Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-05-21
HELD TO GRAND JURY.
J. w. DEvAUL AND j. AkERMAN
MUST ANSWER ON GRAND
LARCENY CHARGE.

Opened Wabash Car at Moulton and
Took Seventy-one Razors and Two
Pounds of Tobacco-captured at
Seymour.
81 can't hardly tell what did lead us
| to get into this scrape," said ]. w. De-
vaul, OF Bowling Green, KY, this morn
| ing at the police station. Devaul and
his partner, J. Alderman, were brought
to Ottumwa last night by Chief Gray
and Wabash Special Officer J. w.
Cowan from Seymour, charged with
the theft of large number of razors
from Wabash box car.
Devaul and his partner are bright
faced young men about 81 or % years
of age and while they both state that
they have been wandering over the
country from their early youth they do
not have the appearance of belonging
to the criminal class. They admit and
have made signed statement con-
corning the robbery of the box car,
but both declare that this is their first
offense in this line.
The two young men were confined in
the separate cages at the police station
this morning and both talked freely
but not boastfully of the robbery of the
car and of their arrest at Seymour
I'VE wanted to get ride and found
the end door of this car unsealed at
Moulton. We opened the door and
climbed in. 1t was dark and we struck
few matches till we found place
consisting of some bales where we
could lie down and sleep. When we
woke up we found freight boxes all
about us. We needed clothes and we
talked the matter over and finally de-
cided to take chances.
Eve opened up some boxes. We
found the box of razors and decided
that we would be more likely to
escape detection if we took them than
if we took clothes. l am sign paint
er and my partner is a painter too.
We had our kits of tools and we filled
one of the kits with razors and made
up another little package. We took
seventy-one razors and two one pound
plugs of chewing tobacco.
"This was Sunday night. We left
the car still at Moulton and went to
Seymour We did some sign painting
at Seymour and We sold one razor for
fifty cents to a Seymour barber. We
were about town there until Tuesday
evening. We were cooking our own
meals ana sleeping outside of town.
Tuesday evening we had bought some
supplies and were going out to cook
our supper when Marshal Tenant
came to us and told us we would have
to sleep in the hotel if we staid there
any longer We promised to cook our
supper and then come to the hotel for
the night.
What have you got in that box?'
asked Tenant.
our brushes and paints, we told him.
LET me take look at that
"We knew then that we were up
against it. Down in the bottom of the
kit was about half dozen new razors
and he found these at once. Then he
went after the other package and as
soon as he saw their contents we were
arrested.
well they put us in that Jail up
there and they fed us on stale bis
cults and bits of spoiled ham and near
ly starved us to death. The place was
built of brick and mortar and was
hardly big enough to turn around in.
The lice and vermin chewed us up
shamefully. The first night we tried to
dig out and if we had had little more
time we would have succeeded. They
caught us at it and gave us no chance
after that. Your chief here, and by the
way, he is one of the best and whitest
fellows you ever saw, came and got
us and here we are.
What do you suppose they will give
us for this?"
knowledge of this robbery was
brought to the attention of Chief Gray
Monday morning when the car was
opened up at the Wabash freight house
in this city. He examined the car and
learned about what was missing. When
the letter telling of the capture of De-
vaul and Alderman came Wednesday
from Seymour the chief knew that he
had his men located. Yesterday in
company with Special Officer Cowan,
he went to Seymour. got his men and
secured from them a signed confession
!WhCh Woo WiluSSoSu ny ~ w. L. JONES,
mayor of Seymour. w. Wagner, J. w.
Cowan, Chief Gray and Peter Gal
lagher, night captain, before whom the
confessions were once more read and
acknowledged last night upon arrival
here.
This morning Devaul and Alderman
were arraigned in police court, waived
examination and were bound over to
the grand jury under bond of $500.
They were taken to the county Jail
where they will await their hearing.
The property stolen from the cars was
all recovered by Chief Gray except one
and one-half pounds of the tobacco.
In police court Pat Doyle was fined
SIS for drunk yesterday and Ed. Mar
tin paid similar fine on the same
kind of charge. Abe Lewellen also
charged with drunkenness will have a
hearing this evening.
-
$1oo-Dr. e. Detchon's Anti-Diuretic
may be worth to you more than $500
If you have child who soils bedding
from inCOntjneDcp nf watpr drri,,u