The Lamoille news. (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1877-1881, 1878-05-01

that Mr.. Wood can do good work.
Viewed from the stand point of
young Meeker's innocence or his guilt,
and the affair that excited our people
last Friday is one of the saddest that
has occurred for some time. An ac-
cident that would have torn from the
young man limb or deprived him of
his sight or his speech would have
been commented upon as a terrible
calamity. This affair, however, casts
a shadow over one of the brightest
young men in Lamoille county. On
Tuesday night last, some one entered
the depot at this place and took from
10 to Is dollars in silver from the
money drawer. The agent, Mr.. Town,
as is his custom, had taken out the
bills, amounting to a hundred dollars
or more, leaving only the change. At
night when he locked up he discovered
that the key leading from the gents to
the ladies' room had been stolen and
suspecting something wrong he exam
ined the windows in the ladies' room
and discovered that one of them had
been unfastened. He refastened it
and left the depot as he supposed Sc
curely locked and all the windows
fastened. After missing the money
on Wednesday morning he again ex-
amined the windows and found the
one in the baggage room unfastened.
Suspicion for some cause fell on a
young man in this village but on his
arrest and examination he was dis
charged. 1t then occurred to Mr..
Town that Fred Meeker of MorrisviIIe
had been about the depot some time
on Tuesday afternoon. And, more
over, he remembered that he had pass
ed into both the ladies' and the bag
gage room. This occasioned sufficient
suspicion to cause the arrest of Mr..
Meeker. On his person was found a
pouch containing from five to six dol
lars in silver and in his wallet was a
dollar bill and some other change. At
the justice trial on Friday last the pros
ecution established the following facts
Mr.. Meeker was at the depot on Tues
day afternoon. He represented that
he was going to st. Adams. He was
known to go into the ladies' room and
also into the baggage room and the
door was shut after him in both in
stances. A window in each room was
found unfastened. And on the morn
ing after the theft the window in the
baggage room was found slightly rails
ed. 1t also showed that on Tuesday
Meeker had left an unpaid bill for din
ner at the American House and one for
billiards at Clark's in Morrisvillc. On
Wednesday he paid both these bills
and also spent money here and there
to toe amount of nearly four dollars.
On Tuesday he had secured of Mr..
Noyes of the bank bag to carry sill
yer. Mr.. Noyes thought the bag
found on Mr.. Meeker the same that
he had given him. Sheriff Lanpher,
who made the arrest, questioned
Meeker, who represented to him that
he had earned his money saving wood.
No such plea was made, however, by
the defence at the trial. The prose-
cution also showed by his bed-fellow
that on Tuesday night Mr.. Meeker
came in quite late, he could not tell
just what time Of night, but he him
self did not retire until half past nine
and had been asleep, he knew not how
long. The defence made no attempt
to prove the whereabouts ofMr. Meeker
and only strove to show how he came
by the money found on him. They
endeavored to show this by the evil
dence Of several who had seen rplayed
with Meeker at a five cent game OF
poker. and testified to his having won
from five to seven dollars at the game.
Mr.. Meeker was bound up in the sum
of 800 dollars, J. S. Whitney, court,
Brigham for the State and Fisk fol
defendant. The case is too fragrant
an one to be passed without comment.
The defence set up was almost as bad
as the otfense. In the hotel at Nor
risville, which ought to be first-class
and respectable, according to one wit
ness 6 or z young men were employed
in gambling. Now any any one at all
familiar with gambling knows that il
is almost if not quite invariably ac-
companied with the use Of strong
drink. Here then is the solution Of
the crime. A young man of excellent
parts and superior advantages falls in
to the outer currents of the maelstrom