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The Baby Wars – Police Matrons in Greene County, Part III

June 18, 2020 / / 0 Comments

In early February 1903, the Springfield Republican reported that McIntire had been given leave of absence. She vacationed in St. Louis and visited various rescue homes and institutions where she had often sent people from Springfield.[1] While she was gone, her monthly report, this time addressed to Mayor Melette, was published. Her work had not diminished; the need in Springfield continued to be overwhelming. No doubt she was exhausted and in need of a vacation.[2]

[1] Springfield Republican, February 1, 1903.
[2] Springfield Republican, February 3, 1903.

McIntire’s absence from Springfield did not prevent Mrs. Blood from publicly bickering with her. The February 4th headline read “Mrs. Blood Now Has a Baby Boy to Give Away.” The child belonged to a girl named Jones who Blood specifically said that she, not McIntire, had cared for. Blood also wanted it made clear that she had been given money to help the girl and she used it only for her benefit and no personal gain. There is no record of any response from McIntire, who may not have heard of the incident until much later.

The same day, Mayor Mellette vetoed a bill giving the police matron a salary on grounds that the city couldn’t afford it. The veto was sustained. [3]

[3] Springfield Republican, February 4, 1903.

It was two months before McIntire returned from St. Louis and resumed her job as police matron.[4] She barely had time to unpack before a week-old baby boy was brought to Springfield from a Joplin Rescue Home and given to her to care for and find a home.[5]

[4] Springfield Republican, March 29, 1903.
[5] Springfield Republican, April 1, 1903.

The baby wars continued in August when a baby girl was left on Blood’s back porch. Since both women were known for their benevolence work, it’s not surprising that babies were left with them. Less than a year earlier, another baby girl had been left with Mrs. Blood; this one she kept and named Edwina. While Blood wanted to find the most recent baby a good home, McIntire, her police matron instincts kicking in, wanted to notify the police and have them find the mother. Blood, of course, objected to that plan, at which point McIntire accused her of enjoying having babies left on her doorstep. Blood denied the accusation, stating that she did not wish to start a “baby farm,” but would take care of any baby that God sent to her. Surprisingly, in spite of their public disagreements, while Mr. Blood was visiting family in Boston, McIntire was reportedly staying with her! [6]

[6] Springfield Republican, August 16, 1903.

​
Next up, Part IV – Scandal!  

And the Winner Is… – Police Matrons in Greene County, Part II

June 18, 2020 / / 0 Comments

By August 1902, Springfield still did not have a police matron. The WCTU had not won the battle, but was not giving up the war. Whereas:

The WCTU has for twenty years through the efficient jail and prison superintendent, satisfied the jail and city prison and done everything in their power to [illegible] and lead to better lives the many boys and girls and women who are frequently found there: Resolved, that the city council be requested to consider carefully the question of securing a police matron, who can give all her time and interest to this work, thereby saving the city many of the boys and girls who otherwise would become hardened criminals.[1]

Susan McIntire and Alice Blood were still locked in a battle for the position. McIntire had advocated for the position to be created for a number of years, while both women were involved in philanthropic work in Springfield. Both women had worked together, along with others, to found the Springfield Rescue Home. Now they were at odds, former friends vying for the same position.[2]

Susan McIntire won. Sometime during September 1902, the office was officially created and McIntire became the first woman in Springfield to hold the position of police matron.[3] In a November issue of the Springfield Republican, the myriad duties required of a police matron were listed in the required monthly report to police chief Gideon.[4]

[1] Springfield Republican, November 9, 1902.
[2] Springfield Republican, August 30, 1902.
[3] Springfield Republican, August 10, 1902.
[4] Springfield Republican, November 20, 1902.

October 3 –      Called by the police to help a crippled man. Got him fed and obtained money from the county court to put him on a train. Called to see two sisters, 15 and 17, found at the fairgrounds. Raised money to have them sent home to Mansfield and money to get them on home to Ava.

October 4 – Sent by chief over to Mrs. Hayes on Chestnut and Robberson Avenue to see a sick girl who wanted to go home. Did not do anything in this case as I thought she would be well in a day or two and could go to work.   
  
October 5 – Visited the jail. Found considerable work to do there for the prisoners—to see judges, lawyers, etc., during the week.

October 6 – A woman named Mrs. Thomas called at my house. Has two very sick children suffering from a tumor and quick consumption. Wants to go back to Douglas county, beyond Ava as soon as the children are able to travel. Referred me to Dr. Reinhoff, Mrs. Ed Drake and Mrs. Hayes, who are neighbors to her near the Boulevard, and for whom she had been working. She wants to be sent in a wagon as she wishes to take what little she has with her. She wants two dollars.

October 7 – Investigated the case of Mrs. Thomas and found it alright. Went to the county court and stated the whole case. After having talked it over they agreed to give me five dollars to obtain a wagon to take her to Douglas county, eighteen miles south of Ava. Will send her as soon as the sick daughter is able to be moved.

October 8 – Called by Judge Burks to the case of an almost blind woman with two small children and an invalid mother—a very destitute case. No stove to cook on—no provisions for clothes. Set to work and clothed the family—mother, daughter and children. Daughter said if she could get to Kansas City, she could get work in one of the packing houses—packing soap that did not take very good eyes. Went to county court who agreed to give me transportation part of the way. Will give her a letter that will take her to Kansas City, as she does not belong in and does not belong in Kansas City.

October 9 – Called to assist an old lady on South Kimbrough street in moving to Kansas City, where she had relations. Helped her sell her few things to advantage—pack her boxes, get wagon and take boxes to depot—got crate for sewing machine and had them all shipped by freight. Went to train with her—got her half rate ticket and saw her on train.

October 10 – Officer [illegible] called me to a most pitiable case of a woman with three children and sick husband in tent on lot west of old broom factory. The family was entirely destitute of anything at all. Took woman and child to mayor who referred me to relief officer, Witten, and stated the case. Begged enough provisions for immediate wants. Mr. Witten furnished them a stove.[5]

And so it went, in excruciating detail, for the rest of the month. The Republican reported that “Mrs. McIntire is one of the busiest women in town and she is continually besieged by people looking for help.”[6]

McIntire got the appointment, but “Springfield’s untiring police matron” did not receive the pay.[7] Despite the daily grind of work that was the lot of police matron, she went unpaid by the city. She received a stipend from the WCTU, but continually had to beg for money to cover the costs associated with her job.

[5] Springfield Republican, December 6, 1902.
[6] Springfield Republican, December 24, 1902.
[7] Springfield Republican, November 20, 1902.

Stay tuned for Part 3 and the baby wars between Blood and McIntire!

McIntire vs. Blood – Police Matrons in Greene County, Part I

June 18, 2020 / / 0 Comments

 

 

 

As part of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) do-everything policy, it instituted a prison ministry in 1880.[1] This particular ministry does not appear to have arrived in Springfield until late 1900 when a local WCTU group advocated for the office of police matron. The role of police matron, as indicated by the WCTU, requited that the matron should visit the jail each morning to learn if there were any young boys, girls, or women who needed their assistance. She should attend police court with all female prisoners and be alert to any new young ladies arriving in Springfield and make sure they did not end up in houses of “ill fame.” Local law enforcement was expected to aid her in this task. The police matron should be the only person permitted to search female prisoners, and it was her job to prevent “little girls” from being raised “to lives of shame” like their mothers and to remove them from the home if necessary. She should be sworn in just like any other police officer, wear a badge and, of course, be paid the same salary as her male counterparts. Kansas City, Ft. Smith, and St. Louis already had police matrons. It was time for Springfield to follow suit.[2]

          During a meeting of the South Side WCTU, Mrs. McIntire, local jail and prison superintendent for the WCTU, spoke about the need for a police matron. She gave members a “glimpse of the important work to which she” felt called to do.[3]

      The WCTU continued to push for the hiring of a police matron for Springfield. In mid-May, 1901, a “delegation of ladies of the WCTU” attended a city council meeting at which a bill was introduced by a Mr. Tompkins. The bill stated that a police matron would be appointed by the mayor for a term of two years with a salary of $45. With 11 votes required, the bill failed at 9 to 4.[4]

        The bill met unexpected opposition from local women who believed the money paid to a police matron could be better spent elsewhere. The ladies of the World Faith Mission argued that the money would be more useful if spent on the “indigent and unfortunate” before they ended up in jail. Mrs. Alice M. Blood, well-known in Greene County for helping children and young women, arranged to have rooms in the Mission available to house rescued girls. She then offered “to donate her time and services to this work of love without pay,” only asking for donation to aid her service. Blood proposed that she continue her relief work and take on the role of police matron.[5]

      Mrs. Susan F. McIntire responded with surprise, suggesting that Mrs. Blood did not understand that the role of “rescue worker and police matron” where quite different. McIntire agreed that it was desirable to keep women and children out of jail, “but the fact remains…they are sent there” nonetheless. Therefore, it was the police matrons job to better the condition of prisoners by

“having fines remitted, bonds reduced, getting changes of clothing for prisoners, furnishing them with pens, ink and paper, slates and pencils, quilt pieces, crochet needles and thread, to while away the tedious hours of prison life; also to secure transportation for the discharged prisoners, or those who are given a few hours to leave the city, get homes for aged and infirm women and unfortunate girls, and send them to other cities that have homes…[such] as the White Cross home and Salvation Army home of St. Louis…”

      According to McIntire, both positions were supported financially by the WCTU and had worked well together for many years. The position of police matron was supported by judges and the prosecuting attorney. The primary issue was money. And both women wanted the job.[6]

Stay tuned…

[1] The WCTU was organized in 1874 and started as an anti-liquor organization run entirely by women. By 1880, the focus expanded to include prison reform, health care, and women’s suffrage, and many others.
[2] Springfield Republican, October 24, 1900.
[3 Springfield Republican, January 20, 1901; March 17, 1901.
[4] Springfield Republican, March 13, 1901.
[5] Springfield Republican, March 16, 1901.
[6] Springfield Republican, March 17,1901.

Murder at the Colonial Hotel

June 18, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Arthur J. Seigfreid was ready to go home. A salesman for a Kansas City jewelry company, Arthur had been in Springfield for a few days, making the rounds to all the local jewelry stores. Now it was just two days before Christmas and he had his train ticket in hand. At around 3:00 p.m., he paid his bill at the front desk of the Colonial Hotel and headed back to his fourth-floor room. He just needed to grab his jewelry trunks and the presents he had bought for his two children and he could be on his way to the train station.

Arthur didn’t make it to the train station. When he arrived back at his room, he discovered an intruder already there, a man, trying to open his jewelry trunk. The two men struggled and the would-be thief shot Arthur in the face. The intruder ran, and Arthur staggered out of his room to search for help. A hotel employee found him on the second-floor stairway, where he had collapsed. He was “bleeding profusely” and was rushed to the Springfield hospital, where he died two hours later. 

Shortly before he died, Seigfreid reportedly said that “they were trying to rob me and they shot me.” He died without giving any additional information. The police investigation discovered that his room was in disarray, indicating a struggle. According to his employer, the C. A. Kiger Jewelry Company, Siegfried had in his possession $10,000 of inventory, mostly in diamonds. Surprising, nothing appeared to be missing.

By the next evening police had a suspect in custody—a 22-year-old woman who identified herself as Mrs. Beryl Lloyd Brenner, wife of Fred Brenner. Mrs. Brenner was believed to be an accomplice of Fred and another man, both suspected of the attempted robbery and murder of Arthur Seigfreid. Mrs. Brenner was arrested in her room at the Metropolitan Hotel on College Street. After continued questioning by the police, Beryl admitted that she was not married to Fred, and in fact, had only recently met him. ​

Brenner was not the smartest of thieves; he gave himself away by registering as a guest at the Colonial and then asking employees if there were any silk or jewelry salesmen also staying there. Brenner was travelling light; he registered with no luggage and investigators found only “two hats and an overcoat” in his room. 

According to detectives, Beryl and Fred Brenner had checked into the Colonial Hotel together on December 15, but checked out and moved to the Metropolitan Hotel just two days later. Fred Brenner returned to the Colonial a few days later and checked in again, this time alone. Shortly after the shooting, an elevator operator reported seeing Brenner return to his room in an “excited” and “flushed condition.” That was the last time he was seen in the hotel. Beryl had also been seen at the Colonial Hotel shortly after the shooting, and even rode in the elevator with the two detectives working on the case.

After two days of sitting in the county jail, the former Mrs. Beryl Lloyd Brenner was finally in the mood to talk. On Christmas Day,  she confessed that her real name was Glen Mumford Bailie. She had met Brenner, whose real name was Rowland Lee,  in Cincinnati a few months prior to their arrival in Springfield. She claimed that Lee’s accomplice was a man known as “Boogher” Bertram, someone they had met in St. Louis. The three were on their way to Tulsa, but had stopped in Springfield because they were low on funds. 

Police in several cities across the Midwest helped search for the fugitives. There was a possible sighting at Clinton, Missouri, where they may have been seen boarding a train. However, Springfield police chief D. C. Welch believed the men were likely headed for the Mexican border and asked El Paso border officials to watch for them. 

Miss Bailie believed that the two men would never be found. Bertram, she claimed “was the brains” of the operation. Lee, on the other hand, “had cast iron nerves but not an ounce of brains.” What Lee apparently had was charisma, which Bailie said made him the leader and enabled him “to exert a supernatural influence over Bertram and myself.” 

In early 1921, Lee and Bertram had still not been located and Bailie was charged with accessory to murder. Her bail was set at $5000. A group of local women wanted it reduced, but prosecuting attorney O. J. Page refused, pointing out that Bailie knew the men she traveled with were “stick-up men” and therefore she could not be trusted. It wasn’t until late May that Bailie’s attorney, Fred A. Moon, had her bond reduced and she was finally released after spending five month in the Greene County jail. By July, the charges against her were dropped and she was on her way to New York to stay with her “half-brother, Maxwell Hoblitchell.” 

Rowland Lee and “Booge” Bertram were never apprehended. 

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