Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-10-11
AN EPIDEMIC OF CRIME.
Forgery Leads to the Detection Of a
New Geneva Robber.
FRATRICIDE JOE CENT IN TOWN.
Cook Hall, Arrested for Robbing Postofices,
Placed in Jail.
4 son USES A HATCHET on HIS FATHER

Sam T. Ritter halls from Ohio. He is
only plain cattle dealer, so he says; not
very wealthy, still rich enough to get along
without the immediate aid of any of his
friends. He reached the city early on Sat-
urday morning with a roll amounting to
about $500. When he left this morning for
Portland, Me-: he was 1884 short of that
sum.
About o'clock yesterday morning Rit-
ter left the Central Hotel for the Pittsburg
and Lake Erie depot, on the Southside.
Midway on the Smithfeld street bridge a
young gentleman of the suavest manner
politely asked him for the time. The
request was acce6ed to at once, and Mr..
Ritter proceeded on his way. He had gone
but very few steps when the prepossessing
stranger touched the gentleman on the
shoulder and asked him: "Have We not
met before?" Ritter was not quite posi-
tive, but was willing to establish the fact.
The stranger was willing to convince him,
and he did.
A Little Confidential Chat.
The stranger incidentally mentioned that
he was puddler lately employed by the
Carnegie Company, but his principle pre-
vented him working for the company under
present circumstances. The gentleman
from Ohio didn't mind telling his newly
acquired friend that he went to Clyde, O.,
Is months ago and had made considerable
money in that time, and that he was now
on his way to Portland, Me-, where he had
on Saturday shipped % cars of fine cattle
and six cars of blooded stock.
The stranger was delighted to hear all
this, and by the time the gentleman got
through reciting his business successes the
new friends had reached the other end of
the bridge. Through the merest accident
Stranger No. l met Stranger No. 2, and
promptly introduced him to the man from
Ohio. The meeting was a pleasant
one, and after few minutes con-
versation Ritter made known the
fact that he was after trunk.
Both gentlemen at once volunteered to at
tend to the matter, and accompanied their
unsophisticsted friend to the baggage de-
partment. Here stranger No. l excused
himself for few moments. After having
his trunk attended to stranger No helped
his Ohio friend through the throng and e1-
cused himself also. He said he would re-
turn in few moments, and impressed upon
Ritter the absolute necessity of his waiting
for him.
His Pocket Was Cut Out
Mr.. Ritter worried for an hour over the
absence of his kind young friends, when it
struck him that he ought to return to the
hotel When he reached the toll house on
the bridge he dived into his right hand
pocket TOR his purse. 1. had gone. He
searched every pocket he had in his clothes,
but no purse was there. Suddenly glancing
at his trousers, he saw that the pocket had
been finely cut across. 1t had been done
with a keenly-pointed instrument, and
bv an artist in his line. "In an
instant" said the gentleman from
the farm, II saw it ALL" He
happened to have about $50 in his inside
vest pocket, so he paid his bridge toll.
Then he went to the Office of the Superin-
tendent of Police and related his story
there. Superintendent O'Mara put two
detectives on the case at once. There were
$3.50 in bills and 81 in silver in the pocket
book. Besides this, promissory notes
amounting to over $500 nestled in the purse.
When talking of the case last evening
Mr.. Ritter said he had a similar experience
in Buffalo, n. Y, last year. On that occa-
sion he was held up, but fought his man.
During the encounter his left wrist was
badly cut, several of the veins being severed
by knife. His mother had taught him
from childhood to read certain verse from
one of the chapters of ST. John, in case of
his receiAing any wound. To this verse,
though he could not exactly quote it last
evening, did his mind wander back then
He had scarcely finished reading it when
the blood stopped flowing and the wound
healed.