The Indianapolis journal., 1894-01-05
ALLEGED PLOT FOUND
Street Railroad Company Gives
Information to the Police.
Claim that Crowd of Ex-EmplOyes Had
Scheme to Ground Wires and
Destroy Property.

For day or two there have been rumors
that the Citizens Street-railroad Company
had made discovery of sensational plot
on the part of a number Of discharged en-
ployes to ruin the company's plant and to
use dynamite if necessary. Yesterday sew
eral of the old employees were at the court
house seeking to find out If warrants had
been issued for the arrest of any ex-
employees of the street-railroad company
So far as the county officials knew, no
warrants had been issued The police. how
ever, have had under surveillance GER
tain men who were formerly in
the employ of the company, and
now and then one of Superintend-
ent of Police Powell's representatives
would drop in Peter Moons saloon at 159
West Washington street. The police were
making Investigations on the information
given them by officials of the street-railroad
company.
The officials had told the police Of an al
legged plot to ground a number OF the
most important of the company's lines.
Rumors had come to the officials ears that
a number of the old employees had entered
into a conspiracy for this purpose. One
Of the men who claimed to be in the plot
made clean breast Of 1t to the officials,
and this led to the matter being placed In
the hands Of the police. No arrests have
been made For some time a crowd Of the
men dismissed by the company have been
meeting at Peter Moons saloon and at NJ.
J. Burns's cigar store On South Illinois
street Burns was formerly an officer Of
the company and was also a member of
the City Council.
The company claimed that at a meeting
of the men at Moons saloon on Saturday
afternoon an ex-officer of the brotherhood
advocated the use of dynamite on the
power house of the company and also on
the barns in order to blow them to pieces.
1t was claimed that this suggestion was
approved by at least one more Of the seven
men present, all of whom had been dis
missed from the companys service. The
names of all those present are known to
the police.
1t was alleged that on Sunday afternoon,
at 3 o'clock, the same men met at the sa-
loon and decided to ground the wires on
the North Illinois and North Indianapolis
line at the Fall creek bridge. the PennsyI-
vania-street line at Talbot avenue, the
Alabama-street line at Seventh street, the
Central-avenue line at Seventh street, the
Columbia-ave line at Seventh street, the
Clifford-avenue line at the Massachusetts,
avenue Depot, the West Washington-street
line at the White river bridge, and the
stockyards line at the Illinois-street tunnel
The work to be done on Sunday night,
SO the story went
Information was given the police that a
man who had been dismissed from the
Louisiana-street barns for cruelty to a
mule had broken into wrecking wagon
which stood On Tennessee street and stolen
number of insulators. Part of these were
taken, 1t was claimed, to a house, the loca-
ton OF which Is known to the police, to be
tiHed, while the others were taken by a
tCrmer conductor the Pennsylvania
street line to another house The company
now has several insulators which have been
'doctOred" for the purpose of grounding
wires One of the men, supposed to be In
the conspiracy, turned the "doctored' in
sulators over to the company. He said that
The, leader of the crowd had cCne to him
three weeks ago and asked him if he knew
how to talnper with the wires so as to maks
a short circuit and cripple the service. He
consented TO join in the conspiracy he said
but afterwards took advice and withdrew
The inSulat0rS turned over to the company
have been filled with a metal so placed as
10 cause a current to leave the trolly wire
and run down pole to the ground. Had
several of these false appliances been put
on the lines it would have taken the com
cause of the breaks in the circuits. The
police were promptly informed of the dis
closures that had been made to the com.