Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-09-14
AN OLD CRIME.

AN OLD CRIME. ..-
The Robbery and Murder Fourteen Years
Aga Lawyer Thinks He Has Found One
Of the Gang Who Committed the Deed.
Philadelphia Times
On the morning of October 7, 1865,
James Needs, the colored porter en-
ployed at S. S. Whites dental depot, 528
Arch street, was found dead, gagged and
bound, in the Office, on the second floor
Of the building, and the safe robbed of
$4,000 worth of gold, silver and platina,
used as material in the manufacture of
artificial teeth. One arrest was made,
but the evidence was not positive enough,
and since then the case has slumbered IN
police pigeon-holes, bidding fair to re-
main a mystery. Yesterday the tragedy
was revived in a very strange manner.
Mayor Stokely received letter from
John P. Vincent, attorney -at-law at Erie,
Penn, under date OF August 9Th, to this
effect: "Was private or public watch
man murdered at the corner Of Arch
and Ninth streets, in your CITY,
about twenty or twenty -four years ago?
II so was any one punished for the crime
or suspected of it? If the murder I allude
to was the one committed it was in den
lists Office on aSunday morning. A man
in this county, when under fear of death
from severe illness, confessed the commits
sion of such crime. 1t may be mere
falsehood. If true it must be in your
power to verify the fact as to whether or
not the crime was committen. The man
said that $1,000 was offered for the detec
ton Of the murderer" Vincent refers to
Honorable Henry Rawle, the Judges of
the Supreme court and many other gentle
men Of Philadelphia, as vouchers for his
own reputation. The police folks are not
inclined to place much reliance in this
story on account of the discrepancy in
time, the White affair having been
fourteen years ago instead of twenty, was
on Saturday, not on Sunday, and the
scene on Fifth and Arch streets instead
Of Ninth. 1t is, however, possible that
these are Incidental to the lapse of time
in efaclng circumstances from the mem
DRY. There is no intimation conveyed
on the letter as to how the lawyer
came IN possession of his information or
the name of the relator. The murder Of
Needs created great excitement at the
time of its commission. He was a colored
man, residing on Pearl street near Elev-
enth, and was engaged to be married the
subsequent week. The safe in which the
material was kept was upon platform
at the back portion OF the second-story
room, Mr.. White also occupying the up
per floors. At night Waterman was in
charge, who had to register his visits
on each floor every hour. Every morn
ing at six o'clock Needs went to him, got,
the keys from the engineer, opened the
place, took the trays Of precious natal
out Of the safe and deposited them under
the counter ready for the foreman. The
men who planned the robbery had doubt
less reckoned upon the regularity of the
porter's habits to accomplish their de-
signs. When he assembled the stairs they
are supposed to have followed him noise
lessly, and, having removed their shoes,
crept upon him. He was then felled by
sudden blow with hammer or club
presumably the latter, as blood-stained
hickory stick was picked up. He was then
gagged and bound to prevent noise and
carried, insensible as he was, to the back
part of the room. Then the thieves
opened the safe with his keys. They tore
open the ends of envelopes, probably in
the search for bonds. Finding nothing
in that line they took the gold, silver and
platinum, valued at $4,000. One of the
workmen raised window about this
time and the villains fled. leaving their
victim tightly bound. They locked the
front door after them to prevent pursuit.
When the door was forced afterU ard
Needs was found dead, the testimony Of
the coroner's physician being that he had
persisted from strangulation, the wounds
on the head and and face not being NOR
tai. The affair in this feature somewhat
resembles the Hull murder in New York
by Chastine Cox. The verdict of the
coroner's jury was in accordance with
these facts, the opinion being that the
robbers did not intend to take life. The
Gle Tvs for the police were the club and a
brand-new chisel wrapped in brown pa
per. Every hardware store on Market
street was visited, and finally August
Franzell, 755 Market street, identified the
implement as one he had sold a few DAYS
before by his figures upon the brown
wrapper. Old Joseph Taggart and
George Handy Smith, the detective, kept
sharp eyes on all the pawn-offices and
smelters' shops for the stolen metals, but
Intellectually. The thieves were too sharp
to attempt to dispose of such rare met
al as platinum, and probably threw it
away. The others were more negotiable.
Suspicion directed itself toward Hugh
Donnelly, a well-knewn thief. It became
known that he and companion had
been around the neighborhood OF Fifth
and Arch streets. Donnelly's pal disap-
peared and went to Baltimore two DAYS
after the robbery, and Donnelly shaved
off his own mustache for some reason.
The police suspected reason and arrest
ed him. The hardware dealers at first
identified Donnelly, but at the inquest
was not positive. So Donnelly was dis
charged. But to this day some OF the
old detectives believe he was one of the
men. The jury's verdict was that the
crime was done by unknown persons.
The Mayor offered $500 reward and DR..
White 81 900 more for the criminals, but
no further clew has ever been found. A
further communication from the Erie
lawyer is awaited with interest.