The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-11-04
APPEARANCES AGAINST HIM.
Innocent Man Taken for a Thief Doe
Not Deny the Charges.


Not Deny the Charges.
From the New Orleans Times-Demo-
crat.
When I was considerably younger
and greener in this business said an
old railroad detective who had been
asked to tell story of his experiences,
II lived at certain hotel. which 1t Is
not in the least necessary to name.
One rainy, sleety night in early winter
| came in very late, and going directly
to my room was surprised to find the
door ajar. | had on a pair of old rub
bers, so my approach had made no
noise, and, peeping in, ! saw a man
bending over my open trunk. l dldn
stop to mediate, but was on his back
in couple of jumps, and who should
it turn out to be but the porter.
young white man much liked by every
body in the house. He was so startled
that he couldn't say a word, and there
was the evidence, plain as day. The
trunk had been forced with chisel,
which lay on the floor; the contents
We're tumbled about, and sticking in
the lock of the door was a skeleton
key made out of piece of copper wire
When the porter found his tongue he
begged me not to turn him over to the
police. He said that his mother, who
was dependent upon him for support,
was sick and in destitute circumstan-
! ces; that he was unable to earn enough
to provide her with neceasaries, and
his desperate need of money had tempt
ed him to the act. 1t was his first Of
Tense, he pleaded, and if I would let
him off it would be his last-in short,
he gave me the usual story, but he
told it so we'll and begged so piteousy
that at last I weakened and told him
to get out. Next day he quietly left
town and later on I discovered that
the mother story was fake. Then L
cussed myself for being a fool.
Nearly a year afterward,' continu-
ed the detective, II arrested profess
sional crook for car-breaking and
found him wearing pair of my own
cuff buttons, which ] had missed for
long time and didn't know what had
become of them. Under pressure he
confessed that he had stolen them from
a room in such andsuch house. nam
| ing the hotek where l lived. He said
| he had opened the door with a false
| key, broken into trunk and was just
rifiing it, when he heard somebody
coming and darted out, barely dodg--
| ing a young man in the hail. l pulled
out the copper skeleton key, which l
still had on my ring, and he identified
| it Immediately as the one he had used
You may we'll believe I was consider
ably agitated and I went to work i'm
mediately to locate the exporter. After
| a good deal Of difficulty l finally found
him in Memphis clerking in a grocery
store. ] got the tip, by the way, from
a letter he had written to a friend.
Well, cornered him and insisted on an
explanation and he told me a story l
| will never forget as long as l live. He
said he was coming down the hall that
night when he saw man run out OF
my room. The fellow got away before
| he could grab him. and, naturally
enough he went in to see what was up.
He noticed the trunk open and had Just
| stopped down to see whether 1T had
been forced when I rushed in. The
surprise of it bewildered him for a,
moment and then he realized that he
had been caught inadvertently in a
position that would certainly convict
him Of burglary. I knew you wouldn't
believe me if I told the truth he said,
and would be dead sure to have me
arrested but I did think there was
some chance of working on your feel
| ings by pretending to confess. | re-
membered hearing you remark SAID
he, that you always felt sorry for a
man that owned up So he tried that
| plan, and as you already know, 1t
worked. I was satisfied that what he
told me was absolutely true and, ta-
ken altogether I believe that was the
aueerest case I ever had anything to
do with. The last heard of the young
man he was living in Atlanta and doing
we'll. The car thief got seven years.