Evening Star Newspaper, February 3, 1929, Page 85

THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C. FEBRUARY 3, 1929—PART . 7. Famous Missteps of Justice—Puppet to a Lord of Crime BY JOSEPH GOLLOM! uthor of “Master Man, Hunters, Sples,” dtc. H!{' case of Willlam Habron beau- tifully illustrates what a tangled puppet play is this human life of ours, the whole universe for that matter. Here was a man moving, writhing and tangled by strings within him and strings without; puppet to his own strength and weakness—how often they are one! Whalley Range, outside of Manchester, England, was more of a country district than the suburb it is today. But here and there some well-to-do country lov- ing citizen of Manchester had his man- slon and grounds in the Whalley Range neighborhood and' led the hybrid exist- ence of the suburbanite. Otherwise the neighborhood was made up of farms and inns and other purveyors to a fast- growing community. Emploved by & prosperous farmer named Deakin was Willilam Habron, his yobust 22-year-old man of all work. Habron was tall, broad-shouldered, large-fisted, ruddy of face and strong. ‘When he at work his strength was a blessing to him agd to others. At other times it becaie a problem, as bodily strength is to those who lack the wisdom and skill to govern it. It was easier for William to use his body than his mind, and easier to drink than to think. On the farm Willlam knew how to meet his problems, for ‘they were in the main physical. But in.an inn when the liquor began to flow and William had to deal not with labor but with men, William was not & success—except with his fists. His younger brothers, John and Frank, %ok after him both in nature and imi- tation. With him they worked for Deakin and with him they drank at the Royal Oak. When William got into an argument at the inn his brothers joined in. But that was only when the fighting became general, which it often did. On such occasions the innkeeper would go outside and blow a whistle. Sooner or later Policeman P. C. Cock would come on the run, and if the free- for~all fight waa too much for him to handle he would send word for help. In which case his superior, Supt. Bent, would come with reinforcements. But if the fight was between William and another, Policeman Cock would thrust his burly self between the fight- ers and stop the argument, usually by attending to Willlam. For the police- man knew his beat and its problems, and chief- among the latter was Wil- liam Habron. . ‘Master * % RDINARILY Policeman Cock and the landlord of the inn would be satisfied when, on being scparated. the fighters cooled off and were willing to tolerate peace for the rest of the eve- ning. This could not go on indefinitely, however, and one night when William ‘Habron gave the policeman more trou- ble than usual in restoring order, Cock sald: “Look here, Habron, I'm tired of this! | The next time you raise disorder herg T'll have you up before the magistrate! The inn room was crowded as the policeman said this, and big red-faced William Habron, with his blood still simmering from the fight which Cock had stopped, had a quandary on his hends. If he took the policeman’s threat quietly the farm hands who were looking on would think him afraid; thinking so, they would say so to others; the whole neighborhood would soon hear of it and behave accordingly. I said he had a gquandary on his hands, andl for some moments it looked as if with his hands he meant to settle it. His fists clenched and his jaws squared, he faced the policeman and growled: “It will be a sorry day for you the day you arrest me!” Then Policeman Cock found he had his problem, too. He had, his own need, perhaps greater than Habron’s, of hav- ing his power respected in the neigh- borhood. If his threat of arrest should prove nothing but bluster, it would in- ;ieed be a sad day in the policeman’s life. As he saw it, there would be little | choice for him the next time he was called in to stop a fight with Willlam Habron. He would have to arrest him or have the neighborhood think him afraid to do so. * k k x UNEASELY the constable patrolled his beat mear the Royal Oak the following Saturday night, the night of heavy drinking at the inn. It was not Habron or his brothers that made the policeman feel uneasy, so much as the situation into which his threat had be- trayed him. Sure enough, toward 10 o'clock, as Cock was nearing the inn there came familiar sounds of tumult{rom the tap- room. Angry voices, William Habron's high among them; the scrape of stools, a table overturned and the cries that| meant a fight was on. Cock ran into the taproom and found, as he expected, William Habron having it out with a laborer burly enough to take care of himself. As no one else interfered, however, Habron's brothers also kept out of the fight. Compared to other occasions, this one was an al- “Oh, you're all bluster and wind!” was his retort to Will Habron. “I know you!" ‘The scene had a larger audience than Habron’s thyeat at the inn had. Among those who had heard his threat this time_was Cock’s superior, Superintend- ent Bent. In a rural community Habron’s ar- rest and discharge and the threat he made in the courtroom bulked large that day and evening as gossip throughout the neighborhood. x kX x THEN midnight came, and with it came more sensation than Whalley Range had ever known before or since. Two carters driving trucks of farm produce toward Manchester had just passed Policeman Cock on his beat near West Point when behind them they heard two shots. The carters jumped off and ran back. They heard Cock’s voice crying out as they approached: “Murder, I'm shot! I'm shot!” ‘When they reached him he was still alive, but no longer able to talk. Put- ting him into a cart one of the drivers took the policeman to the station house. Supt. Bent tried to make the dying man speak, but it was too late. Simpson, one of the carters, told the | police official of a glimpse he had caught of a man at just about the time and place of the shooting. By the light of the enrt lantern Simpson had seen a man in a brown cbat, a potshat—a man who walked with a stoop. Supt. Bent called several constables, saw to it that their pistols gvere ready and said: “I suspect it's that Will Habron.” Through the night they went to the Deakin farm and made for the small outhouse where the Habron brothers slept. At first the windows were dark. As the policamen came near candle- light flickered. ,Then darkness again. Bent knocked loudly on the door. “We are armed and will shoot unless you light up and show you mean to give no trouble,” he called out. Again candlelight showed in the win- dows. The three brothers were seen getting out of bed, hurriedly dressing. William opened the door. The police entered. “Willlam Habron, John Habfon and Frank Habron, I arrest you in the name of the law for the murder of Constable Cock!” Supt. Bent said. “I warn you that anything you say now may be used against you at the trial!” By the candlelight Willlam's face showed deathly pale. “We were in bed at the time!” he blurted out. Supt. Bent_had not mentioned what time it was Policeman Cock had been p shot. He made an entry of Willlam's remark in his notebook. Then he asked him: “Which are your boots?"” William pointed. Supt. Bent picked up the farm laborer’s boots and exam- ined them carefully. The soles were covered with fresh mud. Bent care- fully wrapped them up. Then he searched William's clothes. In a pocket of the vest he found two percussion caps of revolver caliber. “Dress!” he ordered. William had to take a fresh pair of boots in place, of those which Supt. Bent was taking with him. Then he put on a brown coat and a pot hat. And as William Habron preceded the police toward the station house Supt. Bent saw the decided stocp in the man’s walk, such a stoop as Simpson the carter had described. A policemian had been left on guard at. the spot where Cock was $hot and remained all throug® the night. After Supt. Bent had lodged the three broth- ers in jail he came back and joined the policeman on guard. Under his arm was one of Willlam Habron’s boots. Bent was impatient for the light of day to come. In the morning he care- fully examined what footprints there were near the smear of mud where Cock had lain. He saw a boot print that interested him. The rain had stopped just about the time of the murder and had not resumed. The night had dried all boot prints in the mud. Bent looked at William Habron's shoe. The sole “was heavily studded with nailheads in a double row along the edge of the soling. Near the toe were eight other naitheads. The heel was shod with a metal plate like a small horseshoe, inside of which were sxXBnalll;enlgs. ent looked at the dried imprint of the boot in the mud. Nail forp;mll, as well as the iron plate in the heel, the track in the mud_corresponded with the sole of William Habron's boot. * ok k% 'HE murder of the constable, the ar- mose peaceful episode, and the land- lord, hoping it would soon be over. had | not called for the constable. It did| not do his inn much good to have 100 | many calls for the police. Nevertheless, in the eyes of the law the fight was disorder, which it was| a policeman’s duty to stop. He called | the fighters to order, but they were | too engrossed to obey. Cock thereupon spoiled the fight by dragging William Habron out of it. Cock was a match physically for William, and in addition he was armed with authority, -and the British are enough instilled with self- government to give authority its due. “You come along with me, Willlam Habron!” Cock said. “What for?” “Under arrest for peace!” disturbing the Here was a bit of drama for those % looking on. Cock had made his threat | good. ~ Would William do as well by | his_threat? | Habron's face grew red and pale by | turns, but it was an angry pallor. He, too, been uneasy that Saturday night, sensing that this situation might come up. He had been drinking less than usual and making an effort to| avoid fighting. Seeing this; a burly farm | | town came two store clerks to Supt. Test of the Habrons and the charge against them threw the neighborhood into a fever and spread. From a nearby EBent. They reported that on the after- ncon of the murder a man had come into their store and asked the price of revolver cartridges. From what the clerks had heard he was most interested in a caliber approximately that of the bullet found in Policeman Cock’s breast. The man who priced the cartridges, said one of the clerks, had on a brown coat, a pot hat and walked with. a stoop. Supt. Bent took the clerks for a look at Willlam Habron. “That's the man!” sald one of the clerks emphatically.. It looks rather like him,” said the ther. The trfal was held in Menchester. Frank Habron was reieased before the rial, as there was no evidence m3ainst him. William and John were held. The prosecution laid utmost stress on the facts with which we are ac: quainted. William Habron was known to*have had strong feeling against Po- liceman Cock, who had o often stopped his fighting and finally arrested him. hand deep in liquor followed a drunk- ard’s logic and concluded that Bill | Habron was now a safe man_with | whom to pick & fight. The whole inn | saw that for once Willlam was in the | right, even if Policeman Cock did not | know it. The constable took it for| granted that Will Habron was repeat- ing past performances at the inn and that an arrest was justified. Habron had just enough wits about him not to resist the arrest. White- lipped and smoldering, he left the inn with the policeman. with Police- Honors thus far wera man Cock. He had made his threat good. What would Bill Habron do about it? * K % * EFORE a magistrate, Habron was' tried for disorder. bad night of it, brooding over Police- men Cock. In addition to the old grudge he bore him, Cock had chosen to arrest him on this of all occasions, when Habron was in the right. Witnesses from the inn told their story before the magistrate, and Mr. Deakin, Habron’s employer, testified what a good lad Bill was when at "o magistrate e m: rate discharged Habron. But instead of balm to hls'weunds, the discharge only made Habron smart the more under the injustice he had suffered at the hands of the constable. As the courtroom was emptying, Ha- bron shouldered his way through the crowd to Constable Cock. “I promised you a sorry day if you ever ran foul of me,” he sald. “I'll do you in for this!” Cock wes not very happy himself :t "(hehrF%mflgt; he had made an ar- est which the court declared unjus- tified. ik ! vest pocket and the positive identifica He had had a| On the day of the murder, the prose- cutor pointed out, Willlam Habron had threatened to revenge himself on the policeman for the arrest. Neighbors were called in who also testified that William had threatened tb kill Cock for arresting_him. Supt. Bent testified that when the police approached the house in which ( [Awd‘fli htn; vit'erch prcgumxbl}' nsl!'ep: candle irst showed, then kly | sy Muoh, too, was made of the fact that althourh Supt. Bent. had not mentioned when the murder had . taken place Williem Habron had blurted out, “We were in bed at the time!” ‘The two percussion caps found in his tion by at least one of the store clerks (of Willilam Habron as the man who had priced revolver cartridges were heavily emphasized by the prosecution. | Most damaging of all was Supt. Bent"; testimony that nail for nail, sole and heel and heel plate, the track in the mud seen by him on the morning after- the murder corresponded with William Habron's boot. The defense had a hard time of it, but did valiantly. William Habron’s i cmp‘{oyer t:stmend’ tl;mt he was a hard worker and on the farm was peac and friendly. SR Deaken then said that he had given him some of his worn clothes. The vest, in the pocket of which Supt. Bent had found the percussfon caps, was one which Deakin had presented to ‘William. The percussion caps were | such as Deakin himself had been in | the habit of keeping in his vest pocket. As to the threat of which so much was made, the lawyer for the Habrons pointed out that Policeman Cock him- self had sald to Habron; % A | than a third of the operators, Knowledge of Tools, Great Strength and Ability to Disguise Were Assets of Burglar. L A VAR AR W\ e ZN7 A /7/// 7 A% o, 7 PEACE WORE THE GARB OF A CHURCHGOER, AND SANG HYMNS ON SUNDAY AS LUSTILY AS ANY OF THE CONGREGATION. “Oh, youre all bluster and wind! I know you!” * ok ok ok THE defenser had to meet the seri- ous cHarge that, although Supt. Bent when he arrested the Habrons had not mentioned the time of the mur- der, William had blurted out, “We were in bed' at the time.” Their lawyer pointed out that the moment William heard the charge against him he must have sensed,the trouble he was in because of his threat; innocent but frightened people, the lawyer said, have a way of behaving much as if they were guilty. On' this point the judge and the jury had a chance to study the Habron brothers at first hand. They had, of course, throughout protested their in- nocence of the crime and put forward an alibl. On the night of the murder they had really gone to bed early, as Willlam had declared when arrested. ‘The prosecutor then cross-examined the three brothers. Skillfully he put his questions, subtly he played on their nerves; by voice and manner he dangled a hangman’s noose before them until the young farm hands became con- fused and began to contradict them- selves and each other. Momentarily their alibi lost credibility and their manner took on all the familiar aspects of guilt, To the identification by the store | the cartridges the defense replied that anly one of the two clerks was pasitive it°'was Willlam Habron; the other was not so positive. And the defense re- minded the judge and jury that who- ever priced the cartridges did not buy them. ‘The strongest peint the defense made was that the most painstaking search | by the police failed to bring to light any weapon belonging to the Habrons which ‘tould have been used in the murder of Policeman Cock. ‘The boot print in the mud, as may be expected, gave the defense much worry: Against Supt. Bent's testimony could be brought forward only the facts thet, first, Supt. Bent had neither clerks of William as the man who priced | photographed the print in the mud | mor taken a cast of it so that the court could judge for itself how closely it corresponded to William Habron's boot. Second, his boots were such as many other farm laborers wore. Similarly the defense pointed out that a brown coat and a pot ‘hat were so commonly worn in the nighborhood that even if Simpson's description of | the man as glimpsed by him by lantern | light could be cepended upon & coin- cidence might explain the fact that William Habron had such a coat and hat. EE ALIANTLY as the dgfense fought \4 for the accused, the outcome was a (ores‘ane conclusion. After several High Blood Pressure Seen BY ALAN MACDONALD. EXT time the man whose fender you bump in a traffic jam turns on you and raucously bawls you out, or the fellow you acci- dentally jostle in the subway glares and seemingly itches to take a poke at your right eye, or the woman to whom you offer your train seat ruf- fles her furs and acts as if you had, out of a clear sky, reflected on her social status—don't, don't take it to heart. Quite probably these belligerent ones are really peaceful persons swept into bellicosity by that baffiing mystery —high blood pressure. ‘The reason for this statement is the recent discovery of W. V. Bingham, director cf the Personal Research Foun- dation—an _organization whose busi- ness is to fit people to jobs and jobs to people—that motormen and bus drivers with high blood pressure are the cause of a considerable percentage of traffic accidents. Mr. Bingham's research was dcne for the Boston strect railway and bus overating corporations, and he has no exact knowledge of the iuation in other cities. But, presuma- what is true in Boston—at least, in in the matter of human blood pressures —is true elsewhere. Considerations of &ge and experience being equal, Mr. Bingham discovered |- that half the accidents happened to less In other words, accidents occurred to the same men repeatedly. Naturally, then, these men were observed and studied, and among other interesting things it was found that high blood pressure was, in- deed, a cause of accidents. “High ac- cident men” with what might be called corresponding arterial high pressure were advised or treated. Their blood pressure was reduced and, in certain cases, where there was no additional oilment, they became members of the low-accident class. Which certainly would argue that high-blood pressure had made them uneasy and uncertain and hence subject to accidents, bicker- ings and brawls. Typical of this interesting situation, according to Mr. Bingham, was the case of Motorman X. He had been with the company for many years and was regarded even in his accident-ridden latter days as a loyal, trustworthy em- ploye. He has not gone through a rigor ous cempany physical examination in seme time, and Mr. Bingham and his associates, of course, recommended such a review. The man’s blood pressure was found to run somewhere between 170 end 180 Mg, as the medical men say, which, even for 2 man of his years, was dangerously high. But there was nothing else wrong with him—no seri- ous organic disease or breakdown. Observing and questioning, the in- vestigators found that the man was un- der extraordinary nervous strain and tension, that he was touchy and pre- Soon the truth came out. had died, and since that mis- fortune he had been trying to run the home as well as the street car. He had daughters in school, and in order to keep them there he cooked their meals by day and at night did the wrn;hlngflmd kecpl;g of the houslr in order. He was planning to continue Shis double task until his eldest daugh= thee ate i fact high It Is Rather a Common Ailment and in Certain Instances Quite Normal, But Best Medical Opinion Agrees That Combative and Accident-Causing People Gererally Have It. WHERE THE WHOLE FAMILY HAVE IT, DOMESTIC LI LONGER MONOTONOUSLY QUIET. FE IS NO ter could be graduated, which would be in a short time, and then she would take her mother’s place. But, to make a long story short, he received financial aid that enabled him to get rest and surcease of worry, without eurtailing his daughter’s schooling—and he became in a very short time a man of practi- cally normal blood pressure and pleasant disposition. He is no longer a high- accident man. Actepting high blood pressure, then, as a cause of irritability touchiness and instability on the job, two questions naturally follow: How rfl,"“l’m among us is it? And what brings it upon us? As to the first, perhaps the best esf mate or indication is contamed in the record of the examinations of 16,662 policy holders of a life insurance com- pany. Of the total, 19.8 per cent showed abnormal blood pressure, though not all these cases were of the high pressure variety. Somewhere between 3 and 4 per cent suffered from low blood pressure, which is, as far as this story goes, another thing again. Cer- tainly, use 20 per cent or so of the 16,662 had high blood pressure, it does not follow that the same percent- age of all peorle so suffer, but the sus vey is probably in the neighborhood of the truth, as every doctor has reason to suspect. the second question, the doc- tors disagree. Some incline to the be- lief that a tendency toward high or low blood pressure is hereditary, hold- ing, as does Dr. Willlam J. Sadler, {af pressure families—families, in other words, whose unusual blood pressure is by no means abnormal for them | but ‘quite the natural thing. Such persons, stepping into a_doctor's office for examination, he points out, might have so high a blood pressure that he would at once think they had some very serious affliction until he discover- ed ‘that with them such pressure was usual and in a way harmless. Other agencies cited as probable causes of high blood pressure are germs, polsons generated in the body under the general head of auto-intoxication, and major ailments such as kidney trouble. Even too much salt has been urged as a reason, as have been rich diet, tobacco, drugs and alcohol. But the uncertainty of th2 medical pro- fesslon as regards causes in the case is well illustrated by the fact that the examinations of the 16,662 policy hold- ers showed, strangely enough, that the percentage of high blood pressure cases among excessive tobacco users and al- cohol quaffers was little, if any, higher than for the others. There is one thing, however, on which the doctors are agreed, and that is, racing the body, driving it through emotional crises and worry and strain in Acts even grow in size to meet the strain, and finally they break down, get brai lesions, melancholia, insanity, paraly sis or shock. But high blood pressure induced by ambition’or mental attitude is like a drug, it appears, and for-a time makes its possessor seem full of pep and power. Doctors tell interesting stories about high blood pressure cases. One of the most unusual, according to Dr. Sadler, was the case of a young man who came to him in an alarming condition. His blood pressure was 160. He was neryous, irritable, unable to get along with his friends and believed himself on the verge of breakdown. None the less, the physician could find nothing organically wrong with him. As the doctor paused in slight puzzlement after the examination, the young man confided that he was going to Cali- fornia for a rest. They talked along, the doctor adroitly questioning the pa- tient without seeming to do so. Finally the young man admitted that his trouble, scemed to date from the time he was jilted, a short time before, by the girl of his choi Fortunately, he h name, and the , 8ot in touch with her. told her that the young man was very seriously {ll. He asked if she would come down and talk it over with him. since he believed she could help her former sweetheart. She came, as you may surmise, and found the young man there. The doctor left them alone and they repaired and resumed their romance. The doctor relates that the young man's blood pressure there- after went down to 135, and that he was soon normal and happy. Again, a middle-aged, prematurely gray man called on the doctor, suffer- ing from an ailment that he couldn’t understand. He had a persistent head- ache, he couldn't sieep, his breath was short and he tired easily. He seemed afraid of something, and continually looked behind him.” Though he had ble or germ disease was concerned-— his blood pressure was about 170. Questioning finally brought out the fact that the man was an ex-convict and that he was in mdrtal terror that the police would pick him up again. He had established himself in a good position and wanted to keep it. The doctor made arrangements with the police chief of the town that the man was to be granted temporary immunity from drrest, save in case he committed some crime . . . and at the end of a month his blood pressure had re- turned to normal. He had literally worried himself into a dangerous high blood pressure state, and the thing had gotten so bad he had been unable alone to overcome it. But such cases could be multiplied, in all authenticity, to fill pages. the next time you meet a nervous, combative man, advise him to have a physician look to his blood pressure ccntinually, does bring on high blood pressure more quickly perhaps in some than in others, but none the less surely. Hard-working, hard-drinking, hard-lov- ing, hard-playing business men, as the late Dr. Willlam Osler pointed out years , are frequent victims. Under high wel known student of the matter, that blood pressure their arteries harden, struggle ~and -and low blood their hearts 0 Lkisp upy before it's too late. If you're wrong, no harm will have been done. Other- wise the excitable one may be com- pelled to take a long rest, or be re- stricted to bed and buttermilk until his blood pressure goes down, which, after all, is much better than eventual af- fliction of the kind the doctors attribute to wm nothing wrong—as far as organic trou- Angry Threat, Brutal Murder of Policeman and Circumstantial Evidence Were Material on Which Hinged Case of Habron. hours the jury brought in its verdict. Not guilty for John Habron. Guilty of the murder of Policeman Cock for Willlam Habron. ‘With the verdict went a. recommenda- tion for a degree of clemency for the guilty man on account of his youth. Although the verdict was expected a thrill, of horror ran through the court- room. Stormy as was WAlliam Habron's temper at times, it was a shock to think of that robust young life ending 50 soon on the bigget. John and Frank Habron looked stricken. In William's eyes was a stunned look. The judge put on a black cap. Gravely he repeated the verdict of the jury. Then he went on: “It is not in my power to act on the recommendation for clemency for you, Willlam Habron. That is the preroga- tive of the crown. I am compelled by the verdict to sentence you to be hang- ed by the neck until you die for the murder of Policeman P. C. Cock.” Rk THE murder had attracted attenfion widely, and seats at the trial were to be had only by early comers and those with influence. The former had to come early indeed to be assured of a place at the spectacle, particularly on the day of sentence. Even then there was many a tussle for places. On this, the day of the verdict and sentence, there was nearly a fight in the gallery. Spectators were already wedged tightly when an aggressive little man shoved his way forward. His clothes bore the stamp of respectability, but neither his face nor his manners were prepossessing. He had a skull on the lines of a monkey's, with a shallow undershot jaw, eye sockets far back and a reced- ing forehead with the hair line in a deep oval. His manner had the aggression of a man whose whole nature fights for what he wants. He fought his way for- ward to the edge of the courtroom gallery as if no one had a right there but he. Some one protested there was no room for him. “I came all the way from Sheffleld to see this trial!” the newcomer snapped as if that settled all arguments. The court had not yet opened and the man’s words did not settle the argument; but he won his place by the very tenacity of his will to have it. His eyes glittered as the foreman of the jury pronounced the verdict and the judge the sentence. Only then did he give up his seat and leave the court room. The jury's recommendation of clem- ency for Willlam Habron was accepted by the crown. His sentence was com- muted from hanging to life imprison- ment. And William Habron went to work at Portland Prison with no prospect that there was any other fate for him left in his life. * ok kX MEANWHILE the country had been discussing an epidemic of burglary that had been going on for years. If it was not the work of a highly organized band then it must be the work. people decided, of a lone genius working un- aided. § No matter what precautions against burglary were taken, no matter how strong and intricate the locks, houses were broken into and valuables stolen and not a clue left as to who did it. Then, as police vigilance increased, tragedy was added to the crimes of the unknown burglar or burglars. Here and there a householder was killed in the course of the burglary. ‘What had really happened was that Charles Peace was at work. In the history of crime he must be recorded as an eccentric genius. His most lasting love was the fiddle. He made his first money by fiddling on a single string with a virtuosity that later carned for him the nickname of “Little Paganini.” But all the money it brought him was pennies cast at him in the inns where he played. . That was in_his adolescence; but al- ready he found a livelihood on so petty a scale beneath his dignity. His father was a toolmaker, and from him young Charles learned to make tools designed | for purposes that would have appalled his_honest father. That sure and sensitive touch he brought to bear on the fiddle he also showed when he used the tools of his chosen trade, tools he had made him- self. Sturdy locks on the doors of the rich yielded to Charlie Peace’s touch. Bolts and door chains parted from their fast-ings. Cabinet drawers and wall :Is gave up their v: to_him. But even a genius bungles in his early days, and in his youth and early man- hood Peace found himself several times behind bars he was not able to break through. The years he spent behind them were not lost, however. That vivid imagination of his planned and committed a thousand burglaries and his keen mind learned from every one of them as if they were real experiences. Every time Peace left prison his work- manship was as much improved as if there had been no let-up in practice. To his art as a burglar Peace added that of the actor. That face of his, modeled on a monkey’s skull, he gould in an instant so contort and change in outline and expression that he might have made a living on the stage. He could even cause his face so to flush with blood that his very complexion seemed to change at will. His bady was gs plastic as his face. It was a young man’s body one moment, an old man's the next. And his suppleness came of use not only as a disguise but as well when he had only a 6-inch space be- tween window bars whereby to enter a house. Then he met Mrs. Dyson. Ugly as Peace was to look at, there were women who found him irresistible; and Mrs. Dyson was one. Between Peace and her stood only her husband; and Peace was not a man to endure patiently bar- riers between himself and what he wanted. The result was that one day Peace quarreled with Dyson—and murder came of it. Peace fled with blood on his hands and a price on his head. Ordinary men have tried to escape by putting distance between themselves and pursuit. Peace was no ordinary man. He bought a good-looking house on Evelina road, Peckham. and estab- lished himself as an ultra-respectable resident of a home-loying community, wore the garb of a churchgoer, sang hymns on Sundays as lustily as any of the congregation, visited his neighbors and had his neighbors visit him, en- tertaining them generously. And ail this time he combined his social visits to his neighbors’ homes with a study of thelr doors, windows, gates and fences. The results came out in the epidemic of burglary that agitated not only Peckham, Greenwic! and Blackheath but by report the rest! of Engiand as well. In panic at the repeated burglaries, a_wealthy neighbor came to him for advice. The neighbor had a large quan- tity of plate, jewelry and other valu-/ ables and was worried about the in- adequacies of his villa to protect him from the terribly efficient burglar or burglars. Would Peace look his villa over and advise him what to do? Peace looked the villa over. He gave what seemed to his neighbor excellent bl advice—and the nelghhor lost all his| So | valuables. * %k % ONE night Police Constable Robin- son patrolling Blackheath, a lonely London suburb, came up to the house of J. A. Burness at St. Burness at St. John's Park, the lonellest and darkest art of the suburb. He new the Burness able secrets | the next beat, Girling, to help him in- vestigate. Folice Sergt. Brown happened along. He sent Robison and Girling to keep watch in the garden in back of the house. Brown himself went up to_the front door and rang the bell. In the garden the two policemen heard the bell and at once the light in the house went out. A window in the dark dining room, which was on the ground floar, opened and a man stepped into the garden, a bundle un- der his arm. Policeman Robinson had a single- track mind. He started after the man with the bundle and kept going. The two were about to close in when the man turned and, pointing a revolver at Robinson, called out: “Stop or I'll shoot.” Robinson did not stop and the man did shoot. He fired once, twice, three times, a fourth, and still Robinson kept after him. He fired a fifth shot, which shattered Robinson’s elbow, but did not stop the policeman. By this time Robinson had his clutches on the other. One hand he needed to keep the revolver from fur- ther mischief. The other was busy warding off a long knife which his risoner tried to bring into phiv’, ‘Then ge took a chance with his right hand, released his hold on the knife and brought a large, bony fist against the prisoner’s jaw. It was a punch worthy of the spirit of the man behind it. His prisoner suddenly lost interest in the proceed- ings and by the time the other police- men came up Robinson also had lost consclousness from loss of blood. At the station the bundle was found to contain valuables stolen from the house: The prisoner, who refused to give his name, was put down as a mulatto, but it was soon found that his complexion was due to walnut stain used as a disguise. ‘As if by magic, the epidemic of bur- glaries cessed and the authorities put two and two together. “John eWard was tried for several burglaries—they did not connect him as yet with any- thing more scrlous—tand was sentenced to life imprisonment. Then one day a woman he had mis- treated when he was a free man and insolent with success decided that she would no longer live with that rank- ling hatred of him which she had kept locked up in her heart. She went to the police and told them something they did not already know. ‘Whereupon Charles Peace was taken in chains back to a_ courtroom and put on trial again. This time it was for the murder of Dyson. His star fast and a judge prg; vas setting el doom. He was to nounced h! ed. " ha%ith but little time to live in this world, Peace methodically prepared himself for the next. For his church piety was not merely a mask. He really believed in_a hereafter and was afraid of it. 1If confessing would lighten his punishment in the life to come he would confcss. He sent for the Rev. Littlewood, the rison chaplain. B ‘You WSI want to take down in writing what I am about to tell you,' he said to the clergyman. “Some years ago I was wandering about out- side of Manchester when I spotted a house that looked as if there were things in it I should like to possess. I studied the grounds and the house and one night I set out to enter #. I had my _revolver ready. “The night was dark, but on the gatepost a lamp was lit. I had dodged through it, I thought, unseen. But from the road I heard a volce call out to me to halt. I guessed it must be the policeman I had observed some time before. I thought he was safely elsewhere, but now I heard him run- ning after me. “I ran along the wall on the inside of the grounds, then, jumping over, landed in the road. It was almost the policeman’s open arms I found my- self. We grappled but I managed to tear myself out of his grasp. I wamed him I would shoot if he moved. He came. I fired wide, hoping to frighten him. But he was nobody's coward and plunged after me. I fired again. This time he fell. “A few days later I read that it was Policeman Cock I had killed and that ‘William Habron and his brother would be tried as the men that killed him. When the trial came I traveled from Hull to Manchester to be prasent. I saw and heard William bron sen- tenced to death. “Fortunately for him —2 1 hope for me—he is still alive and in prison. To prove his innocence, 3o to the Town Hall at Leeds, where my Heley revol- ver is being kept. You will find that it used the same No. 9 pinfire car- For five years William Habron had been toiling in Portland Prison, brood- ing over injustice, his heart laden with hopelessness and hatred of men and God. And in the midst of one of his blackest hours the warden came to him with the news that he was free, a pardoned man. William had borne up under adver- sity, but he collapsed now. It took him months before he recovered his health and spirits. The government, in an effort to make up for the mis carriage of justice in his case, paid him £800. He was still young, and in time resumed life in a quiet way. What Charles Peace got out of his confession is, of course, unknown. H-: was hanged soon after. The End. (Copyright, 1929.) Fox Timed in Race. FU‘RTHIR light on the speed with which animals can run is found in the experience of a Washington motor- ist over on a side road of the Eastern Shore. This motorist is ready to state :ll:lt a fox can run at least 30 miles an r. It all came about when the motorist, driving along leisurely, saw something running in a fleld to the right of the road and sped up a bit to see what it might be. Just as he came to the end of & hedge along the road, the fox jumped out into the middle of the road, intent on reach- ing & cornfleld on the other side. ing the car and perhaps, even more startling to him, hearing it, for it was well equipped with rattles and squeaks, he made a hurried break for the corn- fleld, but found a barber wire fence blocking his way. Turning in & c, it sped down the middle of the road, its body almost touching the ground as it stretched out in a swift run. Accelerating, the motorist came within a few feet of the fox and then main- speed increased until the car was mak- ing 30 miles an hour, with the fox just a few jumps ahead. ‘Whether the fox could have “ d on it” a bit more is not known for the motorist allowed the fox to set the pace. Perhaps if the animal had been pressed, it might have stretched the speed up a few miles an hour. The race continued h | for perhaps a qulrte‘rn of & mile, when the fox seeing & gap in the f went through it in two or three quick then slowed down to a sort of bouncing run, and was soon lost in the corn. Making Royal Purple. ROYA!. purple, once the envy of the many and the privilege of the few, is now avallable to even the most hum- of men. The dyestuff used to ob- ain this color, once so rare, is made synthetically now, and the cost no longer excludes all but the wealthiest from decking themselves in this noble . H. A. Schuette of the Univer- in discussing the family went early to bed; so that when he saw a wisp of a light moving about in one of the rooms, he became in- ferestod. He tavited et plains why on days