The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-04-08
Postmaster Bate Charged With a
Serious Crime.
NOW BEHIND THE BARS
ACCUSED OF SETTING FIRE TO
COOP STORE.
Arrested by Sheriff Howells and Dep
uty Cummock and Brought to the
City Last Night-Some Strong
Circumstantial Evidence Against
the Accused.

With the serious charge of arson
hanging over him, Ernest T. Bate, post
| master at Riverton, a small village
about twenty miles southwest of the
city, was brought to Salt Lake at mid
night last night by Deputy Sheriff
Cummock and lodged in the county
jail.
The crime with which Bate is charged
is that of setting fire to the Pioneer
Coop store at Riyerton at midnight
last Friday night. The Coop store is
managed by the accused man, and the
postoffice is situated in the store. A
,, dance was in progress in a pavilion ad-
jacent to the store when the fire was
discovered, and had it not been for
prompt work on the part of the dane
ers the entire structure would have
been quickly consumed. AS it was the
blaze was extinguished without much
damage to the building or its contents.
The condition of the store aroused the
suspicion of many of those who went
into it after the fire had been put out,
and by telephone Sheriff Howells and
Deputy Sheriff Cummock were sum-
moned the next morning to investigate
the case.
STRONG EVIDENCE.
fire was of incendiary origin. Just be-
side door leading into a storeroom IN
the rear of the store they found a guam
tity of paper saturated with coal oil,
and in the midst of this was a piece OF
half burnt candle. 1t was here that
the fire started, and it is supposed
that the saturated paper was placed on
the floor and the candle end lighted and
placed in the midst. When the candle
70 ha
giving the incendiary in the meanwhile
plenty of time to get away before the
fire got we'll started.
Suspicion was first directed to Bate.
owing to conflicting statements which.
it is alleged, he made about a guam
tity of stamps, $50 worth in all. which
he claimed he had left in a drawer in
the postoffice. This drawer was found
burst open and the stamps were gone.
but there was not the slightest evi-
dence that any of the doors or windows
to the store had been tampered with, or
that forcible access had been obtained
to it in any other way. This went to
show that someone who had a key to
the store had been gUis-s OF the crime
Bate was, from the accounts of sew
eral witnesses, in the store less than
half an hour before thei fire was dis
covered. A man who was in attendance
at the dance purchased some candy of
him and left him at the store shortly
before midnight. A half hour later the
fire broke out.
There were other suspicious circum-
stances in connection with the matter
which tended to point to Bates guilt.
and after Sheriff Howells and Deputy
Sheriff Cummock had thoroughly
looked into the case they decided to
arrest Bate.
When brought to the city last even
ing Bate had very little to say about
the charge against him. He was locked
UP at the county Jail over night, and
today he will be taken before Justice
McMaster to enter a plea to the charge
of arson.
It is understood that there may be
other charges of nearly as serious a
character brought against Bate. but as
to these little could be learned last
evening