The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-10-30
BURGLARY and ARSON
ATTEMPTED ON SUBSCRIBING
NIGHT AT ST. AGNES 81
---.
SCHOOL
ROBBERS VISIT THURSDAY
wa" reported tel~ TO 70 - the Z fo o and
Officer Springer Was Watching
the Premises for Their Return
When He Discovered the Fire,
Which Was Aat First Thought to
Have Been Accidental.

Members of St. Agnes parish are
excited over what Is believed to have
been an attempt to burn the parish
school house at Kent and" Lafond streets
last Saturday morning. The discovery OF
the fire shortly after 1t started saved
the building, but several teachers sleep
Ing In the west wing of the building were
badly frightened. while the parishoners
are more or-less apprehensive that the
supposed incendiaries may repeat the at
tempt to destroy the school. The fire was
eXttnguished before the building was
damaged to any extent.
The fire was discovered shortly before
1 o'clock by Officer Springer, of the Ron
Go station. eThe~fife was then burning
briskly in the rear Of the school house,
having communicated to a stairway lead
ing to the second floor. 1t had apparent
ly been started under the stairway, and
already the easements of windows on
both the ground floor and the second
floor were in flames. >Itawasr known that
several sisters slept In the building, and
they were at once aroused. when an
alarm was turned in, bringing the fire de-
partment. Before the. department ar
rived the flames had cracked the glass
in the windows, and but for the prompt
work on the part Of the f1remen would
have been raging inside Of the building.
Many indications point to the fire hay
ing been Of an incendiary origin.--Offlcer
Springer was attracted to the scene by
a sound like an explosion, and Father
Solnce, pastor oRz=the paEish,zsays there
was nothing about the building to cause
such a noise. He says there was no
fire in the furnace nor anyaAghts burning.
Furthermore, the fire was on the outside
of the building, and there are no build
irgs from which the fire might have
communicated near the rear of the
school house. After the blaze was ex-
tinguished an investigation showed that
the fire probably started in waste pa
per box under the stairway This box
Is kept locked, but the top was dis
placed, and 1t Is believed the, noise heard
by Officer Springer was the breaking of
a board when the incendiaries tore off
the box cover There was material
enough in the box to start lively fire,
and it is believed the incendiaries dropped
a lighted match among the papers. with
q view TO creating the impression that
the fire started accidentally.
Another fact that lends color to the In
cendiary theory is that an attempt was
made Thursday night to burglarize the
apartments Of thes sisters, and 1t is be-
lieved the wen!aisbe rebbeFs-endeavore
to make their plans successful a ssecond
time by firing the building, hoping In the
excitement to sransack the building. The
burglars visited the school about 2 o clock
Friday morning. The sisters heard some
one prowling about the building, and
later were startled by hearing a door on
the ground floor forced open. They light
ed the building throughout and the burg
lars fled. In the morning the traces of
burglars were plain. A door leading to a
closet had been pried open, but there was
no other door leading from thes closet
into the building and the burglars were.
foiled The attempted burglary was re-
ported to the police, and the fact that
Officer Springer was. keeping watch for
return of the robbers accounts for his
timely discovery of the fire.
Father Solnce says he Is quite positive
the fire was started by some one with
malicious intent He says there are many
bad characters frequently seen in the
neighborhood and thinks some OF these
were planning to rob the. school house
and the sisters apartments.
Capt. Jerry Strapp, who was acting In
the place of Assistant Fire, Chief Irvine,
went to the fire. and says the blaze at
the school house was Of undoubted in
cendiary origin. He says there was little
chance for the stairway to have caught
fire accidentally.
The school house is twostory brick
building erected some years ago at q
cost of $4,000. 1t is insured for $1,000.