The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-12-26
CRAFTERS THERE
Even in Insane Asylum They
Seek Doodle.
PURLOIN PUBLIC GOODS
Haul Them to Store and Dis
pose of Them.

St Louis, Mo-. Dec. 25.-That grafters
at the insane asylum purloined goods
~ the wagon load developed yesterday
in the confession of William EOttcher,
stableman at the asylum, who confessed
that he had often taken barrels of gro
! ceries back 10 supply houses.
The health officials, by this confession,
/ believe that the supply houses which re-
/ ceived the goods resold them TO the in
stitution. thereby making huge profits for
the clerks in charge at the asylum
Boettcher, in his affidavit. accuses Rob
ert Z. Lee Gibson, former chief clerk at
/ the insane asylum. as the leader and the
one who commanded him to haul supplies
/ entered upon the asylum's books.
! The New Era Supply company, South
! Side Supply company and the store Of H
p. Hoff. No. 1901 Chippewa street, are
mentioned as places TO which quantities
/ of supplies We're hauled.
| The confession of William Boettcher in
regard to the hauling away of supplies
4 from the insane asylum is as follows;
| went to work at the insane asylum
/ late in the year 1898 and worked there as
stableman until about February. 1902.
Within two or three months after / be-
/ gan TO work l was ordered by Mr. Gibson
/ chief clerk, to take certain supplies from
the storeroom. load them on a wagon and
take item down to various supply houses
l delivered at various times TO the New
Era Supply company, on South Third
street about as follows: Barrels of sugar.
barrels of flour, barrels of molasses. cases
of canned goods tobacco, bacon, hams,
prunes. apricots rice. apples. etc
/ delivered about the same things in
about the same quantities to the South
Side Supply company, to whom I also de-
livered butter every week or two.
1 delivered to II. P. Hof. grocer at
No 2s0l Chippewa street. various sup
plies from time to time One time in
particular 1 remember / delivered five or
six cases of canned peas These goods
were also put on wagon and delivered
by me under orders from Mr. Gibson to
various supply houses / made these de-
Iiveries on an average of about twice
week during all the time that l held the
position of stableman at the insane asy-
lum.. ard only very seldom did l ever re
goods that / delivered SO far as / could
sec there was never anything wrong with
the goods that [ took back to these sup
ply houses.
The fresh meat and other things that
were sold by persons at the insane asylum
To August I4itZau were sometimes de-
livered to Litzau's store by me. Some
times Litzau's wagon would be sent TO
the insane asylum TO get the goods, ana
sometimes the goods were taken to MS
store by the driver of the st. Louis
Dressed Beef company's wagon.
The vegetables that 1 sold 10 L!tzau
while 1 was gardener at the Insane asy-
lum were called for by Litzau's driver
who came with a covered wagon and
hauled them away. lie paid me in cash
2 few times, but as a general rule. /
would take my pay out in groceries at
his store.
About the second year after I began 20
work at the Insane asylum, on numerous
occasions. / saw a man driving a white
horse TO a black covered wagon come
into the yard. The driver was a man 81
years old, medium-sized with a blond
mustache. l never knew the man per
sonalIy. but | was told that his name was
]. P. holden. and that he had a meat
contract at the Insane asylum.
l often saw him come with load of
meat unload it at the store room, and
then as he left the asylum many times
there were two or three barrels in his
wagon am positive that most of the
time these barrels were put on his wagon
at the asylum. because if there had been
barrels on his wagon when he came IN
I would have seen them.
About February, 1892 l changed my po-
sition from stableman to gardener. and
even after that time l was often called
on to make trips downtown with the
wagon. delivering goods TO the various
supply houses.
At one time within tho last two years
was given an order for barrel Of ap-
pies by Mr.. Gibson. got the barrel
Of apples from either the Hartman Com
mission company or the Scalzo Fruit com
pany. ] took the barrel Of apples to Au-
gust Litzau's grocery store and received
s. for them. ! gave the - to Mr. crow.
chief cook at the Insane asylum. and he
handed me back 81 for myself Mr. Glib
son never inquired OF me what became Of
the barrel of apples.
Health Commissioner Simon YESTERDAY
received communication from the Insane
asylum to cut or two deliveries OF pots-
toes due there
SO quickly did the grating stop after
the starting Of the investigation that
large quantities OF provisions were left at
the institutions Among the provisions
we're lots of potsturs II i believed fHa
asylum has enough 10 las, q rnonth or
-zore- Large quantities % salt meats are
also on hand. enough to last several
months. Il < said.
II many casrs az Asthma Piso's Cure
gives relief that is almost equal 20
cure. %
SET FIRE TO SING SING
Man With Remarkable Record IN