The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1888-01-09
CHARGED WITH ARSON.
A DESPERATE ATTEMPT To BURN
An leland store and Residence Yesterday,
followed By the Arrest of q Prominent
ciaisa charged with the Chne-A
son,atiOnal Case all Round.
Cousiderable excitement Was occaaioned

Considerable Excitement was occasioned
IN the Island yesterday morning when the
,eslden,s Of that quiet part Of the city
,rooe, by the report that at an early hour
IN the morning a desperate and cold
FLOODED attempt had been mRdet to destroy
4 building by FIRE under circumstances
which gsemed to indicate thst murder was
A part Of the iucendIsry's design.
Shortly after four o'clock Mr.. r. B. Burt,
a we'll known young druggist whose place
Of business is on Virginia street not far
from South Penn street, was awakened by
soms noise or from some other cause, and
noticed apercepdble smell Of wood smoke.
Looking out the window Of the email room
in which he aleepg, situated in the rear Of
the store, he saw bright blaze on a small
porch next the rear Of tho store.
He rushed out and found the fire bum.
inc mn both walls Of the porch and scorch-
ing the ceiling overhead. a large TN can
containing about thirsy-hve gallons oil
gasoline sat within short distance Of the
blaza, and in another second or two 1t
must have been ignited, causing disaB'
troug explosion, and the scattering OF the
burning fluid would have quickly COM
pleted the work Of destruction.
M, Burt caught hold Of the can and
nulled It TO q place Of safety, and then
With a broom beat out the flames as well
az he could. His mother, who lives up
Btsirs in the building, heard the noise and
came to bis aid with water, and the TWO
managed to extinguish the flames Just IN
time TO prevent seriouB fire.
But for the accidental or proVidenial
awakening Of Mr. Burt at the moment he
swoke. the house must inevitably have
been destroyed, and the adjoining pro
peIty could scarcely have escaped. me
<orst feature Of the case Wss that tne
burn!ug Of the property in tho night
wonld hsve involved the death Of MIS-
BSTt and possibly Of her son Slso.
The fire was plai1ly Of inCendlary, origin
Thu wooden walls OF the house and porch
had hsen drenched with kerosene, turpen'
fine and other dangerous inhammablt
Gnids and the oil also scattered over thf
floor. Before making the attempt at THU
noint. an effort had been msde to sot IRE
n the front OF tho store. Augur holet
had been bored in the board panel be-
meath the show window and kerosene suc
other oil forced in with asyringe' Il &C
bsppened that the panel was OF very thick
timber. instead Of the light board which Il
looked like, and this plan was aoanuoneu'
The syringe was left on the premises
As coon as the fames were extinguish'
ed, Mr.. Burt summoned Officer McNicho!s
and the two inspected the surroundings
Int owing to the darkness could arrive 81
no conclusion except thst the fire was oil
InCendiary origin.
After daylight Mr.. Burt renewed his
investigations alone. He found number
Of very significant clues, among them The
syringe, and traces foil which had dripped
from the can in which 1t had been car
ried 10 the spot. Officer Wallie Lukenee,
OF the police force, was then summoned
snd he and Mr.. Burt continued the exam
nation with fruitful rcsult5.
SO clearly did the circumstances sur
rounding the fire seem to indicate the
guilt Of one person. that Officer Lukena
called Squire W. H. Davis out OF church
and swore out warrant for the suspected
party, MIR. Frank Falloure, well known
resident Of the leland.
A search OF the premises indicated that
the oil used, both on the porch and in the
front part, and that now in the syringe,
was prepared the boiler room Of Mr.. Fall
lours's drug store. The hearth in front
Of the boiler was still covered With the
mixture when Justice Day:s, with the OIL
GERS, visited the room at one o'clock yes.
terdsy, It can be traced by drippings all
the way from the boiler room up the steps
leading out Of the basement into the
ward, There is only one small room be-
tween the two drug stores. Il plainly
shows that the syringe and vesaol used to
carry the oil out OF Ealloure's cellar were
all filled down In that cellar. Falloure,
when arrested, manifested but little con-
Germ about the matter. While IN the Jus.
tees Office he asked the Justice what
time It wAs said this fire was discovered.
A young man, Who Ia an important wit
neep, says that between and 8 o'clock
Sunday morning as no was going home
and when within few yards OF BurSs
drug store, he saw q man With gum boots
on, wearing an oyercoat Of rather grayish
hue, in and around urt'spremises, actinRin
q very suspicioaa manner. The descrtp-
tIon Of the size, dreas and gum boots, suits
Falloure. The police found that he had
a pair Of gum boots, and took possession
OF them. Other parties are also suspected,
as they were seen and known to be in
that immediate locality yesterday morn
ing.
and wept. His friends, while dazed by
the mass Of evidence Of damaging char
acter, do not accept 1t as necessarily true
that he Ia the guilty party, and express Q
belief that some enemy OF both Burt and
Falloure adopted thissure.means otreYenEe
upon both Of them-burning Mr., Burt's
place and directing suspicion by care
fully laid train Of oiTcumstantial evidence
to Falloure. II Falloure is guilty, the
carelessneSs with which he furnished the
evidence for his own condemnation leads
10 the suspicion that his mind Ia not
sound. At any rate, Mr.. Falloure'a family
has right to ask suspension Of judgment.
They have the sympathy Of their neigh
bors.