The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-01-05
|SAFE-BLOWERS
 BACK TO JAIL Their Bonds Fixed at
 $5,OOO Each. CHIEF CASE WAS HERE Mobile Officers Attended the
 Preliminary Hearing. Russell and Driscoll Appeared to Take Little Interest in the Trial-Arthur Hirscher Iden-t
 tiaed His Money.

J. E. Russell and Albert Driscroii, charged with blowing open the safe of Hirscher Bros, co-managers of the Mont gomery Theatre. on the night of Decent ber s. were yesterday bound over to the Montgomery County grand jury by Jus tice B. H. Screws and were sent back to the Montgomery county jail in default of 5000 bond each.
 Chief John Case and Detective Lacey of the Mobile police department were present at the trial.
 The hearing of Russell and Driscoli was originally set for noon yesterday. On ac- count, however, of the wish of Detective Lacey of the Mobile police department to return to Mobile on a morning train, the hearing was held yesterday morning at lo o'clock in the office of Justice Screws ifi- stead of the City Court room as was in- tended.
 Practically no fight was made by the defense. The whole proceeding gave out the impression that the real fight in the case would come Saturday at the habeas corpus hearing in the Circuit Court be- fore Judge J. c. Winter. The defence entered a. plea as soon as the case was called of lack of Jurisdiction of the court in view of the pending habeas corpus pro- ceedings, but this being overruled, their counsel waived examination on the part of the defence.
 Detective Lacey Testified.
 Solicitor Dent. however, examined De- tective Lacey and A. B. Hirscher. Lacey testified that on the morning of December 9 he assisted in the arrest of Russell and Driscoll at the railroad station in Mo- bile. The smallest man DriscolD carried a valise with him. Tn this valise was 8 set of burglars tools, which he described, and an amount of money, which he iden- sified, One man started north and the other south when the alighted from the train. They gave the names of Albert Driscoll and J. E. Russell, both of Brook lyn. N. Y. He had received no statement from them. The defence had no Ques- tions. >~
 Arthur B. Hirscher testified that on the night of December 8, the safe in his of1ce was blown open. Ono of the sides was blown ofe and anyone could have! rified it's contents. In his opinion the men entered the place from the skylight. Nine $5 packages of quarters were taken from the safe, two counterfeit dollars, ten or twelve Colombian half-doilars of 1902 and 1903 and some loose change. To the best of his knowledge and belief the money in- trOduced Tn evidence was tne money taken from his safe.
 On cross-examination by Terry Rich arison, counsel for the defence. Mir. Hirscher testified that he could not swear positively that the money in evidence was the money stolen from him.
 The State here rested. Mr. Richardson said: ''I hear from the papers, you have some pictures; I'd like to see them, Mr. Dent"
 Mr. Dent declined on the ground that the defence had rested.
 Prisoners Were Unconcerned.
 Russell and Drlscoll appeared uncon- cerned throughout the hearing. They seemed to enjoy the curiosity with which they were viewed They paid no attention to the evidence but throughout the hear. ing careully examined the petition for writs of habeas corpus prepared by their attorney.
 Justice Screws fixed the bond of each man at $5,O0O. although Mir. Richardson requested that it be reduced to $l,5OO Justice Screws thought $500 light enough
 The tools and money were kept by Mir, Dent to introduce before the grand jury. Receipt was given Chief Case of Mobile for them.
 Detective Lacey returned to Mobile im- mediately after the conclusion of the hearing.
 The contents of the valise brought from Mobile were as follows: Seven packages of quarters of S each in wrappers of the First National Bank of Montgomery. packages intact: two packages of nickles of g each. wrappers broken but found in valise of one of the defendants; two counterfeit silver dollars. sixteen Colum- bian half-dollars, complete set of safe blowing tools except a drill which was found in Forbes's store.
 Solicitor Dent later in the day compared the tools with the drill in Todd's gun store. He says the tools correspond com pletely with this drill.
 Chief Case Talks.
 There Is no controversy between my department and the police department of Montgomery" said Chief Case, who is an elderly man and was dressed in plain clothes. After these men were bound over by our City Recorder. have had nothing to do with them. They have been in custody of the sheriff of our county. I am told that they were advised by a white prisoner in the Mobile County jail to elect to go to hard labor at Vinegar Bend with the view to escaping. I have no doubt that was their purpose. I think they are two of the worst crooks that ever struck Alabama
 Chief Case went to Mobile last night.