The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-02-24
FOX, THE COUNTERFEITER
Judge Baker Declared Him Worthy of
Severity-Given Ten Years.
Hart and McCOmb Escaped Lightly-Suit 10
Restrain Ben Coleman's Father from Alb
rogatiDg COntract-MIs wilkins Fails.

placed on trial in the federal court. yester-
day. on the several oh ar ges of making, hav-
ing in their possession and passing counter
felt money. The two last pleaded guilty
to them, and were passed by for the trial OF
Fox before sentence was pronounced. Fox,
in q braZen manner. declared himself to be
innocent and was tried by o jury. Attor-
ney Newton Harding appeared for him. A
score or more of witnesses appeared
against him. including the officers that
had arrested him, and others connected
with the secret service in different parts Of
the country. The substance of their testi-
mony was that Fox was at the head of q
gang of men who made spurious coin,
whose place of operation WAS ct Coon
Hollow. an out-of-the-way nook. To-
Gated just north of New Albany, Ind.
They made an exceedingly clever imitation
of a silver dollar, and were an industrious
lot, turning out q large number OF them.
The specific charge on which they were be-
ing tried was the passing OF 1873 of this
money in New Albany on one particular
night.
Fox was put upon the stand, and his
actions there were those of q bravadO
throughout. He was known to be 3
s.. and ely man and it Was
u
Accordingly George Powell was appointed
special deputy to watch him. At one
time during the proceedings Fox got mp
and started to walk across the room. He
had not gone more than two steps until
Powell grasped him firmly by the coat
tails and yanked him back into his seat
with q force that made him grunt. Fox
got cOOlly up In the court room at Louis
willie some years ago. walked across the
floor. and. before any one had surmised his
intention. leaped from the window and
made good his escape.
Fox's testimony yesterday was of very
conflicting nature, and he did q great deal
toward convicting himself. Among those
who testified against HIM and of his pre-
fvious record were w. q. Bauer. chief de-
tective of the Louisville district; +. A.
Abbott chief OF the Cleveland district,
and Major Carter. chief of the local dis.
trict. The jury was out on the case but @
short time, and returned q verdict of guilty
on four counts. The men were arraigned
before him by Judge Baker, and the scene
was an impressive Oneieven to those used
to court proceedings. The room was filled
with attaches OF the court. witnesses and
spectators, and before them, singled out
from all the rest. were the three men wait
Ing to hear their fate.
The Judge spoke first to MoComb He
said that he did not believe that the man
before him was hardened criminal and
that he thought, If given chance, he
would reform. In accordance with these
ideas he would make the punishment very
light for the offense, but warned him to
never be caught in such practices again or
1t would 60 hard with him.
he was given thirteen months in the
Prison South. and fined $40. Hart was
next called up. and was talked to in much
believed him TO be the worse man of the
two. He was gwen three years in the
Prison North, and was fined 500.
Fox came before the tribunal of Justice
last. and to him the Judge spoke very
sterny. He said:
lit has been shown by the evidence here
that you are O man for whom there sp-
pears to be no reformation, and q man who
has been. and always will be, q criminal.
Your demeanor on the witness stand has
been such as TO lead me to believe that
you have not told the truth, and that you
have willfully tried to mislead the Jury.
Such being the case. feel that will not
be doing my duty unless l intilct on You
penalty of the law In your case would be q
fine of $1,000. and imprisonment for a
period of forty years. | am not disposed to
be that severe. butt wIlIintlict one fourth
of 1t. You will be flned in the sum OF $500,
and I'm prsOned for period of ten years in
the Prison North"
Fox was asked if he had any thing to say
why Judgment should not be passed on him.
and replied that there was nothing, except
that he would like to 60 to the southern
prison, where he had some friends.
mo. sir" replied the Judge: II will no {
send you to the Prison South" and the con-
vict hung his head In silence.
Fox has been criminal ever since his
boy hood. he is now thIrty-two years old,
and has history that reads like roma nee
from q volume of an "Old Sleuth" library.
He Is said by the officers not to have an
equal in the Middle States as q burglar,
began operations in Kentucky, and some of
the most daring rObberies and raids in that
State were planned and put into
operation by him. He has served
two terms in in tie pesniiten tiaries of that
liberty he was met by his sister and
mother. who begged him to reform and be-
come better man. He Is said to have
pushed them aside with an oath, and to
have said that he in tended to be a criminal
oil of his life, He was arrested in this
city In 1887 by detectives Carter and
Bauer, and was taken to Cleveland, o.,
where he was sent to the penitentiary for
six years for eounterfeitng. He has spent
nearly half of his life in prison. He was
captured this time by detective SmIthwick,
of the local police force of New Albany.
The officer displayed no little courage and
ability in cornering him. and narrowly
escaped being shot by the desperate.
Manager Claims the Boy
The Marion county courts have been
called upon TO settle the question as to
which o. two persons has the right to the
possession of Little Ben Coleman the
five-year-old prodigy. whose phenomenal
perform ances In the way of reading differ
ent languages and knowledge of the Bible
has astounded audiences all over the coun-
try. The disputants are the boys father.
j. w. Coleman, who is a resident of the
State of Texas, and Alvin II. Whited, res
ident of the State of Louisiana. The latter
Court yesterday, In which he sets up q con-
tract with the former. entered into in
Caddo parish, Louisiana. whereby the
father agreed that In considers-
ton of S25 per week Whited
should have the privilege of exhibiting
! the boy. The contract provided that
in addition to the SIS per week, Whited
should pay all the necessary expenses. both
of the boy and his father, who was to ac-
company him on his travels. The contract
was entered into on the 10th day OF last
| month. and was to continue one year from
that date. Whited says that he has per-
| formed all the obligations imposed npon
| him by the contract. but that Coleman is
| about to again take possession of the child
| and abrOgate the contract Alleging the
nOnresIdence or the defendant and the in.
| adequacy of q remedy at law be asks for a
restraining order to prevent him from ex,
ecutIng his threats.
Little Ben Coleman" who is the child
| in controversy. gave an exhibition OF hIt
| phenomenal powers az the new Bethe
and his reading and knowledge was pro
nounced phenomenal by those who heard
him.