Time Machine: Mayor’s murder

CEDAR RAPIDS - John T. Carmody was an experienced machinist when he arrived in Cedar Rapids from Lima, Ohio, in 1885. He immediately went to work for Whiting Bros. foundry as foreman.

Within two years, F.H. Whiting had bought out his brother, and the company became Whiting Manufacturing Co., with Carmody as superintendent. A new brick building was added to the general machine shop at the northeast corner of 12th Avenue and Fourth Street. Among its other contracts, Whiting secured one for pipes and manholes in the city's new sewer system.

Carmody became the sole owner of the factory in 1889, renaming it J.T. Carmody Foundry & Machine Co. In 30 years, the company would become Iowa Steel & Iron Works.

Carmody was beginning an expansion plan when the main building caught fire April 22, 1902. A small blaze on the northeast corner of the oil-soaked building's roof first was noticed by Frank Sindelar, who operated a saloon across from the factory. He ran to the nearest fire alarm box, but by the time firefighters arrived, the building was fully engulfed. Sindelar was convinced the fire was caused by a spark from a passenger train that passed the building only seconds before he saw flames.

The next morning, The Gazette reported, 'The burned and charred ruins of the big plant presented a very discouraging view this morning, but Mr. Carmody was on the ground early and announced that it is his intention to rebuild the plant at once, commencing work as soon as the insurance claims are adjusted.”

Out of the ashes came a new building with all new equipment.

'The heavier work is handled with a traveling crane, with a capacity of 50 tons. Two cupolas, one with a capacity of ten and the other of 16 tons capacity an hour, furnish the liquid metal for the great foundry. Air compressors furnish power for riveting, shaping and caulking. Mr. Carmody ... manufactures the best fire escape known to the trade, to be found on nearly every large building in Cedar Rapids. His automatic counterbalance for the lower flight of steps stands without comparison. Mr. Carmody also makes a specialty of designing automatic machinery for all purposes, a branch of the business that is constantly increasing. He also devotes much attention to the manufacture and jobbing of steam and hot water heating plants, having installed nearly all the big jobs of the character in the city, his latest being at Mercy Hospital,” said a Gazette article on Jan. 9, 1904.

Carmody's success led to his election as mayor on March 30, 1908, the first under Cedar Rapids' commission form of government. He took a hands-on approach as mayor. For example, on May 4, 1908, he accompanied the chief of police and two officers on the raid of a gambling house. 'When I stated on taking the office that there would be no gambling in Cedar Rapids, I meant every word of it,” he told a reporter.

Carmody was in office a little more than a year when an armed robber started making the rounds in Cedar Rapids' southeast neighborhood.

Dr. J.H. Smith and his son Isaac were held up in their home at 2:30 a.m. May 20 by two men in black masks. D.I. Morgan was burglarized while he slept the night of May 21, with the thief leaving bare footprints in a freshly oiled floor. A third burglary occurred at the home of C.F. Luberger around 2:30 a.m. May 22. Late the next night, the Rev. Donnelley, assistant rector at Immaculate Conception Church, became the next victim. He was awakened by a noise and saw a shadow of a man in his room. The man took a watch and some cash and fled. Donnelley called the police, and while officers were there, they heard the sounds of shots being fired and women screaming.

Carmody's wife, Mary, was awakened by the sound of a burglar in the bedroom. She called out to her husband, and the intruder struck her in the neck. She called out again and Carmody awoke. He sprang up and wrestled the intruder into the hallway. When the intruder managed to get free on the stairs, he turned, firing two shots, one of which hit Carmody.

In the meantime, Mary Carmody had climbed through a window to a veranda and started screaming for help. Carmody's mother-in-law also woke and began to scream.

Officers Christenson and Graham ran to the Carmody home, where they found Mayor Carmody shot in the stomach. They rushed to secure the doors and called a doctor.

A woman who lived across the street ran to the house. She saw evidence of a struggle and Carmody lying on a lounge downstairs, his nightgown bloody and his hand over his stomach. When he saw her, he said, 'The coward got me here.”

Carmody was taken to St. Luke's Hospital. Although his condition was serious, his doctor expected the mayor to recover. But Mayor Carmody never left the hospital. He died Aug. 7, 1909.

The Gazette reported on Aug. 9, 'For many weeks Mr. Carmody's friends have realized that he had only a slim fighting chance. ... The immediate cause of Mayor Carmody's death was typhoid fever, which developed within a day or two after he had been taken to the hospital.”

All city business ceased Aug. 10 for the funeral of Mayor Carmody. The service was held at Grace Church, followed by a cortège to Oak Hill Cemetery.

On Dec. 24, Arthur Johnson, alias J.A. Harris, a career criminal from Chillicothe, Mo., was given a life sentence for the murder of Mayor Carmody.