Rensselaer Republican, Volume 19, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 October 1886 — JOHN ARENSDORF, [ARTICLE]

JOHN ARENSDORF,

' : ’ _X''. ' Charged with Killing Rev. George CL Haddock, Held in Bonds of Twenty-five Thon* sand Dollars., * v [Sioux City telegram.] John Arensdorf, who is charged by H. IX Leavitt with being the man who killed Rev. George C. Haddock, was arraigned in Justice Brown’s court on two charges—conspiracy and murder—and held in bonds of $25,000, which were furnished with very little delay. The bondsmen are James Junk, C. F. Hoyt, J. B. Belzer, E. J. Ressegieu, and L, H. Drumm. Confession of the Man Who Turns State’s Evidence. Harry L, Leavitt is my stage name, and the name 1 commonly go by, but Herman Levy is my real name. My home is in New York City, but I have been a resideni of Sioux City sines January, 1886, opening the Standard Theater in February, 1886, as proprietor and manager. I am 33 years old, ana I have long been connected with theaters. I arrived in Sioux City from a visit East with my wife the Friday evening before the killing of George C. Haddock. Up to Monday morning I had no conversation with any one in regard to the injunction proceedings, but that morning I went to the Tribune office to see about putting an advertisement in the paper about opening the theater, and I or-, dered an advertisement. In conversation with Mr, Kelly and Mr. Hill 1 told them it was my intention of. opening .the place and running it without Selling liquor, and I said to them that I believed I could make it pay. I had Joe Marks and Walter Strange come in and look at the place, and had about the same kind of talk with them, and told them I would not sell liquor. In the afternoon of Monday, Aug. 2, I was approached on the street by Mr. Simonson, and asked to join the Saloonkeepers’ Association. He told me that the organization was for the purpose of protecting the saloonkeepers and employing a lawyer, and myself and Doc Darlington and Dan Moriarty went to the meeting in Holdenreid’s hall that night about 8:30, and joined the association. My name was written on the iist by Fred Munchrath. I told him that as soon as it was necessary to use money, to pay lawyers that I would pay the $25 fee, and that I could not pay until after I should open my place. Adelsheim then said he did not know why Simonson had called this meeting unless it was for the purpose of making Leavitt a member, and as this was’accomplished he moved to adjourn. Louis Selzer seconded. the motion, and the meeting adjourned. On going out Fred Munchrath and Siflionson said to me,wait a minute, until the crowd, goes down-stairs, as we have some more to talk over and we don’t want to do bo while people are around who do not belong to the saloonkeepers. So Fred Munchrath, George Treiber, Simonson, Louis Plath, and another man, whose name I have forgotten, but whom I can identify, who runs a hotel in Sioux City, and I were the ones who remained after the meeting had adjourned. George Treiber had whispered tfajs4hing about holding the meeting around to the members of the committee, as he said he had some matters to tell which were private and not for outsiders. George Treiber said he had two men who would do anything to Walker if they got money for it. Some one then said: “Junk has the money in his safe, ” and some one then said, “We will give SIOO to have Walker licked good.” It was then agreed that Treiber should get the men and go to the court house next day, and when Walker came out of the court-room they would whip him. -1 then said, “If you cant get these men I will ask Dan Moriarty to do it for $100.” We then left the place. I thought no more of it till the next morning, when Munchrath came to me and said Treiber could not get the two men, that they were too drunk. We then wept down to the depot to see Moriarty, and he refused to have anything to do with it. I supposed this was the end of it until Fred Munchrath and. George Treiber came into the court house where I was standing at the stairs with Major McDonald. They called me aside, and said Matt Cassman had two men that were going to leave town, and he would get them to do the job for $lO9. 1 said, “GO on and bring the men up.” Treiber told the fellows when they got there that it was all fixed with the policemen. I wentacross the road and sat down in front of Wescott’s stable, talking to Tappan of the Lone Star Restaurant. Messrs. Walker and Wood came down the stairs and these two men followed behind. I did not try to keep it secret, but said openly that they were going to be licked, then Walker and Wood started on down toward the Hubbard House. Ab Wood and Walker passed them I stepped up to King and Waldevering and, pointing to Walker, I said, “That’s him,” and walked across the street. King and Waldevering got up and followed them down to the Hubbard House. Aboutß:ls Tuesday night, Aug. 3, in front of the Sioux National Bank, I met Fred Munchrath, George Treiber, Louis Plath, a saloonkeeper whose name I can not recall, and those two Dutchmen whom Treiber said were the men he had to’do up Walker. They were talking together and about Haddock and Turner going down to the Greenville House, Theiber Baid: “Let us take a hack and see what they are going to do.” Munchrath said: “Let UB take a ride and go down to Greenville and see what they are going to do.” I replied, “All right, I don’t care. ’’ We went over in front of the Hubbard House, and Henry Habeman, Treiber, Plath and myself got' into the hack right under the electric light. I asked Adams, the driver of the hack, to let the windows down, which he did, and drove to the Greenville, Henry got out in front of the Greenville House; went in and asked if there had been a buggy over that way within the last hour. They said no. He got in and we came right back to town. At Junk’s saloon we stopped. On the outside were the two Dutchmen who were hired by Treiber to whip Walker. John Arensdorf came out of the saloon with us, and these two Dutchmen said to him, ’but loud enough for us all to hear: “The buggy has come back.” Arensdorf sold: “Let us go over and see.” We—that is, Arensdorf, Munchrath, Treiber, Plath, Henry, myself and the two Dutchmen—started to go toward the stable. I dropped behind. I met Harry Sherman and we followed on behind, and Lange, the painter, was following us„ I said to Sherman, “Thi's will be another failure; they are all cowards; they have been going to do some slugging for two days and no one has been hurt yet.” By that time we had got close together and were talking, and Munchrath said: “If you or your men are going to lick Haddock, tell him not to punch too hard, but hit him in the face once or twice and give hi m a black eye; tlfht will do, as we don’t want to go any farther than that.” Treiber sail: “That is right; we only want to give one of them a whipping. ” . The morning after the murder John Arensdorf came to me while I was standing in front of Warlich’s saloon and said to me, “How. do you feel?” I said, “How do you feel 2" He did not answer, and said, “John, I think you did wrong.” He said, “I thought Haddock was pulling a gun on me, and in the excitement I shot; that is how it happened." Then he asked how many had seen it. I said they might have nil seen it. He says, “Can I depend on you?" I replied, "Certainly.” During the dav I told Warlich and Junk who shot Haddock. They said the less said about it the better it will be. Afterwards I came on to Chicago and engaged in my legitimate business, to open at the Princess Theatre, Mobile, Ala. Here Hill found me, as I had given him my address. I have made no concealment of my whereabouts, and have always been ready and willing to make the proper party a full and complete disclosure of all my acts connected with the Haddock murder and the donspiracy to whip Walker whenever I could do so without receiving bodily injury and be legally protected in so doing. There is another, matter I wish to refer to. About one week after the killing, John Arensdorf came to me in front of Wary ch’s saloon and said to me: “Henry, the driver of the wagon, knows all about this, and I am thinking of sending him over intq, Nebraska to his home.” I said you had better let him stay right here, you can't tell how the thing is coming out, and I wont have it that way. I was in the court-room Saturday, July 31, and Monday and Tuesday afternoons at the Court House. Munchrath said that he had just been to Junk and got the money and gave it to Cormeny. He said this in the presence of King, and Waldevring agreed to do it. and we separated. Munchrath afterward gave me a note to Cormeny to get SSJ. I borrowed it.