The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-04-11
ROBBED THE TAILOR
VIM. REEDER AND GRANT ROBINSON
STEAL A BOLT OF CLOTH.

| One Talks With the Proprietor While the
Other Gets Away With the Goods
Police Capture the Thieves and Sent
to the County Jan-one Given Six and
the Other -Four Months in the County
JaII-Poiice are Stirring Up Things in
Criminal Circles and There is a General
scattering-Other Police News.
Thursday the tailor shop of Mr.. Pof-
| fenberger on East Douglas avenue was
visited by Grant Robinson who declared
that he was in need of a suit of clothes.
Every piece in the store was taken and
| shown TO the young man but he was
extremely hard 10 suit.
He was accompanied by William Rec
der who was also anxious 10 examine
| the goods. Finally while the attention
of Mr.. Poffenburger was closely held
by Robinson, Reeder came UP missing
! After a time Robinson left the shop
declaring that he would return and
make the necessary deposit.
Mr.. Poffenburger congratulated him
self upon the sale he had made and be-
gan 10 replace his goods when he dis
covered he was short one bolt Of the
best goods he had in the store. He
began to figure and came TO the conclu-
sion that the two men had taken the
goods, and that the one who had agreed
to take the suit had only held his atten-
ton while the other got away with the
goods.
He reported the matter to the police
who soon had Robinson and Reeder not
only in custody, but had also found the
missing goods.
The men were given a trial yesterday
and entered a plea of guilty. Police
Judge Wilson sentenced ReedeT, the
man who had taken the cloth, TO six
months in the county Jail, and Robinson
was given four months.
The police are doing good work in
clearing up the city of robbers, burg
lars. tramps, highwaymen and Wichita
is becoming anything but a safe resort
for such characters. And a class Of
men who had come here knowing that
they would not be molested no matter
what they done SO long as they were
not guilty Of the heinious crime of SELL
ing glass OF beer, are fast leaving the
place for other and more congenial cli-
mates.
During the late reign of hypocrisy,
chicken thieves and house breakers
were unmolested, the police had much
more important business on hand, but
now there is a change and such times
as were had on Christmas night, when
eleven houses were burglariZed, a wo-
man choked and a man shot at in his
own house, without ever being modest
i
is now passed along the line to give
Wichita the go by. and law is being en-
forced.
The police station is no longer made
as headquarters for loafers and the
receptacle for beer and saloon outfits,
the cells are no longer being used as
bond storage houses, but are now oc-
cupied by violators of the law.
Roy Norman and John Higgins. the
two boys who had been reading Jesse
James literature and concluded 10 try
their hand at robbing the house of W.
T. Balm on South Water street, while
the family were away from home, and
who failed to get away like the James
boys used TO do.were given until next
Monday TO see if they could not fix up
some excuse for their rash act.
The boys admit breaking into the
house and appropriating about sixteen
dollars, most of which was returned, but
owing TO the responsibility of the par
ents of the two juvenile bandits there is
a hope that the boys may conclude TO
deny the charge that is brought against
them. At all events the officers believe
that love of adventure rather than a de-
sire 10 get somebody else's money in
duced the boys to commit the rash act.
There has been a good deal said about
boys being allowed TO run the streets,
but the boy who runs the street is not
much more likely to be led astray than
the one who stays at home and reads
vicious literature. The boys will hardly
ever again try to initiate the James
boys. They have reformed.