Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1895-01-03
Brought To Light AT Last.

The past week has been an eventfulon
in Webster, especially in bringing crime
to light, At this time last week, only
three parties had been taken IN, and evil
dence procured which seemedto preclude
the possibility Of u mistake as to the
midnight %marauders who have devasta-
ted the chaitels OF both city and country
the past year. These parties were Mike
Lamka, Adolph Bloch and FArd Nearing.
After several days of iudicious sweating,
Nearing could stand it no longer and
gave the whole snap away. This iBior-
nation led to the arrest oi Gust and Con
rad Sauer. On Saturday, a search war
rant was executed and resulted in the
finding OF quite a quantity of goods, viz.
a road cart, the property Of b, F. Her
rington, OF Waubay, was found in a hay
stack; a quantity OF tools, among them
IA brace and bit with w. C. Kendall, J. p.
stamped thereon, which the Squire lost
while experimenting the construction OF
o. & SmaIl's building, last summer; a
quantity OF shoes rom Gibson 4 Haugen
and a new brass pump valve, the proper
ty uf .. Il Small. While the search war
rants We're being executed, the suspected
parties were in town and Conrad Sauer
was landed in Jail, procIaiming that he
did not know what he was arrested for
and that be had committed no crime.
Gust Sauer al not apprehended in
town but went home. 1t was reported
he had escaped on observation-disclosures
had seen him take the Browns Valley road
Mayor Norton and Sheriff Serenson i'm
mediately started in pursuit but returned
about two O'Clock Sunday morning,
empty handed. In the meantime, Deputy
Sheriff, J. r. Taylor, had found Gust at
home sitting by the fire serenely smoking
his pipe.
The two were arranged Monday before
Justice Alley upon two charges and
bound over to the grand jury in the sum
OF $500 on each charge. They are still in
ldH having btcn uiuble VI uH"hlHhB W
secure bonds. 1t is claimed that they
are implicated in about all the thieving
that has been going on for the past year.
This man Nearing, who has turned
states evidence, tells how they secured
wheat and fax from the Strong & Miller
elevator. Bloch was working for Z. j.
| Wagner and managed to cover up their
tracks when the warehouse was broken
into. He is reported as saying that Con-
rad Sauer and Mike Lamka came to the
elevator one day when Mr.. Wagner
was Over to his home setting upa stove,
and filed the hopper with wheat from
the bin over the receiving scale. They
then went to Mr.. WIS house and informed
| him they had a load OF wheat down in
the hopper. Mr.. W. went down to the
| elevator, weighed the wheat and paid
them for it, the culprits eve kicking on
the doekage. Wagner assured them
that the dockage was all right and told
them to come again as he would do the
square thing. After their departure, Mr..
WIS suspicious were aroused as the wheat
looked like wheat which had been in a
bin, anu also because it was piled in the
center of The hopper, while if it had been
dumped from a wagon, it would be on
one side. Upon examination Of the spout
over the hopper, finger marks were found
in the dust on the slide from the bin. Mr..
Wagner knew that he had been touched
but brought no action against the thieves
as he had no proof.
A sensational story was circulated on
Wednesday to the effect that one OF the
suspects had made n statement in regard
to the origin Of the late fire. The state
ment, which can hardly be credited, was
that the intention at first was to burn
the store OF Kramer & Co. at some time
previous to the last fire, that in fact, the
attempt had been made but was q
failure.