The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1898-09-15
A GREAT SURPRISE.
WALTER ABEL AND RAY ROBINSON
ARRESTED FOR BURGLARY.
WERE CAUGHT IN THE ACT.
And After an Exciting Chase Were
Landed IN Jai1-Confess their Crime
Matter Will Be Compromise-Grea
Sympathy tor the Families.

A sensation which struck the people
of Kenosha like an electric shock was
sprung Sunday morning, when it was
announced that Walter Abel and Ray
Robinson had been arrested Saturday
night on a charge of burglarizing
Charles Elnst's store. What makes it
worse the crime of the young mon is
proved without a doubt as the boys
were caught in the very act of remov-
ing cigars and money from the cases
and drawers in the store. The prom
inence of the families of the young men
gave wings to the story and it soon
spread to every part of the city and
became the universal topic of CONVEX
sation. The families of the boys re-
ceived the news shortly after the arrest
and were Frustrated by the sad intelli
gence that the boys had blasted their
reputation, which was SO promising.
The story of the capture of the boys
has been told over and over again
today but the interest in the story is
still intense. The burglaries have
been going on at the store for several
months and small and large sums of
money have been taken nearly every
week, but it seemed almos impossible
TO gain any trace of the parties who
took the money Finally Mr.. Ernst
had the store watched, but this gave
no results until Saturday night when
Mr.. Ernst, together with his head
clerk, Frank Sullivan, decided to5sleep
in the store. Several sums of money
had been missed during the week and
Mr.. Ernst had taken the precaution to
mark all the coin left in the money
drawer with his initials. The men on
watch in the store were startled about
Ills Saturday night when the two
boys entered the store from the rear
door. They came in not as robbers,
but as proprietors and one OF them
walked to the cigar case and removed
box of cigars, while the other one
emptied the contents of the money
drawer into his pocket. At this point
Ernst and Sullivan confronted them
and making their way to the back
door a race for their honor and the
concealment of their crime began.
The boys struggled in vain, how
eyer, for they were both caught and
Chief of Police Barber placed them
under arrest. When the boys were
taken to the Jail they were met by
Sheriff Abel himself. The boys
thus far have offered no defense for the
actions. They had been living beyond
their means, and as neither of them
were making sufficient wages to keep
the pace they had started, they were
forced to commit the crime.
Young Robinson has been out of
work since the failure of the Sieg
Manufacturing company, and the boys
stated themselves that the false key
with which they made an entrance to
the store at will, was made shortly
after Robinson lost his position. Wal
ter Abel was studying law in Peter
Fishers office, and it was thought that
he had a very brilliant future before
him.
There seems to be positively no
excuse for the boys. Brought up as
we'll as their families could, given the
best educational advantages they
started to live the pace that kills and
as usual in such cases it led them into
the path of the criminal This is the
first time that either of them has been
implicated in any affair in the least
dishonorable. Their act is generally
regarded not as a deliberate crime but
one of the errors that youth and rash
ness is liable to. That neither of them
realized the enOrmity of the offense
they now heartily repent there is
little doubt. The sympathy for
the parents, however, is univer-
sal, but no words of coincidence can
remove the faint which the action of
the boys has laid on the fair name of
the families.
Every effort is being made to COM
promise the matter in such manner
as to keep the boys out of the state
prison. The matter is now in the
hands of District Attorney Buckmas-
ter, and he has consented that if the
boys plead guilty, on account of their
families and previous good records, he
will ask the judge to suspend punish
ment pending good behavior.
Robinson and Abel were brought
and waving preliminary examina-