The Mena weekly star., 1909-03-18

CaIena, Kan, Mar. he hope oi
 al,,,o stake" and improving his enancial condition caused Fred Davis. aaa of the most widely known young uan of Galena to adopt the desperate avnedient of turning bank robber. As result. he lies desperately wounded
 n eot in a hospital here, while off oers sit beside him to guard against ina possibility of his escape.
 navis was shot at o'clock Saturday morning while trying to escape from
 oescers who detected him in the act ~ drilling into the vault of the Miners
 State bank of Galena. The clang of
 hammer on steel attracted the atten-
 t,on of Policeman Hallmark and Pc
 ,,oaman Phillips. They investigated
 and found that the sounds came from
 ,ho hank. As they entered Davis ran
 out They called to him to stop.
 No heed was paid to the command.
 Tnen they fired. The robber fell at
 ,no first shot. Running to his side
 the officers were astonished to find
 that their victim was Fred Davis,
 vnown to them and to practically
 every other person in Galena.
 Davis is the son of H. s. Davis. a
 merchant here almost since the organ
 ,zation of the town. Fred Davis was
 horn here and is in business with his
 brother.in-law, Thomas Kennedy, in a
 machine shop His wife is sister of
 Kennedy. He is B years old and his
 family consists of his wife and five
 small children. He served as volun-
 .eer in the Spanish-American war.
 It was in the hope branching out in
 business and providing better for his
 wife and children that caused Davis
 to turn bank robber. It was his first venture into crime, and. lying on his cot Saturday morning, he admitted with quivering lips. that he entered into the project deliberately. with full consciousness of the consequences If caught. 8 q had a crazy notion." he said, that I could easily get what money there was in the bank and was prompt ed in the attempt by run of hard luck. Although I have worked stead fly my income was not enough to keep my family and I gradually went into the hole. was not drunk, but, did drink a little whisky before left home. There was no one with me and I suppose the reason I selected nF ,srea . O that the work would be- easier and there would be less danger of getting caught.
 Hard circumstances forced me into the job and there is no use crying be- cause I was caught. I will have to take my medicine. What I think more of than anything else Is my family. my i've children. l wish to God the off, cers had shot me through the heart instead of through the groin"
 When the officers interrupted him Davis was drilling through the heavy brick walls of the bank vault. His from his own machine shop. A hole 4 large enough to have admitted Davis body would have been completed in few minutes. After he got through the wall, however, Davis would have had to penetrate thick steel wall Officers of the bank say he could not nave got through this wall That he would have been richly rewarded for his venture if he could have got Into the vault is admitted by the bank officials, as large sums of money are deposited in the bank each Friday night by zinc ore buyers to pay for the weeks purchases. Davis knew this and picked Friday night for that reason.
 Davis insists that he was alone ir
 ms attempt. The officers arc equally positive that they saw two men ir
 the bank They believed that he hae
 concealed himself in the vacant hote
 building of which the bank is a pari and immediately after Davis had beer
 shot posse of 90 men was armed
 rom convenient hardware store ant the hotel was thoroughly searched
 No me was found.