New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-12-05
THE VANDALS WERE BOYS.
.pprSr OF THE CENTRAL PARK ROGUES'

xor ONLY PAINTED STATUES GREEN BUT
THEY RELEASED ANIMALS AT NIGHT
IT. porL nolice are 10 he congratulated on
- a;sco,ercd and caught the boys-for such
49,, n,oved 10 be-who painted the statues o'
r"s,ho Schiller and Beethoven green on
,.s, Thursday night The youths are George
~ KnobIocb. sixteen years old, of NO. 5Zo
w.s, Seventvsixth-st: Carl s. Tedeman, TOUR
49,, wears OH. No. 500 West Seventy y-siXth-st.'
% Whitman sixteen years old. No. 2"Z
w. Scventv-seventh-st, and Alfred Kroeber, SIN
.oon rears old. No 316 West Eighty-ninth-st' AS
,hese promising youths were brought one N one
;nto the Arsenal, escorted either by Sergeah'
Dillon. who has done yeomans service IN 'hc
case, or Officer Savage, there was look ol
wonderment on their faces as TO how long ,nrN
had teen discovered II was the can '''
held the paint which gave the clew. III was
traced 10 paint store in the Western boui.-
ward. between Eighty-fourth and Eighty-hl'h
sis whore il was learned that KnOblock had
purchased it, Knobloch and Tedeman were the
first two arrested
Knoboch took all the blame on himself, saying
that Tiedeman was only taken into the gang as
an afterthought He said the party entered thc
Park at Seventy-eecond-st. and Eighth-ave. abouh
$50 D. IN. There were two policemen there on
DUTY and Before the boys got to the lower pail
grounds they passed two more. On arriving at
the lower lawn-tennis grounds they decided TO run
down the red flag and paint it green. They took
1t TO the Imperial rock" and gave it an excellent
coating Then they proceeded TO decorate the
statues, thinking that, owing to the absence of
leaves. il was right to paint the Park green. The
harp in Beetboven's hands made them Irish for
awhile and on the front of his pedestal they care
~ M nd " Fri
That was all the boy had to say ON the sub
ject, and for the time being Captain Collins, of
the Park police, was satisfied Assistant Super
intendent Burns of the Menagerie, had suspi-
con that this gang of boys was at the bottom of
the late frequent opening of cages at night, and
the subsequent escape Of foxes, owls, etc The
third boy brought in was Alfred kroeber,
straightforward lad who did not at alh relish the
outcome of his escapades He told plain story
about the painting Of the statues and then sat
down on the sofa in Captain COinss Office, wait
ing for his parents TO come and furnish bail for
him.
While he was sitting there Assistant Super
intendent Burns. speaking audibly to Sergeant
Dillon, remarked that it was " hard lines that
Philip Holmes who had been keeper for nearly
thirty years in the Menagerie, should have been
arrested under the charge of spitefully letting the
animals loose
ale is a man with wife and large family
dependent upon him." he added, and In my
own heart / believe the man perfectly gniltless"
Kroeber, who had listened attentively, got mp
from his seat, and, addressing Sergeant Dillon,
said: Look here; I'm not going to sec an inno-
cent man go to Jail. The keeper hal nothing to
do with the foxes, coons or owls getting away
want to say here, no matter what the conse-
quences may be, that the same four that painted
tho statues green let loose every animal that has
escaped for the past two months. l am real
sorry for what / have done. 1t was done in
bovisb freak of fun, but neither nor any other
or the boys thought for one moment that we
sAould get any man into trouble. am very fonu
Of the Park, and am in here every day, ana % now
again But look here" lie continued you mus
not punish Tiedeman. 1t was We bigger boys VINO
led him into all the mischief We Jns' thought
il great fun, never dreaming for moment o1 ule
trouble that might come out OF IT.
. The boy then qule:ly -at down, but there was
not a man in the room who did not 90 mp ana
shake his hand and undOub ubtedy felt all the bet
ter for doing 50. The other ,hree boys, two of
whom Knobl0ch and 1ledeman, had been De
fore Justice kilbIeth early i'll the morning az the
Yorkville Police Court and released on S3otp
BAIL were brought back 70 the Arsenal, and each
Of them like a sturdy American yOung>ter, owner
that he had let the animals loosc-the ipNcs III
the cage near the round pond, those III 1he Gag
on the hill, the raCcCODs and the Owls. Inc
parents of the boys were present ana took nome
these Young men, sadder aud little wiser They
will appear at the Yoriiville Court this morning
and will certainly be punished, for il j. time that
the general public should be protected from the
yout6ful element which is making the Park any
thing but paradise
Credit is due sen geant Dillon and Officers Savage
and McGinty in running down this brown
stone gang. who by their acts led the smaller
fry in their petty acts of mischief and depre-
dation Anona the keepers in the menagerle
there was great joy. Philip Holmes, who Is one
of the oldest keepers was suspected by Superln-
tcndent Smith Of having had hand ip the escape
CT the aniinals There was an inquiry into MS
conduct on Saturday, which was TO be continued
TODAY but the bottom has fallen out of the
par and Phil" Holmes comes out with colors
flying
THE MYSTERY OF 4 SKELETON.