The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-08-21
DETECTIVE WEART
The Corporation Attorney
Runs Down a Nest of
Thieves In Mercer.
HAD ROBBED HIS COUNTRY HOUSE
A Woman Captured With a Box
Full of Golden Eagles-The
Robbers Show Fight.

Corporation Attorney Spenser S. Weart
has added to his many accomplishments
that of detective. Mr.. Weart occupies,
during the summer, a small farm IN tue
picturesque village of Middlebush, near
Nletuchen. About six months ago the
house was entered by thieves, and a
large number of valuable articles stolen.
Mr.. Weart is not a man to be imposed
on. and, as the village authorities were
wholly puzzled at these and other ROD
berries, he took matters in his own hands
and became his own detective. He spent
considerable of his leisure time in fol-
lowing up clews, and last week he got
upon the hot trail of the robbers and
followed them to Glenmore.
GIenmore is a pretty place. a quiet
country resort for Trenton inhabitants.
1t is back a little from the line of the
Philadelphia and Reading road, a few
miles north of Pennington. George w.
Mcclure, the State Dairy Commissioner,
owns a small farm there, upon which
stand a little farm house.
Into this house there moved about
two months ago, a family named Clark,
consisting of a father, mother, son and
daughter.
Nc one knew who they were or What
was their business. But they appeared
to be we'll to do. They drove out fire.
quentIy, and every now and then were
away from home. They did not court
acquaintance with their n~eighbcrs, and
there was naturally some speculation
It was to their house that all Mr..
Wearts clues led. and he arrived there
last Saturday prepared to make a cap
ture on the spot.
He came armed with warrants, and
was accompanied by three ~constables-
Phillips, Perrine and Jones.
The party wasted no time. They drove
to the farmhouse and boldly entered the
door.
easily as that. They had seen the party
and were prepared. A buggy hitched
to a fast horse was all ready. As the
four men burst through one door the
four Clarks fed through the other. The
young man whisked his sister into the
waiting buggy and drove rapidly away.
road track, which was close to the house,
and ran down toward Pennington. Clark
himself plunged into the woods.
THE WOMAN'S BOOTY.
For a moment the p%ursuers We're rat
tied by this division of forces. But they
had noticed that Mrs. Clark labored I'M
der the weight Of a heavy 4ox, pr re $ I'M
and soon caught her. All the others
escaped.
But one of the constables ran down
to the road, as the buggy dashed away,
and fired a shot from a rifle, with the
hope of bringing the party down. Young
Clark, however. wheeled around in his
seat and returned the fire with a re-
volver with such excellent aim that the
constable retreated, narrowly escaping
being hit.
The woman was brought into the house
and the box opened. 1t contained $1,070
in brand new gold eagles. Then the
be literally full of plumber.
It was a veritable curiosity shop.
There were articles there of every des-
cription, all of which are believed to have
been stolen. Mr.. Weart was delighted
to recognize many of the articles which
had been taken from his country house
in Middlebush. A carpet was also recog-
niZed as one stolen from the house of
q professor in Princeton College, which
was recently entered.
There were also large quantities of
clothing, harness and jewelry, and box
after box of goods unidentified, but be-
lieved to have been stolen.
Only the woman had been taken, how
ever, so a council of war was held to
decide what next to do. 1t was finally
determined to set a trap for the others.
The woman was to be the bait. 1t was
dom others of the family would venture
to return and might then be taken She
was first placed under arrest and taken
out of town. Then she was liberated.
SET A TRAP FOR THE MEN.
OF course a strict watch had been set
around the house, and Mrs. Clark, When
set free, was Swallowed. True to expec-
tations, she made a bee line for the farm
house at Glenmore. This was on Sunday.
The trap was well conceived and well
laid. A few hours after Mrs. Clark re-
turned to the house those on watch saw
the son and daughter return also. Clark
the elder, it seems, had already sneaked
back in the house.
AS soon as the son and daughter
reached the house the signal was given,
and the posse moved upon them. The
young mar saw them, and shouted, and
Constable Phillips ran up to the elder
MAJ to arrest him, but was beaten back
violently with the club.
Young Clark meantime had drawn his
revolver and covered three c~onstables
with it, the constables foolishly having
left theih rifles a distance back. Sc the
elder Clark, having beaten off Perrine
with his club. had a free field before him
and ran TO the buggy and leaped in.
The c~onstables,. covered by young
Clark's revolver, felt themselves power
less and ran back for their rifles. The
young man was not slow to take adj
vantage of this chance, and ran to the
who, whip in hand, was waiting for
him. Then Clark the elder dashed the
horse and started off.
Meantime the constables having got
their rifles, ransafter the retreatine car
rage and began to fire. The ClarkS
drew their revolvers, furneain their
SEATS anu nTeU BACK with Snch excellent
craftsmanship that the constabies feared
to run close upon them. The firing con-
tipued until the two bold CROOKS had
DISAPPEARED behind their gaIloprig horses.
L THE W. WOMEN.
But tricked and beaten off as they
were the eonstables had not sci their
trap wholly in vain. 1t was an easy
matter for them to follow and over
power the two women, whom they inn
mediately placed under arrest They put
the girl. who is young, in charge of The
poor authorities, and locked the elder
women rp
The horse and buggy in which Clark
and his son escaped were recognized
by Constable Perrine as stolen property
for which a reward has been offered.
The authorities are now puzzled as to
what to do with the captured gold. They,
are content to set no further trap for
the two men, hoping that they will be
recognized and taken by police author
tiles They are now engaged
in sorting over the immense amount of
booty found in the house and trying to
find from whom it has been stolen. The
chances are there will be claimants for
portions of the property, as ~robberies
have been very frequent over that por-
ton of the State, and it is now believed
that the Clarks were the perpetrators
of nearly all of them.
KICKED OVER KICKING HORSES
Tho Hudson County Board of Health re-