The evening world., 1903-05-09
F|REMEN HELD
AS F|REBUCS.
Six Prominent Young Men in
Whitestone, L. l., Accused of
lncendi9rism for the Fun of
Seeing Engine Run.

Six young men. members of prominent
families of Whitestone, L. l., were ar
rested last night on a charge of arson.
They are members OF the Volunteer
Fire Department of the village. and II
Is alleged by the police that they set
fire to at leafs six places In order TO see
the engine make a run and have the
sport OF throwing water. The prisoners
deny the charge. They will be arraigned
to-day in Flushing Court.
They are Bert willmott, a son
of a shoe merchant and q clerk
in the Tax Office OF Queens .3or-
ough; Will Fridell, a clerk in the
Boar OF Education: Thomas Powers,
the son of a livery stable proprietor;
II. Dixon. a prominent young man;
Philip Hettrich and Henry Niemeyer,
who belong to perhaps the oldest fam
lilies In the settlement.
In one of the fires in which the police
allege the young men had a hand there
was IA child asleep in the house at the
time.
A Serious Charge.
Setting fire to a house In which a per-
son Is asleep is arson in the first degree
dilu upoIl NuilNiCllOH Is puUlSldDle Dy I'M
prisonment for forty years.
The attention OF the police was drawn
to Whitestone by the fact that there
were more than a half dozen fires in
three weeks and three barns were set on
fire in one night. Detectives from the
Central Office In Brooklyn, from the
Fire Marshal's office and from the COM
of Capt. Wohlfarth in Flushing
were put oil the case. From what they
gathered they became convinced that the
men who had set the fires were young
men in the village. and the arrests fol-
lowed.
Niemeyer was released last night. but
was rearrested this morning.
The first fra to attract attention was
about three weeks ago, when an unoc-
cupied house belonging to Daniel Nc
Mahon, the Tammany leader, was
found TO be on fire. ina roof was
badly burned before the department
put 1t Out.
Fire I'm a Barn.
There was another fire a night later
In a barn at Whitestone Landing. A
barn on tae Morrison estate was also
OF the Willets Point road.
me three fires In a night were a barn
VI. LII rolBtT,. d Darn OF Mr.. van
Wagner and the home of Mrs. Riley,
at Nineteenth street. between Seventh
and Eighth avenues. 1t was in the
home that a child was asleep. and
which. II the charge against the men be
true. makes the charge arson in the first
degree.
After the evidence had been obtained
in the minds of the police JUSTIFIED
an arrest II was laid before Fire Mar
shal Beers, Of Queens. whose men also
had bAen on the case. and warrants
were applied for and issued against the
men accused.
At the hearing to-day It came out
that Willmott mad made a confession
TO the firing of n barn and that Powers
and Fridell had admitted that they were
mixed up in It. They deny that they
any other fires.
I'VE wanted "a little excitement and
wanted to beat the Indian Hose, so
set the barn on fire" explained
at was an old barn and no
good to anybody. We didn't think there
would be so much fuss about Il. and We
ire sorry for What We did"
Powers. Frldell and Willmott were
held for the Grand jury In $1,000 bail
each on a charge of arson. Hettrich,
Dixon and Niemeyer were held in 800
pail each as witnesses.