A Book of the Saint Paul Police 1838 - 1912 — 14
A rather sensational suicide occurred on January 12th, 1906, when Statia Brown, a young woman walked into a saloon at 412 Jackson street, asked for a drink of beer, put ten strychnine tablets into the beer, raised the glass on high and said, “Boys, this is my last drink,” and dropped over dead.
Miss Alta Hutchinson of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, was burned to death in a mysterious fire at the home of John Hoffman, 516 Canada street, January 21st, 1906.
On January 10th, 1906 occurred the terrible West hotel fire in Minneapolis. Ten lives were lost and nearly 50 people injured more or less. St. Paul fire and police departments assisted the Minneapolis departments in helping care for the injured and in putting out the fire.
On March 28th, 1906, a Macedonian massacre occurred in Minneapolis when the mutilated bodies of six men were found in a small house in Minneapolis. The St. Paul police assisted the Minneapolis department in trying to solve the mystery, but no solution was ever really arrived at.
On April 18th, 1906, Harry Spencer, one of the best known of the St. Paul restaurant keepers, after a much married career, shot his wife and tried to kill himself. Both recovered. On May 5th, 1906, Robert A. Smith was again elected mayor over L. C. Hoffman by a majority of 1501 votes.
Dr. George B. Moore, Police Surgeon, died after a few days illness from pneumonia at St. Joseph’s hospital, November 15th, 1906. Dr. Moore was one of the most lovable men who ever held a position with the Department, and his death was the cause of general regret. He was buried at Maple Lake, Minnesota.
As the result of some clever detective work on the part of Chief O’Connor and his men, L. D. Johnson of Minneapolis was arrested for shooting John H. Horesch, 327 West 7th street during an attempted holdup. Johnson was a desperate negro robber, who was returned to Minneapolis where a number of charges were made against him, and he was later sentenced to the penitentiary.
On April 1st, 1906, after a great civic parade, in honor of the Golden Jubilee of St. Paul, the corner stone of the new Auditorium to be built by the people was laid.
On May 9th, 1906, Joseph Albert Wheelock, one of the greatest editorial writers of America and the backbone of the Pioneer Press for half a century, died, and the entire city went into mourning. Mr. Wheelock was given public honors at his funeral.
On June 25th, 1906, the first four policemen to come under the new police pension law were retired on a pension. They were Edward Delaney, Albert Stotz, Sergeant Andrew J. Rose and Louis Marian.
On June 6th, 1906, Robert A. Smith was inaugurated mayor of St. Paul. At the same time Mayor Elect James C. Haynes of Minneapolis attempted to induce John Clark, the famous Assistant Chief of the St. Paul Department and former chief of the St. Paul Department, to head the Minneapolis police force. In this he was unsuccessful.
On Sunday, January 17th, 1906, a $500,000 fire loss was occasioned by the burning of the Ryan building. The fire started in the Palace Clothing Company store. 15 firemen and 36 spectators were injured during the fire, none seriously.
Henry Dankert of Milwaukee was found dead with a bullet hole in his head in the Wisconsin Central yards August 19th. No clew to his murderer was ever found. He is believed to have been injured in a fight in the cars enroute between Milwaukee and St. Paul.
On July 11th, 1906, Millie Ellison, 30 years old, a milliner, was lured from her home at Elroy, Wisconsin, to Minneapolis, pounded into insensibility in a room in the National Hotel in Minneapolis, her clothing set on fire while in that condition by Nathan M. Riggs, a conductor with whom she had sustained improper relations for some time before. Riggs, on being arrested at Elroy, killed himself. The St. Paul police did some good work in assisting the Minneapolis department in locating the murderer.
Henry Currie, a negro charged with holding up a young man at the Union depot was given a ten year sentence in District Court on January 21, 1907.
One of the most brutal murders ever committed in the city occurred on January 3rd, 1907, when Mrs. Wilhelma Kende, 79 years of age, was murdered at her home, 216 West Fairfield avenue. Her son was arrested and held for the murder, but Chief O’Connor later released him. Despite a good deal of hard work no one was ever able to solve the mystery and to this day the murderer is free.
On January 20, 1907, a disastrous fire wiped out the building now occupied as the Central Station at 3rd and Washington streets. This together with the buildings below on the levee burning at the same time caused a loss of nearly a hundred thousand dollars.
On February 28, 1907, Mrs. Pauline Jobst, finding her husband Charles Jobst in a saloon with another woman fired four shots at him. Jobst recovered and the couple were reconciled. Bennie Cates, a thief with an international reputation was captured by the police early in February 1907, and on the 27th of that month was sent to Stillwater for five years for burglary. This was a clever capture by the police.
On April 29th, 1907, Harry Ricker, business manager of the Metropolitan Opera House claimed to have been robbed of $2800 in the lobby of the theater after having been attacked by a knife. It was later discovered that Ricker had framed up the story and he was sentenced to the penitentiary for five years.
On April 27th, 1907, A. J. Taylor one of the best known mail carriers of the city disappeared from his home at St. Anthony Park, and to this day has never been seen or heard of nor was any trace of his body ever found.
On the 8th of February, 1907, John Maher, night jailer at the Central Station died at his home of Bright’s disease.
Disappointed in love Charles Golz jumped from the high bridge and his body was never recovered.
On May 3rd, 1907, Harry C. Burdette, Chief Lineman of the police alarm system, for no known motive shot himself during the night in a small outbuilding near the police station.
On April 19th, 1907, John Gunderson took a $25,000 package from the Northern Express Company for whom he was working. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to the reformatory. The police recovered every dollar.
