The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-07-21

Company States That the Doctor
Fixed His wires So That Only the
Current Used in One of Four
Rooms Was Registered by the
Meter - Warrant Under Law
Passed by the Last Legislature.
One more crime has been added to
the list of those which come within the
pLrvlew of the law, and it remained for
Minneapolis to develop the genius
which conceived it. Most people have
, seen the play in which n robber walks
away With a red-hot stove. and some
time ago the city produced a man who
Tor some time successfully stole the gas
necessary for the illumination of mis-
abooe. These may now take a back
. seat and watch the chariot of progress
as II passes to the front.
TO steal other peoples thunder is an
expression which has been hackneyed
by constant use, and it was, no doubt,
with the hope of improving upon the
phrase that DR.. A. e. Peck, a dentist
OF this city, contrived a scheme 10y
which, it is alleged, he stole quantities
Oh lls thing, the rightful property of
the Minneapolis General Electric COM
pany; at least that is the charge upon
bich the doctor is wanted, and for
which the papeIs have been sworn out
by the latter corporation.
DR.. Peck has a fine suite of offices In
the Medical block, on Nicollet avenue,
which are lighted by electricity. He has
many appliances OF an up-to-date ma
'ture also which require power to ope-
rate, and he used electricity for that
purpose. Naturally the expense of the
fluid was considerable, and the doctor,
according TO the company, set about to
discover some manner in which he
could secure that va liable adjunct with
as little cost as possible. If the COM
plant of the electric company is cor
lect he succeeded
The suite occupied by DR.. Peck con-
sists of four rooms, and in one of these,
at the rear, was located the meter
which registered tbs amount OF electric
'i1u:d consumed by him. That is to say,
ii did 50 register until the doctor per-
fected his arrangement Regularly
each month he has appeared at the Of
nee OF the company, so the officials say,
and after paying the amount of his bill
has put in the regulation complaint
about the amount of the charge.
Lately his meter has been doing so
little work that the company became
suspicious, and the complaints made by
Peck irritated them to such an extent
that they were goad d TITO action. TIL y
awaited a favorable opportunity, and
sent two of their employees to the office
Of the doctor with instructions to make
an examination.
The problem was not a hard one to
unraNel. The men followed the wire
from the front of the office, where it
entered, and at the first cleat which
served to hold the wire to the wall was
found the cause of the trouble. The
doctor, or some one else, had removed
the cleat. tapped the Wire and after
soldering them toseth formed another
connection of a concealed nature by
which it was possible to divert the cur
rent so that inst ad of passing through
the meter. which was located in the
rear room, it could go directly into the
operating and reception rooms, where
nearly all of the fluid was consumed
which was necessary in the conduct of
the business. BY this arrangement the
meter registered only the electricity
used III one of the four ro-ms. After
replacing the cleat there was nothing
to show on the outside indicating any
irregularity, and it was not at all
wonderful that the trick was not no
ticed by the companys employees
The warrant was sworn out under
the new electrical law, who was
passed by the last legislature, to meet
just such emergenc' es. a the penalty,
if guilt is proved. viii BE- not more than
$500 fire or five years in the state peni-
tertiary.