The morning times., 1896-05-04
Was 1t A DEEP LAID PLOT?
Harry Brock Says He Narrowly
Escaped Being Robbed.
Plioceman Fitzgerald, However, Tells
Another Tale-Different Sides
to the Same Story.

A drunken man, who, literally speaking,
did not know enough 10 go in out OF the
rain, ca used a well known young man TO
lose whole bd tch OF sleep Saturday night
and Inconvenience a night policeman in The
Capitol grounds
The young man who tried in vain TO
WOO Morpheus was Harry brock, sen of
the hotel proprietor on Capitol Hill. The
name of the drunken man was not learned;
Ire did not know il when the policeman
picked him up.
The scene of the episode was laid along
the walk that skirts the south side of
the Capitol grounds. Shortly after l O'Clock
Sunday morning Mr.. Brock, accompanied
by another young man, strolied quietly up
the walk home ward bound. A s they neared
a spot almost opposite the end OF South
Capitol street, they simultaneously spied
the form of a man lying on the grass in the
shadow ola clump of bushes.
The leg OF the man moved as if lie were
trying to attract our attention." said Mr..
Brock, when seen by a Times reporter.
I'VE started over toward him. and as we
drew near he neither seemed to be drunk
nor sick.
The thought struck me that IL might be
trap aud / suggested 20 my companion
that we go and get a policeman. We hur-
RED over toward the Capitol and found two
Officers, who had just stepped under the
shade of one Of the iron sheds while little
shower passed over.
Both of the policemen returned to the
spot with us. The man was still there,
and us we all approached he moaned several
times. Just as the policeman leaned over
him to shake him and find out what was
the matter, two men jumped from behind
clump OF bushes ut the other side of the
walk and started to run. The officers left
the man lying on the ground and called
to the fleeing men to halt.
"After the two had run little ways with
the officers in hot pursuit, they stopped and
the policemen placed them under arrest
The man who had been lying on the ground
jumped up willie we were watching the
officers and ran away down street. He
did not appear to be either sick or drunk,
and that was the last we saw of him.
1--WE did not want to give the officers our
names, and so we left before they could get
back to where we had been standing.
l have not a bit OF doubt that the men were
footpads and that it was clever ruse on
their part to rob us. They expected us 10
lean over the man to give him assistance,
and had we done so the two ccnfederates
would probably have slipped up from behind
and sandbagged u.s.
When Patrolman Fitzgerald, who figured
in the case, was seen by the reporter he
told another tale.
shower passed. said he, when young
man ran up to me and said there was a
drunken man lying on the grass at one side
of the walk. ] went with him and found
the man as he had stated. There was
no other officer with me. ] helped the
man to his feet and asked him where he
lived. He said he lived on Fifth street
southeast, and I placed him out ON the
walk and told him to 60 home.
''He started down town and ] told him
he was going in the wrong direction. he
said that he knew where he was going and
walked with him short ways. Then
he seemed to regain soberness and turned
about and started off toward home. He
went on and do not know who he was.
~ did not see the young men any more
and do not know who they were. No men
leaped up from the bushes behind us and
] made nc arrests. That is all 1 know of
the occurrence"