The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-06-03
Frank Fritz's Barn Destroyed
by an Incendiary Fire.
COMMUNITY AROUSED.
Summary Action May Be Dealt
to Guilty Parties.
WilkersOn and Schenck Inyesti-
gate the DepredatiOns.

Mysterious cases of horse poisoning
and at least one incendiary fire in the
| neighborncod of Valencia within the
past four or five months have wrought
the members of the community up to
such pitch of excitement that the
next occurrence of the kind will proba-
bly, mean serious trouble for some one.
Two or three persons are under sus-
p1cion of having done this fiendish
work and the suspicion against one IF
them is strong.
). M. Wilkerson, the sheriff, and J.
j. Schenck, the county attorney. were
at Valencia yesterday and passed the
entire day in investigating the inc
dents connected with the killing of a
barn They did not find evidence
strong enough to warrant the arrest Of
anyone but this evidence may be placed
IN their hands at any time and they
they get it.
I'VE were not able to learn enough
to Justify US IN attributing the cases
OF poisoning to any particular person.
said Sheriff Wilkerson today in speak
iEg of the investigations he and Mr.
Schenck made at Valencia yesterday
Everybody in the neighborhood has
MS suspicious, but good many Of
them accuse different persons. Probably
q majority of opinions point to one or
two persons. The people are right up
in arms. 1 never went into a com
munity where I found them so greatly
stirred up about anything
From the information obtained by the
sfer1ff and the county attorney it seems
that the first case of horse poisoning
10 attract attention occurred about four
or five months ago, when someone caus-
ed the death of a fine team belonging
to w. A. Yount. 1t is believed that
these horses were fed some meal which
had been cOctored up with d sufficient
ar il n
cause the horses to die. The sudden
death of his team of horses, and the
circumstances surrounding it, were
such that Mr.. YOunt called. in a Veteri-
marian. After making a post mortem
examination. the veterinarian .jronounc-
ed it to be case of poisoning. Two
ether horses have died from poison
within the last month or so.
But these outrageS came to 4 culmin-
alton on the night of May II when a
barn belonging to Frank Fritz, a
farmer living near Valencia, was burn
ed to the ground. There is not a
shadow of a doubt but that the fire
which destroyed this barn was of an
incendiary origin. Mr.. Fritz lost several
head of valuable horses in the fire, be-
sides many farm implements. feed, etc.
The value of his stock and other stuff
destroyed was about $4,000.
Since this fire there have been "A
number of meetings among the citizens
which have been held to investigate
the burning of the barn and the poison
ing of the horses and to take neces-
sery steps for the apprehension of the
fend who has been guilty of these
depredations. These conferences result
&c in the calling of the sheriff and the
county attorney to make an investiga-
ton of the cases.
On the night that the Fritz barn was
destroyed a valuable horse belonging to
Alonzo Beal died from the effects of
poison and a week before that time
horse belonging to Avery Stages met a
similar death.
Mr.. Schenck, the county attorney.
and the sheriff believe that these dep
relations have all rbeep done by the
same person. who seems to have spite
of some sort against the entire COM
munity as the cases Of poisoning have
been pretty generally distributed.
AS a result of the apparently indis-
eliminate distribution of poison, the
farmers are taking all sorts of precau-
items in the handling of their stock.
They examine the fodder and meal
with great scrutiny and even go to the
extent of thoroughly scrubbing out the
watering troughs before permitting
their horses and stock to drink from
them.