The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-02-23
ACCUSED OF ARSON
Chair Soaked With Kerosene
Found Burning Id
a Hause
OWNER OF APARTMENTS ARRESTED
Timely Action of a Milkman Pre-
vents a Disastrous Fire
in Hoboken.
OWNER OF APARTMENTS ARRESTED

But for the discovery made by Williams
Baker, a mtlkman, there might have been
another disastrous fire in Hoboken early
on Sunday morning. As the result OF
Bakers discovery. George Gwyer, young
German, was committed to the County
Jail by Recorder McDonough yesterday
charged with arson
,GWyer lived with his wife and one-year-
old child ON the first floor of No. III Clin-
Ton street. The house is a three-story
frame tenement and is occupied by five
fan1iheA
About three o'clock yesterday morning
Baker. while making his rounds with his
milk wagon, entered the hallway OF the
tenement to serve some customers. As he
opened the door he detected the smell of
smoke and upon INVESTIGATING discovered
that 1t came from Gwyer's apartments He
thought of the many lives which would
De lmperiHed in the tenement should a,
nre break out at that early hour in the
morning and he determined to find out
from whence the smoke came He knock
ed on The door of the room where Gwyer
and his family slept but received no re-
sponse He knocked again and shouted,
out there was no answer to his summons.
Believing that Gwyer was asleep and that
the fra was every minute making head
way, ne went upstairs and aroused
Patrick Driscol, the owner Of the house,
who lives ON the second floor
Wake up" shouted Baker as he rapped
loudly on Drisooll's door, there's fra
IN GWyer's rooms and can't get In"
DrlscoA jumped out of his bed In hur-
ry. He opened the door into the hall and
went with Baker down to Gwyer's rooms.
Without hesitating he proceeded to smash
r. the door leading 70 Gwyers apartments
When he had forced the door he found the
room filled with smoke.
Baker immediately rushed into the bed
room expecting to find Gwyer and his
wife and child suffocated, but to his sur
prise they We're not there. There was no
person In any of the rooms. A chair with
cushion bottom in it was aflre in the
parior. Baker carried this out into the
street and extinguished the blaze In a few
minutes. The seat of the chair was almost
entirely consumed by the fire and had it
not been discovered the embers would
have fallen on the carpet and set fire
to the house. A small piece of candle
which had been almost entirely burned
was found near the chair in the room
The police were notified and Sergeant
FNattery and Detective Nelson began to
investigate. They found that the chair
had been saturated with kerosene and
that Kerosene had been thrown about in
all of GwyeTs four rooms. The carpets.
rugs and sofa were saturated with the
oil.
Upor, enquiring among the other tenants
the police learned that Gwyer and his
wife had gone to a ball at Frech's Casino
in West Hoboken on Saturday night and
had not returned. They had taken their
child with them. Fire Chief Applegate
was called to the house. After investi-
eating the rooms he concluded that a
plot had been set to burn the house and
he requested the police to arrest Gwyer
on charge of arson as soon as he re-
turned to his home.
1t was five o'clock Sunday morning be-
fore cfwyer put in an appearance, AS he
entered the house Detective Nelson. who
was waiting for him, placed him under arr
rest. Mrs. Gwyer tainted when she learn
ed what had happened during her absence
Gwyer appeared to be greatly excited
When asked by the detective If his furni-
ture was insured, he replied that it was,
and took from his pocket an insurance
policy for $1,000 ON the Hartford Insurance.
Company.
Gwyer denied that he knew anything
about how the fire originated. When ha
was arraigned before Recorder McDon-
ough yesterday morning he refused to
talk. He has been living in the house a
year and was employed as a porter in
New York city.
The police say the furniture in the house
was not worth more than $500.