MYSTERY OF THE
BROKEN CROSSES
Capture of Insane Vandal Re
veals Tragic Love Story.
BLAMED CATHOLIC CHURCH FOR HiS TROUBLES
Jilted by Sweetheart His Mind Gives Way—
Takes Revenge by Wrecking Gravestones
in Cemeteries of Northerrv Wisconsin
arvd Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Chicago.—Residents of the cities
and villages of northern Wisconsin
and the upper peninsula of Michigan
can once more rest in peace. The fear
that for months has been haunting
them that they might awake to find
the tombstones erected to the memory
of their departed loved one burled in
their local cemeteries wrecked, has
vanished, for the mysterious cross
smasher has been captured.
The arrest of (he vandal has brought
to light a tragic story of Kazo Kazi
mir, whose love for a girl in Hungary
took him from the priesthood and of
his loss of the girl through his deser
tion of the church she loved more
than him.
Two months ago a little cemetery
at Pound, Marinette county, on the
northern tier of the counties of Wis
-*■ -wr. /rrjcM/i&t
consln, wan visited by a vandal. One
morning the visit of the grave diggers
disclosed a wreck.
Crosses on tombstones Had boon
hammered off, apparently by some
stonecutter's tool, for the work wan
done cleanly, and (lie several croase:-!
lay on the ground beside the tonib-
Htones. On one atone the rro < cut
on the face of the if one had been
backed out.
In a corner of »ii little cemetery a
woolen cr'tsa erect**ll ov< r the K rave of
* bt mcnU-ader whut bad l«lt 100 itiue
for the erection of a marble gravestone,
had been broken down and the crossbar
wrenched from the upright.
Practically every grave in the ceme
tery was marred in some such manner.
The Protestant cemetery across the road
was untouched.
The vandalism angered the settlers,
but the next night, 50 miles away, in
Oconto county, another Catholic burying
ground was visited and the work at
Pound repeated. The authorities were
unable to find that any stranger had
been in the vicinity of either place.
After the wreck at Pound and Stiles,
there was little surprise when the Cath
olic cemetery at Oconto Falls, Oconto
county, was also raided.
Lynching Threat*—ted.
There began to be wild talk of a lynch
ing party when the cross-smasher waa
raptured. The night after the Oconto
Kalis visitation, D. <i. Classon.a lawyer, i
of Oconto, found a note under his door,
! reading:
"Vou will soon be called upon to ile- !
fend one who ha - reversed the [ oUtiini
activity of the Cathode church upon
that church."
The note contained a aeri< s of Scrip- |
| tural allusion* about overthrowing th«j
; mammon of unrighteousness, lawyer
Clat on, wh i was formerly ae< i i'tary of
state of Wiscoi. tin paid no alient ion to I
j lae u„Us buyout! uuuouuctng in the ut.v»»-
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1905.
papers that he did not take up cases
presented to him in that way.
Secret Society Suspected.
The authorities of all the northern
counties began to watch for mysterious
strangers in carriages, also for religious
cranks. It was finally believed that the
cross-smashing wa& tue work of some
now mysterious secret society, working
among the citizens, for in no other way
could the country police explain the
midnight visits of the cross-destroyer
and the failure to find any trace of a
stranger in the vicinity.
The country districts were aroused,
but it was not thought that the fanatics
would dare to visit a city graveyard.
Uconto, however, was the next victim,
and two cemeteries were smashed, dam
age of more than $2,000 being caused.
The same night a cemetery in the west
ern part of the county a considerable
distance from a railroad, was visited.
This seemed to destroy the theory that
one fanatic was doing the dork.
Reward Offered for Capture.
After the Oconto visit the number of
cemeteries ravaged increased rapidly.
In two weeks a dozen had been left
wrecked. The cross-smashing epidemic
spread nortli into Michigan. One night
at Escsanaba the cross-smasher, not sat
isfied with wrecking the stone monu
ments, piled all the wooden crosses into
a pile, and 22 graves were left with no
mark at all, no recotd to show who was
interred there. The Catholic societies
offered rewards, but in vain.
Bishop Fox, of the Catholic diocese of
Green Bay, declared the feeling of his
people was such that there would cer
tainly be a lynching when the fanatic
should be captured. In all this time no
Protestant cemetery was touched.
Suspect Taken.
Some days after the Escanabaepisode,
Gladstone, to the north, was visited.
The same night a suspect was captured
at Escanaba, and though his patched
shoes fitted the impression left in the
Escanaba cemetery, he was able to show
that he had reached Escanaba from the
south the day of his arrest.
He talked rationally and was released.
Three hours after his release a ceme
tery to the west of the city was raided.
If the suspect did the work he had just
been able to catch a train to get to the
country graveyard to smash the crosses
and return, with only a few minutes to
spare. The Escanaba police thought
i his was evidence that two or more were
at work.
Caught ia tha Act.
The next night the Ishpeming ceme
tery was visited. Tha following night
at Negaunee men on guard saw a man
lurking among the tombstones and
watched him lift a stone and with a
well-directed blow knock the cross off
a monument as cleanly as though it had
been done with a chisel.
The man was the one who had been
arrested and released at Escanaba.
Every graveyard in northern Michigan
and Wisconsin had been under guard,
but some hal been ravaged so quietly
that the guards had heard nothing.
The prisoner was taken to Marquette,
where he gave his name as Kazo Kazi
mir. He said he was a stonecutter, and
his behavior indicated that he was in
sane. The authorities had been so puz
zled by the manner in which he had ap
peared. as though by magic, at widely
distant points, that it was thought im
possible he had doue the work alone.
Two months have passed, however, and
there has been no more cross-smashing.
Reveals Story While Hypnotized.
During this two months the police
have vainly endeavored to learn some
thing of his former life. Their efforts
were in vain until a specialist hypno
tized the man, and he dug up from a
big old pipe which he continually car
ried a time-worn scrap of a letter, dated
Nadudyar, Hungary, which revealed the
story of a shattered romance.
Kazo Kazimir was the son of a peas
ant, but had determined to become a
priest. His lowly condition proved no
bar to liis ambition. He passed his novi
tiate and was soon to be ordained. One
day he saw a girl, Maria Kakosvakacz.
His dreams of eminence in the church
faded, and the young priest-to-be made
desperate love to the girl. She repulsed
him. saying he was a disgrace to the
church. Thereupon he renounced his
vows, declared his intention of becom
ing a doctor and again sought the girl.
She avoided him and he wrote a note
asking her to meet him. The letter
found in his pipe was her reply, of which
this is a translation:
Renounced by Loved One.
"Thou renegade priest. Sooner would
I die than be the woman of a false man
to his church. Jau Snoviske will be
my man."
According to letters from Hungary,
received after an investigation of this
note, Kazo became silent after his dis
missal by his sweetheart.
Shunned by churchmen, barred from
his father's house for his desertion of
the church, he became despondent and
secured work as a stonecutter. He sel
dom spoke to his associates, by whom
he was little liked, and finally came to
America.
He worked in the Pennsylvania min
ing districts, but his taciturnity pre
vented hiin from making friends. He
learned little English, tut what he did
say was in denunciation of the church,
which he had come to biame for his
troubles.
His insanity finally took the form of
an attack on the crosses In cemeteries
and with the entire less of his sanity
came the devilish shrewdness by which
h calculated to a nicety bow to dodge
on a freight train, hide under the cars,
on ihe bumpers, anywhere; reach a vil
lage at night, smash the crosses in the
MUH't ry and escape without having
been seen by a soul.
Ills <a>•* Is helloed lo bo incurable
and he will probably spend the rest ol
his days in an asylum, while a trail ol
i r du it to#i i 'tones mark* the k>u'-nun.
path of hi-> liiaaully.
_______________________ i
Why New York Need Not Fear
a Hostile Fleet
I City Too Well Defended to Suffer from Attack of Most
Powerful Foreign Foe.
The visit of Prince Louis of Batten
berg to this country is now but a mem
ory—pleasant and picturesque—but
the question which the British admiral
raised as to the helplessness of New
York before a fleet of the most mod
ern and powerful battleships is still
a living issue. In fact, like Banquo's
ghost, it will not down, at least not
until it is downed by the array of
formidable facts as to the defenses
of the great eastern metropolis.
Prince L<ouis is reported to have said
—either in jest or in earnest —that the
18 battleships and cruisers which
sailed into New York harbor under
the command of Admiral Evans and
himself could reduce the city to a heap
of ruins in less time than the chef on
the prince's flagship, the Drake, could
prepare an omelet, and naturally the
remark created no little sensation, and
Father Knickerbocker nearly had
cold chill, notwithstanding the warmth
of the reception given to the royal
guest.
Are the defenses of New York city
Incomplete and insufficient?
Could such a fleet of fighting ships
as Britain might muster, or France,
MAP OF NEW YORK HARBOR, SHOWI NO SIX OP TIII3 GREAT FORTS THAT
GUARD ITS NORTHERN A ND SOUTHERN APPROACHES.
or Germany, get within striking dis
tance of the city and pour in such
thunderbolts of fire and steel as to re
duce the city to a heap of ruins?
These are questions that are being
asked these days not only in New
York city, but throughout the whole
country, for no such calamity as was
hinted at by Prince Louis could befall
the eastern metropolis without affect
ing the entire nation. Perhaps these ;
qucustions have been answered before,
but just now people want them an
swered again, if for no otner reason
than to prove that our royal guest did
not know what he was talking about.
The 15 forts and batteries in and
about New York harbor answer an em
phatic no to the questions propound- j
ed. There are nearly 200 massive, pow-1
erful guns mounted in those forts and j
batteries, ready at an iust ant's notice
to thunder forth such a mighty denial
of the charges of weakness and inefii- I
ciency as to make a veritable sieve out
of every armorclad battleship that!
would have the temerity to poke its
nose within speaking distance of the
American shore and New York harbor.
Nearly 6,000 soldiers are on the alert J
day and night and drilling constantly.
Every day the big guns are oiled and
polished and made ready for the time ]
when they may be needed'.
A hostile fleet approaching New York 1
would bo greeted by the shot and shell
from Forts Hancock, Hamilton, Wads-!
worth, Rodman, Trumbull, Wright, j
Terry, Slocum, Scliuyler, Totten, Jay
and other powerful batteries, long be-1
fore they could come to and get into!
action. At Fort Hancock, on Sandy
Hook, the most powerful guns in com
mission are mounted, and admitting
that an attacking squadron would be!
able to safely run the gauntlet of
mines with which the outer harbor
would be filled, it would have to reckon
with them. One of the guns is a 10-
Inch slant, capable of hurling a 2,400-
pound projectile 21 miles at the rale of
2,300 feet per second. W bile this gua
Is not mounted, it being inexpedient to
keep It In training In time of peace. It
could be quickly placed in position aud
sweep the harbor approaches with its
terrific fire. And even grunting Its In
effectiveness ut the 2t>-inlle range, tlieie
Is no question th:U (t would be a for
midable weapon at the U> or 12 mile
range.
Should th« attempt be made to reach
the city by way of Long Island sound
the invading fleet would have to run
a gauntlet of forts, beginning with Fort
Rodman, near New Bedford, to Fort
Trumbull, at New London, and on
down the chain to Forts Wright and
Terry, standing on islands that divide
the fairway of the sound into narrow
channels. But should the enemy get
into the sound, a feat by the way which
the North Atlantic squadron failed to
accomplish during the naval maneu
vers two years ago, he would still have
to silence the powerful batteries of
Forts Slocum, Schuyler and Totten. By
reference to the map it will be seen
that Fort Slocum stands off New Ro
chelle, while Schuyler and Totten stand
sternly vigilant five miles nearer the
city, and would be sure to bring down
any ships which might possibly get
by the guns of Fort Slocum. In these
two forts there are 16 great guns, and
no battleship or company of them
could hope to survive their raking
fire.
Every device and agency known to
modern warfare have been mustered
to render these defenses of New tfork
impregnable. At the prpesent time
Fort Hamilton is being rapidly
strengthened, and in a short time will
be the finest fort owned by Uncle Sam.
Between 52.000.000 and $0,000,000 have
been asked for to make this possible.
The map shows how the deep water
channel runs directly under the guns
of Fort Hancock, on Sandy Hook, aud
then, bending abruptly northward,
races through the narrow gateway be
| tween Forts Hamilton and Wadsworth.
Military experts declare that owfhg to
the narrowness of the channel, it is
doubtful whether any ships of war
could be brought so near the city save
by American pilots, and when the hos
tile ships had to deal with tlio deadly
i mines strung between Homer shoals
j and the Narrows, the case would be
quito hopeless.
But another factor must be reckoned
j >\ ith in considering the forces against
which a hostile fleet would have to con
tend, and that is the fighting ships,
big and little—from the great battle
ships down to the submarine destroy
ets and torpedo boats —of Uncle Sam's
glowing navy. What would this force
amount to? There are five 16,000-ton
battleships, which entered the water in
1904-11)05. while there are others yet to
be launched, 15 in all. namely: me
Connecticut, Kansas. Virginia, Nebras
ka. Georgia, New Jersey, Rhode Island,
Mississippi, Idaho, Louisiana, Minne
sota, New Hampshire, Vermont, South
Carolina and Michigan. The Connecti
cut and Louisiana were launched a
year ago and both are under contract
to be delivered next year. The Vir
ginia, Georgia, New Jersey, Rhode
Island and Nebraska are also at hand,
and the contract for the New Hamp
shire has been closed, a step yet to be
taken with the South Carolina and
Michigan.
In addition to the above the amored
cruisers California, South Dakota.
Tennessee and Washington are all 85
per cent, completed, as are the protect
ed cruisers St. Louis nnd Milwaukee,
while the Charleston can bo put In full
war trim on slight notice. And to
the-,., must of course bo added the
Mulne, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois,
Alabama, lowa, Massachusett. Went
V Iriinin, Pennsylvania. Colorado
lv> arsarge and Maryland, ths ships
whl.h comprised Admiral Kvat.s'
squadron when he p.-iyi-q j,o«t t 0
Prln •(* lleury.
WILLIS H EPSON.
MINISTER TO CUBA..
H. G. SQUIERS RESIGNS, E. V.
MORGAN APPOINTED.
Change in Diplomats Grows Out of
Recent Isle of Pines Incident
—lnteresting Careers of
Both Meu.
Washington. Simultaneous an
nouncement was made at the state de
partment the other day that Herbert
G. Squiers, of New 'iork, since May,
1902, the minister of the United States
to Cuba, had temfered his resignation
and that it had been accepted, and that
Edwin V. Morgan, also of New York,
and United States minister to Korea,
had been designated as Mr. Squiers'
successor.
The resignation of Mr. Squiers Is
■aid to be a result of the recent trou-
EDWIN V. MORGAN.
(Former Minister to Corea Appointed to
Cuban Post.)
bles growing out of the Isle of Pines
incident. The relations between Mr.
Squiers and the Cuban government
have been strained for some time. It
is charged that the minister afforded
much encouragement to American col
onists on the Isle of Pines in their ef
forts to have the island annexed to the
United States after their declaration
of independence. In this he acted in
opposition to the administration, which
advised the islanders to submit them
sci.ves to Cuban government. The ac
ceptance of Mr. Squiers' resignation, it
is said, was necessary to maintain cor
dial relations between Cuba and the
United States, the Cuban government
having cabled a complaint, according
to reports to the state department,
relative to Mr. Squiers' action.
The career of the retiring diplomat
is an interesting one. He entered the
service first in 1894. when he was made
second secretary of the American em
bassy in Berlin. He retained that
place for three years, when he retired
for a few months. He became secre
tary of the legation at Peking in Jan
uary. IS9B, and went through the Boxer
troubles there. Prior to his entry into
the diplomatic service Mr. Squiers waa
in the regular army. His knowledge
HERBERT G. SQUIERS.
(Recent Minister to Cuba Who Has I
signed His Position.)
of military affairs gave him a hi
position in the defense of the le'
tions, and he was soon made chief
staff to Sir Claude Macdonald, w
was placed in command. Mrs. Squi
was within the legation compound d
ing the siege. From China Mr. Squi
went to Havana as United btates n
ister. His salary there is $12,00(
year.
The career of Mr. Morgan Is e
more interesting than that of
Squiers, and he has risen rapidly
the diplomatic service of the Un
Slates. His first service was secre
to the United States commissioner
the Samoan islands in 1899. Follow
that he was appointed secretary of
legation at Seoul. He remained t
until March, 1901, when he was
pointed second secretary of the
bassy at St. Petersburg. He retu
to this country from Russia with
I'eirce, then secretary of the em'
ut St. Petersburg, and who wast
appointment to be third assistant
rotary of state. Mr. Morga;<f was
Secretary Pelreo's confidential
He retained that \vusition for
years, and in January, 1904, h(
made consul at Dalny. The wai
vented his going to his post, and
awaiting an opportunity tog
Dalny he was made Minister to 1
Until a f-'w days before his U,J
ment as nlnister to Cuba here
this position it was then deck'
the state department to alxilU
mission to Korea, in view of th
that Japan had taken over all tl
lomatlc business of l\oi*a und
protectorate. Mr. Morgan was r<
and will come to Washington a
as j»M*ihle after Milling the all
his legation. Mr. Morgan s
In l eased rrom $7,51W to $1 i ouo
Poir Consolation.
it dues lint re. ot)i lie a J«?; i i
v.ho is Irjtir l ia u ui; j,| w
know tii tt t!i» fitin < n
ri'i.UK wa , olu-> uji.ei» t .v| t
Ua.li * iuu U