Birmingham age-herald., 1894-12-25
FOR FOURTEEN YEARS Ike Martin Had Been True and
 Faithful Porter
)S FRANCIS 6 GHEN0WETH,
>- He Couldn't Stand ProS-
 serity and FeIl-Wholesale , Robbery Exposed.

For fourteen long years Ike Martin has been porter for the hardware firm of Francis X Chenoweth and like all servants who are supposed to be trustworthy and have done their duty the year round, on Christmas morning has received some little present from bis employers. Today he will not receive Christmas gift from his employers, but Recorder McCrossin will give him one that he will remember longer than any one he has ever received.
 For a long time Francis X Chenoweth have been missing articles of hardware from their store and were puzzled at the disappearance of these goods. Every few days they would miss something, but it WAS mystery as to how it went. They tried different ways to find it out, but failed. They had a negro porter, but he had been with them fourteen years and one thought tn at Ike Martin would do such thing.
 Kut they had more confi1encein Ike than did the policemen who were working that district. True, they didn't suspect Ike at first, but they dropped 10 something which told them that Ike was the mau, and that he had been at it all the time.
 He had been with the firm so long that when Officer Gus Ellard told them of the evidence ne had they doubted it Very seri- ousy, but finally had to succumb to cold facts which were not to be denied.
 Yesterday morning about o'clock Oth- cer Ellard heard of som hardware being disposed of under suspicious circumstances and he went at once to work on the case. It didn't take him long, either, for within an hour after he received the information he had Ike Martin, charged with grand larceny; H. Lowe, receiving goods know ing them 10 be stolen; Posey Cardweil, re- ceiving stolen goods, and Frederick Sner- man, aiding in the concealment ot stolen property, locked up in the city jail await ing the time when Recorder McCrossin will handle them according to their dee1s.
 Beginning the work Officers Ellard, Johnson and Brown went to Martins house on the Southsde and found some of the property which had been missed from Francis & Cheuoweth's store. Finding this, they went back to the store, and after the goods had been identified they arrested Ike Martin. the porter He denied every thing, but when searched razur, the brand of which Is handled by no other firm in the city, was found on him. He also had on his person three of the stolen pocket knives. Two of these he slipped to posey Cardwell, a negro who was standing near by. The officers saw this operation and arrested Cardwell.
 They then went to the house Of H. Lowe and found three razor straps, four iron stands, eleven pairs of half soles, one pair pinchers, one knife and rasp, three boxes of shoe nails and a quantity of other goods. Lowe was then arrested.
 They then went back to Martins house and making a further search found tho following: One razor, four pocketknives, one watch chain, five half soles, one dog en G-inch taper files, one dozen 1 E inch taper files, one set tablespoons, one dog collar, one steel trap, three pair of scissors, one hatchet, one hand saw, one pair hand scales, one screw driver, one whetstone, one two-faced ax, one large file, one foot adze, three boxes of shoe nails aud quan- t'ty Of other stuff.
 When the tfficers returned to Martins house they found Frederick sherman and some women going through all the drawers and taking these goods out for the purpose of concealing them. He, too, was arrested and, together with the others, taken to jail.
 Sherman is q negro preacher, and it will be remembered that he is the one who about year ago while preaching in the county jail aided five pris Jner5 to escape. Officer Eilard says this work has been go- ing on for long time and that any amount of goods have been sold.
 ANOTHER THIEF ARRESTED.
 Louis Simons, alias Willis Sans, was ar- rested yesterday afternoon by Officers Ball and Johnston.
 The officers spotted him as a suspicious character, and after watching him for few minutes discovered that be was negro who was wanted on a charge of grand larceny.
 A hat and several other ar .icles wers found on his person, all of which are thought to have been stolen.
 PoLICk BET ANOTHER.
 Jake BuchanDau, who is thought to be a professional thiet, was arrested on the cor. ner of Second avenue and Nineteenth street yesterday abou; o'clock on charge of grand larceny. Some stolen goods were found in his possession ana he was taken to the police station, where he will proba- bly get an interesting gift this morning.
 
 Where is there article of human con- sum ption which for an instant can equal Dr. Price's Baking Powder? Not in the list of rival leavening agents, surely.