“Czolgosz’s Confessions” Manufactured

Would-Be Assassin of the President Has Made Only One Statement.
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THAT IS SACREDLY HELD A SECRET.
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No One Has Interviewed Him and No One Has Seen the Official
Confession—Known Facts Are Twisted into Talks.

     Czolgosz’s confession made to the District Attorney is held sacredly as an official secret, and no other connected statement of any kind has been made by him.
     Already various newspapers here and elsewhere are publishing what allege to be “confessions” or “statements” made by Czolgosz, the would-be assassin of President McKinley, but it can be said authoritatively that all of those, written in the first person and purporting to be conversations with the prisoner, or connected statements from him, are fakes.
     All sorts of pressure has been brought to bear on the District Attorney’s office to get him to give out the confession, and even bribes are said to have been offered to certain persons connected with the office to obtain copies or substantially accurate transcriptions of the statement but without success. The document remains, and will remain until the time of the trial, in the District Attorney’s possession.
     What is known of Czolgosz’s life and actions, both before and during his stay in Buffalo, has been given out as far as is deemed judicious by the police and District Attorney Penney. A few disconnected statements made by Czolgosz to police officers have been reported with substantional [sic] accuracy, but no one has been allowed to interview him and no other confession than that to the District Attorney has been made.

JUST WHAT IS KNOWN.

     Just this much is known of Czolgosz’s life and actions as told by himself and confirmed, as far as may be, by District Attorney Penney and the police.
     Czolgosz was born in Detroit, is 28 years old and is of Russian-Polish parentage. He went to the public schools in Detroit and later obtained employment in Cleveland, where he became first a convert to Socialism and later, through the influence of Emma Goldman, to Anarchy.
     About a week ago Czolgosz came to Buffalo, but declares he did not then have a definite intention of killing the President. This is one of the points questioned by the police and authorities and efforts are being made to discover whether or not he was the agent of an Anarchists’ plot. He went to live at 1078 Broadway, John Nowak’s saloon-hotel, and, according to his statement, decided Tuesday he would shoot President McKinley.
     Czolgosz bought his revolver in this city and made his preparations. He was on the grounds Thursday, but obtained no good opportunity and decided to make the attempt at the public reception Friday. It is not true he tried to get to the President at the railroad gate or that he has said he had any intention of shooting him there.

AT THE TEMPLE OF MUSIC.

     Friday afternoon Czolgosz was at the Temple of Music early with his revolver in his pocket. He secured his place in line, but he did not take out his pistol until he entered the building. Then he drew it with his handkerchief over it and gathered the cloth around his hand. The details of the shooting have been told already, many times. Czolgosz admits he is an Anarchist and of having Anarchists for friends, but maintains his attack on the President was of his own volition, was not the result of a plot and was not definitely decided on until Tuesday.
     This much is all that is authoritative in the matter of Czolgosz’s statements in regard to himself and the matters of demonstrable fact have been already verified. What he says of his relations to others and the like will be the object of the most thorough investigation the [sic] police and secret service departments.
     Again it can be emphasized that all alleged statements and confessions from the President’s would-be assassin are manufactured ones, made up of the above facts, woven in with a few direct quotations from the prisoner which have been picked up by police and government officers who have talked informally with him. No interviews are allowed or will be allowed and no one has had a peep at the one official statement he has made.