The Crime of the Century; Or, The Assassination of Dr. Patrick Henry Cronin

Chapter IV (1)

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"IT IS A CONSPIRACY"--DR. CRONIN'S FRIENDS CLAIM THE MURDER WAS A
POLITICAL ASSASSINATION--THE PUBLIC SCEPTICAL UNTIL STARTLING
DEVELOPMENTS ARE MADE--THE PHYSICIAN IN DANGER OF HIS LIFE FOR
YEARS--PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS TO "REMOVE" HIM--THE TROUBLE IN THE
CLAN-NA-GAEL--CHARGES AND COUNTER CHARGES--THE BUFFALO CONVENTION--WHY
HIS "REMOVAL" BECAME A NECESSITY TO CERTAIN PEOPLE.

"He is dead I feel sure of it." So said Mrs. Conklin, when the news of the finding of the bloody trunk, the cotton batting, and the locks of matted hair, had been brought to her.

"This is the work of political enemies" echoed Frank T. Scanlan.

"Dr. Cronin has been the victim of a political assassination" was the immediate verdict of a number of prominent Irishmen of New York, Philadelphia and other places. And the developments soon to come showed that they knew whereof they spoke.

But the general public, while it listened and eagerly discussed the mystery, was inclined to be sceptical.

A political murder in the free, liberty loving United States. It could not be! Two Presidents had, it was true, been shot in cold blood by madmen; and in different parts of the country and on divers occasions men had been killed in scrimmages at the polls as a result of troubles growing out of election affairs. But these were not political murders in the general acceptation of the term, not the deliberate well planned taking of life; not the outgrowth of a conspiracy to "remove" some one whose particular political predelictions or position had rendered him obnoxious to those politically associated with him. "Such things might happen abroad it is true" said the sceptics, "but on American soil it would be an impossibility."

DR. CRONIN AS A PROPHET.

Dr. Cronin's friends were not among the sceptics. Very well they knew that there was more than ordinary ground for the fears they had expressed. There was abundant evidence that long before his death the physician had known that his life was threatened, and that any day might be his last. This knowledge, or belief,--it may be put in either way--was clearly outlined in a pamphlet which, under the title of "Is it a conspiracy," he caused to be printed and circulated among his friends a year before his taking off. In this document which, at the time was summed up by most of those that read it, as a mass of words and phrases without meaning to any one but the writer, Dr. Cronin clearly outlined the fact that he would meet his end by violent means. There was a key to the story which, when read between the lines after his disappearance, made its meaning clear to many of those to whom it had previously seemed but a jumble of incoherences.

The closing paragraph, in particular, was an extraordinary indication of the prophetic spirit that had been generated in the physician by the dangers that he knew assailed him.

"It strikes me that your funeral would be a largely attended one," was the question that he put into the mouth of the mythical reporter who was supposed to be interviewing him.

"Yes," was the reply that followed "and the cause of death extensively inquired into."

Prophetic words. How largely his funeral was attended; how extensively the cause of death was investigated; this volume itself is a record.

The fact that his life was in danger had been the burden of Dr. Cronin's confidences to his friends for a year prior to that memorable night in May.

More than once attempts had been made to lure him to isolated and unfrequented spots on the pretense that his professional services were required. On one of these occasions, so it is said,--although the doctor was always uncommunicative on this point--he barely escaped with his life from a house whither he had been summoned to attend a woman who was, in reality, feigning sickness. At another time he publicly denounced a man whom he believed had been sent from a distant city in the east to encompass his death. Still another time a local sport who had been hired by his enemies to "do him up" as the expression was used; inspired by feelings of gratitude from some indirect favor, had made a clean breast of the matter. Little wonder then that Dr. Cronin felt that he lived the life of a marked man, and that sooner or later, he would fall a victim to the machinations of those that were bent upon his removal. But why had he enemies? and why moreover was his death so greatly desired?

CRONIN AND THE CLAN-NA-GAEL.

The answer to these questions is given in the theory adopted by the officers of the law immediately upon the discovery of the body; which was subsequently endorsed by the coroner's jury, re-indorsed by the Grand jury; and in pursuance of which seven men were soon to be placed upon trial for actual participation or complicity in the crime. This theory was that the physician had fallen a victim of a conspiracy, covering two continents, its ramifications extending in numerous directions and involving people of high as well as low repute, and that this conspiracy had for its object his deliberate removal in order that certain secrets and information that he possessed, and which virtually affected the reputation, honor, and credit of certain Irishmen of international reputation, might not be given to the world. In order, however, that this theory may be made clear, it is necessary to go back to the beginning of the trouble. Almost from his boyhood days Dr. Cronin had taken an active interest in organizations that had for their object the liberation of Ireland from British domination. One of these organizations was the Clan-na-Gael. This was probably the most closely oath-bound of all the Irish Societies of this country or abroad. Its strength, moreover, was phenomenal. Although, owing to the secrecy which surrounded its annual conventions, no public reports of its total membership had ever appeared of record, it was generally believed and understood that it ran into many scores of thousands, and penetrated into almost, if not quite, every section of the North American continent. In age it dated back to 1869, its cardinal object being to establish in Ireland an Irish republic, to bring about fraternal feelings among Irishmen in the United States, and generally assist in the elevation of the Irish race. It affiliated with the old revolutionary organizations in Ireland, and moved on lines so nearly masonic in their secrecy, that in many parts of the country the clergy of the Catholic church either discouraged or altogether forbade the members of their flocks from becoming identified with it. Despite this fact, however, the order, almost from its inception, grew in strength, in wealth, and in influence. There was nothing in the obligation which would-be members were compelled to take, before being entrusted with the pass-words and other secret work that conflicted with their duties as citizens of the United States, except that the occasion might arise when it would be necessary for them to violate the neutrality laws. Every man, however, that joined the Clan-na-Gael, or, as it was more generally known to the outside world, the "United Brotherhood," knew that, as an Irishman or a man of Irish descent, his sworn duty was loyalty to Ireland, and that, were he called upon to take up arms in aid of any movement for the independence of Erin's Isle, it would be his duty to comply without question or demur. The membership of the organization was divided into districts, which again were subdivided into local lodges or "Camps." Each district had its general officer, to whose authority each local camp was subject, and the district officers in turn made up an Executive Board. This body possessed absolute and complete control of the organization in every particular.

THE "TRIANGLE" IN POWER.

It was not until 1881, when it had passed its first decade of existence, that the United Brotherhood first came prominently to the attention of people of all nationalities in the United States. In that year it held a national convention in Chicago. At this time its membership was at its height. Tens of thousands of men of Irish blood had become affiliated with it for motives of the purest patriotism, many others on account of the secret political influence which it was enabled to wield; and not a few because they thought they saw in it a source of livelihood and profit to themselves. Its treasury had swollen to large proportions, as a natural result of that section of the constitution which required every local camp to remit ten per cent. of its gross receipts to the Executive Board, and to faithfully keep the balance, save and except so much as might be required for running expenses, in its treasury for an emergency. It was from this convention that the troubles which afterward overwhelmed the order first dated. One of its actions was to so change the system of government as to confide the supreme control to an Executive Board of five men, of which number three formed a quorum. Alexander Sullivan of Chicago, Michael Boland of Louisville, and D. C. Feeley of Rochester, New York, were elected members of this Executive Board, and, working together, became both the majority and necessary quorum. This was the trio which was destined to become famous in after years as the "Triangle."

Almost from the day and hour that the convention adjourned, the "Triangle" commenced to rule the order with a rod of iron. Despite the fact that when it came into power there was in the treasury funds, according to the best data that has been obtainable, aggregating a quarter million of dollars, a new rule was promulgated which required nearly the entire receipts of each Camp, instead of the former ten per cent., to be forwarded to the National Executive Committee. In justification of this remarkable step, it was quietly given out that matters connected with the objects of the organization indicated that an imperative demand was very shortly expected, which would allow of no delay, and in which much money would be required. As the funds had been raised for the sole purpose of assisting in revolutionary efforts, which, from their very nature had necessarily to be conducted with the utmost secrecy, no great objection came from any quarter to the transfer of the funds. The amount thus placed in the control of Alexander Sullivan, as chief of the Executive Committee, and of Feeley and Boland, his aids, was subsequently stated by men who knew, men of honor and integrity, men whose word in commercial transactions was considered as good as their bond, as being in the immediate neighborhood of the enormous total of one hundred thousand dollars.

VICTIMS OF A "PHYSICAL FORCE" POLICY.

What followed in the next few years is a matter of history. At irregular intervals the news of dynamite explosions in different parts of England, was flashed over the wires that spanned the two continents beneath the broad waters of the great Atlantic. So, too, was the news of the death, or capture and subsequent imprisonment, of those supposed to have been primarily concerned in these affairs. Oftentimes the arrests were made under circumstances which could lead to no other belief than that the victim had been deliberately betrayed. Between 1881 and 1885 twenty-nine Irish revolutionists were sent from America into English prisons, and in almost every instance the suspicion was so strong as to almost amount to a certainty that these victims were betrayed to the government, against which their attack was to be directed, before they had left the vessel which had carried them across the ocean. This is the record:

This was a total of thirty-two men convicted of participation in dynamite explosions. The conviction of Wallace for murder grew out of his arrest on the charge of conspiracy. Two of the unfortunates died shortly after their conviction, one was pardoned, and of the remainder there were on October the 1st, 1889, twenty-two still confined in British convict prisons. Besides these, two other delegates from the United States, Captain Mackey Lomasney and a mysterious man, known only as Peter Malone, were supposed to have been killed in the explosion on London Bridge on the evening of December the 13th, 1884, while one more of the number, James Moorehead, better known as Thomas J. Mooney, who, with others, managed the explosion in Whitehall in 1883, was successful in escaping to New York. Some time after his return to the United State he made a full statement of the manner in which he was sent abroad for dynamite work, and furnished with money and methods of introduction to the agents of destruction on the other side of the Atlantic.

CRONIN TO THE FRONT.

For a time Irish fealty proved equal to the situation, and no outcry was raised because the treasure was wasted, the lives of brothers lost, and the sentiment of the whole world turned against the cause of the freedom of Ireland. Presently, however, a demand was made by the Executive Board upon the local Camps for more money, and dissatisfaction began to manifest itself. It seemed incredible that the immense sum which but a few years before had been at the disposal of the Triangle could have been absorbed, and that, as was claimed the order was thousands of dollars in debt. An investigation was demanded, and the Triangle responded with its rod of iron. It declared that opposition should be crushed out. Member after member, and then Camp after Camp was expelled. It was at this time that Dr. Cronin came to the front. He was a collossus. He insisted that the members of the organization had a right to know what was being done with their money, whether the immense amounts levied and wrung from patriotic Irishmen in America, had been well used, or whether it had found its way through other channels into the pockets of financial conspirators. The Triangle did not deign to notice him for a while, but his following increased from scores to hundreds and from hundreds to thousands, and it became evident that the bold, intrepid Irishman who had forged his way from poverty to an honorable position in the metropolis of the West was the man of all men of whom to be feared. The fiat went out that Cronin's expulsion from the order was necessary to the future safety of the organization. An opportunity was soon found. In his own Camp, Dr. Cronin had read a circular from one of the Camps that had been expelled, protesting against the action of the Executive Board. For doing this he was charged with treason. This was in 1885. He was brought to trial in Chicago before a committee consisting of Lawrence Buckley, Frank Murray, John O'Malley, Daniel Coughlin, the detective, who later was to be charged with participation in his murder, and Henry LeCaron, _alias_ Beach, afterward a British spy, and who had been introduced into the order by Alexander Sullivan. The latter acted as prosecutor. With such a trial committee it was little wonder but that the physician should have been pronounced guilty of treason, and that his expulsion from the order should have been decreed.

The "treasonable" letter was as follows:

THE "TREASONABLE" LETTER.

The initials used throughout represent the titles in this order:

"V. C.," United Brotherhood; "F. C.," Executive Body; "U. S.," United Sons; "D.," Camps; "I. R. B.," Irish Republican Brotherhood; "R. D.," Revolutionary Directorate; "S. C.," Supreme Council.

HEADQUARTERS F. C. OF V. C.,
Sep. 15, 1885.

_To the Officers and Members of the V. C. and of the U. S.:_

BROTHERS: In accordance with the call of the Committee of Safety a
general convention of the V. C. was held in New York City, Aug. 3
and 4, for the purpose of taking the necessary measures to save the
organization from the ruin which threatens it. A full account of
its proceedings will be found in the printed report, to which we
invite your attention.

Having been chosen by the convention to fill a position of great
difficulty and responsibility in the organization during this, the
supreme crisis of its existence, we feel it to be our duty to lay
before you the plain facts of the present situation, and to ask the
assistance of every honest man in bringing about a remedy. We make
this appeal without regard to the side you may have taken in the
recent and present troubles, knowing full well that nine-tenths of
the organization are in a state of utter ignorance as to the actual
facts, and that honest men have been led to sustain wrong. We make
it more particularly to those who are supporting and yielding blind
obedience to men who have turned their backs on the I. R. B.,
thereby ignoring the fundamental principal which is the cause and
object of our organization. If that support is withdrawn an
effective remedy can be at once applied. That there is trouble you
will not now deny, and that it is serious enough to menace the
existence of a once powerful organization, and to threaten the ruin
of the hopes that have hitherto stimulated our efforts for Ireland,
every day will make more clear to your understanding. The efforts
at concealment made by the men who created this trouble, the
withholding of information as to the wholesale suspension of D's,
and the mendacious assertions made in recent circulars, have all
failed of the desired effect; and in every D in the organization,
to-day, there is gloom and discouragement and members are fast
falling away. No official denials, a thousand times repeated, can
any longer conceal this fact. Every member from Maine to California
can see it for himself. The truth is beginning to filter through
the barriers set up against its entrance to the D's, by desperate
men, whose characters depend on its suppression. The frantic
efforts and reckless statements of the army of paid organizers,
sent around to counteract the progress of truth and avert the
exposure of wrong doing, are useless and unavailing. Many of these
are the men under accusation of complicity in the fraud, and they
now use your money to deceive you and prolong the reign of
dishonesty. Their prevarications, contradictions, and shuffling
evasions are doing more to establish the truth of the charges,
against which they are vainly struggling, than the strongest
statement made in the interest of right and justice, and a spirit
is gradually growing up in the organization which will produce one
of two results--reform and punishment of the evildoers, or
disruption of the organization and escape of the prisoners.

One or other of these results is inevitable. And whichever it is,
it will be the clear and logical result of your action. Your
withdrawal from the organization, in despair or disgust, will no
more enable you to shake off your responsibility than if you give
an active support to the criminals. Which result shall it be? The
decision rests with you. If the men responsible for this wretched
state of things cannot succeed in stifling all investigation into
their misdeeds, they would prefer to see the organization smashed.
"Dead men tell no tales." They know that an honest investigation
would overwhelm them, and they are fighting for existence.
Therefore they are determined there shall be none, and every D that
demands one is suspended or left without communication. This
conduct is capable of but one explanation. They cannot stand
investigation. The question with them is, shall their personal
reputations be destroyed, or the organization be ruined? and they
have chosen the latter. Men with true instincts, and whose records
were clean, would scorn to force themselves on any organization, to
handle its funds and direct its policy, while under such
accusations as have been leveled against the Triangle. Men with the
real good of Ireland and of the V. C. at heart, would refuse to
hold office at the expense of the unity and the efficiency of the
organization. Looked at from any stand-point their conduct is
indefensible and unpatriotic. No man fit for the duties of the high
office, these men hold, would acquire it by such means or hold on
to it when acquired. No men who honestly intended to aid the men at
home to free Ireland--which is the fundamental principle of the V.
C.--would begin their official careers by deceiving their
colleagues in Ireland and persisting in carrying on any policy
against their protest.

Since the disastrous gathering, miscalled a convention, which met
in Boston twelve months ago, the organization has been going from
bad to worse. The deceit and trickery by which three members of the
F. C. were enabled to continue themselves in power, and so to
change the whole form and object of the order, as to make it a
convenient instrument for the furtherance of personal ambition, at
the expense of the sacred cause of Ireland, have continued to play
havoc in our ranks. The strength and vitality of the national
movement have been shattered. The oldest and strongest D's are
being driven out one by one, and a system of repression of free
speech and sham trials, copied from the worst features of British
tyranny in Ireland, is brought into requisition for the purpose of
crushing all independence of thought, and stifling the voice of
patriotism. No honest man in the V. C., who sees and hears what is
going on around him, can fail to recognize that ruin and
disintegration must speedily make shipwreck of our hopes, if a
strong and vigorous remedy be not soon applied. No intelligent man
can fail to see that every effort of the three men who have usurped
the governing authority of the V. C., every dollar intrusted to
them for the advancement of the cause is being devoted to the
maintenance of their power, and to the work of driving from the
organization every man who charges them with wrong-doing, or who
advocates an investigation of the charges made.

That the aims and objects of the organization, and also its money,
are being sacrificed to the necessities of the war of self-defense,
waged by three desperate men, must be plain to every intelligent
man, and it must be equally plain that an honest, impartial
investigation of the serious charges, made against these men, would
put a speedy end to all this trouble, by either convicting them of
wrong-doing or their accusers of falsehood. In either case the
organization would be freed from evil-doers and restored to
harmony. Why, then, is such an investigation refused? The men who
make the charges are ready to substantiate them and take the
consequences. The accused men shirk an investigation, drive their
accusers out of the organization, so that their evidence may not be
available, and hold on with the grip of desperation to the
positions they are accused of disgracing.

Can any organization of intelligent, self-respecting men tolerate
such a state of affairs? You who submit to the scandalous methods
by which it is kept up are making yourselves responsible for
irreparable injury to the cause you are sworn to serve.

Let us recapitulate the work of the Boston "Convention," the
charges made against the Triangle, the disruptive policy they have
since pursued, and the remedy we propose. We charge that the three
members of the last F. C., who now constitute the Triangle, are
solely responsible for the evils of the present situation, and that
deceit and trickery have characterized their action at every step.
There is no statement of theirs, now promulgated, that is not made
for the purpose of misleading the organization in regard to vital
facts. These facts cover the postponement and change of form of the
convention, the proceedings of that body, the relations with the I.
R. B., the disbursement of the largest sum of money ever handled by
any F. C., the authority and responsibility of the R. D., and the
policy pursued. In short, they embrace every question of vital
importance to the organization and to their characters as officers
and members of the V. C.

First--The Postponement of the Convention--It is claimed that these
men had nothing to do with it--that it was entirely the work of the
organization. Here are the facts:

Those who were delegates to the Philadelphia National Convention
will remember, that the subject was first mooted there _at the
request of the three members of the F. C. in question_, in a caucus
of members of the V. C. It was proposed by a member of D. II, and
seconded by a member of D. I, and passed as a recommendation to the
D's that they favor a change in the constitution, by which each
district should elect delegates in proportion to membership to the
National Convention. It was recommended in that form to the F. C.
for promulgation to the D's. When promulgated it had undergone a
remarkable change, by which each district was allowed two
delegates, irrespective of membership. This would give a district,
having then less than 100 members in good standing, the same
representation as others having 1,500 members.

The proposition of the F. C. was passed in some D's, with an
amendment providing for representation according to membership, and
a request that the amendment be submitted to all D's. The reply of
the F. C. was that there was no time to do so, and yet about a year
elapsed before the convention was held. Thus they secured a
postponement of the convention under pretense of submitting a
constitutional question to the D's, but so altered the question
itself as to deprive large districts of representation in
proportion to their membership, reducing the number of delegates to
the convention, thereby making the work of manipulation easier.
Thus, you see, the proposition originated with the F. C. was
supported by them in caucus, and they voted and worked for its
passage, and yet they tell you they had nothing to do with it,
"that it was the work of the organization."

This was the first part of the program by which they sought to
deceive and hoodwink the organization, escape a proper accounting
of their trusts, and secure a continuance in office. Let us now
examine the second part of the program, or farce, played at Boston.

The Convention--Notwithstanding the long delay and the evidence of
elaborate preparation for the convention on the part of the F. C.,
the notice to the delegates was only given at the last moment. Both
the first circular after the convention, and the so-called "report"
of its proceedings, issued by the Triangle in the name of the
delegates from each district, contained deliberate misstatements of
facts. There was no Committee on Credentials, and the word of the
Secretary of the F. C. was the only voucher for the genuineness of
the delegates. There were three persons present who were not
delegates, and one of the three presided. The composition of the
committees appointed by the chairman, after dining with the men who
controlled the F. C., and disbursed its funds, left every
consideration of decency and bona fide investigation out of
account. To investigate the work of these men, a Committee on
Foreign Relations, consisting of two of them, and a man who was
entirely dependent on them for information, was appointed. The
Financial Committee consisted of three district members, two of
whom were the agents of the F. C., in the "active policy," and
notoriously their partizans. These committees, sitting jointly, and
having out of the six members only two who were not previously
concerned in the work of governing and spending the funds, had the
coolness to report that "The Finance Committee are fully satisfied
with the economy and prudence with which the expenditures have been
made, and the Foreign Relations Committee find complete exactitude
in the financial acknowledgments of the R. D., etc." That is, two
members of the American part of the R. D., who had been receiving
and spending, in the name of that body, vast sums of money, of
which the three home members knew nothing, aided by two
accommodating district members who had been helping them to spend
the money, find "complete exactitude" in their own accounts. And
then, on the plea that "lives of faithful and devoted men are in
the keeping of each of us who have served on either of these
committees," they appeal to be allowed to keep the knowledge to
themselves, and assure the organization that they "individually and
collectively agree that it is a misfortune that so many of us
should have this knowledge." They describe their anxiety to "see in
the flesh the officer in charge of the new policy"--a staunch
confederate of theirs whom they appointed and who merely carried
out their orders--so that they might, forsooth, determine whether
economy characterized his work and their own. But the crowning
hypocrisy of all was their desire to ascertain if the receipts
"acknowledged by the Home Branch of the R. D., corresponded with
those reported by the F. C., as having been paid out." That is,
they wanted to see if moneys received and spent by the American
Branch of the R. D., without the knowledge or consent of the Home
Branch, were properly accounted for by men who knew nothing about
them, and whose representative was kept away from the convention
lest the truth should become known. And the men guilty of this
shameless deceit and hypocrisy are running the U. S. to-day.

Third--The Relations with the I. R. B.--Without the presence of an
envoy from the I. R. B. the convention was dependent on the word of
men, who admitted the receipt and expenditure of $266,000, and who
are positively known to have received a much larger sum, for the
genuineness of the account. They place $128,000 to the credit of
the R. D., and $75,000 to that of the S. C. of the I. R. B., and
they make it impossible for an envoy from Ireland to confirm or
contradict the statement, by withholding information from him as to
the time and place of the convention.

They aver that they sent the information both by cable and mail,
and yet there are letters at our disposal, dating from June to
October, from a member of the S. C., complaining that they could
not get the information they sought, and the last one affirming
that the old address was still good for either cable or mail. No
letter passing between the two organizations ever miscarried before
that time, and others have reached the same address since. The F. C.
were made aware of the non-receipt of the information, and if it was
intended to reach the S. C. it would have been received. The true
explanation for all this is found in the admission in the "report"
of the convention of a radical difference of opinion between the
F. C. and S. C., and of a determination to dictate to the latter body.
There is not a shadow of doubt that three members of the F. C. who
represent the V. C. or the R. D. usurped the functions of the whole
body, and spent the money voted to it by the F. C., without the
knowledge of the home members. By keeping away the one envoy of the
I. R. B., and auditing their own accounts, and speaking in general
terms of the R. D. as if they spoke for the whole body, they hoped
to conceal this fact and secure a continuance of the fraud. We now
begin to see why it became necessary to impose silence, by oath on
the delegates, for the first time in the history of the conventions
of the V. C. The report of the convention issued by the Triangle,
and the tone of circulars since issued, show a deliberate purpose to
prepare the minds of the members of the V. C. for a break with our
brothers at home. Are such men worthy of your confidence?

Fourth--The R. D.--The R. D. is a fundamental law of the V. C.,
protected and ratified by international treaty with the I. R. B. It
cannot be altered or abolished without the consent of the I. R. B.,
and the consent of the D's. It was adopted by the Philadelphia
convention of the V. C., by a unanimous vote in 1876, with the
proviso, that it should become a law only when approved by a
two-thirds majority of the D's. It was submitted to the D's, and
after being discussed at special meetings in every D, was approved
by much more than the necessary majority. It was then submitted to
the S. C., and having been agreed to by them the R. D. was elected,
and by a solemn treaty invested with the supreme authority in all
revolutionary matters.

The R. D. could not be abolished without the consent of both the
contracting parties, nor its functions assumed by a minority of
that body, or their confederate "in flesh," without the consent of
the S. C. or consulting the D's, who created it, and that most
accommodating body called the Boston convention, has empowered the
Triangle to elect an R. D. or not, as they see fit. That is, to
elect the whole body and run a boat of their own, as did the
Flannigans at the Flood, with the assistance of their confederate
"in the flesh."

The R. D. provided the means of adjusting all differences between
the two organizations, of adopting a common policy, of auditing all
expenditures, and made out of previously disjointed fragments, one
united Irish revolutionary body throughout the world. Every
intelligent man will now perceive that the assumption of power by
the V. C. members of the R. D. and their "officer in the flesh," as
well as the action taken at Boston, means broken faith with the I.
R. B., means secession, disruption, divided counsels, is a direct
blow at the integrity of the national movement. We cannot believe
that you will continue to condone this offense on the part of the
present Triangle, or indorse this breach of faith with the I. R. B.

Fifth--The other work of the convention--The mode of electing the
Triangle is inconsistent with honest intentions and gives the
organization no protection against wrong doing. The oath of
secrecy, as to the whole proceedings, is absolutely without
justification or valid reason. Its evident intention was to cover
up the farce enacted by the committees.

No reasonable member of the V. C. wants information, involving
danger to men, within the enemies reach. But every man should know,
who audits accounts covering hundreds of thousands of dollars, and
insist on having some guarantee that an honest inquiry is made into
the most important work of the F. C., viz: their relations with
the men at home. The change in the oath bodes evil to the cause.
What intelligent man will bind himself to promote all measures
adopted by the Triangle, "whether known or unknown?" Are we to
follow these men blindly in every enterprise to which fancy or
ambition leads them, including schemes of American politics?

This, brothers, is the true situation of the Irish National
movement in America to-day.

The only possible remedy is in a general convention, which will
pronounce final judgment, and calmly and impartially set aside all
men who stand in the way of union. We have appealed to the
triumvirate for such a convention, as have many of you, in vain.

They will never call it, for the simple reason that they dare not.
The only possible means of securing it, and thereby ending this
trouble once for all, is by your shaking off the lethargy that has
overtaken you and joining hands with us. Your appeals and protests
to your leaders will be met by hollow pretenses and subterfuges,
such as have met all such efforts for the last year.

Waiting for the "regular" convention means submitting to another
farce and allowing the work of disruption to go on with accelerated
speed. Come, frankly and openly to our side, and the settlement of
the trouble will be in your own hands. We are empowered to call a
convention at any time, when we see the necessity for it, without
waiting for the period fixed, and it shall be called as soon as you
say the word. Then let the culprit suffer, whether it be accused or
accuser, and the unfaithful, incompetent, and factious step to the
rear. The cause of truth, justice and patriotism will triumph, the
confidence now broken be restored, the gloom now hovering over the
organization dispelled, and with brightening hopes we will march on
to the accomplishment of our object--the restoration of national
independence under a republican form of government to our native
land.

Fraternally yours,
THE F. C. OF THE V. C.
X. F. G. (W. E. F.), Chairman.
Y. F. C. (X. E. B.), Sec.

All communications should be addressed to John C. Phillips care of
P. O. Box 2049, New York City.

CHARGES AGAINST THE TRIANGLE.

But these vigorous measures, instead of crushing the opposition, served only to give it new life and energy. An organization, antagonistic to the Triangle, composed of men bitterly hostile to Sullivan, Boland, Feeley and others high in power, was brought into existence, and rapidly grew until it was equal in strength to the original Clan-na-Gael. It had trusty spies and avowed adherents in the older organization, and the bitter quarrel was also brought into other Irish movements. Sullivan and his aids gradually dropped out of control, first seeing to it, however, that they were to be replaced by men to whom their word would be as law. Still Cronin and those with him kept up their warfare. Numerous efforts were made to silence him, and twice in 1887 he was called as an expert witness in trumped up cases before two Chicago police justices, in the hope that his persecutors, by putting him on the rack of cross examination, might find some flaw in his life that could be made use of in lessening his influence, or some disgraceful scrape which might be held over his head, to make him heed the behests of the man into whose possession the secrets had come. This effort failed of its object, and the physician returned to the charge with two new allegations. One was that the Triangle had allowed the family of Lomasney to suffer for the necessaries of life, while funds that had been appropriated by a local committee of the Clan-na-Gael, which labored under the belief that the missing brother was in an English dungeon, had been withheld, and another, that Sullivan had gone to Paris, while Patrick Egan was an exile in the French capital, and demanded the sum of $100,000 of Land League funds to carry out the aims of the physical force men in America. According to this charge, the money was demanded to meet certain expenditures that had been planned in a convention of representative members of the Clan. Mr. Egan, so it was claimed, after a good deal of consideration, refused to turn over the money, and then Sullivan threatened to disrupt every Irish society in America unless his demand was speedily complied with. He pointed to the fact that there was a large and growing element among Irish-Americans that was dissatisfied with the management of national affairs, and was ready to revolt as soon as a leader turned up to direct them. A whole week was consumed in discussing the demand of the American emissary, and in the end Mr. Egan was convinced that it would be wiser to take counsel with some of his confreres before rendering a final decision. He told Mr. Sullivan plainly that he was opposed to granting so large a sum of money for any purpose whatever, but he was willing to abide by the decision of other men who had as close a knowledge as himself of the needs of the order at home and abroad. He offered to submit Sullivan's proposition to Sheridan, the famous No. 1 of the Phoenix Park Invincibles, and the leader of the physical force men in Ireland. Mr. Sullivan agreed to this offer, and Sheridan was called to Paris from Ireland by telegraph. Within a week after all the facts had been laid before him, he decided that the money demanded by Sullivan had better be paid than withheld to conciliate all factions of the Clan-na-Gael in America. In result it was claimed that Egan paid Sullivan $100,000 in cash, from the funds of the Irish National League, of which he was treasurer, and that the then chief of the Triangle brought the full amount with him when he returned home. Instead, however, of turning it into the treasury of the Clan-na-Gael, it was contended that only $18,000 was accounted for, and the balance of $82,000 was deposited in the Traders' Bank, to the credit of "Alexander Sullivan, agent," the full amount being subsequently withdrawn on account of certain speculations by Sullivan on the Chicago Board of Trade. That such a deposit had been made was confirmed some time later, when the bank in question failed and its records, as the outcome of legal proceedings, became public property.

SULLIVAN ON TRIAL.

But the troubles of the warring factions could not last for ever. There were influential men on both sides who wanted harmony, and were determined to secure it. Finally, the two sides came together at a convention held in Chicago in 1888. Peace was restored, and the Camps and individuals that had been expelled by the Triangle were declared to be again in good standing. It was decided that the accounts and acts of the Clan-na-Gael society from 1881 should be investigated, and three men were chosen from each faction as a trial committee. They were as follows:

Dr. P. H. Cronin, of Chicago.
Dr. P. McCahey, of Philadelphia.
John D. McMahon, of Rome, N. Y.
P. A. O'Boyle, of Pittston, Pa.
Christopher F. Byrne, of Saxonville, Mass.
James J. Rogers, of Brooklyn, N. Y.

The sessions of the committee commenced at Buffalo, in 1888, but the fact that there were a large number of witnesses from points adjacent to New York City, induced the body to make a change of base to that city, and the inquiry was resumed at the Westminster Hotel during the heat of the Harrison-Cleveland presidential campaign. It was soon found that the hotel was altogether too public a place for the inquiry and a hall was hired in another locality. Alexander Sullivan, who, with Boland and Feeley, was present in person, entered a formal protest against the participation of Dr. Cronin, couched in the most vituperative language. It read as follows:

SULLIVAN'S CELEBRATED PROTEST.

NEW YORK, SEPT. 15, 1888.
P. O. BOYLE, _Secretary_.

DEAR SIR:--At the opening of this investigation in Buffalo I
protested against the presence of P. H. Cronin as a member of the
committee to investigate any charges against me. The committee
decided that it had no power to act in the matter, but, through its
chairman, said that I could file my protest in writing. Therefore I
formally and in writing renew said protest. My grounds are

First, he is a personal enemy; second, he has expressed opinions in
this case; third, he is a perjurer and scoundrel, unfit to be
placed on any jury.

To the first objection I cite the men of the United Brotherhood
organization in Chicago, from which he was expelled in a case where
I conducted the prosecution. There is no question in Chicago of his
personal hostility. Before the National League convention in 1886,
his was one of the signatures to a circular assailing me, and he
was a regular attendant at meetings hostile to me. This is so
notorious to me from all parts of the country that it is not
necessary to enlarge upon it, but if substantiation is required it
can be furnished to an overwhelming degree.

In the support of the second objection it is only necessary to
recite the now notorious fact that Cronin was a member of the
executive body of the United Brotherhood, and as such he was one of
those who circulated charges against my former associates and
myself. He therefore not only expressed opinions, but in his
official capacity caused those opinions to be published and
circulated.

Your committee is chosen from two bodies, whose members differ on
many points, but who all agree, or profess to agree, in denouncing
unfair trials, biased juries and prejudiced jurors in Ireland, and
yet I am asked, after a period of four years has elapsed since I
was a member or the organization, to come for trial before a
committee chosen in my absence at a place where I was given no
opportunity to be heard, although I was within a few hundred feet
of the place.

While you ask the world to believe that you want a fair trial on
one side of the Atlantic, you ask me to accept as a juror one who
would be excluded in any civil court from a jury in a trial of a
case in which I had an interest however trivial.

I am told that it has been declared that if I do not appear before
this committee I shall be denounced as one unable to defend himself
against the accusations filed. So I was left with the alternative
of being tried before a jury, with at least one perjured member, or
being abused and villified for my non-appearance. And this is what
the men who selected Cronin were led to believe was fairness. They
should never again be so indecently inconsistent as to criticise
the position of juries or courts chosen to try men in England and
Ireland. Had he as much decency as an ordinary dog he would not sit
in a case in which I was interested.

As to the third objection to Cronin, I charge that the brand of
perjury is so burned into the scoundrel's brow that all the waters
of the earth would not remove the brand. He was a delegate at the
district convention held in Chicago, March 23, 1884, that being the
first one held in this district. After the constitution was so
amended as to provide for the elevation of two delegates from each
district, two delegates were elected at the very same session, one
being chosen immediately after the other. Yet Cronin, after first
officially reporting to his club that two delegates were elected,
circulated a report that only one was elected, and stated that he
would not be permitted to speak or to present any suggestions from
his camp. Every such delegate at the convention has been sworn, and
every one, including those who were with Cronin in the U. B.
organization, testified that two delegates were chosen, that Cronin
was present when they were chosen, that every delegate not only
could speak, but was actually called upon to speak, and that every
delegate, including Cronin, did speak.

Cronin was expelled, a convicted liar, who added perjury to his
slander. I have further investigated his record, and I find that in
several matters outside of this organization he is also a perjurer.
A record obtained from Ireland by William J. Fitzgerald says that
Cronin was born at Buttevante, April 13, 1844. Cronin swears that
he lived at St. Catherines, Canada, until after the assassination
of President Lincoln, April 14, 1865. Captain McDonald, of No. 2
Company, Nineteenth Battalion of the Canadian militia, of which P.
H. Cronin was a member, says that at its formation in 1862 or 1863
he had P. H. Cronin in his company, or shortly after its formation.
He was known as the "Singer Cronin," and at the time of joining he
took the oath of allegiance as follows: "I swear that I will bear
true and faithful allegiance to her majesty, the queen, her heirs
and successors."

About 1863 positive orders were sent by the government that every
man had to take the oath of allegiance, and that there were none
under his command who did not take it. The record shows that Dr.
Cronin's father, J. G. Cronin, was a British subject and continued
in Canada up to the time of his death, so that P. H. Cronin until
1865 or 1866, when he left Canada, was a British subject, and if,
as he claims, his father was naturalized in the United States
before going to Canada, he voluntarily abandoned his American
citizenship and resumed the position of a British subject.

This P. H. Cronin voluntarily swore allegiance to her British
majesty. Yet this creature swore in his name as a voter in St.
Louis and voted in that city. He thought best not to come to
Chicago and reside one year, but sneaked down to a county in
Illinois, doubtless being afraid of attracting attention in
Chicago, and swore that he arrived in the United States a minor,
under the age of twenty-one years; that he resided in the United
States three years preceding his arrival at the age of twenty-one
years. He claimed to have been home in 1856, and not in 1844, and
even if that were true, he was only nineteen years old when he left
Canada, because he swore he was in Canada when President Lincoln
was assassinated; that he came to the United States in 1865 or
1866, and yet he swore he resided in the United States three years
previous to arriving at the age of nineteen, and thus secured his
papers on this minor petition falsely sworn to.

This side of Cronin's character, I submit, should be considered in
connection with any report his malice and prejudice may dictate. I
have not made any formal protest against the presence of Dr.
McCahey on the trial committee, but it is well known that he has
been active in publishing documents and interviews hostile to me,
and it is at least strange that one who has been so engaged should
be willing to serve on such a committee.

Very respectfully,

ALEXANDER SULLIVAN.

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The Crime of the Century; Or, The Assassination of Dr. Patrick Henry CroninChapter IV (1)

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