Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1908-11-21
Bills Baggage of Wealth to Himself
at st. Joseph, Missouri.
IS ARRESTED ON ARRIVAL THERE
Omaha Detectives Land Him Just
Four Hours After His Deed.
ONE OF QUICKEST JOBS ON RECORD
Charles Leonard, Porter, COnfesscS
His Attempt TO steal e. r. Harts-
horns Samples at the
Henshaw Hotel.

It took just four hours for Captain Saw
age and Detectives Steve Maloney ana
Charley Van Deusen of the Omaha police
force to effect the capture of Charles
Leonard, the Henshaw hotel porter who
checked Charles f. Hartshorns $4,000 sam
pie trunk Of jewelry TO himself at 81. Jo-
seph instead Of to the owner at Council
Bluffs
The large trunk was taken from tho hotel
to the depot soon after o'clock Friday
morning, intercepted at Hamburg. Ia. less
than two hours later and Leonard himself
was arrested by the St Joseph police when
he reached that city about . o'clock Friday
afternoon.
When accused of the theft Leonard ac-
knowledged that he did it single-handed
and said he would return to Omaha imme-
diately In the meantime Mr.. Hartshorn
had gone before the county grand jury
which is now sitting in Omaha, and had
secured an Indictment charging the porter
with having taken the jewelry. so that
when Leonard arrives in the city this
morning he will be locked up Immediately
to answer a charge that will probably land
him i'm the penltentiary for a number of
years.
Switched the Checks.
Switching baggage checks on the trunk
of valuables was the method Leonard
adopted to secure possession of 1t. In the
presence Of Mr. Hartshorn. in front of the
Henshaw, about $3.50 Friday morning. he
affixed Union Pacific baggage ticket to
the cumbersome box of samples, but as
soon as the owner he'd left the scene in
the belief that his trunk. along with a
steamer trunk in which he kept his personal
effects had been started on its way to
the Union station Leonard quickly sub
stituted Burlington baggage checks on the
two pieces and ordered the transfer driver
to haul them to the Burlington depot.
Leonard could do this knowingly and
without danger of Immediate detection. as
he was in charge of the transfer and receipt
of baggage belonging TO the hotels guests.
After so doing he donned his street clothes
and left the Henshaw without giving notice
or asking for his pay. When bis absence
was discovered, Joe keenan,, chief clerk OF
the hotel, thought that he had merely left
disgruntled. as Mr.. keenan, had repri-
manded him earlier in the morning for
some minor negligence. or misdeed.
Gets Clue at Depot.
First suspicion of the disappearance of the
iewelry arose when Mr. Hartshorn at
tempted to claim It at the Union station by
presenting the duplicate tag which Leonard
had given him. Finding that the trunks
were not there. Mr.. Hartshorn Immediately
| telephoned to the other depot, thinking the
! baggageman had made a mistake and had
sent them to the wrong depot At the Bur-
| nngton station the baggageman told him
/ that the private steamer trunk hed been
left there. but that man had checked the
other to st. Joseph on the train thai had
| just left the city. ("
| Only ten minutes marked the time be-
\ tween the departure OF the train and Mr..
Hartshorns arrival at the Burlington
depot from the other station, but this had
/ given Leonard ample chance to escape i'm
mediate capture. However, telephone
message to Hamburg, Ia. effected the de-
! tention of the valuable trunk, the railway
officials at that point being informed that
a certain described trunk contained stolen
! jewelry and should be held.
But Leonard was not known and could
not be intercepted at Hamburg. 30 the
wires between Omaha and St. Joseph were
kept warm with descriptions and instruc-
tions. apd Leonard was p,% ed under ar
rest the moment he alighted from the train
in that city.
Just $4,000 the VaIuOs
/ H AbOhN |nfVtJ 10 HiNti dH Nlc tSlIudNcSa
value of the jewelry which Charles r.
Hartshorn carried as samples from the
house Of Krementz & Co OF Newark. n.
j. His home is also in Newark. He ar
rived in Omaha Thursday TO show his line
to local jewellers and says that leonard
helped him pack his cases Of vailables into
the large trunk after visiting one OF the
stores. so that the porter knew accurately
the contents OF the box. According to the
travelling man this is the first time he has
ever had serious trouble IN the handling OF
his trunk of samples.
| telegram 20 Krementz & Co. Friday
evening notified them OF the temporary
loss of the goods and of their speedy recov-
cry and the capture OF the thief. Chief OF
Detectives Savage was characterized by
the jewelry salesman as "a grand old man -
and Detectives Maloney and Van Deusen
did not lack for their share Of the praise
as a result OF the wonderfully quick work
Of recovery and capture.
Charles Leonard is between % and q
years of age and had been working at the
Henshaw as elevator conductor. porter and
baggage clerk for several months. He lived
at the Continental hotel while off duty. II
Is said at the Henshaw that he was con
sidered quite honest and Trustworthy and
although he came TO the hotel from out OF
town and was not we'll known in Omaha
he had not had trouble or been concerned
/ 81