put it in his lap and leaned his arm on it."
"Did you notice how he was dressed?"
"No, not particularly, except that he was well dressed. I saw he had a
kind of a round bundle in his lap, too. It was a queer color--a kind of
light red or pink."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Yes, because I noticed it particularly as I passed through the car. My
attention was first attracted to it by a kind of white stuff that stuck
out of the ends. It looked like white cotton, and when I passed through
the car I brushed against it and a small particle of cotton clung to my
coat."
"Do you think your solitary passenger was under the influence of
liquor?"
"No, I don't. He walked straight and seemed to be sober. He was only
abstracted and preoccupied. I noticed when we were passing the Windsor
Theatre that he looked through the open windows of the car at the
building with more interest than he had shown in anything else."
"How was it that you noticed him then?"
"Because he leaned forward as far as he could, and I guess I hadn't much
else to look at just then."
"Did he get up as if he intended to leave the car?"
"No, he didn't; he kept his seat."
"How far did he ride?"
"To Madison Street. He started to get off at Washington Street, though.
He had been more preoccupied than ever going through the tunnel, and
when he got up at Washington Street he seemed kind of dazed. He asked me
if we were at Madison Street, saying that he wanted to go to the Union
Depot. I told him we were a block from Madison Street, and he returned
to his seat. When we got to Madison I stopped the car and he jumped off.
He started toward the river at a fast gait, as if he had an important
appointment to keep."
"Do you know Dr. Cronin?"
"No, sir; I think not."
"Then you do not know, of your own knowledge, that your solitary
passenger was Dr. Cronin?"
"No. But now that you speak of Dr. Cronin," he said after a long
interval, "I remember that I thought he was a doctor, and I got an
impression somehow from his grave aspect that he had been attending to a
very serious case."
"Did you notice whether anybody was with him when he stepped out at
Frederick Street to board your car?"
"I didn't notice, but I don't think there was."
"Did you see an undersized man with a heavy mustache and a slouch hat?"
"No; I didn't--but hold on a minute. I did see a man on the sidewalk,
standing in the shadow of the building, who I think wore a soft hat,
but as I had only a fleeting glimpse at him I couldn't attempt to
describe him."
These two stories, the first so clear and direct, and the other so
corroborative obtained general credence except among the immediate
friends of the physician. These still insisted upon their theory of foul
play. Numerous contradictions in the statements made by Dwyer to
different people were pointed out. An inspection of the sheet upon which
he had made out his report of the trip when he turned in his receipts
showed that instead of one passenger on the nine o'clock car he had
carried thirty-six. The story told by Miss Murphy was directly
challenged, many of the physician's friends declared that it was
manufactured for ulterior motives. It was also charged that her father
and Dr. Cronin were bitter enemies. This was denied at the time, and it
was added that Murphy, who resided on Oak Street near by Alexander
Sullivan, had never taken an active part in Irish affairs. Subsequently,
during the Coroner's investigation, it was developed that at that very
time he was the financial secretary of a Clan-na-Gael camp hostile in
its composition to the missing man.
BOGUS "INTERVIEWS" FROM CANADA.
But still more astounding developments in this phase of the case were
soon to come. There resided in Toronto, Canada, at this time, one
Charles T. Long, a young man whose father was the publisher and part
proprietor of an influential newspaper. Some time before this Long had
been employed as a reporter on one or two Chicago morning papers, and in
the performance of his duties he had met Dr. Cronin on numerous
occasions. He had, moreover, for a short period been a member of a
secret beneficial society with which the physician was identified, and
hence could claim something more than a passing acquaintance with him.
When therefore on the night of Friday, May 10th, the morning papers of
Chicago and several other cities received dispatches--the majority over
the ex-reporter's own signature--to the effect that the physician was
alive and in that city, and had actually been spoken to, it was taken
for granted that the major portion of the mystery had been solved. No
mere _resume_ could do justice to what might well be termed the devilish
ingenuity with which these dispatches were framed, and it is necessary
to quote them at length. The one received by the Chicago _Herald_, and
which was a fair type of all, ran in this wise:
Dr. P. H. Cronin is in Canada. He was seen, recognized and spoken
to here to-day by a former Chicagoan, and in return told of his
troubles, bitterly denouncing a number of Garden City people,
Alexander Sullivan particularly. The missing and
supposed-to-be-murdered physician seemed to be slightly deranged.
C. T. Long, who for three years was intimately acquainted with Dr.
Cronin in Chicago, was walking down Yonge street shortly after 11
o'clock this morning, and when opposite the Arcade came face to
face with the missing Irish nationalist. He was accompanied by a
man of shorter stature. "Hello, Doc; what are you doing here?" was
Long's greeting. To this the doctor answered "Hello," and then
pausing and drawing himself up in an injured manner, continued:
"You have me at a disadvantage, sir. What do you want?"
"Why, Cronin, is it possible that you don't remember me?"
"I do not know you, sir, and shall have you handed over to the
police in case you bother me further."
Having delivered himself of this the doctor turned the corner of
the Arcade and quickly followed the retreating footsteps of his
friend, who turned down Victoria street, and together they were
soon lost in the crowd. Long informed the _Herald_ correspondent
that for three years he had been intimately acquainted with Cronin
while living in Chicago--in fact, employed him as his family
physician and belonged to several organizations with him. He was
completely dumbfounded, first at sight of him and then at his mode
of treatment. Cronin was dressed in a black coat and vest, light
colored pants, black silk hat, and carried a small black hand-bag
in one hand and a light spring overcoat thrown over his arm. The
person with him appeared to be twenty-seven or thirty years of age,
and while Long cannot place him, his face seemed quite familiar. At
first sight he was taken for Jack Lynch, bailiff in Judge
Clifford's court, and very strongly resembled him, but as far as
Long knew Lynch was unknown to Cronin. Cronin's companion was
dressed in a dark suit of clothes and slouch hat. He carried
nothing but a newspaper, which was afterward picked up on Victoria
street and proved to be a Chicago evening newspaper of the 7th
inst.
Long at once made for the Union Station in the hope that he might
there run across the pair, but after waiting some thirty minutes
concluded to notify the police and have them keep a sharp lookout
for Cronin. While on the way to the Court street Station, police
headquarters, and at the corner of King and Toronto streets, Long
again caught sight of the pair walking rapidly down Toronto street.
Slipping into a doorway at the receiver general's office he waited
until they had passed, and then noticed that Cronin had adjusted a
pair of goggles, but otherwise was attired precisely the same as on
Yonge street. Stepping up to the doctor the point-blank question
was put: "Cronin, what are you doing in Toronto when your friends
in Chicago are hunting the earth for you?"
"Now, look here, Long," he replied, "for God's sake let up on me. I
have already had enough notoriety and don't want to be bothered.
Why can't you let me go? You know I have always been your friend,
and I shall expect that you will say nothing about having seen me."
"Come in and let us talk the matter over," said Long, leading the
pair into a convenient saloon. Cronin appeared to be a very sick
man; in fact, the first impression conveyed was that he was out of
his mind. He rambled away, talking about the Royal League and Mr.
Warren, the secretary, and then, apparently getting frenzied,
denounced in strong terms a number of St. Louis and Chicago
gentlemen, among them Alexander Sullivan, John F. Scanlan, Dr.
O'Reilly, M. F. Madden, Lawyer Berry, Harry Ballard, Judge
Prendergast and Lawyer Wade. He mentioned several other names, but
they were unknown to Long. Cronin went on to state that he had
unearthed a great crime in Chicago during the past few months, but
would give no details, and stated that his life had been settled as
the penalty. "You know what kind of a man Sullivan is, don't you?"
he said. "Well, he will never let up on me for what I have done,
but I have a host of friends--yes, sir, a host of friends--in this
country, and if harm comes to me all will not be well for him, I
can assure you." All during the conversation his companion never
opened his lips, and when he began talking of Sullivan he took him
by the arm and whispered in his ear, after which Cronin refused to
speak further.
"Where are you stopping in town?" was met with a point-blank
refusal to say more and an entreaty not to follow him. He was
allowed to leave the saloon, and at once Cronin and his companion
entered a cab and were driven rapidly west on King street. Long,
too, summoned a cab, but through a mistake of the driver the wrong
hack was followed. This brought up at the Union Station shortly
after 12 o'clock. Long glanced at the time tables and found that
the first train leaving the depot would be at 12:20 and concluded
to wait and see if the case would further develop. At exactly
12:18 a two-horse covered cab dashed up to the station and from it
sprang Cronin, the unknown man, and a lady apparently about
twenty-three years of age. They all three hurried into the train
for Hamilton, not waiting to purchase tickets. Long boarded the
train and asked Cronin for what point they were bound, and being
refused a civil answer stated that he would stay with him and
inform the police at the first station in case he refused to give
up. He thereupon stated that they intended going to Niagara Falls.
The lady was probably twenty to twenty-three or four years of age
and wore a dark gray traveling dress and a turban hat. She carried
a shawl-strap and a brown paper parcel. Cronin had nothing but his
small bag and overcoat, while the stranger carried a large brown
leather valise.
Long has known Cronin for the past three years and intimately for
the past two, belonged to a number of societies with him and had
frequently visited his office on Clark street and received in
return calls from the doctor at the house he used to live in, 271
Huron street, and could not possibly be mistaken in the man. The
only time Cronin ever made any remark to Long while in Chicago
which would lead to the idea that he anticipated violence was one
night while walking together up Clark street about 11:30 o'clock,
and at Huron street the doctor requested Long to accompany him as
far as Division street on a car, as he did not know what might
happen to him. Passing Dillon's book store Frank Scanlan was met,
and he went on home with the doctor.
A CHAPTER OF INFAMY.
Dr. Cronin's friends were dumbfounded when they opened their morning
papers and found themselves confronted by these dispatches. His
opponents, on the other hand, were in high glee, and quoted the news as
vindicating their own acuteness of perception. But the Toronto end of
the conspiracy had scarcely got into active operation. The initial
dispatch of Friday was intended simply as a feeler. Long returned to
the charge on Saturday with a second circumstantial story that
completely eclipsed his first effort. It was as follows:
After Cronin and his party--a man and woman--left Toronto yesterday
on the Grand Trunk train moving west, your correspondent
telegraphed a friend at Hamilton a description of the trio and
requested that he should keep a sharp look-out for them; also that
he should wire regarding all their movements and follow them, no
matter where they went. In case they separated he was to put men on
the track of the woman and strange man and to follow Cronin. This
afternoon at 4:10 o'clock a message arrived stating that Cronin had
left Hamilton alone, and was on the train scheduled to arrive at
Toronto about 5:30 this evening.
Dr. Cronin was not on that train.
Shortly after 7 o'clock a telephone message announced that the
Doctor was in this city at the Rossin House, King street, West.
The correspondent sought out the fugitive and greatly surprised him
when he answered his knock at the door.
"Well, Doctor, back again?" was the greeting, to which the Doctor
answered: "Well, ----," calling the correspondent by name, "it is
really too bad that you should dog me round in this shape. What is
your object in doing it? I have committed no crime and cannot see
why you should thrust my name before the public as you did this
morning in the _Empire_ (a Toronto paper). You lied when you stated
that Jim Lynch accompanied me. I don't even know the man."
"Well, Cronin, you must certainly know that the people generally,
and your Chicago friends particularly, are anxious to know where
you are, why you left Chicago, and where you intend going."
"I don't intend making statements," said the Doctor, "I guess I
have some rights. Make a statement? I guess not! Now, please get
out of my room, or I will kick you out."
The correspondent mentioned that a number of detectives were
searching for the missing man. This announcement appeared to annoy
the Doctor, and he appeared willing to do anything rather than have
detectives take him in charge. He seemed anxious to know all about
the detectives, who they were, and what they were doing, and was
especially desirous of knowing positively whether any of them were
here. He was told that a rumor to that effect had gone the rounds
to-day.
Finally, Cronin requested that questions should be put to him, and
the following conversation took place:
"When did you leave Chicago?"
"Just a week ago to-night."
"Where did you go?"
"I went to Montreal."
"How did you leave Chicago?"
"I refuse to answer."
"Come, now, Cronin, remember the detectives."
"Now, for God's sake, don't push that question! I can't answer it!"
"When did you get to Montreal?"
"I got there last Monday evening."
"Where did you put up?"
After considerable bickering the Doctor said he had taken a room at
the St. Lawrence Hotel, got his meals at the house of a friend,
whose name he would not give.
"Why did you leave Montreal, and when did you do so?"
"I received word that it was known in Chicago, or at least
supposed, that I was down there, and got out so I could not be
found."
"Where did you then go?"
"I came up to Ottawa."
"When did you leave Montreal?"
"I left there Thursday night."
"Where did you put up in Ottawa?"
"At the Russell Hotel."
"Under your own name?"
"No."
"What name did you give?"
"I don't remember."
"Was it Parkhurst?"
"No, that was not the name."
"What address did you give?"
"I think it was New York."
"Don't you know?"
"Yes."
"Well, why did you leave Ottawa?"
"Because the town was so small that I was afraid some one might
know me."
"When you got to Montreal where did you intend going?"
"I intended taking a steamer for France, but found that no ship
left that port which would take me there."
"Why did you not then go on to New York?"
"Because I am well known there and did not care to risk it."
"After you left Ottawa where did you go?"
"I took the Canadian Pacific train for Toronto and arrived here
Friday morning at about 9 o'clock."
"Where were you from 9 o'clock till the _Empire_ reporter met you
on Yonge street?"
"I had been trying to find Starkey, the lawyer, who left Chicago
last winter."
"Why did you wish to see him?"
"Simply to get the run of the town."
"Did you not suspect that he might expose you?"
"O, no! I am sure he would not do that. It would not be to his
interest."
"I thought Starkey was not friendly to you. Did he not at one time
try to hurt your reputation?"
"I don't know that he did. In any case he would not do so now."
"Well, now, as to why you left Chicago?"
"I have been declining in health for some time and thought it would
do me good to take a trip."
"Why should you have left Chicago without letting your friends
know?"
"Well, now, that is a long story and the telling of it would
implicate a great number of my friends who are in no way
responsible for any of my actions. I trust you will not press me on
that point."
Cronin was pressed, however, and told the following story:
"While I lived in St. Louis I promptly identified myself with the
Irish cause, then disturbing the public. I soon found that the
great Irish movement was to be centered either at Chicago or New
York, and after consulting my intimate friends, among whom was Dr.
O'Reilly, I made up my mind to go to Chicago. I did so, armed with
letters of introduction, and soon found myself prominent in Irish
as well as other circles."
He then went on to say that he soon discovered that the large
quantities of money being received by certain persons for the Irish
cause were not handled properly, and that not more than
three-fourths of it ever reached Ireland.
"I know," he stated, "that at least $85,000 was gobbled up by
certain persons in Chicago, and when I began to 'call the turn' on
them they tried to scare me off. Failing in this, they tried to
bribe me. That would not work."
"Their next move," said Dr. Cronin, "was to introduce me to Le
Caron under the name of Beach, in order that he might pump me and
damage me in any way that he could. Beach was introduced to me by a
reporter named Conwell, a man whom I had always considered my
friend, but since the recent developments in the London _Times_
case I know he was against me and that Le Caron was introduced to
me for no good purpose. He got little out of me, however, and that
means failed. I have been warned several times to get out of the
country, and assured that my life was in danger. But up to last
Saturday I felt that I could hold my own. Last Saturday, however, I
was put in possession of unquestionable proof that the Clan-na-Gael
Society had decided that my life should be taken. A man was
appointed as my executioner and preparations were in active
progress to accomplish the deed. Enough to say I made up my mind at
once to fly. You know the rest. The lady who accompanied me
yesterday to Hamilton was quite unknown to me, as was also the
gentleman, until I met them on the train between Ottawa and
Toronto. Neither of them knew who I was until you met me on Yonge
street Friday morning. They happened to be going to Buffalo on the
train I took out of Toronto, and I left them at Hamilton."
This part of the story proved to be true.
"Did you plan for a man to call at your office and request you to
go out to the ice-house and attend a patient?" he was asked.
"That I will not answer."
When asked what move he intended making next the Doctor stated that
he would go to France as soon as possible. "I left some important
documents behind in Chicago," he said, "and only hope that I can
get to a country where I will be safe; then I will make some
disclosures which will open the eyes of the public generally and
make the hair stand on the heads of several Chicago and New York
gentlemen. This talk about my having been seen in a cable-car
Saturday night is entirely false. The Conklins have made fools of
themselves over the whole matter. According to the instructions I
left with them they should not have opened their mouths until I was
safely out of the country; but it is the same old story--tell a
woman anything and you are sure to get the worst of it."
The Doctor intimated that a certain Methodist minister had caused
all his trouble, but would not disclose his name.
The woman who accompanied the Doctor from Toronto to Hamilton
proved to be from Buffalo and had no knowledge of the company she
was keeping until she read the paper. The Doctor says that the man
who walked up Yonge street with him Friday afternoon was also
unknown to him until Thursday night and that he was on his way to
Winnipeg. This man has been located at Collingwood, a small town
about 100 miles north of Toronto. He is unknown there, and may be
waiting a steamer which would take him to Winnipeg.
Cronin is still in town and a close watch is being kept on all his
movements.
CRONIN'S ENEMIES IN HIGH GLEE.
In another dispatch it was stated that Dr. Cronin had, on Saturday
night, accepted the hospitalities of W. J. Starkey, an ex-Chicago
lawyer. On the following morning, so the same dispatch went on to say,
the physician had actually been entertained by Long at his residence. To
ninety-nine out of a hundred people, this was conclusive. Everything
pointed to the fact that the hitherto missing man was alive and in the
flesh. No chain of evidence could have been more complete. Had not Miss
Murphy seen him on the car? Had he not ridden down town with Conductor
Dwyer, to whom he said that he was on his way to the Union Depot, and
had he not appeared in Toronto, broken bread with Starkey and Long, and
admitted that he was on his way to cross the ocean? What more was
wanted? At this point, too, his enemies in Chicago began to add leaven
to the lump. The story told by Woodruff was recalled, and it was
insidiously suggested in one quarter that the physician was the
mysterious "Doc," and that having performed a criminal operation upon
the equally mysterious "Alice," whose remains had been taken to the park
in the trunk, he had fled the country to avoid the legal consequences of
his crime. In another direction it was boldly charged that before many
days the physician would turn up in London in the _role_ of a second Le
Caron. Said one of his most inveterate opponents:
"Dr. Cronin is not dead; at least he wasn't assassinated at the end
of his buggy ride with a strange man last Saturday night. Neither
is he likely to be found in this city or State, and perhaps not in
the United States. And there is much reason to suspect that he went
at the beck and call of the English Government--in short, that he
was a British spy, and has gone to join Le Caron, his friend and
companion and near neighbor both here and in St. Louis. A startling
communication in cipher has been received from the other side, and
the information comes from a source whose accuracy cannot be
doubted. It is to the effect that agents of the English Government
have been arranging to place another American informer on the stand
in the Parnell inquiry. It seems that the informer has offered to
testify for a stated sum, which is said to be $100,000, and that
the Government is only awaiting the report of its experts, who are
inspecting his documentary proof before accepting his proposition.
That is the way the matter stands now. I have been asked to find
out who this new informer is. I have tried my best to do so, but I
can't say I have been entirely successful. Dr. Cronin's mysterious
disappearance has left a deep suspicion on my mind. I never liked
that fellow, anyway, for I always considered him a contemptible
rascal. I don't believe, either, that he has been assassinated,
because I don't know of any good reason for killing him. I wouldn't
be surprised if he turned up in London shortly. It wouldn't be at
all strange. He was Le Caron's friend, as nearly as I can ascertain
from Chicagoans, who knew them both, and what would be more natural
than for him to cross the Atlantic to pay the druggist a friendly
visit?"
On the heels of this came an alleged dispatch from London:
"Le Caron, the man who acted as a spy for the British Government on the
movements of the Irish leaders in America, and who testified for the
_Times_ before the Parnell Commission, declares that he and Dr. Cronin
were the closest friends. Le Caron believes that Dr. Cronin has been
killed, and that the friendship of the murdered man may account for his
removal."
Naturally enough, these diabolical insinuations had their full effect on
the public mind. The search for the body was practically abandoned by
the police, and the theory that the physician had left the town of his
own free will was generally accepted by the public.
Even some of those who had been closely associated with him were
inclined to the same view, except that they ascribed his possible trip
to London to different purposes to those advanced by his enemies.
"I believe Dr. Cronin is in New York on his way to London for the
purpose of testifying before the Parnell Commission," said one of his
friends.
"Why do you think so?" he was asked.
"Apart from certain things I cannot divulge," was the response, "Dr.
Cronin has for several years been prepared to prove that not one-tenth
of the amount of funds published in the American papers as having been
collected for the Land League ever went across the water."
"How would testimony to that effect benefit Parnell?"
"It would show that his connection with certain extensive movements
among the Irish factions in America has not been as close as was
supposed. If, as a matter of fact, he has received no financial help
from these factions, he cannot be held responsible for their statements
of his advocacy of their advocacy."
"Do any other persons entertain this theory?"
"Yes, a number of Irish-Americans, who know of Dr. Cronin's possession
of the information I speak of, have expressed the opinion I hold."
And, as if to demonstrate the fact that the speaker was on the right
track, a dispatch was received in Chicago, through the agency of _The
United Press_, within the hour, that said:
"New York: It is reported to-night that Dr. Cronin is in this city."
STAUNCH FRIENDS TO THE FRONT.
But, to their eternal honor and credit, be it said, there were many
staunch friends of the missing man, who, undeterred by slander and
suspicion on the one hand, and questionable reports on the other, were
determined that the mystery should be probed to the bottom, and that,
dead or alive, the physician should be found. Among them were John F.
Scanlan, W. P. Rend, Frank Scanlan, P. McGarry, and T. T. Conklin. These
and others came together and decided to send one of their number to
Toronto to investigate the reports that had emanated from that city. An
unlimited supply of money was pledged, and Pat McGarry was selected for
the mission. Information regarding this action was telegraphed to
Toronto and took the Canadian conspirators--who had not contemplated any
such move--somewhat by surprise. Prompt action became necessary, and the
only thing to be done was to make it appear that Dr. Cronin had
disappeared from the city as suddenly as he entered it. Accordingly,
dispatches to that effect were prepared and transmitted to the various
papers that had received the previous reports. One of these was worded
as follows:
Dr. Cronin is a fugitive. He has not been seen in Toronto since 10
o'clock this morning, when Long, his former Chicago friend, left
him under the surveillance of an amateur detective, paid for the
purpose. Cronin then was in a state bordering on terror, and begged
frequently that detectives should not be put upon his track, and
offered to give any additional particulars he knew about affairs
generally. Dispatches from Chicago newspapers had given the story
of suspicion against Cronin in respect to the trunk mystery. When
asked about this mystery he denied that he knew anything. This
morning, when the news contained in Chicago dispatches was
communicated to him, he stuck to that statement, though once or
twice threatened with exposure and the allegation that detectives
were waiting in the vestibule of the hotel and had a warrant for
his arrest on the charge of malpractice. He was next asked if there
was any truth in the other story about his going to London to
communicate with the British Government. His manner and evasive
replies tended to create this impression rather than that he made
his escape from Chicago over the trunk mystery. He said he intended
in a day or two to return to Montreal, where he had been to get one
of the Canada-French line boats to Paris. Then he said he might go
to England.
Cronin promised he did not intend to leave Toronto for a few days.
He was not registered at the hotel, and the scores of reporters who
called were informed that he was not staying there, and had not
been there. This was arranged by Cronin's occupying a room engaged
by another party, so the hotel clerk had no idea that the man was
in the house. The information contained in the interview was no
doubt intended by Cronin to mislead, and the interviewer was well
aware of the fact at the time. He got his amateur detective at the
end of the corridor and told him to keep his eyes open, and when
Cronin was left alone in his apartment to see that he did not leave
it. Some few minutes after, Cronin made a dash from his room and
went toward the stairs. He had evidently seen the man who was
watching him, and his action must have been taken after a great
deal of deliberation. When the detective saw him on the stairs he
walked to the staircase leading to the ladies' entrance to
intercept Cronin there. Cronin, however, had only gone half way
down the staircase. Then he returned and took the elevator,
descending to the ladies' entrance, where the detective, not
finding him, thought he had been fooled, and again returned to the
head of the stairs. Cronin had disappeared. At 11 o'clock a second
detective was at the hotel to renew the watch over Cronin.
There is no trace whatever of Cronin since 11 o'clock. The people
at the Rossin House knew nothing about Cronin getting out. The
theory is that Cronin, fearing arrest on the charge of murder, has
gone to Montreal again. The only trains leaving the city to-day
were the morning and evening express and the noon train for
Hamilton. Cronin was seen after the morning express had left. The
evening express was watched, and few people went on the noon train,
no one of them answering to Cronin's description. The livery
stables did not hire out any rig that could have carried the man a
great distance out of the city. His disappearance is a perfect
mystery. Dispatches from St. Catherines to-night say that Cronin is
believed to be stopping there with friends. It would be outside the
range of possibility that he could have reached there except by
driving from Hamilton. Several dispatches have been received by Mr.
Axworthy, of Cleveland, and at the Rossin House, making inquiries
after Cronin.
In this, as in the previous reports, the one thing which it was
endeavored to bring into bold relief was the fact that the physician was
about to cross the Atlantic, and, while McGarry was _en route_ from
Chicago, Chief of Police Hubbard telegraphed to Chief Constable
Grossett, of Toronto, asking for definite information regarding Cronin's
alleged presence in that city. Instead of conducting an independent
investigation, the Canadian official went to Long, and on the strength
of the latter's statements, a reply in the affirmative was wired back to
Chicago. Even this, however, was not accepted as final, and Detectives
Reed and Reyburn were wired to follow up the supposed clue. Starkey was
interviewed as to the truth of Long's story. He replied that he had seen
Cronin, that the latter had been at his (Starkey's) house, but that he
had no knowledge of his subsequent whereabouts. W. Axworthy, an
ex-Chicagoan, when telegraphed by W. P. Rend to learn whether the
physician had actually been there, went to Long, heard his story, and
answered, "Yes." A "prominent railroad official" was next quoted as
having recognized the physician, and on the morning subsequent to his
alleged disappearance from Toronto, the Chief of Police of St.
Catherines, Ontario, positively recognized him in Sherwood, New York!
But with the arrival of McGarry the falsity of one and all of these
stories became apparent, and the infamous prostitution of the liberty
and license of a journalist, of which Long had been guilty, was fully
demonstrated. It took the young Irishman but a few hours of
investigation to convince himself of the fact that the missing physician
had not been seen in Toronto since the day of his disappearance. The
same conclusion was arrived at by Detective Dennis Simmons, of Chicago,
who had been despatched to the scene by Chief Hubbard, and had, unknown
to McGarry, conducted an independent investigation. Simmons wired his
superior briefly and to the point: "No truth in it, Cronin has not been
here," while the same wires carried this message from McGarry to Frank
J. Scanlan:
"Proprietor and clerk on duty do not recognize Cronin's picture as
stopping at Rossin House last week. Name not registered at all. No
signature resembles Cronin's. Sure interview did not take place
with their knowledge."
And, to make the repudiation the more complete, Chief Constable
Grossett, who, earlier in the week, had endorsed the statements of Long
in hap-hazard fashion, retracted his statements in a letter to the
Chicago authorities, in which he said:
"I have caused particular and exhaustive inquiry to be made into
the statements that have appeared in the _Empire_ newspaper of this
city, and have caused the party who gave the information which was
telegraphed you to be questioned closely on the subject. It would
now appear that the identification of Dr. Cronin by the party who
stated he saw him in Toronto last Saturday was by no means
complete; in fact, I think there are the best of reasons for
supposing it to have been a case of mistaken identity. It is quite
true that the party here thought he met Cronin in the street,
stopped him, and afterward saw the man leave the city by train with
a woman. So far as I can learn this is the foundation for the
sensational reports that have been transmitted from here and
published in your papers. I regret that in sending you my telegram
on Monday last more care was not taken to verify the correctness of
my informant's statements."
A BIG REWARD OFFERED.
Public interest in the mystery was renewed by these developments. The
theory of foul play was again revived, and this time it found numerous
supporters, where incredulity had previously existed. Again the friends
of the physician were equal to the situation. Another conference was
held and it was decided to persevere in the search until the mystery had
been solved. Funds to any extent were pledged on the spot. "We will find
our friend, if alive; we will avenge him, if dead" was the key note.
That night the following address was flashed over the electric wires to
every quarter of the continent.
TO THE PUBLIC: On the night of May 4, 1889, Dr. P. H. Cronin, a
prominent and respectable physician of this city, was decoyed from
his home to attend an alleged case of injury to an employe of an
ice dealer in the town of Lake View. Since that time no trace of
him has been found, and it is believed that he was made the victim
of foul play, and that he is murdered.
On behalf of his friends and fellow-citizens, who think that his
disappearance is due to a conspiracy, I hereby offer a reward of
$5,000 for any information that may lead to the arrest and
conviction of any of the principals in, accessories to, or
instigators of this crime.
A studied attempt seems to have been made, by false dispatches, and
other agencies in the public press, to create the impression that
he is still alive, and that his disappearance is voluntary.
I am also authorized to offer a further reward of $2,000 for any
satisfactory evidence that will prove that he is not dead, and that
would lead to the discovery of his whereabouts.
The public is asked to discredit any and all charges, reports, or
insinuations reflecting in any manner upon his professional or
personal character. He was a man of temperate habits and lived a
pure and unblemished life.
The above rewards are offered by his friends and fellow-citizens
with the full conviction that a terrible crime has been committed,
and with the view that law and order may be vindicated.
JAMES F. BOLAND,
Chairman of Com. from Societies and Friends.