THE POLICE DRAG NET SWEEPING NEW YORK'S SLUMS
About a Dozen Possible Murderers Have Been Rounded Up by Inspector Byrnes and His Men - The Murdered Woman
New York, April 25.
The police are straining every nerve to apprehend the murderer. Four central office detectives have been detailed to aid the ward detectives in the matter, and a search is being made of all the down town lodging houses to ascertain whether any stranger had taken a room subsequent to the perpetration of the awful butchery. The murdered woman has been positively identified as an all night "rounder" of may years standing in the district where the crime was committed, which is similar in many respects to Whitechapel in London. Though the woman's real name could not be ascertained it was learned that she was known as a Shakespeare among her associates. This sobriquet was applied to her because of the fluent way in which she repeated the lines of the great bard. She was a handsome woman with striking features of a Roman cast and a form of remarkable symmetry for a woman of her age. There are even traces of refinement visible beneath the marks left by a life of dissolution. The place where the woman's life was ended is known as the "House of All Drinks." It has a bad reputation and is perhaps one of the worst of its class in the city. The police say numerous crimes have been committed within its portals, and only recently the bartender was arrested for cutting a man down with a sabre.
New York, April 25.
Early this evening Inspector Byrnes and Capt. McLaughlin had George Francois, alias "Frenchy", brought into their presence. They questioned him closely as to his knowledge of the case and then made a statement to the reporters. This contained a history of the crime up to the present time, gibing a description of how and when the murder was discovered, a description of the murderer and other details which have all been published. The prisoners, according to the statements, were all acquainted with the murdered woman, and Mary George, one of them, says she occupied a room with "Frenchy" directly opposite that occupied by the murderer and his victim on the night of the crime. From the police investigation the man suspected of having committed the crime is a cousin of the one called "Frenchy." He answered the description of the murderer and was seen in the locality in company with "Frenchy" on the night of the murder. He cannot be found. Francois refuses to talk about the suspected man. The police in this statement ignore the announcement made by them late this afternoon to the effect that the murdered woman's name was not known, but reiterate that such was her name. They also give the history of her life, which is as follows: Fifteen years ago there appeared in the fourth ward a middle aged woman addicted to drink and who soon became known by the name of "Shakespeare" and "Jeff Davis." Her maiden name was Caroline Montgomery, and in early life she married a sea captain named Jas. Brown. She lived with him in Salem, Mass., for a number of years. Brown died and left her quite an amount of money. Soon afterward she came to New York and entered upon her dissipated career. She left behind her two daughters, Ellen and Annie, who reside at present in Salem. Her board bills in this city have always been paid by a relative named Lawson, also a resident of Salem. The Inspector said that he had in his possession tin types of the deceased, taken some few years ago. In it she appeared neatly dressed, wearing a large white apron and a cap such as nurses wear. This is all the information the police will at present vouchsafe regarding the police, but they admit that they have many other facts in their possession which it would not be discreet to make public at this time.
New York, April 25.
The police this afternoon made the startling discovery in the Jack the Ripper case that Carrie Brown, alias Shakespeare who last night was aid to be the murdered woman, was alive and well. Who the dead woman is cannot be learned, though it is known that for two years past she has been one of the great army of outcasts who frequent the fourth ward. A clue as to the murderer which seems to be as direct as any yet revealed comes from the Glenmore hotel, in Chatham square. About two o'clock on the morning of the murder a man came to the Glenmore hotel and asked for a room and as he had no money the night clerk refused to give him one. The clerk saw that the man was splashed and spotted with blood; that there were blood spots upon his face even, and that his hands were smeared. He spoke with a decided German accent, was about 5 feet 8 inches tall, light complexion, had a long nose, and wore a small, light colored moustache. His coat was a black cutaway, and he had a shabby Derby hat. The night clerk remarked that the would be lodger looked as though he had been killing somebody. The Glenmore is not more than five minutes walk from the East River hotel. Several arrests were made today.
New York, April 26.
Another arrest has been made that tallies with the description of the supposed Jack the Ripper. Two park policemen found a man in City Hall park today. He wore a sand colored coat and blue trousers, and if anything was scarcely shabby enough for the companion of the depraved victim at the slum lodging house that fatal night. The Ripper is said to have worn a shabby blue coat. The man, whose name is said to be Young, was taken to the police headquarters.
New York, April 26.
At 3 o'clock this afternoon Inspector Byrnes arrested the second engineer of the red "D" line steamer Philadelphia, lying at her pier on the East river, and turned him over to his men. The name of the man could not be learned, but he answers almost perfectly the description of the murderer as given by Mary Minitor, the housekeeper of the East River hotel. The inspector himself made the arrest.
