The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-09-20
WHY PEOPLE ARE ROBBED.
vacancies on Police Force but Tag
CART Uses Funds for Camnnigning


CART Uses Funds for Campaigning
Saturday morning there was a race on
Shelby street and Cottage avenue in which
bread figured quite largely For some time
grocers in the Fourteenth ward have been
missing bread from the boxes in front of
their stores, into which it is put by the de-
livery wagons. In every case the box was
found to be locked, but there was a short
age in the quantity of bread. At first it
was believed that the wagon men failed
to put in the amount charged and then sold
the surplus for cash, putting the money in
their pockets. Among the grocers who were
losers by this shortage was Grocer Moore,
ut the corner of Orange and Shelby streets.
Ex-Patrolman Caplinger is employed in this
store as clerk. and after several days of
shortage in the bread box he decided that
he would get up early Saturday morning
and watch the box frcm the time the bread
was delivered until the time for opening
the store and see if the wagon man was
responsible. Mr.. Caplinger lives across the
street from the grocery, and Saturday
morning when the bread wagon arrived he
was sitting in his house looking out of his
front window. From that time on he kept
his eyes on the box He waited nearly two
hours, until about o clock he saw a man
walk Up to the box coolly unlock it and
H6lp IlHlSeI TO a loaf OF bread. Mr., Cap
finger waited a little too long, and when he
made a dash for the thief ne missed him.
A chase which lasted for nearly a mile.
enSued, out the ex-patrolman proved his
Sprinting ability and captured the thief. He
returned to the store with the man and the
booty, but when he reached the place he
FOUND the proprietor had opened the store
In the meantime and was waiting on sew
eral customers, while others were anxiously
waiting to make purchases for their break
fast Mr. Moore did not want to spare his
clerk long enough for him to deliver his
prisoner TO the police station and so, after
searching him and taking away bunch of
skeleton Keys, the man was turned loose.
he is known, however, and can be found
later.
1t is not much surprise that the police
could not capture thieves in that portion OF
the city, for two men are expected to cover
a district, or rather two districts, which
have total Of fully fifty miles of street.
Ihey are districts No. 70 and "a. They in
clude all of the territory bounded by East
street, McCarty street, Virginia avenue and
Prospect street on the north and west and
the corporation line on the south and east.
This district embraces four or five square
miles. In the original square mile of the
city there are just twenty-five miles of
the district. There are not as many miles
of street to each square mile of territory
embraced in Districts 20 and "a, but there
are enough to be safe in saying that there
are not less than fifty miles of street. If
the two patrOlmen were to start to go over
this territory Immediately after roll call
and do nothing but walk at a rapid gait all
night it would be nearly impossible for any
but professional pedestrians to cover the
territory. AT the present time the city adj
ninistration is letting the homes of the peo-
pie go without police protection so as TO
spend money on Pogue's run with which
to keep the Dyes in line. For quite a
while there has been no appointment made
to fill vacancies on the police force, until
now there are eighteen vacancies, leaving
many districts without proper PROTECTION.
There is a double object in this. The Board
of Safety pleads that 1t has insufficient
funds to pay the salaries of the men, ana
therefore cannot appoint them until the
new appropriations become available. The
money that might be used for this purpose
is spent or Pogues run, so as to give the
heelers little work and keep them from
jumping the ticket AT the same time there
is string of individual promises as long
as a good-roads petition TO Congress to men
who want to wear the blue, that each in
dividual one will be one of the lucky men
and get an appointment after the election
This keeps several hundred men in line and
makes them work as they never did before
for the success of the Democratic ticket
Each one is foolish enough to believe that
he is the particular one who is favored with
this promise, which, of course. was accom-
panied by one of those $500 smiles, which
insureS its genuineness.