June 13, 1906 (Wednesday)

CIVIL WAR VETERAN MYSTERY No. 1: The Civil War keeps surfacing in the news. When the New York State Battlefields Commission visited the site of the Antietam battlefield recently, members got ahold of a badge that was dug up about four years ago. (That's the Antietam cemetery at right.) The badge is inscribed "S. Zielle, Company F, Forty-fourth New York Volunteers." State officials are hoping to locate Zielle or his heirs. They do know that Zielle was wounded at Fredericksburg about three months after Antietam.

CIVIL WAR VETERAN MYSTERY No. 2: While it might be tough to track down Zielle, authorities had little trouble finding R.D. Thomas of Rensselaer County in New York. He was drafted during the Civil War and hired a substitute. A couple of years ago, he found out that his substitute had died and that his own name was still on the rolls of the army. So, being a good patriot, he obtained a pension. He's been found out and he pleaded guilty to fraud in federal court yesterday.

FAMOUS DETECTIVE DIES: Canada has lost one of its great crime fighters, John W. Murray, chief detective for Ontario. He died suddenly yesterday. He wrote a very interesting memoir. The most noteworthy crime he dealt with was the killing of Benwell a young Englishman. Reginald Birchall was hanged for the crime. He also helped solve the Luke Dillon case. He dynamited the Welland Canal.


TRAFFIC STOP LEADS TO NEWS ABOUT WHEREABOUTS OF COMPOSER: Chauffeur August Pin was stopped by a police officer for speeding on New York City's Riverside Drive on the evening of June 11. The arraignment has revealed that he was driving Mrs. Reginald de Koven and others to a sanitarium in Yonkers to see composer Reginald de Koven (left), who's widely known for his light operas such as "Robin Hood," "Rob Roy" and "Happyland." Patrolman Goldman caught the speeders -- while riding his bicycle. He said they were going 20 mph. The chauffeur contended he never drives faster than 18. The judge, however, said he recalled a previous appearance by Mr. Pin in his courtroom for a similar charge. The judge held Pin for $500.