The Portland daily press., 1883-12-13
BURNING BARNS FOR FUN.
Four Boys who Were Fond of Fires, and
Kent milwaukee Firemen Rusy.

MILWAUKEE, Dec, 12-The arrest last night
Of four boys, all SOUS OF respectable aud veal
thy citizsus. on a charge of arson, has mace
great sensation here. The little feiow5
are in the police station, and will be arraigned
for trial tomorrow They have confessed to
starting more than a dozen incendiary hres
the past month, aud their convictien wll De
easily effected.
Young Moffet to the son of Joseph Motfet,
dealer ia marble on Grand avenue. The boy
is 10 years old. Charles Millard is son OF A.
f. Millard, who is in business on Grand aVep-
ue The lad was IA years old last March,
Benuie Vests father is General +. H. West
a commission merchant living at 134 Tenth ST.
Benue was Is years old last July. Ernie
Finch is IA years old. His parents are now in
Sanborn, Iowa, where his father is master at
the Milwaukee & St. Paul machine shops,
while Ernie has been living with his grand
parents on Grand avenue. General West is
one of the most prominent soldier citizens of
Wisconsin. When he learned that his little
boy had been arrested on charge of arson, he
was wellnigh prostrated by the shock. All of
the boys except Moffet, who is regarded as the
ringleader, made confessions last night
Ttis afternoon Moffet made clean breast of
the whole matter. He said:
"Last September, while Millard and L were
10 the Fourth ward school clubhouse, We agreed
to set it OF fire just for the fun of the thing.
We then told West and Finch, and they prom
ised to help us. In the evening we carried an
armfulof shavings and shingles to the place,
and Finch struck match and lit the ire. we
then ran down Grand avenue until the eI-
gines came, when we returned to the fire. Al
ter that Finch said that when we wanted to
start another fire to let him know it and he'd
light it."
"Millari, Finch and l started the fire at e.
liott's barn. Three of us lit matches, but
Finch's went out and the other two were
placed against the hay sticking through the
cracks of the barn. We ran down to Fifth st.
4naru
ring the hre alarm.
Another time we were walking around and
came across Booths barn, when Finch said:
Here's good one, let's burnit,' and be then
lit match and set the hay on fire. We didn't
want the buildings to burn. We did it to
have some fun aud to get the fire department
out.
1--WE afterward fred the Buttles and Caswell
barns, but West had nothing to do with either
OF them. l proposed to burn Lindman's
feed store on the corner of Grand avenue and
Third st. one evening in November, l can't
remember the date. Finch, Millard and met
on the corner, when Finch went around back
and discovered o bale of hay right back OF the
hydrant, and struck match to it. We then
went up into the Public Library until the
alarm was sounded, and then ran to the
fire.
ST tried to set Wilson Blacks house, on
Grand avenue, on fire by placing bag OF
lighted hay in shed adjoining, but the fire
was discovered ann put out without sounding
an alarm. At the time of the fire at BeeIs'
stable, on Strong street, we made up our
minds to start il only three minutes before we
set it going. Finch lit match and threw it
in shed back of the stable. Another time we
set fire to stable in an alley between Seventh
and Eighth streets, near Grand avenue. The
fire was put out by Mrs. Notboum.
"Millard aud planned the burning of the
Harrison barn, on Twelfth street. Millard set
the FIRE. started the fire at my fathers place
unknown to the other boys. L set fire to an
old box in a wagon, but it didn't burn. sup
this.
The boys will be prosecuted to the full ex-
tent OF the law. Imprisonment for from eight
to twenty years is the penalty in this State.