Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-01-31
STOLEN BOOKS.
HOW THE STATE AND CITY LIBRARIES
WERE RAIDED.
Books Purloined and Shipped to Michi-
gan, but Recovered-Some Neat
Detective Work.

State Librarian Wallis has been doing
very neat bit of detective work. For some
two months past he had been missing
books from the State Library, but was for
q long time unable to get any clue upon
which to base suspicion upon any one in
particular. Among the regular visitors TO
the library was young man named Elmer
Hagenbaugh. He seemed to be about the
last person who would be guilty of stealing
books, and was always seen to leave the
library empty-handed. After while,
however, Mr.. Wallis was forced to the be-
lief that he must be the guilty person, and
resolved to investigate.
He engaged the young man in converse
ton one day, and learned from him some
facts about himself. He discovered that
Hagenbaugh's relatives had departed for
Michigan about the time the books began
to disappear, and some other things that
he learned rather served to strengthen his
suspicion of the young man. One was
that he had been a book agent at one period
of his life.
In pursuing his investigation Mr.. Wallis
aseertained that quite recently Hagenbaugh
had shipped two boxes, addressed to his
father, in Michigan, and further ascertained
that the car in which they had been shipped
had not yet left the city, owing to the snow
blockade on the mountains. Accordingly,
he procured a search warrant and had the
car opened, and sure enough there were
the boxes. They were found to contain
about $3.50 worth of State Library books,
some $25 worth of City Free Library books
and number of volumes belonging to the
Odd Fellows Library in San Francisco.
Among the State Library books found
was complete set of Chambers Encyclo-
pedia. A few of the books had their title
pages cut out, and all had been relieved of
their labels. But in cataloguing the books
in the State Library each had been given
certain private mark, and by these marks
Mr.. Wallis was able to identify the vol
umes without difficulty.
The City Library folks had not yet dis
covered the less of their books until in
formed by Mr.. Wallis.
The next thing to do was to find Hagen
baugh himself, but 1t was discovered day
before yesterday that the book operator
had fled the city. Librarian Wallis did
not, however, give up the hunt, and
learned during the day that letters ad-
dressed to him had been mailed for Los
Gatos, Santa Clara county. Mr.. Wallis
then sought the services of Chief of Police
Lee, who telegraphed to the officers there
to ascertain whether or not Hagenbaugh
was in that locality. Receiving an affirm
alive reply, a warrant for his arrest was
telegraphed, and yesterday Mr.. Wallis was
informed that the youth was in the Santa
Clara County Jail. An officer will be sent
after him to-day.
Among other facts discovered by Mr..
Wallis was one that showed how Hagen
baugh had managed to conduct his opera
tons so smoothly as to avoid detection.
He wore a loose fitting overcoat provided
with capacious inside pockets, like the
game-bsg of hunters coat, into which,
Mr.. Wallis says, the books were slipped
one at time.