The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1904-08-09
G CONFESSED.
Negro Arrested I'm Savannah yester-
day Confessed To Passing Raised
Order-Postmaster Wallace Play
er Prominent Part I'm Locating the
SWindIers.

The negro arrested in Savannah. Ga,
several days g upon the charge OF
passing raised money orders has made
a full confession and says he was the
one who passed the raised orders IN
Wilmington. Fayetteville and the other
North Carolina owns.
There were two of the negroes but
one of them escaped. They have been
operating in the Ca%rolinas n also in
Virginia for months and although sew
eral p~ostoffice inspectors have been
working on the case since they first
came anywhere neal getting the swind-
lers until a few days ago
To Mr.. Thomas E. Wallace, post
master at Wilmington, is thu govern
ment Indebted for Information sufficient
to apprehend one of the swindler5. I'M
mediately after the two raised or-iers
were passed II Ibis City VT. Halllcs
began to investigate in a quiet manner.
He found that the negroes had stopped
while in the city with an old colored
woman on Dock street. He vent to
the old woman and in a casual way
asked her about the two negroes no had
been staying there. among other things
she said she sent a package by express
to Savannah, Ga, for one of the men.
She told Mr.. Wallace the amount of
money he ave her to pay the express
and it was far more than was neces-
Sary.
After learning the above information
Mr.. Wallace went to the express office
and upon finding the name of the party
to whom the package was addressed
he wired he had learned to the
Savannah authorities. In a few days
one Of the negroes was arrested.
The News of the 9TH gives
the following account of the prelimi-
mar trial of the swindler arrested:
"A negro boy conducting his own de-
tense was the somewhat unusual con-
dition that existed yesterday afternoon
in Commissioner Hewlett's court. The
defendant was Jim Burns, the boy
charged with raising p~ostofice none
orders and cashing them, an account
of whose arrest was given yesterday
in The Morning News. He was bound
over to the grand jury.
Burns was before the commissioner
for a preliminary hearing, charged with
raising a 40 cent money order to $40.
He is wanted by the authorities in
Wilmington, N. c. Special United
States Attorney William r. Leaken
appeared for the government.
There was no one to represent Burns
and Mr.. Leaken asked him if he de-
sired a lawyer. The boy promptly an
swered that he did, but stated that
he would look out for his own interests
himself. He is bright and quick and
considerable admiration was expressed
by the court attaches of the shrewd-
ness of many of the boys questions.
Detective Frank Wall was first call
al for fhn TT- tSoI kL-x
he knew Jim and had arrested him
and then told of his finding the ink
erasing fluid. etc, in the boys room.
Later he introduced articles of CLOTH
ing that it was alleged that the boy
had purchased with the raised order.
"aOut of which room did you get those
clothes?" Burns asked. Before the
answer was given Jim stated that the
negro Smith had occupied the front
room, and he wished to show that near
ly all of the clothes had come from
that room. After a series of questions
he finally established this point.
Under the evidence Commissions
Hewlett bound him over to await the
action of the grand jury here.
When the decision was announced,
Burns did not seem in the least wor-
ried. He borrowed some tobacco, roll
ed a cigarette, and smoked away calm
written out by Mr.. Hewlett. He does
not appear to be at all concerned over
the outcome of the case.
Burns shed considerable light on the
escape of Smith, the other negro who
is wanted as equally implicated in the
raising of the money orders. Jim
stated that a negro man had come to
the house, where the boys stayed
about 10 minute before the arresting
officer, and warned them to skip out.
Smith had then hurried off.
Burns has a bad record with the
police. He was the negro who served
considerable time a short while ago for
shooting at Policeman Mccarthy.