The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-22
Police Detective Is Slightly
Wounded During a Raid.
Posse Was Attempting to Cap
ture Brass Thieves.
THEY USED SHOT GUNS.
Detected Missiles Struck Officer
in the Leg.
George Thompson, One of the
Brass Hunters, Wounded.

IN attempting to arrest metal thieves
in the Santa Fe yards last night. City
Detective Carl Gon was accidentally
shot in the leg by member of the posse
and slightly injured and George
Thompson. one of the men implicated in
the theft was shot twice in the left
arm and later captured. There was
fusillade which sounded like a small
battle.
For several months the railroads en-
tering Topeka and more particularly
the Santa Fe. have been annoyed by
the depredations of brass and copper
thieves who have stolen considerable
metal and done an immense amount Of
damage to engines and other machine
~.
The matter has been reported to the
city police and the sheriff's Office and
a number of captures made and several
of the thieves are now doing time for
their depredations. The matter has but
recently been called to the attention of
H. a German, chief special agent for
the Santa Fe.
Scattered about the Santa F'e yards
are number Of large boxes into which
the brass and copper metal which is
taken from cars and engines is thrown
until the company has enough of it for
shipment. The locks have been bro
ken from these boxes frequently and in
each instance several hundred pounds
of metal stolen. A tip was received
several days ago that a robbery of this
kind had been planned and for several
nights the boxes have been closely
watched by a force from the city and
the railroad
Carl Gon, Carl Lawson, J. J. Burge and
Frank McGrath were in hiding last
night when three men climbed over the
fence and started for one of these boxes.
how Cd to 1r01r
and I'LL their sacks and were just start
ing away when they were commanded
to halt. Instead of haltfng they started
to run and lodged in and out among
the boxcars. dropping their sacks which
they had filed with brass and copper
The posse opened fire on them with
shOtguns and a revolver which was in
the hands of Detective Goff but owing
to the darkness the aim was uncertain
and the three men made their escape
among the cars.
It was while the posse was firing that
Detective Golf received two large shot
in his leg just above the ankle from
one of the guns in the hands of the
sheriff's force. The shot were either
detected from the side of car or else
Golf in some unexplainable manner got
IN the range Of the firing party.
The wounds are not serious, though
Goff was Immediately taken to the
Santa Fe hospital where they were
dressed and he was then taken TO his
metal was taken to the county jail and
a still hunt commenced for the thieves
who We're known to the police.
George Thompson, who had received
two 38-calibre balls in his left arm was
located in a house in North Topeka
where he had gone to have his wounds
dressed He was taken to the county
Jail where his wounds were dressed by
the county physician and he confessed
and implicated Ed Mcdonald, who was
arrested this morning in North Topeka
and another negro who IS well known
to the officers and will probably be ar
rested before night.
THE stealing of brass from the rail-
roads has become a thriving Industry
of late" said Special Agent H. H Ger
MAN. tand is being fostered by a num-
Der of irresponsible junk men of the
city. They are responsible for nearly all
Of this stealing that goes on and have
made many thieves of men and boys
who would have led honest lives except
for the inducements which they have
held out to them to become metal
thieves.
THE men who are engaged in this
class of stealing take all kinds of chance
of being killed or sent to the peniten-
tiary and even if they are successful
they get but little for the risks they
take A hundred pounds of metal at
the most is all that they can get away
with and the junk dealers pay but a
small price for the metal when it is de-
livered to them and a trip seldom nets
the thief more than few dollars.
"A determined effort is being made
by the railroad companies to break up
this metal stealing business and they
hope to land not only the thieves in
Jail but several of the junk dealers
are in a fair way to break into the pen
itentiary. It was just a matter of luck
that some of the thieves engaged in the
robbery last night were not killed. Our
men were stationed in such a position
that It was almost impossible to get an
aim at the fleeing thieves. Then it was
so dark and the yard so crowded with
cars that they could dodge under and
among them, or some of them would
certainly have been killed or badly
wounded"