The morning call., 1894-12-17
HELD UP A CAR.
The Ubiquitous I" Tall :"
and " Short +" Man.
THEY ROB A BERKELEY CAR
The Motorman's Shrewd Plan
to Escape.
IS A. A. MOORE A sPlRlTUALlsT ?
Shaking Up of Policemen - The
Broadway Squad to Be
OverhauIed.
s A. A. MOORE A sPIRlTUALlsT7

uou WHO nave OperateQ III all WAYS
and in all seasons in and about
| Oakland for a long time past, did neat
piece Of work at an early hour on Sunday
morning on a car of the Oakland Con-
soldated Electric line. They did not Sc
cure fortune, but they succeeded in
| frightening conductor and motorman
nearly 10 death and In sending them on a
wild ride down the road in the Silly hours
that they will always remember.
At little after o'clock in the morning
the last car on the Eighth-street brancl.
of the Oakland consolidated turns in for
the night. 1t was car 81 on Saturday
night. aud as Sunday morning approached
Conductor Athey and Motorman Russell
Watkins started for the poWer-house, out
at the end of Grove street.
There were no passengers aboard, and
| the rar was bowling along at q lively pace,
the carmen being anxious to seek rest and
| comfort at their homes Conductor Athey
| was al his pos at he rear end of the car
| ana as FOrIy-secOn0 street was reached man
swung on to the rear step from somewhere out
| OF the darkness. He was TALL and had his face
| covered with sort of black hood His sudden
appearance startled Athey, but before the.
conductor had time TO tell him that that partic-
ular car carried no passengers another form
oOmed up out OF the black ness of night and
swung on to the opposite side Of the rear plat
form. This form was shorter, and The face
was also masked. This second appearance
| astOnishtd Athey still more, and before he
| could collect his Thoughts he was loo ing down
the barrels Of two pistols that seemed longer 10
| him han did the form of the tall man itself.
hen the ugly guns were pushed up against
ms nose gun voice behind the hood said:
Throw up your hands and be quick
about it," Athey was quick about it. His hands
went up and hand OF a roDber slipped into his
! side pockets. but the pistols were never re-
they could find. some s23. The car had ' gone ne
| just TWO blocks during the operation, and both
men sinped of and darkness closed about
them. They vanished toward the west.
| When Motorman Russell Watkins attention
| was attracted by some one getting on the rear
| OF the car lie looked back and took In the situa-
| ton at glance. The whole picture was clearly
mapp' out 10 the motorman by The lights In
| The car. and he hit upon great play at once
| H. would carry The thieves straight TO the car
| house and deliver them up lie never once
thought that they might finish the job and
! jump of. Neither did he care to stop short
and go back and look down the two long
! pisiO barrels.
| To make the powerhouse was his one great
hope, and according he threw her wide
open" He turned op all the electric fluid he
OF the few cars on the line, there is a
great surplus OF electricity. Tie car quickly
felt he invisible force III its whr els and IL went
dancing down The grade toward the power
house at / rrltc rate of speed. IL attained
such velocity that the moiOrnan could do
| nothing more than hold on. One block was
dropped off. but the car sped on with iucreas-
ing speed. The robbers were far in TIL rear
and were prob bly, thanking their stars that
they were safely off what looked liked runa-
way r. But the MOI Orman paid littI- heed o
transactions in the rear. The car covered the
ten blocks 10 the powerhouse in short order
and It's speed was such that it ran far beyond
IL before ii could be stopped. When it backed
up the story was told AID the motorman Is sim
wondering why the robbers did not stay on the
car and get captured.
LAWYER Moore's EeIiaf
The question mostly agitatng The Oakland
bar at present Is, us A. A. Moore spiritual
ist?" Mr.. Moore is one Of the bright par.
ticular stars in the Oakland legal profession
and while great student, it was never known
That he had deved into occult sciences in his
search for nowledge.
But his great knowledge OF things unseen, as
brought out III his conduct of the Lennon Will
contest case, in which he Is leading attorney
Tor the trumpet medium, Mary, Smith, his
themselves. They say man might ACQUIRE
Mr.. MooTe's Know ledge of the things he talks
about In superficial way and probably ask
questions which startle diums themselves
but they could hardly act with the sine iity
shown by he learned counsel unless they were
themselves believers.
One attorney said that Mr.. Moore had been
approached on the subject aud fatty asked if
he believed in spi itualism. His answer left
them 10 the dark as much as before. He is re-
ported TO have said:
Now, if | say believe my legal standing
might be affected. If 1 say l disbelIeye the
case am conducting might be affected"
80 Tar as Mr.. Moore himself is concerned the
public and his brothers at the bar must still re-
main In the dark as to the great interrogator's
BELIEF or disbelief.
While The taesmen were being questioned I'm
the beginning of I'd Lemon case Judge Ogden
more than hin ed In side remark that some
one OF the attorneys In the case had been inves-
tlgatlEg spiritual phenomena, and il is said
that he looked at Mr.. Moore at III time.
Others said the remark from the bench was in
Tended Tor Lawyer Tappan of Alameda, who
| fhn tfl.sx
complaint against Mrs. Smith.
But hr. Moore has great TAI b, and of this
mere is no doubt" said well-kDown lawyer
not III the case, land it is just possible that
when MS side opens a seance will be held i'm
court. An evening session in Judge Ogdep's
courtroom may be asked for. and with lowered
hgnts ana mary Smith bound and blindfolded
on the witness stand. the center of a circle Mr.
moore Will undertake TO show the jury thar
mere: mel are such things as spirits. and mat they
VIII tak through the trumpet as it floats in the
ar over the heads OF all. Does Mr.. Moore be-
iieVe In II? or course lie does. And peopl.
VINO attend court will see sonnet hing startling
When ne puts Mrs. Smith on The stand"
Shifting thu Squad.
The first OF the year will see some decided
changes in the police force as regards heats
There Is general shake-up of the force about
once year and general shifting OF The meu,
but it is said that on this occa sion the Chief IL
particularly after the Broadway squad, in
which Ofhcers Coopey and Curtiss are best
known. They have both done duty about
which locality, besides being The mos, aristo.
cratic by day, furnishes Ravens by night for the
half world. Along Twelfth street are numer-
! Gus saloons and a rest aurant two which run
late. and Chief Schaffer thinks some of the
saloons run later TIL the law allows, which ia
II O'Clock. He has been making arrests OF
viOlators all along the line. IL is said also thai
he blames the Broadway squad for this state of
affairs. and will shift the officers 10 new be Is
after the FIRST OF the year, probably TO the
suburbs OF the CITY.
The Broadway beat is the best In town. the
force thinks, and The aspiration OF all policemen
Is 10 reach that height. latter that they hardly
speak to other members Of the force,'' said a
City Ii all man yesterday.
Ibe officers about the locality mentioned say
they are iot TO blame II the saloon men violate
The IL O'Clock closing ordinance, and that if
they Go sell after midnight the police cannot be
held wholly responsible The saloon men are
repeatedly warned by them, and it is difficult
10 ge proof against them II they do sell.
However, the Chief has been making arrests,
and u Is we'll known that Police Captain Wl-
son, Officer Hodgkins and the Chief himself
have been seen lately skirmishing about the
ieDderioIn district at late hours. and it Is
thought IN Oh Sc forays they secured evidence
against the whisky men.