Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-08-10

that the package had been delivered
70 the National hotel on May 19, and
from the hotel register they found
that Tighe. who had stopped in Peoria
for two or three days, had left the
day before the diamonds came. Tighe
came on from New York TO Peoria at
the request of the chief. and on the
day he arrived all of the negroes were
re-arrested.
BOotbIack's Story.
The preliminary hearing of George
Walker was held il. tie police court
last week, and the developments at
that time stamped the case as the
greatest mystery in police annals of
Peoria. The state put a bootblack
named Scott en- the stand TO testify
that Walker had given him a package
to hide in his stand until he could
smUggle it out of the hotel. In pay
ment for the favor Walker was said
to have given Scott two or three dia-
monds. which he sold.
Day Clerk Bowman of the hotel took
the stand and testified that Tighe,
btAcAC 4AC i-lI L COii ID lldu lOIu
that he was expecting a very valua-
bic package and had left money to
prepay the express charges in forward
mig it to the next town. Bowman de
clared. however, that as far as he
knew the package had never reached
ne hotel. Other employees of the no.
tel testified 10 the same effect and the
whole policy of the hotel management
was to- show that the package never
reached them. The books of the ex-
press company were brought into
court and the drivers sheet showed
that the package had been receipted
!or The signature, Natl Htl. Co
o." was written in a good business
hand and apparently by some intelli-
gent person. Certainly it was never
written by Walker. the man who was
said to have stolen the diamonds. The
1otel management repudiated the sig
nature and intimated that it was
.orgery.
The question that presented itself
"as this: If Walker aid not sign the
book and receive the package, who
did?
Strange Action of New York Firm.
According to the statements made
by representatives of the jewelry firm
of Eisler & Laubhcin, $4,000 worth
of diamonds were shipped by the
Adams Express company from New
York TO Peoria. The diamonds were
in a box about the size of a cigar
box and there was nothing on the
outside TO indicate what the contents
were. In entruSting the box TO the
EXPRESS company the jewelTy officials
did nOJ declare the value of the con-
tents or indicate what they were. Is
/ reasonable to suppose that a jewelry
firm would send a package as valuable
as that without first entering into an
agreement whereby they would be in
demnified in case the jewelry was lost,
especially since the cOmpany's re-
ceipts plainly state that unless the
value of the package is declared, the
company will not be responsible for
more than $50? 1t is declared that
this circumstance alone is ground for
he suspicion that there is either a
great deal of carelessness or some eX-
traordinary crCOkedness to be account
ed for in New York.
There is the theory that someone in
the hotel. other than Walker. stole the
diamonds. and being unable to leave
the hotel for any considerable length
of time. took the diamonds out in the
ash barrel, intending to leave them
until such time as he might be able to
get them. This theory would hold
that Walker either came upon them
accidentally or saw them hidden and
took them away. II the latter suspic-
ION is true he knows who the culprit
is and is shielding him.