Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1896-09-19
A Dead Mans Honor

peared i'll the newspapers i'll connec
ton with a series OF startling incidents
The firm dealt largely in fisherman
supplies and in fish and lumber, and
i'll connection with its general store il
had u private bank and the tow
postoiiice George Bass was post
master, at least in name: John vii
liams ran the store, and Joseph Cir
der, conducted the bank. The head
man of the firm was Philip Lacy, who
was bachelor and had grown "
with it from bow He was implicitly
trusted and any one of the partner.
would have suspected one of the others
rs soon as Lacy.
On the morning of July in tho
year named one of the employees open
ed the store to find Lacy sitting on Il
chair in the bank with gag in hi:
mouth and his legs and arms tied tC
the chair. He was released at once,
but it was an hour before he could
tell the story. He had been in the
habit of remaining at the store until 4
late hour in the evening, looking over
books and accounts On the previous
evening just after 10 o'clock, and as
he was ready to leave, he had sudden.
" been attacked by two men, who
must have been secreted in the store
with that object in view. lie was
seized from behind and choked into a
state OF insensibiliiy, and when he re-
covered he was sitting on the chair,
bound and gagged, and the two men
were at work on the door of the bank
vault. The vault was merely brick
closet, defended ny an iron door which
had none too safe a lock There was
no safe inside. All the money of the
store, bank and postoilice was placed
in this vault at night. and on this
occasion, besides about $4,000 in
greenbacks, there were government
bonds amounting to $4,000.
1t was not until detective was
called into the case that the finger Of
suspicion pointed TO Lacey. The EN-
ploye who found him gagged and
bound. suddenly recollected that all
the knots were loose and that it was
little work To throw of the ropes.
Lacy had seemed much exhausted,
but this might have been sham.
Lacy had been heard to wish for money
to go into business for himself-had
said he was tired Of working for other
tolks-had attempted to borrow con-
siderable sum of money to buy share
in fishing craft. Once the tide turn
ell against him it was easy to make
out a strong case.
After weeks investigation the de-
t.ctive was satisfied that the trusted
"head man had robbed the concern
and had hidden the booty, and there
were so many points which favored
this idea that Lacy was held for the
crime. Three days after the robbery
boat was picked up on the harbor
which had been upset; when she was
righted two dead men were found in
her That they were not sailors was
easy to see, and that the craft had
been stolen from town few miles
away was soon ascertained.
ANY man who has made study
of crime will tell you that a perfectly
innocent man often misleads justice or
convicts himself by the demeanor
when under charges. When Lacy
found that his story was disbelieved
he felt so grieved that he sulked and
refused to answer any questions and
thus made matters worse for himself.
There was nothing which he could
not have explained, and yet when
asked to explain in order to acquil
himself his silence was construed as q
sure indication of his guilt. The fact
that he had been fully trusted fol
twenty odd years went for naught at
ter the detectives report and he was
sent 10 prison to await the action of 4
higher court. A week before his tria
was to come OIL he hanged himself ii
the cell. His suicide was therefore &C
cepted as the strongest proof OF al
that he was guilty. He lett no mes
sage behind him, but that made NJ
difference. He had closed the cas-,
and practically admitted his gull
and the public press dropped 1t a
that point. The firm was rich enough
to stand the loss and go ahead and il
a year the great robbery was a thing
no longer gossipped about.
II Lacy took the money and bond
and all were agreed that he did
where did he secrete them? That wa'
a query which was coming up daily
until after his suicide Detective
and others searched in vain for thu
plumber and it was finally agreed
that he had an outside confederate
This man, who ever he was, had beer
admitted to the bank he had tiet
Lacy as they found him, he had takel
away the plunder TO share and share
alike. That he had not come forwar,
after Lacey's arrest with money t
retasn counsel was part of the plot