The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-08-01
FAKE CRIMES.
Brooklyn Police Called on to Capture
Imaginary Criminals.

NEW York, August 1.-The town OF
shaveless Sundays over the bridge Is 60
far demoralized that while some OF us
citizens are the genuine victims OF high
waymen or plotting desperadoes,. others
busy themselves concocting startling tales
OF assault and robbery for the sake, the
police say, OF getting their names In the
newspapers.
Although DR.. Drury's assailants have
been described by different men, one OF
whom AYERS that he could identify one
OF them emong a thousand, and have been
seen In pawnshops, ana evidently have
haunted certain neighborhoods OF Rrook-
lyn for months, the reorganized Bureau
OF Criminal Investigation and lnforma-
ton has evidently not made any real
headway I'm the quest for the robbers. The
whole force Is on the keen lookout, es-
pecially Mr.. Welles's new detectives, for
all realize that this IL time when Ii is
necessary to do something. An officer OF
the Tenth precinct Is said TO have seen the
two men before the robbery, but there
was then nothing to make him suspicious
of them.
To disturb the profound thought OF the
overburdened police upon the mysterious
Turing of a prominent physician TO an
unoccupied house in good neighbor-
hood in daytime, come stories OF lesser
mysteries which demand attention, even
IL only for short time, and serve, while
they are in circulation, TO alarm the fear
some and carry abroad the infamy OF
town too slow to be really wicked.
OF such were the stories OF Mrs. Hiram
M. LONESOME In May, one on SATURDAY,
and one on Monday-and the story OF
| Mrs. Joseph Newman on Monday, all OF
! which gave the hardworked bluecoats a
hunt for mares nests. In May, Mrs.
| Jones reported a pocketbook stolen; on
| Saturday she said a watch had been stolen
| from her, and, on Monday night, her hus-
band took her To the police OF the Fulton
| street station to tell the story printed in
| The Sun, yesterday, of the visit TO her
house Of strange men, who bound her,
and then packed up the family silver and
| left, saying they would return for 1t at
night. When the police went to the
house TO investigate the. last story they
| found the silver in the cellar, and the
pocketbook of the May tale beneath a
mattress The watch had previously been
found. The police did not look further
into the tale.
The story of Mrs. Newman, who said
she was kidnapped by strange man, who
| tethered her in the middle of the after
noon, on Saturday, at corner which IL
never deserted, and is usually busy, and
| took her to a house in Pacific street,
| where he compelled her TO remain until
Monday, caused the police Of two precincts
TO move In a common investigation, which
! apparently disproved Mrs. Newman's
that the woman and the man had hired
the room on Thursday, that the man spent
Thursday and Friday nights there alone
| and that the woman came back on Satur
day and remained with him until Mon
day, when the landlady ordered them out
Detective Sergeant Murphy waited al
hour at the house to see IL the man woulc
come back. He did come back, and th'
policeman took him TO the station house
where Mrs. Newman, when she saw him
confessed that her story OF having beer
kidnapped was false, and that she told Il
in order TO get the police TO go to hel
Bridge street house with her and get hel
clothes, which she feared her husband
wou.d not let her have. The man saic
he was the son OF ex-deputy county clerk
George Barnard; that he now worked IL
the county clerks office, and that he hac
known the woman for some time, and en-
gagged with her TO go to the Pacific stree
room, which he hired. He denied tina
he had compelled her TO accompany
him.
The police say that reading of the Drur,
case may very likely have started nj
some excitable people TO tell tales OF i'm
aginary wrongs partaking of the myster
ious nature. They are concerned will
these stories, beyond the mere presen
labor OF running them down, only in 81
far as they may tend to alarm summe
absentees, or hurt the reputation o