Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1903-12-09
HOW GANG KILLED AND ROBBED.
Many Desperate Grimes Crowded In
TO Short Space of Time.

HOW GANG KILLED AND ROBBED.
Many Desperate Crimes Crowded In
TO short Space of Time.
Never before in Chicago, and perhaps
never in all the country, have so many
desperate crimes been crowded into so
| short time as is the case with Van
| Dine, Niedermeier, Roeski and Marx.
Previous to the battle Of Friday, the four
| youths had a criminal history extending
| over less than FIVE months, with the ex-
ception of small offenses OF larceny.
| In that time they killed seven men,
wounded several others, robbed Eve sa-
| looms, a railroad ticket office, the car
| barns at Sixty-frst and State ,treet, and
! attempted to dynamite a train. Five Of
| the murders We're committed within two
months.
, So far as is told by police rerorts and
the confessions of the men, the first
crime of note committed by them was
the robbery of the Clybourn Junction sta
! ton of tine Northwestern Railway July
! 3. Ni,dermeier and Roeski carried out
this 70. berry. t. w. Lathrop, the ticket
agent, ard Martin Daugherty. a tele-
! graph operator, were in the station when
4
| lattice work ami demanded the money in
the drawer. Lathrop reached for a re-
yolver and was shot through the body,
but not mortally hurt. Daugherty gave
up and the robbers secured $40. There
was nothing by which to identify the rob-
bers, except the long, slel der hand that
reached for the money. On this clew
| George Dole was arrested and held to
the criminal court.
Less than a week later, July Q, Van
Dine, Roeski and Marx robbed the sa-
loon of Ernest Spires, 1920 North Ash
| land avenue. Roeski went in the front
door and ordered a glass Of beer. Marx
and Van Dine appeared at the side door
and commanded all inside TO hold up
| their hands, Otto Bauder, 10 years old,
| started to run, and Roeski shot him to
death Roeski then went behind the bar
and robbed the cash till, while his com
| panions guarded the men lined against
the bar
The following night, July 10, Van Dine
and Roeski went to Greenberg's saloon,
401 Addison avenue. Louis Cohen, the
bartender, was alone, and the men had
little trouble in securing $25. Cohen was
locked in the ice box. 1t was in this
saloon that Marx later shot Detective
John Quinn.
Van Dine and Roeski held up the sa-
loon of Charles Alvin on July r. There
were FIVE men besides the bartender in
the place when the youths entered with
handkerchiefs over their faces. One hun
dred dollars was taken from the cash
register.
Roesbi and Van Dine on July 20 found
Peter Cork alone in his saloon at 2611
Milwaukee avenue. When confronted
by the robbers the saloonkeeper crouched
behind the bar and reached for a revolt
yer. Before he could secure it four shots
had been fired at him, one of the bullets
striking him in the head. Cork was
conscious, but gave no sign of it, and
could hear the robbers say in a matter
of-fact way as they opened the cash
drawer, "He is dead" Cork recovered.
The murder of Benjamin G. La Gross
and Adolph Jensen on Aug. In the for
mer's saloon Mt 2120 West North avenue
came next. The saloonkeeper and Jen-
sen were playing cards when the robbers
entered. La Gross and his customer held
up their hands when ordered to do so,
but both were shot, La Gross dying at
$64 in the till.
The most desperate crime of the men
was the car barn robbery on Aug. 30
Roeski and Marx arranged the details,
but Roeski was not an active party to
the robbery. Two men were killed and
So, $50 was taken. The responsibility for
the murders is the one point on which
the other prisoners say that Marx did
not tell the truth in his confession.
Marx, Van Dine and Niedermeier In
Taded the barns at 3 O'Clock in the
morning and began shooting without
warning. Francis w. Stewart. student
at the Armour Institute, at work at
desk in the cashiers office, was shot
through the body and died soon after
ward. William B. Edmond, receiving
cashier, also was shot, but not mort Ill.
james b. johnson, a motorman, was
killed as he rose from a bench on which
he had been sleeping
The men made a muss OF their plan
for dynamiting the limited train Of the
Chicago and Northwestern Railway. At
ter the car barn murders two members
of the gang went TO Cripple Creek to buy
dynamite for the purpose. Van Dine
learned when a large sur Of money was
to be carried, and on this night Roeski
tagged the train between jefferson and
Des PLANES. The engineer did not stop,
but slowed up. AS the locomotive pass
ed Roeski fired a shot, the bullet wound
ing the fireman in the thigh When the
train was brought to a stop il had pass
ed the point where the dynamite had
been concealed, and the robbers hurried
away.
The robbery OF the Devon avenue
street car barns was planned by the des-
peradoes. but before accurate informa-
ton had been gathered Marx vas ar
rested. Assistant Chief Schuettler had
instructed his men TO capture Marx, and
Detectives Quinn and Blaul found him
in Greenberg's saloon. As Quinn spoke
to him Marx turned and shot him 10
death.