The Wichita daily eagle., 1894-03-02
George Washington Rogers was col

George Washington Rogers was con
victed in the district court of Harvey
county, at Newton, yesterday of burglary
and arson in the second degree.
The verdict of the jury was brought in
at Ais p NJ, an agreement being reached
On the second ballot. On the first ballot
the jury stood ii for conviction and for
acQuittal.
The testimony against Rogers WAS not
half SO strong AS IL was against Shirley,
but that chap jumped his bond and has
not been captured yet. although Harvey
county has spared nothing in its efforts
to recapture and bring him to justice.
The EAGLE WAS the first paper to publish
an account of the crime and arrest of
Rogers, and for It's pains in behalf of
Justice it drew upon itself a good deal of
billing sgate from one of the Newton
newspapers, which was friendly to Rogers
and said TO be his personal organ. A few
individual friends of Rogers also saw fit
10 abuse the EAGLE, stating that he was
innocent, that the charges published were
lIbelous, etc
Time always is favorable to truth and
right, and twelve men of Harvey county
have said, after hearing the evidence, that
Rogers is guilty of the charges referred to.
The crime for which Rogers has been
convicted was one of the most noted in the
criminal annals of southwestern Kansas.
On the 23rd day of last month the estate
and mortgage records of Harvey county
were burned. The court house had been
entered and hole dug through the brick
wall OF the vault. Here notorious crimi-
nal entered. piled the records on the vault
door, saturated them with coal oil, touched
lighted match TO them enveloping the
record of every piece of property in Har-
Vey county in blaze.
When the janitor arrived in the morn
ing he escertalned what had been done
and the entire county was greatly alarmed
before night
There was but one set of abstract books
In the county and the last entry in the
county records OF the day before had been
transferred to them making complete
record. These abstract books were the
property of Rogers and Shirley and they
immediately put up the prices for trans
lers until abstracts cost as high as 500.
The county sought to buy the abstract
books, but they would not sell them tor
any consideration.
With the fabulous prices for abstracts
charged by Rogers g. Shirley and their re-
fusal to sell the books they created the i'm
Preston at once that they knew more
about the burning of the records than they
would care to have known. One thing
was very plain, and that was that nobody
else outside of them had any object in the
destruction of the records.
Shirley WAS watched, and rumors soon
developed into positive statements.
FINALLY man was found whom Shirley
bad made a proposition TO with reference
TO burning the records. Soou afterwards
Two men Were found whom he
actually employed to do the work
but they backed out. At last
The man who actually did the work was
found and he gave the whole thing away;
how and when he was hired to do the work
and how he did it,
The trial of the case was to have been
heard at the last term of the district court
but when it was called Shirley did not ap-
pear aud his boud was forfeited while
Rogers was sick and unable to attend the
court.
Rogers has lived for many years at New
ton aud is reputed to be quite wealthy.