The Portland daily press., 1897-05-17
In DAYLIGHT.
They Robbed Him Of Beds by the Cart
Load.

Teams Drove Up and Took The Goods
Away-A Chelsea Furniture Mans Tale
of Woe.
Boston, May 15-One of the most amaz-
ingly audacious robberies in the histor.s.
OF crime has been unearthed by Capt.
Cain, Special Officer Hines, and Officers
Rooney and Cadigan of station 1. For
several years c. H. Drysdale, Chelsea, i'm
porter of bedsteads, has been systematic
ally robbed. He places his total loss at
petween $4,000 and s1o,0 900.
lie has employed private detectives for
TWO years and almost month ago asked
inc aid OF the Chesea police But all in
vain Last night the Boston officers
above named, arrested ON warrants, Don
1 1o 81 Clair, the trusted bookkeeper,
2 Raat1sa livery, teamster, and John
GDeatuo, litter, charged with larceny and
i,,er it5I baneWur, charged with receiv-
-. sooIen goods. 1t is expected that 10
VI ~ II more arrests will follow
so nf$saale has been in business in Chel-
SD LOT some years as the sole agent for
ene United States of an English manu-
Ia OF IRON bedsteads, whose factory
- iocaled near London. DrysCale en-
ployes ABOUT 30 people, and it is alleged
onag ms losses have been the result of
a Wnolesale conspiracy among his en-
ployes the bookkeeper being the ring
leader.
Inc bedsteads are imported in an I'M
finished state, and are put together,
painted and deliberately ornamented
with gilt trimmings at the Drysdale
factory The goods are sold to some of
the leading furniture concerns in the
1t wassabout two weeks ago that Mr..
Drysdale came over to Boston and com
planned to Capt. Cain that despite his
detectives and all that the Chelsea D olice
could do, he was being systematically
robbed, and he employed Capt. Cain to
Special Officer Hines and Officers
Rooney and Cadigan were at once needle de.
tailed and Capt. Cain himself also gave
the matter his personal attention In q
shop on Prince street We're found several
beds which resembled the peculiar make
of Drysdale
!, The latter's attention was called to
them, and he identified them beyond
question, as part of an order of 5000
given him by Paine. Each was to bear
the trade mark of Paine, and it was found
that the plates bearing that mark had
been left off these beds found on Prince
street, although the space left for them
was there.
Further investigation revealed more
beds IN storage at 1927 North street, and
NO Union park street. In each case rooms
lifted up for dwelling house purposes had
been used. The North street place is over
a grocery.
One of the ludicrous features of the
story (althought distressing to Mr. Drys-
dale) is an episode that occurred the 9TH
er night after he had complained to Capt
Cain, and the Investigations in Boston
had been set on foot.
The plan was almost ripe to seize the
conspiratOrs. The Chelsea police had
been given the keys to the fac tory and
had been charged in mingled entreaties
and 1mprecations to see to it that no
further loss resulted.
Yet Mr.. Drysdale found on coming to
his office one morning that ON the night
previous S6oU worth of bedsteads had
disappeared, as though they had van
lshed into thin air. Mr.. Drysdale came
over. to Capt Cain and said some strong,
words about what he thought of thei
Chelsea police,
1t appears that the very ,openness and
audacity with which the robberies had
been carried on have diverted suspicion
and defeated the best efforts of detectives
and OF the Chelsea police alike. Teams
drove up to the factory and in broad
daylight carried away loads of bedsteads
as If perfectly correct transactions were
going on.
OF course it must be understood that
Drysdale was not himself very much of a
bookkeeper, and he never took account
of stock. When asked by Capt. Cain
why he did not so protect himself after
the usual custom of mercantile establish
ments, he declared that he had so many
tons OF stock continually coming in and
going out that it would be almost i'm
practicable.
The robberies generally took place dur.
ing the temporary absence of Mr.. Drys-
dale. His wife took his place on such
occasions, but she had implicit conf
dence in the bookkeeper, and supposed
that when the wagon load of beds left.
the factory it was only regular accounts
married and lives with his wife and
two children on Second street, Chelsea !.
Overy is not married, halls from Hall
fax, and lives at Pembroke street.
Almost all the employees of Mr.. Drys-
dale, as well as the latter himself are
English.
Besides those beds that were carried
away from the factory, robbers on occa-
sion took them direct from the custom
house without going through the for
mality of allowing Drysdale to see them
at all in his warehouse.
Seven additional persons were arrested
tonight charged with receiving stolen
property from Drysdale. The officers
claim that in each instance these dealers
were cognizant Of the fact that the beds
were stolen by ST. Clair
Greek Army Falls Back.