Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1886-11-20
A New View Of the WOrkenausr Out
rage.
The REAL PARTIES TO THE CRIME.
A Sworn Statement Concerning Revelations
Made By Crook Who
AVOWED HIMSELF ONE OF THE GANG.

criminal occurrences of the year 1884, IN
this city and vicinity, and when there are
some faint hopes of bringing to justice
some of the cri minals engaged In certain
of the jobs then perpetrated, some hitherto
unpublished facts concerning the WOrken-
auer robbery, perpetrated on the morning
of Sunday, December 81, 1884, will prove
of decided interest. This crime, followed
within forty-eight hours by the Marllng
outrage, served to excite the pub
lie mind to an unparalleled degree, and
as robbery succeeded robbery, the
situation became really alarming, and
the residents of Fulton, after experiencing
a series of burglaries, formed Vigilance
Committee, picketed the pike at night
and gave public notice that summary
Justice would be meted out TO any thief
caught within the limits of the town. The
authorities were unusually active, and
after Intellectual efforts TO ferret out the
criminals the services OF PlnEer-
ton detective were enlisted. This gentle
mans arrival in the community was I'M
known save TO one or two county authOrl-
lies, and the fact of his presence here has
not heretofore been printed. The detec-
tive spent two or three weeks skirmlshinS
about in different DISCUSSES, but he was
soon suspected by the friends of the thieves
and was in turn so carefully Swallowed
by pals of the robbers that he frankly
acknowledged he could make no progress
| in the case, and took his departure for
Chicago no wiser than when he came.
In due time Thomas and William Me
GOwan, George Culver, John Culver, Ed
| ward Angus and JasperKincaid were arrest
ed and indicted for the Marling robbery,
and it was darkly limited by the authOri-
ties that they probably had a hand in the
Workenauer Job, but when the case came
| to a trial the confession of Jasper kincald
| and his narration of what he alleged to be
the facts in the case proved to be INSULT
cient to secure conviction, and the public
generally came to the conclusion that the
real criminals, and especially those engag-
ed in the WOrkenauer robbery, were at
large This view Of the case Is turned in
| to conviction, when one studies the Sltua-
| ton in the light afforded by the following
| facts:
About the 10th day of June, 1885, intOr-
nation was brought t6 Chief OF Police
| Porter Smith that resident Of BenwOOd,
whose name, for obvious reasons, II with
held, could supply information OF very
valuable nature, concerning the W0rkcn-
auer robbery, and Chief Smith at once
sought an interview with the man.
He said he was willing to
tell all he knew about the robbery, and
an appointment was accordingly made for
the following Saturday, June 18th. On
that day the gentleman put in an appear
ance at the Old Ark, on Market street,
and Notary Public having been summoned
Chief Smith went with them TO an upper
room in the building, when the BenwOOd
man was duly sworn. He thpn related the
following story some names being omit
| ted, which was reduced to writing by the
Notary and duly atteSted and signed: Il
| live at BenwOOd, Marshall county, W. va.
A week ago last Monday, in the evening,
nv wife and | visited neighb0r who
lives about two hundred yards below our
house. On our way back, it being after
dark, we met Thomas COndry and
another man, whose name | have for
gotten. As well - | can nov rrcollect
the man with COndry had light reddish
hair, and reddish mOustache. He was
neatly dressed, had sack coat, and
| wore a 'dicer' hat on his head,
but carried at the time cap in his
pocket. KNEW this latter fact because
the man, in the presence OF, my wife and
self, took out this cap from his pocket and
showed it to us We met Condry and the
man about nifty yards from the
! house of my father-in-law, - ---,
where | was then staying,
and from which my wife and | had short
time before we LETT TO go on our visit. We
met on the regular MOundsville county
road, they going down towards Mounds
willie and We coming toward Wheeling.
"On coming up, Tommy COndry spoke to
| me about ~ follows:
Hello, old hoy, I'm glad to see you"
in reply said: Let Us sit down here
and have quiet conversation
"ThereupOn we sat down on 4 pile of
logs on the right side of the road going
down. Ny wife at my request stepped few
yards aside but not out of hearing The
following talk then took place between US;
give the substance, and, as well as | can
the very words
''Condry-Have you seen the daily pa
persr
"Witness-YSs; ! have seen them and
read them.
''Condry-Rid you SEE or hear OF the
Fulton tearing ups
| Witness answered that had heard
about it, and | further said that ] had
noticed In the papers that the citizens of
Fulton had organized a Vigilance Commit
tee and proposed to take the law into their
I own hands and punish the chaps that had
recently been robbing their property and
burglarizing their houses.
"CQsdry latter pauseJ-What do you
think of the WOrkeIaGer robbery?
"Witness-l think it was pretty good
job.
"Condry-Well, was the man that
put that job up-f, Johnny Goppers and
"witness-TOm, how are you fixed at
present.
"Condry-I was never harder up in my
life. | have had some five or six big
stakes this winter, but they are all gone
now.
"Witness-What did you do with your
big stake:
''COndry-Why, spent it all bOOzing
around, drinking, sprecinG, and with
women IN PlttSburg and other places.
'WitneSs-Tommy, l have been hurt
recently, and the Doctor forbids my stay
ing out in the night all,
''Condry-I am sorry; would like 10
SIT out here and talk to you long time.
Witness-TOmmy, from what you tell
me, as soon rs you and your friend there
get away from these suburbs the better for
you.
| hCGpdry-Where can we get place to
sleep to-nighLI
"All this talk continued the witness
took place about 10 o'clock ut night, IN
the presence and bearing of my wife. In
stepping aside she had not gone over fifteen
or sixteen feet, being just across the road
from us, and she must have heard every