Evening star., 1901-04-23
OF FRAUD
STREET RAILWAY MEN CHARGED
WITH sWINDLING COMPANY.
Six Conductors and Two other En-
D1Oyes Placed Under Arrest
An Alleged Confession.

An Alleged Confession.
Eight men in the employ of the Wash
ington Traction and Electric. Company were
locked up last night. and this morning
charged with conspiracy to defraud the
company. The arrests were made by the
detectives under Inspector Boardman on
complaint of Gen. George H. Harries, first
vice president of the railroad corporation.
An investigation of the alleged wrong
doings of some of the railroad employees has
been going on for several weeks Vice
President Harries has conducted the inves-
tigation, his attention having been called
to a falling off of something like $500 In the
daily receipts from the several lines Of the
syndicate. President McDermott, 1t is
stated, was also making an investigation.
The arrests referred to resulted from the
work done by the vice president after he
had been fully convinced that the company
was not getting money for all the fares
actually collected. The parties arrested are
George W. Cadarr. engineer. and Richard
Williams, fireman, who were employed at
East Capitol and 10Th streets in the car
barn, and six conductors named Oliver A.
Gardiner, Edward Parker George W. Blair,
John ]. Keating John N. Myers and John
w. Dodson. The ages of the defendants
range from twenty-five to forty years
Detectives Flather, Horne, Muller, Boyd
and Lacy made the arrests.
AS already stated, the investigation has
been going on for several weeks, the 1all-
ing off in the receipts of the roads having
been noticed shortly after the Christmas
holidays. 1t was soon discovered that many
scorched tickets were being turned IN, anu
while they seem to have aroused no sus-
picion on the part of some or the clerks
Vice President Harries thought 1T strange
proceeding. Then, too, 1t developed tnat
punches Of tickets turned in by conductor
ant r.IIn has
When 1t Is remembered that each conductor
Is provided with but one punch TINS CIR
cumstance added to the suspicious and
likewise gave the officials clew
Cancelled Tickets Burned.
1t has been the custom of the company
to burn the Cancelled tickets turned In each
day. and 1t was believed the scorched tick
cts turned in had been rescued from the
furnace In addition to these tickets, 1t Is
stated a number of counterfeit tickets
were turned in. and this phase Of the case
is also under investigation. Later devel-
opments convinced those Interested just
how the tickets were taken from the fur
mace and the statement of Engineer Ca
darr shows that the belief of the officials
was well founded. Cadarr was the first OF
the several employees to fall into the nanos
of the police. He had left the car barn
and started for his home. carrying his
lunch box in his hand, when he was sur
prised by one of the detectives approach
ing and informing him he was under ar
rest Upon what charge he was placed in
custody he pretended he did not know, but
when the lunch box was found to contain
more than one hundred scorched and can
celed tickets he concluded he would tell
the whole story In addition to what he
had in his lunch box the detectives found
several hundred similar tickets at his
home. They had not been trimmed and
assorted for distribution among the con-
alleged have taken part In the
swindle.
According to Cadarr's alleged confession,
the furnace fire and flues were so arranged
that the tickets would not burn in short
time and soon after the departure or the
clerk who had thrown them on the hot
Goals he tCadarr) took them out, saving the
best of them He took many of them home
with him and it was found necessary to
trim off the burned edges. After being pre-
pared and put in packages. he is alleged to
have stated. they were distributed to the
conductors through one of their number
who acted as distributing agent, so Cadarr
alleges These tickets it is stated were sold
to the conductors at 81 hundred and were
turned in by them a second time at the
rate charged for them by the company.
The Arrests.
John n Meyers was arrested In George
town about 4:30 o'clock this morning, just
after he had finished his nights work He
had on him two punches, but no scorched
his car near the East Capitol street barn,
and he made his daily report at the ninth
precint station instead of at the Office OF
the railway company. A bunch Of tickets
taken from his pocket showed they had
been Cancelled with different punches. and
they also showed evidence of having been
near a fire.
The detectives have conversed with the
several defendants, but some Of them admit
as much as did the engineer. Most of them
either enter denials or refuse to discuss the
affair 1t Is stated that some of the can
celed tickets found their way to the Capt.
tai Traction road and the officials of the
latter company will probably take a hand
in the investigation. Vice President Har-
rieS and the detectives interested in the
case resumed their investigation today, and
Will endeayor to locate every man on the
road who was in any way concerned in
not taken to the Police Court today, as the
officers and railway officials desired more
time in which to complete the investiga-
tion. Additional arrests. it is stated will
probably be made before the cases are pre-
sented to the court
In Police Court.
Attorney Darlington, representing En-
gineer Cadarr, appeared in Judge SCOTS
court this afternoon and asked that bond
be fixed for his client. Judge Scott placed
the amount at 5000 but later in the day.
on motion of Prosecuting Attorney Null
lowny. the bond was increased to 5000
Mr.. Darlington said he would probably
procure surety for his client later in the
day
TO SUCCEED FARQIHAR.
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