Cleveland Police Believe There Was No Plot to Kill

Special to the Post-Dispatch.
     CLEVELAND, Sept. 7.—The Cleveland police are working hard to gain some information regarding the family and associates of Leon Czolgosz, who shot President McKinley.
     It is their belief now that there was no plot formulated for the murder of the President, but that Czolgosz acted entirely on his own responsibility. It is the belief of the police that the would-be assassin made up his mind to do the shooting when he was in Buffalo.
     The police have interrogated the secretary of the Knights of the Golden Eagle, to which Czolgosz belonged, but will not divulge what information they gained.
     Prominent members of the Golden Eagle organization declare that it is purely an insurance institution and that its members in general have no sympathy with anarchists or their principles. The officers of the lodge were closeted with the police authorities today and at the conclusion of the interview the police said they do not believe that the members of the organization are in any way connected with the attempt on President McKinley’s life.
     “It is my opinion,” said Chief Corner, “that the shooting of the chief executive is not the result of a plot. I believe that Czolgosz went to Buffalo on a different errand and while there decided to shoot the President. There was no plot hatched in this city to kill McKinley, to my way of thinking. Czolgosz, as we have learned, is about 26 years old. He was a member of a beneficial association known as the Knights of the Golden Eagle. For the last two or three years Czolgosz resided outside the city limits. He was sickly. At one time he worked in the mills at Newburg and he was below the average as far as intelligence is concerned. When arrested a card or letter was found on him written by the secretary of the order to which he belonged. It was in the nature of a transfer card, enabling him to be recognized by other lodges of the order in other cities. We are working hard on the case, and if he had any accomplices they will be brought to justice.”
     It has been learned that without doubt Czolgosz was an anarchist, and was a member of an anarchist club named “Sila,” which means “Force.” The club met at the corner of Tod street and Third avenue.