The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1871-09-14
THE ROBBERY YESTERDAY.

The daring robbery of one oil our city
banks at noon yesterday, while not as
successful as it might have been and as
the robbers desired, was still attended
with sufficient success to afford very
unpleasant encouragement 10 future at
tempts OF the kind. There was dash
and boldness about the affair that was
worthy of Dick TURPIN and that shows
that, although the perpetrators may
have some partnership with our gang
of home outlaws, they mad learned their
trade elsewhere than in Wheeling.
Had Mr.. FEENEY, the bank teller, been
more easily frightened or less ready with
his revolver, the thieves would proba-
bly, be rejoicing today in the possession
of a much better haul than they got
As it is, however, the success was suffi-
Gent to tempt a renewal Of the expert
ment and suggest to all our people
some measures of precaution.
For some weeks past there have been
complaints of thefts and burglarles at
various points between this city and
Baltimore. The nuisance became so
great in Cumberland that the citizens
were forced to form vigilance COM
mittee" to assist the officers OF the law
in the protection Of property. Since
that time the thieves seem to have dis
appeared from Cumberland and quiet
and security have been restored. 1t Is
possible that q portion Of the same gang
that has been operatingin Cumberland,
Piedmont, Grafton, Fairmont and other
towns along the railroad may now be
here. The Acadian simplicity Of our
CITY government and the boundless
confidence our people have in each
others honesty and that Of the whole
world, render Wheeling a sort OF Para
disc for thieves, but fortunately very
few ofthem have yet discovered 1t. Our
City Council and policemen so to bed at
night and sleep the sleep Of unsuspect-
mp innocence, having boundless trust
that no serious depredations will be
committed. AS ii to avoid creating un-
necessary trouble, the thieves yesterday
selected the hour of noon and the prln-
cipal street of the city as the time and
place for replenishing their purses, and
walked off with their booty to some safe
place of concealment, in the face OF
half dozen astonished citizens who
saw but did not dare to arrest them.
There is one precautionary measure
against affairs of this kind that we hope
to see adopted; it is law authorizing
the police to arrest or Danish from the
city persons whom they have good
reasons to know are thieves, but against
whom no legal warrant can be issued
under our present code. 1t is said that
the men who committed the robbery
yesterday have been noticed by the
police during several days past and
were known to be professional thieves.
Until they were detected in the COM
mission of some crime they could not
be arrested, nor even warned to leave
the city. There are perhaps a dozen
men here all the time who are known
to the police as outlaws, but under our
present law, nothing can be done to rid
the city of their presence until they
commit some crime upon which war
rant can be based. We need law that
will enable the police to compel those
suspected persons to "move on" to
leave the city or 60 to Jail. The COM
mittee on Ordinances in the City Coun-
Gil should be instructed to inquire into
the power of the Council to afford this
protection, and such measures should
be taken as may be necessary to give
this power to the Sergeant and his
deputies. With it the robbery of yes
terlay might have been avoided and
many burglaries prevented in the future.