The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-09-22
FREQUENCY OF HOLD-UPS
SHOWS DECENTRALIZATION OF POLICE
DEPARTMENT.
SRndbaggers Go Uncaught, and Even
Women Become Victims in Down
Town Districts of the City.

In city the size of Indianapolis the eff
cheney of the police administration may
well be judged by the frequency of street
''hold-ups." Highway robbery is the most
daring type, and when it becomes frequent
it is a good indication of poor police serv-
ice or the lack of discipline and manage
ment. Crooks become bold when they feel
sure that only a lax effort will be made to
capture them.
Indianapolis is now in a position to APP
preciate this fact for there have been many
highway robberies recently and there have
been few arrests by the police Nearly all
the cases of robbery are reported to the
police and a few of them are made public
through the newspapers.
But the police suppress many of the re-
ported robberies that are not made public
by the victims themselves reporter TAX
ing the word of the police department for
the record of crimes, such as burglaries
and robberies, would see little but clean
record all the time, with the exception of
the rare occasions when some poor devil is
arrested for stealing loaf of bread or a
pair of shoes.
The highway robberies committed tell the
story better than the burglaries. On the
night of Aug. FL a woman's pocketbook was
snatched ON the market. she and the thief
were wedged in crowd and the latter had
no opportunity to escape. He was cap
tured by citizens and turned over to po-
liceman. This is the only case for month
where such thief has been captured, al
though scores of robberies have been COM
mitted. On the following night Myrtle Ell
lis reported to the police that her pocket
book, containing a large sum of money,
T.... Il a+a11
bama street. Then on the next night Guy
Robbins, son of General Robbins, of IL
West North street, was brutality assaulted.
He was walking along North Meridian
street within half a block of his home, when
man stepped out from behind tree and
hit him with a loaded club. The young
mans cries aroused the neighborhood and
the footpad was obliged to flee for his own
safety, for such characters seem to have a
dread of private citizens which the police
do not inspire Mr.. Robbins was painfully
injured. He was in a. semi-conscous con-
ditions when friends removed him to the
office of physician. 1t was several days
before he was able to be out and a long
time before he fully recovered from the
blow.
On the night of Aug. 26, a few nights
after the assault on Mr.. Robbins Martin
~TrenShaw, colored coachman for Dr. East
ItldIi, WIS 6dIluDdSSeu anu TODDed OF SlU.
He had been out with his employer making
call, returning about l O'Clock. He went
into the alley and passed a man and wom-
an. While he was unhitching the horse,
the man returned into the alley and struck
Trenshaw with sandbag, rendering him
unconscious When discovered Trenshaw
was suffering great pain. His pockets had
been enptied of their contents.
On the night of Aug. 30 a farmer living
east of the city was stopped on the, out
skirts of the city and relieved of all his
cash by two men. The police never paid
any attention to the case no effort being
made to locate the robbers. On the same
night Mrs. Elizabeth Singleton and Miss
Lille Fredericks were held up and robbed
on South Meridian street. 1t was early in
the evening and the women were walking
along the west side of the street toward
the Union Station. Just below the corner
and robbed them of their purses. The po-
lice arrived long enough after the robbery
to fail to catch anybody who looked sus-
picious
A large part of the highway robbing is
supposed to have been done by an organ
lied gang which finds working in Indian
apols as easy thing. Embroidered by their
successes the members of the gang on the
fiedged Wild West bandits and held up
street car 1t was the most daring rob-
berry that has occurred in the city for years
and one which would never have been at
ton. 1t was a Broad Ripple and it
was stopped at Twenty-sixth street. Con-
ductor Jesse Day was relieved of $40 and
the motorman lost $50 There were several
max in the robbery line, but the police new
er so much as obtained clew to work on
the case. Since then the robbers have con-
tented themselves with doing smaller jobs,
show if all the robberies reported there
were recorded.