The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1886-11-18
STILL ON THE CASE.
THE LOWELL GANG AND ITS DEEDS
Recall Some "Reminiscences and Cause u
Good Deal of TAlk-Ths Alleged Dill
oulnes That Surround the AuthOri.
ties Hsre-A Good Law,

The main topic Of conversation about
town yesterday, as It was on the day be.
fore, was the story Of the crimes pVrpe-
tratei here in 1884 by the Lowell gang Of
burglars. In all the talk one thing was
commonly hssrd-the statement that
Wheeling Is the thisyes' paradise, This
Is scarcely Just, though at casual glance
the thing looks that way, 1ncldenla are
recalled which are difficult to understand,
Oaa Of these will bear telling now, though
several years have passed since 1t hap
pened.
One night about l A, N, persons who
were near the corner Of Main and Twelfth
streets were startled TO hear two shots
fired, One or two people ran toward the
place where the firing was, and found
Night Waterman Steve Crawford with q
smoking gun in hin hand, His story was
that thieves had entered Amick's shoe
stose by rear window, and he had heard
the noise and gone to investigate, when
he was fired on, Ha returned the fire, and
believed no had hit one OF the men,
The police laughed at this story. An
IETELLldgNCgR reporter for special rea.
soma took stock" ipit,apd made some in
vestgRtions, lie dropped the case with
out making publication, but enough was
learned to know that q local crook was ly-
ing at his home suffering with gun shot
wound in the leg, The investigations by
one without authority were Of course made
under difficulties, which difficulties were
increased by opposition from officials,
Lln,,k kbok finn tbnFa tuara nupnapn10
burglsrlss and highway robberies, None
OF the perpetrators were over brought 10
Justice, OF recent months burglaries
nave been Grstifyingly uncommon, though
this 10 moro the result Of good luck than
good management,
When the officials are spoken to or their
| inacEion criticized, they have been wont
to say there is no adequate law here To
protect the community from thieves.
Yet when two burglars struck tho
town all ready for business, and
one Of them was run in at OnCa
by Officer Duffy, one OF the justiCes found
law to send him to jail for a year as gus.
pIClous character. While 1t Is true that
he was soon released, he never bothered
Wheeling, nor was his companion ever
Hpeu uOfb hlVbT JUS uue hEEehb'
Had the Lowell gang been run in as sus'
piCious parsons enough could have been
shown to send them up under that liw.
This would have stopped the burglaries,
The law Il q good one to put into exsCu'
ton, yet 1t has never been tried but once.
There are men in Wheeling to-day who
ara we'll known 10 be crooks. The most
OF them only furnish pointers for PROBES.
sional C.acksmen who come this way,
Some OF them are sneak thieves, but none
OF them are ever caught unless by acct
don't.
The complaint made by officials that
there are no funds available for detective
work is we'll founded. II Is the gensral
opinion that somebody in authority ought
to have at his disposal funds to pay
necessary expense1 Of investigating
CrimeR. It 10 also argued by OF,
hcials and others Interested in tue noting
out Of Justice that there should 10 some
sort OF q special force Of police, hnuui
formed, and not known 90 officers. 1t Il
almost impossible for q policeman to do
efficient work in ferreting out criminals
as their uniforms put everybody on theil
guard, even were all tho lawleBs clRsseE
not we'll posted concerning them. Attic
last session Of the Legislature Prosecutor
Jordan attempted 10 have a law passed
authorizing the employment Of a specla,
secret service, but II failed to pass. The
effort will probably be made again mex
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