Los Angeles herald., 1909-07-18

press car and sawed out panel of the door He en-
tered while the messengers back turned. and
picking up a revolver from the top Of the safe fired
1t close to the mans After an introduction OF
this kind he was able to persuade the messenger to
open the strong box.
The detectives whose lives have been spent IN
running down express robbers yield grudging ad'
miration to the who, without confederate or
assistant, holds up train overawes messenger anu
and makes his haul successfully. There Is
forceful quality in bandit capable OF such an act'
and he is antagonist
Crimes frequently have been committed against ex-
press companies with the connivance or active parcl
patton of dishonest messengers While the average or
the men employed in this capacity is high the oppor-
tuntes offered by the position have proved 100 nuch
for some men with straight records, while criminals
have lived honestly for years IN order 10 oOt"h sue
Il post. ,,.. =.
whether not the messenger mas peen @ apsolu'ei1 D
square with the company" says ME-, FlhHellon, @ ~
this phase of the subject He is subjected TO stros
temptation and by working in with the bandits can
give them free hand wmle Keeping al "ppO
of innocence" 49, A., 4
famous express robberes OF the many III wnrUn inna
William A Pinkerton and his brother ROBERT were
concerned Just before train on the ST. LOUIS anu
San Francisco Railroad left St Louis stranger ap
preached the express messenger, FotnerlnghahI anu
handed him a letter apparently written by the route
agent 1t directed Fotheringham to allow the stranger
to ride with him in order to become famlar Win Tue
duties of the position. At Paclhc Junction. just ou
side the city, the stranger drew revolver ana planteo
the muzzle at the messengers head. Fotheringham
submitted and was bound and gagged Inc mah
escaped with $65 600 from the safe
Interest was added to the chase by series OF eterS
written to a St Louis newspaper by the fugitive ana
signed Jim Cummings" In these he pfotesteu
against the arrest Of Fotherngham, explaining that
the letter he had presented had been forged and that
the messenger had been completely deceived,
Fotheringham indicated
Patient trucking brought about the arrest of the
criminal Fred Witrock, and those who had shared
in the proceeds of the robbery Almost the entire
sum was recovered and the men were sent TO prison
for long terms Fotheringham was finally vindicated
OF more serious character was the robbery or an
express car on the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific
Railroad between Joliet and Morris ana the mufuer Oh
the messenger, Kellogg Nichols. When William A.
Pnkerton received word of the affair he teiegraphed
to have the express car kept locked until his arrival
.'The first thing | noticed when climbed inside"
said Mr. Pinkerton was that the poker, covered
with blood and hair, was hanging on It's usual nali
Nichols had been beaten about the head with the
poker and his throat had been cut Inc thought
struck me Immediately that no outsider would take
the trouble to return the poker to its place That
could only be the unthinkng act of accustomed
to keep car neat and orderly. said nothing about
the circumstance however and questioned the train
crew.
"rhe story told by the two witnesses, Harry
Schwartz brakeman, and Newton Watt the baggage
man was that robbers had held them up through the
transom of the baggage car and forced them to give
up kew to the express car, after which Nichols
was killed | sat down with Watt and ehatted conf
dentIaIy observed that he wore pair of gloves
After l had made him comfortable with cigar
suggested that it was rather for gloves. He