The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-08-02

llllterate boy, or insane tendencies,
and of decidedly unsound intellect.
His associates have been of the most
wretched and disgraceful class, and
by them has been thrown into society
that boasts of crime, and he has per-
haps heard rumors of who committed
the awful deed of sthe morning of
May goth
Mr.. Moore believes that his brother
was arrested for having repeated a re-
port that had circulated in East Raj
eigh, to this effect: A negro man
put a pistol i'm soak" with a colored
grocer in East Raleigh, and after
wards the pistol was identified ESQ
the report RAM as belonging to Mr..
Bundy, who was a brother-in-law to
the night Waterman at
the Oil warehouse, and which was
carried by Strickland OH the night of
the fearful deed. Frank told this
story to several persons, and it went
to the detective, who soon placed the
young man in Jail. Mr.. Moore claims
that the officers bribed Frank to
make a confession, and says that the
hope of a large reward was held out
to him.
Before young Moore was arrested,
however, he was put in the sweat
box" and nearly everything that he
had said formerly was eliminated.
Most all that he said was false, and al
though he was most accommodating
in saying anything to the officers that
would be of value to them in the
way of discriminating himself and
others, yet there was SO much that
was false that it was extremely diff
cult to find what was substantial in
what he said. He. himself, he de-
clared, was con the outside" during
the fire and was neither an incendiary.
murderer nor robber. 1t was not UNI
til after his relatives and attorneys
took hold of his case that he said:
81 have lied i'm all that | have said
about the crime. l am not guilty.
Moore was believed to have been
among the gang that operated on the
Seaboard Air Line freight yards here,
and broke open box cars and COM
mitted thefts of goods several times
The first information of Moore that
was received by Detective Watten
berg came from Mr.. j. p. Pittman. the
Seaboard Air Line detective. who ran
down the car robbery crowd. 1t was
not long after Detective Wattenberg
made the acquaintance of Moore, that
the young man confessed to having
been among those who committed the
crime and implicated the others.
The negro Burch was then in Wake
jail convicted of breaking into
freight cars on the Seaboard yard,
and sentenced to the roads. When
the other prisoners from the city
court were taken to the roads several
weeks ago. Burch remained in Jail,
and investigation proved that he was
in the oil warehouse fire.
and robbery. When Burch
learned that he was charged with the
crime, he remarked to fellow pris-
oner, not thinking to be overheard:
II wonder how they found out that
we were there" Burch. though
young, is reputed in police circles to
be a desperate character. His broth
err is serving a term in the penitentiary
for robbery having broken into the
North Side drug store several years
ago, and was shot by the clerk, when
away from the store. Burch
will have a hard task to clear himself
from the charge, and the facts that
Moore has given regarding him are
said to be strong enough to send him
to the penitentiary, if not to render
verdict of guilty of two capital crimes,
probable Burch himself is stubborn
and obstinate, and has made no ad
mission about himself. but denies We
hemently any connection whatever
with the crime. or any knowledge OF
those who perpetrated it. A police
officer in speaking of Burch yesterday,
said:
"Burch has not one good quality
about him, and he was frequently an
occupant of the< police station house"
Burch was arrested together With
Lee Gillian. a negro boy who was
shot by the railroad detective and
McSwain. negro from Rock
ingham county, July 9TH. These, ex-
cept Burch, are not suspected of be-
ing parties to the deed.
Earle Jones. the white boy imph-
Gated. is in Jail at Portsmouth, for an
offense committed there. He is
hayward Raleigh youth and may be
well remembered here by many, hav-
ing on several occasions figured In
the mayors court. The determination
of Jones seems to have been a bare
faced fabrication on the part of
Moore, if the records at Portsmouth,
as reported, speak the truth, for it is
said that Jones was incarcerated in
Jail there on May 18th, when the fire
and murder occurred here three days
later There are other facts, how
ever in Jones conduct, and Moore'S
story, that the officers cannot recon-
cile with certain other things. In
study of his case the officers were in
Norfolk a few days ago. and while on
one of the principal streets of that
city a negro approached one of them,
and said: Hello"
The officer replied with an oath,
and grabbing at him said: II want
YOU" whereupon the negro ran, and
was fired upon three times but was
not hit. Whethe: or not he was
wanted in this case is unknown.
George Williams, a white man,
seems to be the person principally
wanted There are several men in
this city bearing that name, but Will
liams is believed to be non resident.