The Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, W. Va.
Tuesday Morning, September 17, 1912

MISS IROLER SAYS SHE STILL EXPECTS TO WED EDWARDS

Indignantly Denies That She Betrayed Sweetheart or Shared Reward.

DID NOTHING TO ASSIST OFFICERS IN CAPTURE

Large Crowd at Depot to See Sidna Allen and Wesley Edwards Pass Through, and Prisoners, Brought Down to Shed by Detectives, Are Deluged With Questions.

Sidna Allen and Wesley Edwards, in charge of Officers W. G. Baldwin, L. L. Lucas and O. B. Mundy, of the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency, and accompanied by Miss Maude Iroler, the sweetheart of Edwards, and the one who was probably the innocent cause of the capture, passed through Bluefield yesterday morning on No. 4, en route to Roanoke, where Allen and Edwards will be confined in jail until their trial. Quite a crowd was at the station in hope of getting a view of the famous outlaws, who have been fugitives from justice so long, and the crowd would have been much larger had it been positively known on what train the prisoners would be taken through. Many who expected to see them were not on hand, as it was scarcely thought the trip could be made in the short time that has elapsed since the capture. In order that the spectators might obtain a view of the prisoners and that the car might not be packed, Mr. Baldwin had the prisoners brought down to the shed for a few minutes, and they were soon surrounded by a rapidly increasing crowd and deluged with questions, which they seemed not averse to answering, when given the opportunity.

Allen and Edwards were handcuffed together and were not disposed to be sullen, seemingly being perfectly willing to answer any question put to them. To a representative of the Telegraph, they stated that many reputed interviews with them were false and that they had said very little since their arrest. Both expressed themselves as being confident of receiving a favorable verdict if they were accorded a fair trial. Edwards affirmed the statement made shortly after his arrest, that he had read in an afternoon paper of the arrest of Sidna Allen and started back to the city, regardless of consequences, because of his sweetheart.

Sidna Allen looks anything but like his picture, copies of which have been widely circulated throughout the country. Instead of the bold fearless look, seen so often in the papers, he has a haggard hunted look. He has grown a moustache and looks very much like the typical mountaineer, who is frequently met with in Carroll county. He has not the physique that his picture seems to indicate and he is now slightly stooped. His expression is not in keeping with his hopeful words and the hopeless look in his eyes shows that he is fully aware of his awful predicament. Edwards, on the other hand, does not look so despondent, and only in his eyes is seen the despairing look of the hunted man. He is a man of splendid build and carries himself well, looking his questioners squarely in the face, with only a nervous shifting of the eyes to denote his realization of the plight he is in and the fate which undoubtedly awaits him. His eyes went constantly to his sweetheart during the interview and he is evidently very much in love with her.

Many people wished to obtain a look at Miss Iroler, but few were accorded the privilege, as she shut herself in the drawing room of the Pullman before reaching this city and stated that she did not wish to converse with any one. A representative of the Telegraph was finally granted a short interview, and she seemed perfectly willing to talk upon certain lines. Miss Iroler stated most emphatically that she had not betrayed her sweetheart and indignantly denied the reports that she had claimed any of the reward. She said that she had gone west with the intention of marrying Wesley Edwards and expected yet to become his wife. She said that all reputed interviews and statements to the contrary were absolutely false. This statement was corroborated by Officer w. G. Baldwin, who stated to a Telegraph reporter that Miss Iroler had intentionally done nothing to assist the officers in the capture and that there had been many falsehoods spread over the country regarding this phase of the pursuit and capture.

Miss Iroler is a slender girl, looking some eighteen years of age. She is a decided blond and is not pretty. She appeared of a cheerful disposition and is the type who laughs a great deal while engaged in conversation. She stated that she did not live in Mt. Airy N. C., as had been stated, but that she was a resident of Carroll county and that her home was not very far from that of her sweetheart. It has been stated in hundreds of dispatches that her visit to Des Moines was the cause of the capture of Allen and Edwards and it is possibly true that this event hastened their capture, but it is known that the outlaws had been practically located by officers of the agency, who have been in the mountains upon the case, and that their inevitable capture had been forecast for some time.

Much credit for the location and capture of the outlaws belongs to Officers Lucas and Mundy, who have been at work on the case continually since the fatal shooting of the court officials at Hillsville. Officer Lucas is a resident of Bluefield and his part in the capture of Claude Swanson Allen and in the pursuit and capture of the last two of the outlaws has made hi famous as a persistent and tireless officer and one who will be heard from many times in the work of the well known agency, which he represents.