The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1889-11-28
V1ss.n.1gson : t1sassce-
RAILWAY ROBBERIES..

i. RAILWAY ROBBERIES.
On Monday night last there occurred
on tho Missouri, Kansas and Texas
train north bound for st, Louis, one Of
those daring robberies 8" frequent III
these days. Two unen. who lad lsin
concealed in clump Of bushes near u
water tank, in . desert place in tue
Indian Territory. took possession of
tho engineers c;.bn,!d tile Express Car,
while u thi,d uncouplel the Express
car from the rest Of the train. The |
express was moved OIL and robbed Of
about $5O, ,OO0. Happily the passengers
were not disturbed aud no lives were
list. But it is high time that some ef-
fective system or plan Of defense Of
railway trains with the valuable lives
and property they carry. Robbery of
this magnitude is profitable enough 10
encourage the indefinite mslii iplicutiun
Of such outraRes.. There is capital,
@udxcity, skill and devilish pluck en-
gagged in the business. Railway travel
is ~ perilous as the coach travel H.
Europe when brigands and banditti
held their reign of terror over all its
highways. Then when man went On
journey he settled his affairs, spirit.
unl and temporal. rs though he were
going upon n battle (ield and prayers
were offered for him in the churches.
Now like peril seems to inpend over
every traveller IN any railway train,
the danger being especially great IL
trains carrying mails and express
matter.
Is there to be better protection af
fordej to lives and pr"rerty? Is i.
just the thing for trains to stop night
after night ak regular hours ut water
tanks in lonely places where robbers
may conveniently lie ambnsl,eh, will,
no guards at the engineers cab. or at
any other point on the train t" prevent
suspicious parties from boarding it?
Il it business like to have trains so
that they may be boarded by any
body away from regular stations
with no hand to binder, ~ even to
make the guilty tresspasser afraid?
So far as appears from the it,
cident above alluded to not the slight
est impcdiment was in the way of the
invaders, not even = closed door, nor
= challenging voice to cry "halt ~ at
the entrance Of cab or car. Such y
condition of confdinR simplicity will
do in the millennium. when it comes,
bit the isnpcrfectly sancti tifi' d regions
OF Texas and ti- Indian Territory de-
Inand better protection for travellers
and property in trausit. The e, gine+r
was ''covrred" with the rohber $ pis-
t"l before the whe-'s had fairly quit
r.v'lvin2. The express car seems to-
have been easily accessible. Robbery
is made easy by such d.fencrlcss CON
diti"ns. M"re than that, sucl, y
state Is;an encouragement to criminals
IT necessary let the general a.'v-rn.
n,ent do \ little l-gis:atinn, Mn.! usil;z.
a"n,e of its military force I" protect
trains. Men with ,n.'nrv ard Trains
enough to run railroad and express
buSi;'.ss oan surely Il" something tn
stamp out this imHn nse evil.
H,n. Geo. II. PeHdlrt"n. late u. =.
Minister t" Germany, died sn.i~.rnly
dirine the last week. Mr.. l'endlptnn
WAS dpscentl-d from patri"tic rtvo
lutionary family, and Was himself y
man of culture, ability a'r' elegant
manners. Although, resident in Ohio
his politics were extremely SM,s hern.
Nothing but his amiahle persona al char.
sctrr saved him from popular odimm
brc,use "f his opposition to Li.coln's
war measures. He was the candidate
TO: Vice President on the ticket with
Gen. Mcclellan, but he did not add
materially tn the strength of the ticket
He was \ candidate for the Pres den-
championship of the proposition to 10
sue Rrrenbacks sufficient to pay of tire
b'nied war debt did not prove to be y
winning card. and his party would not
trust its standard in his hands. His
strength wss not in pclitics but in his
upright and xmisble personal charac-
ter His wife was lady who did not
conceal her southern sympathies in the
war time. who welded much influence
over him. Her sudden death by acci'
dent was to him virtually deathblow.
He never recovered from tho shock.
Had he lived earlier or later he would
have been a more successful leader in
nati onal affai.s. His views and sym
pathies weIe not III accord with the
trend Of ideas and events in his times
A Chicago dispatch dated Dec. 26tll
says that startling developments are
being made rapidly concerning thu
alleged one million dollar swimdls oi
Fredericksen Il Co., land agents l,
is asserted that thousands of settlers
mainly Scandinavisns in various ives.
tern states who have paid their money
and got, ~ they supposed, valid titles
from Fredericksen & Co., and who fin,