Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1907-02-13
'Ek-YEGeMAN TELLSIHR|LuNG TALE.
MccARTHrs EVIDENCE I'm RABENs CAST
s HOLDS HEARERS sPELL-BOUND.
Especial to The News and Courier.l

/ J.. ~ - :.
/ Anderson, February 1G.--The testi-
mony given in the Rabens case at WAL
halla last week by John F. Mccarthy,
the reformed safe blower, was thrilling
and therefore interesting. n. Rudolph
Rabens was being tried for receiving
part of the money taken from the safe Of
the Courtenay Manufacturing Company
at Newry when It was robbed by. yegg.
men in 1901. ~
| MCCARTHY once was notorious safe
blower. He did business in all parts Sof
the Unitod Statea, and many were Ssp Sjs; !.
rewards offered for his capture. HS,
with his confederates, cracked many
safes In South Carolina, one being 4Ab'
Cc:sss:SsJ safe at Newry, in 1901, ma
the trial;at Walhalla this y eek,was abSat
the Courtepay. safe, Rabens having beSn
one Of ths confederates.
1 When Mccarthy, tosk the stand he
\ ttassi a;R 9iea s:s detail how tho leurtepay
lSafe was cracked. He told how "a spy
WaaSsegt in advance to investigate and
how the gang of three finally succeeded
In making away with H$7 900 or 5000.
He told of other safes they had cracked
I'm South Carolina and in other States.
When st. John Courtenay took the
stand to tell what the robbers took. he
said besides the $500, there was a dia-
mond brooch taken. This brooch, had
been placed in the safe by his mother for
safe keeping. When Mr.. Courtenay came
down off the stand Mccarthy went to
him and told him that he had that
brooch in hiS safe I'M Baltimore and
would take pleasure in sending it to him
]nss as soon as he returned to his home
in Baltimore.
This brooch was stolen in 1901 and it
is right singular that it should again
come into Mr.. Courtenay's possession
and the way that it comes.
MCCARTHY is man of 20 years. He is
handsome and Intelligent. He was sem
tenoed twice in North Carolina, one SEN
tence being for 10 years. He escaped
from the penitentiary and was later cap
tured and sentenced in Vermont. Post
Office Inspector Gregory heard of his
capture In Vermont and went to the
Federal Penitentiary in Vermont to talk
with MCCARTHY because he knew McCar-
thy was in position to tell of the safe
crackings in South Carolina, which were
numerous several years ago.
In the meantime Mccarthy had deter
mined to lead a different life, and turned
States evidence. He came to Charles
ton with Mr.. Gregory as convict and
there took the stand in several celebrated
cases, and 1t was due to his testimony
that several notorious safe crackers were
convicted and given long sentences.
When he went back to Vermont to
continue his sentence, Mr. Gregory,
without MoCarthy's knowledge, began
to work for a pardon for him, because he !
was convinced that the man would lead
different life IL he had another oppor-
tunity. His turning States evidence
went q long way towards making his
chances for pardon good, and President
Roosevelt granted the pardon. Since
then MCCARTHY has been in business in
Baltimore and is living the simple life.
When telling the details of the Newry
robbery, Mccarthy said that they
Knocked off the combination knob of the
safe and made cup out of octagon soap
and stuck iton the safe under whore the
knob had been. This was done to force
the glycerine into the hole of the combi-
nation lock. A fuse was inserted and
lighted, and it was an easy matter to
make the safe complete wreck.
"Why, we came to Walhalla to break
open the safe in your bank here" said
MCCARTHY on the stand, land after inyes-
tigating and finding that your safe had q
screw door, we gave up the idea. / can
break into your safe, but with that screw
door it would require eight or ten hours
work. and we were doing business in a
hurry and could not afford to undertake
to blow that safe"
MCCARTHY then told how he and his
pals got away from Newry after they had
succeeded :n looting that safe. The
Charleston Exposition was running at
the time, and they made break for
Charleston and were in that city before
the people knew that the safe had been
cracked.
McCarthy's testimony, at times, was
hair-raising, and, as some one who heard
the testimony remarked, "that beats any
detective story ever read and It beats
any novel that ever was written about
safe blowing and train robberies."
4es--I-s-
Important Meeting Of the Farmers Union.