Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1893-08-03
A SURE THING"
The Burning Of the Harvey County
Records Mystery No Longer.
ARREST OF SUPPOSED CULPRITS.
Two "Sure Thing Gamblers Possess the
Only Abstract and Burn the Records
and Charge Their Own Price
for Copies.

WICHITA, Kan. Aug. 1.-One of the
blacklist crimes in Kansas was un-
earthed here last night and the arrest
OF the criminal effected through the in
strumentality of Rufus Cone. chief of
police OF this city, and Detective Bed
ford Woods, of the Metropolitan police
force.
On March 16 last the vaults of the
register of deeds of Harvey county were
broken into and the entire records of
title to property of the county burned.
The books were piled on the floor of the
vault, saturated with five gallons of oil
and the next morning the register
opened his vault to find that there was
not line of the records recognizable
There was nothing left to show who
owned either property or mortgage.
Detectives of the Pinkerton agency
were employed and kept in the service
Of the county commissioners at cost
of nearly So, 600. Till four weeks ago
last Saturday they had accomplished
nothing, and the case was given to
Chief Cone and Bedford Woods, of this
city, with the result that George Fl.
Shirley, of this city, and G. Wash
Rogers, of Newton, were arrested last
night. with evidence sufficient against
them to convict them beyond doubt.
1t is said that they have evidence that
these men not only planned the arson,
but that they paid man $500 for do
ing it.
The motive for the crime is this:
Shirley and Rogers had a mortgage on
the only set of abstract books in Har-
vey county, and they foreclosed it and
IA ho hJ1,~r
of the records was effected. The citi-
zens of Harvey county were wild with
excitement, and every man or woman
who wanted to convey a piece of prop
erty was compelled to pay SO for every
transfer to Shirley and Rogers.
1t must be remembered that there
are sometimes twenty transfers in one
abstract, in which event the cost was
5000. This extraordinary extortion
caused SO much excitement that the
county commissioners offered fabulous
prices for the books of Shirley and Rog-
ers, but to no purpose.
Finally one of the county commits
sioners told them that their extraordi-
nary doings made the thing suspicious
and a feeling of weakness came over
the monopolists of the records, and
UlOy ltdIc0 GIldU CHeTS WAS SOIu0Uu1nS
in the wind. Shirley and Rogers
finally offered the books, which they
had foreclosed on a mortgage of s70O,
to the commissioners for s2O, OeO, which
the commissioners were on the eve of
accepting, when the disclosures were
made.
Chief Cone told correspondent that
there is no possible escape for Shirley
and Rogers from conviction. Shirley was
arrested here at 10 o'clock and Rogers
was arrested at Newton twenty min
utes afterward on telegram sent from
here by Chief Cone to the marshal of
Newton.
Owing to the lateness of the hour the
Newton people were all in bed, other
wise there would be a probable lynch
ing of Rogers He will be brought down
here in the morning to avert the ven
geance of the outraged people of Harvey
county.
Previous to taking the abstract books
on foreclosure both Shirley and Rogers
were looked upon as gam lers, ''sure
thing men and jointists.