Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-10-15
RIGHTEOUS WRATH
A villainous Incendiary Con.
spiracy Revealed.
FOUR OF THE PLOTTEEs CAPTURED

And an Outraged Community Furious
Over the Deep Deviltry of the scheme
Why the Washington, Ind, Court
House.Was Fired-The Auditor q Prin-
cipal in the Crime and His Cash Prob
"short'-Another Popular Idol Proves
False to His Trust-The Crime Con-
fessed.
WASHINGTON, Ind, Oct. 15-Not since
the stormy days of rebellion, when the
meetings between the loyal people of Da-
viess coi1ty and those whose sympathies
were w. the southern cause were fire.
quent and intensely exciting, has there
ben such terrible excitement as the
streets of Washington witnessed yester-
day. The city is full of furious people
from all parts of the country, drawn here
by the swift flying rumor of the arrest Of
t.e incendiaries who set fire to the court
house last week Great satisfaction was ex-
pressed when the truth of the rumor was
established and it became certain that
the perpetrators of the deedwere safely in.
closed by the stone walls of the Daviess
county Jail.
The Conspirators and Their Crime.
The conspirators who are in the tolls for
the crime are County Auditor James c.
Lavelle, Aaron B. Hawes, prominent
Steele township farmer, and Basil Ledger
wood and Samuel Harbin, two day labor
ers of this city. A warrant is out for
Michael Lavelle the auditors brother,
but he cannot be found by the officers, and
it is believed that he has fled the country.
The conrt house WAS set nm fire one week
20 last night. The recorders and sheriff's
offices were totally destroyed, and por-
ton of the auditors office was ruined. An
investigation proved that the interior of
the auditors Office, including all the i'm
portant records, had been saturated with
kerosene oil, and they were only saved by
the prompt action of the fire department.
The books had been taken from their
| shelves placed IN piles and saturated with
the oil.
Didn't Want His Books Examined.
County Auditor Lavelle has been audit
or for eigh: years, and for the eight years
Immediately preceding he was deputy
| auditor for his brother His term expires
Nov l and a few weeks ago the commits
| sioners ordered an investigation of his
books and accounts, appointing ex-Na-
| tionsl Bank Examiner Samuel III. Taylor
ana EDWARD r. Mereultn, prOmlnenI at
| torney, to do the work. To this Lavelle
made strenuous objection, and used every
| means in his power to defeat or postpone
| the proposed investigation. This opposi-
tion was continued, but the time was set
to begin the work last week, when on
Tuesday night about 8 O'Clock an alarm
of fire was sounded and the court house
| WIS found to be in flames.
| Arrest of the First Guilty Man.
| Suspicion pointed to Auditor Lavelle as
concerned in the incendiarism, and the
officers began work at once under the
direction of County Attorney John c.
| Billheimer and Sheriff Charles Colbert.
The Pinkerton agency at Chicago was
employed, and one of the agency's best
men. W. F. Forsee, came here. Five new
| ju gs that had contained kerosene were
found in an clubhouse, where they had
been thrown by the incendiaries With
this valuable clue the man who bought
the jugs was easily found. Tuesday
night he was arrested and lodged in Jail.
| His name is Samuel Harbin. At first he
denied all knowledge of the fire, but un-
der vigorous pumping he weakened,
| and at O'Clock yesterday morning
sgreed to tell the whole story of the plot.