The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-03-07
CHARMED BY THE ELEVATOR.
Office Boy Played Burglar to Run 1t by
Himself.

/
| Himself.
| Edward A. Newell the proprietor of
| a mems furnishing establishment at
| 526 Fifth avenue, received bill for re-
| pairs about the middle of last week,
| which seemed to indicate that the high
grade electrical freight elevator recent
ly installed in his place had been suf-
fering from an attack of premature
senility during the preceding 80 days.
Last Saturday the name of Philip
O'Brien, Is years old, of No. Is West
Thirty first street, who had been en-
ployed in the store as an errand boy,
was dropped from the pay roll for the
good of the concern. Only Mahatma
or a seventh daughter of seventh
daughter would conceive the idea of
connecting these two circumstances
but the connection is there just the
same.
The porter of Mr.. NewelPs store, in a
fit of unwonted energy on Sunday fore
noon made a visit to the building. He
was surprised to find O'Brien in the
freight elevator with his hand on the
lever ready to start upward. and as he
could think of one explanation only for
the presence of a recently discharged
errand boy in building supposed to be
deserted and locked up, he charged
O'Brien on the spot with being thief.
The terrified boy made a plunge and a
dash, evaded his accuser, reached the
door, and vanished into space.
The incident, magnfied by the i'm
agination of the faithful porter, was
reported the next morning to Mr..
Newell, who in turn reported it to po-
lice headquarters, with the result that
OBren was arrested at his home on
Monday night by Detectives Price and
Herman of the central office. A false
key to Mr.. Newelrs building was found
in his pocket. The examination was
something like this:
What did you take in the build
ing?"
''Nawthin'," with many tears.
"Of course, not! Who were your ac-
complices?'
81 amt used nawthin' of the kind.
just had the key to get in" ..
Jaw. come off, who were along with
you in the buildng?'
'Nobody-ne KID brother mostly
so. that's it. You'd been there be-
fore?"
Affirmative movement Of the head
well, well. Who was with you Sun
day?"
There was some delay before this was
ascertained, but finally the name of
Henry E. Miller. Is years old, of 314
Tenth avenue, was obtained. A detec-
tive was sent to arrest Miller, and the
examination continued.
What did you do in the building on
Sunday"
"Nawtin'. I hadn't got no time to do
nawthin' before the porter came and
most scared the life out of me-"
well, why did you run away?"
Il thought he would lick me, of
course"
Then why did you enter the build
ing? Don't you know that's burglary"
cause [ wanted to be an elevator
man. I got the key because they
wouldn't let me run the elevator in the
daytime. So l had to go there in the
evenin ter do it."
This broke the ice and the boy pro-
ceeded to tell the full story without fur
Their prompting. 1t appeared that the
new electric elevator had exercised a
strange fascination over him from the
first day he saw it. He spent not only
his leisure moments, but also much time
stolen from his duties near it. coaXing
the attendant into giving him ride, or
begging for one brief chance to handle
the lever that regulates its movements.
The desire to run it all by himself final
ly became so strong that he decided to
get a key to the building.
The time that followed after its ac-
quirement seemed to bring paradise
back to earth. Almost every evening
the boy spent in the building. making
trips with the elevator, humping it
against the ceiling and dropping it to
the floor but always too happy to be
conscious of the harm done to the cage
and the machinery. The first few even
ings he went alone, but later he took
his younger brother along, and as time
and practice brought a feeling of Sc
Curity. he invited friends to accompany
him on private elevator excursions. All
the time he felt deeply that the running
of a first-class electric elevator beat
any other game he could think of
The size of that last bill for elevator
repairs makes Mr.. Newell inclined to
believe the boys story, and this incli-
nation has been strengthened by the
failure to discover any shortage in the
stock.