Cape Breton's Magazine

Sheriff James C. MacKillop Remeinbers • 'the Hanging of Emmett Sloane INTRODUCTION: His name was Emmett Sloane. His name was Carl Anderson. When he was arrested, he had been us? ing the name Albert Brown, posing as a bond salesman from Montreal. His name was Ingvald Bing Anderson. As the song would later say, "he brought honour, fame and glory to the United States" • referring to his career as an Olympic ski- jump Champion. But by Febru? ary 1930, he was alone and he was wandering and he was out of a job. He had run out of mon? ey and luck and ideas in Syd? ney, Cape Breton Island. He had run up some debts. He had ap? parently not worked for months. He was staying then at the Nor? folk Hotel on George Street. He called the desk clerk, De- blois Rehberg, up to his room. Something was wrong with the light. While the desk clerk turned to fix it, he struck him over the head. He went through his pockets; the desk clerk, who usually carried money, had nothing on him. He went down? stairs for the cash in the till, but another person was at the desk. So he left the Norfolk Hotel • left town, walking, in a terrible snowstorm. He was captured at a lumber camp out? side of Sydney, was tried and was hanged at the old county jail on Welton Street, May 20,1930 • the next-to-the- last man to be publicly hanged in Cape Breton. He was bur? ied at Hardwood Hill. Some say he was later taken up and moved to the United States. At least two songs were com? posed about him. Some remember him as Carl Anderson and some as Emmett Sloane. Sherrif James C. MacKillop remembered him as Emmett Sloane: Sheriff MacKillop: At that time I was just a guard at the county jail.... I was at the jail for just a month and 9 days. It was on February the 8th, 1930, that this mur? der was committed. In the early hours of the morning of the 8th.... The murder was committed after midnight at this hotel in Sydney. He called the desk about 2 o'clock in the morning and told them the light was out in his room, would they send somebody up to replace the light. And this man came up and he had a stepladder. Sloane was in bed, all dressed up. He had a bar, an iron bar. And when the night clerk came up, he went over and put the ladder up under the light, and he climbed up, and Sloane jumped out of bed and hit him with the bar, and of course he fell to the floor, and he was dead. FROM TRIAL TESTIMONY: According to a description of the events of that February morning • testimony given during Sloane's appeal for a second trial (Rex vs Sloane, April 14, 1930) • Catherine Hussey, a cook at the hotel, "went upstairs and in passing along the hall she heard someone in Room 9 'kind of crying' and pulling at the handle of the door. She did not know that (Sloane) occupied Room 9 and thought the per? son inside was drunk and proceeded to her work. She had oc? casion to go upstairs again about 7:30 and heard moans from someone in Room 9. For the same reasons as before she passed by without making any investigation." FROM THE TRANSCRIPT OF THE TRIAL (Feb, 1930), Mil? dred Devoe, a chamber maid. said: "When 1 passed No. 9 1 heard groans, and 1 did not pay any attention. 1 just went on to No. 6, and when 1 came out of No 6 1 went to the door and lis? tened, and 1 thought it was Mr. Sloane that had been drink ing and was just making a racket in his room. From there 1 went to breakfast and af? ter 1 finished 1 came up again on the same floor and listened and the groans were getting worse. It was a terrible W'''i'USO'm'' wS'KKBI'SSBKHSflf' 'MS'B/ISSBSS''SkL ''Mfl'Mf''''pfigB'HRHS''k HKMpiJ'''i'''''lj'QSK''gR'I'''S'' 'MiKnn''n''Lffl : PI'''MS'A'r*' '?''j''''H ji' sfer '' .'''''mB b ff'" j''''l'Bigg J'& V wr'''|9||QPn[ Bag >y, '''S'SkIu m Wb ini">lw'tVf'iLi?''''SMSSH' s 'S?? '''''l'k' MsSS''''K.''''''''''' K HB j'''oS' w'''"''''''''''!''' 31 HB '''w' ""' W' 's'sw' ''''H ' gK ''l'''g l'K '' '''''MKjSJt jBL ' 4k v'B'''raic rHl ''&.&' ''' ''BS'H''' S'K ' ' ''I'S'SKv' 'g'fflaMM'' ??Sk nnL|r|mWMM''fe;' B''BL ij|ffrti1'tyft|||)ji|j|''flE''SHBBBHi k. BH'L'Aat'KaaaMi'v'w'HHBMBBB'B H hHHIl ''''s'h''IHHSSHHB 1 'H'HL''' 'SH''Hufl'''l H HH'''L. ''mSB'hHSII'H'hI B B''''Ht'''''hB''HSS'''''''B H '''''Is J'S'BBptyj'l'BH''''M K mamsm-- JHhI