El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-09-17
Disclosed Through the Re-
covery Of a Beautiful
Lost Pearl.
STARTLING DETAILS
Of the Loss and Discovery
Of Valuable Stones, and
the Means BY Which
They Disappeared

E. p. McBroom, an employ OF the
International Light and Po~er com
pany, is locked up a. the city Jail on q
charge OF theft, as . result OF one o.
the cleverest pieces Of detective work
ever done by the police of FL Paso.
McBroom f. charged with stealing q
handsome pearl pin, valued as four
hundred dollars, from Consul Francis
CO Mallen. The theft, IL is alleged, was
Committed in the bed room of the con-
-ul, at his residence on San Antonio
street, sometime Saturday afternoon.
Consul Mallen did not discover bis loss
until Sunday morning when he desired
to fasten ip in his cravst. he telephon-
ed TO various places, thinkiog that per-
haps somebody had seen the pin lying
around, and had placed it in a position
of safety.
No one knew .nythiug about the pin,
and Sr. Mallen came to the conclusion
that it had been stolen.
The house servant at the consulate
has been with Consul Mslleo for sew
eral years, and ne knew thas the thlef
had come FROM the outside withou,
question
On Saturday morning, and part OF
the afternoon, three employees OF the
electric light company had been al
work on the premises erecting a line
of electric arc lights from the windows
OF the cor sulate TO q point across San
Antonio street, to be used as decora-
tions for the Independence celebration
that night. Tuetr work naturally
made them spend considerable ,ime In
the upper portion Of the consulate, used
by the consul ss sleeping and living
frertments, AS there had
been nobody else in that part
cf the house, suspicious fell upon
them. Coasul Msllen ielephoned to
the Interostioosl Light company, and
ascertained the names of the men who
had been detailed TO erect the electric
lights. on tne promises he then
sought the acting chief Of police, and
laid the matter be fore him. Tuis was
not until pesrly noon Sunday. BY four
O'Clock Sunday afternoon Nc Broom ";
confined behind the bare at the city
jail.
Not only wasConsul Msllen's vslu-
able pearl pin recovered, but what
makes the arrest all the more import
ant was the recovery OF a diamond
from . ring belonging 70 Mrs. Leigh
Clark which wac stolen from Mr..
Clark's re side sc some time ago, and
which would never perhaps have been
recovered If she theft of Consul Mallen's
pearl had nos brought II to light.
AS soon as the police were notified )
of the theft of the pin, officers Bendy l
and Harold were detailed on the case. !
The servant employed at Consul Ma
liens was questioned concerning the ;
actions Of the three electric light work.
ers while they were engaged in the up
per rooms of the house. The woman
stated that while all of the men had
been left alone in the front bed
room several times, she was positive
that McBroom Was tue only one who
had been there at any time by himself.
The officers went then to McBroom's
room az the corner of Santa Fe and
Boulevard streets, made careful
search of the room. The pearl pin
was found, and also Mrs. Clark's large
unset diamond, both of which jewels
we're taken with McBroom to the city
Jail.
The police then attempted to discover
the owner of the diamond, feeling sure
that is had been stolen. IL was ide,
titled by Mrs. CLARK as one which Was
mi, sed from her bedroom some time
ago.
Mrs. Clark remembered that a. the
time her diamond had been stolen the
reside noe was being fitted throughout
with electricity. McBroOm WAS one
of the electrical filters. employ ed there
at the time, but there WAS 10 proof
that he had taken the diamond
The nan that took Mrs. Clarke dis-
mond was apparently q professional 1t