Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1904-08-20
NOBODY BELIEVES
THE EXPLANATION
Mysterious Doings Of the Black
Hand New York strike
Prevents Completion
of School Houses.

cd disappearance 2 mysterious =
coyory Of iewelry valued AZ 100000
and belonging to Mrs. Ogden Goele.
has given tho newspapers and thu
members OF select society welcome
material for gossip. Tho clrcum
stances surrounding the affair. IL cor
reetly reported. are peculiar enough
TO form the basis OF the most sensa
tional ~coutectnrca and The go5sips did
not have 10 strain their imagination
to mako their stories interesting. Tho
authentic facts in tho cas- are rather
meager. Al short time ago u waa re,
ported that jewelry valued n $500.
900 had m%ysterionsIy disappeared
from ono Of the most aristoeratie
mansions at Newport The Tinker.
tons were engaged to investigate tile
matter ana they vent out h dnscrip-
tion of the missing jawelry. 1t was
stated at the time that the treasure
disappeared In some mysterious 4
ner oh tho goth III 2fat III June. IA
few days after the description of tho
supposedly stolen jewels had been
sent out the newspapers had discuss
ca the facts of the case. as given
out and their own theories ii great
length, the statement was given out
that Mrs, Goelet had recovered her
jewelry, or, rather had never been
robbed. II was stated That, on com.
Ing back % her town residence In
New York she discovered that tho
jewelry was safe and undisturhed In
the safe. Tho Inference was, that
Mrs. Goelet had completely forgotten
that she had left her jewolry at home.
when she started for Newport to nj
tend the wedding " her son 10 Mlss
Nhelan.
How the rnmor originated, will
probably never be found out. but it
was openly discussed hy the nowspa
pers At the time. that the Jewels had
been stolen by some "Raffles," NOV.
Ing In the most exclusive set Of New
York society and. for that reason, on.
1oylng opportunities, which common
thieves could only envy. The most
mysterious hints were made as To the
personality Of the thief. according TO
n story d prominent society wo
mar afflicted with kleptomania, ac.
cording TO another story a swell
club man, on tho most intimate terms
with the leaders Of the Four Hun.
dred. SO persistent were these rn.
mors and so much mystery was
shrouding tho obtainabie facts. that
when the announcement was made.
that the jewels had not been lost lit
NIL but had all the time peacefully
rested In Mrs. Goelet's safe In New
York, nobody was inclined to believe
III
Some Of the papers printed alleged
Interviews with prominent society PEG,
pic, In which the latter openly ex.
pressed their disbelief. Since then
d new theory las been sprung on All
u~nsuspecting and patiently suffering
public. Some clever Sherlock Holmes
has made tho discovery. that the dis.
appearance of the gems was directly
connected with certain fluctuations of
tho stock market, which sent Metro
politan way up and made things deeld
cdiy uncomfortable for tho bears. No
direct accusation Il made, but It is
strongly insinuated that the valuable
gems were used by someone rs col
lateral security fiji ii stock transaction,
which required a large amount Of
money or It's equivalent Anybody Is
entitled TO draw bis or her own infer.
ences.
II the organization, known In police
and newspaper circles as The Black
Hand Is not a nero tissue OF fancy,
produced by an imagination strongly
affected by powerful drugs or in
overdose OF Conan Doyle, its members
undoubtedly deserve the seyerest pun.
ishment Halch the law inflicts upon
III riolators. There II nut d crime
from the mildest case Of blackmait to
the most atrocious individual or plural
murder. that has not been attributed
g that organization, During The last
few months the Black Hand has be
come particularly bold and several
cases Of kidnapping and Matchmaking.
several dynamite explosions and other