Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-11-10
IN BATTLE
WITH CAR THIEVES
Shots Exchanged by Officers
and Quartet of Crooks in
West End of City.
ONE OF LATTER WOUNDED
All Escape, but Number of Suspects
Have Been Arrested in Effort to
Run Down Others.

A regular pitched battle between
police officers and box car burglars
occurred about midnight last night
in the west end of, the city. About
two score shots were fired and it is
believed that one of the robbers was
wounded. although there is nothing
certain about it. The police have
gathered in a number of suspicious
characters and it is believed that one
or more of them will be able to tell
the officers who acted the role of
bandits. The battle took place along
the switch track which runs west of
the Standard Table Oil Cloth works
to the plant of the Twin-City Rem
dering company. About 1870 the
police department received a tele-
phone call from Charles w. Krue-
ger, one of the officers of the rem
dering company, telling them that
several men had broken into a car
standing on the siding and were busy
stealing hides which were being
shipped by the company to another
city.
Light Reveals Four.
Officers Dennis Bennett and G. c.
Church were dispatched to the scene
in the police buggy. When they got
there, they found Kruger under the
car and his son hiding in ditch
nearby. Bennett alighted from the
rig and walked to the car door,
which had been opened after the seal
had been broken. The officer flashed
an electric light into the car and
cfo int IA
zles of three revolvers and a rife.
The four men who were behind them
were lined up against the rear OF
the car. Bennett cut off his light
instantly and retreated before draw
ing a shot. Church approached and
was warned not to use his light. At
this instant one of the four men
from the car appeared at the door
and Bennett blazed away at him with
his automatic. The shot frightened
the horse which was hitched to the
police buggy and it ran away with
Officer Church in it. leaving Ben
nett to face the four men. A pitch
ed battle soon followed, the four
bandits firing shot after shot in the
direction OF Bennett, who lay hid
den in a ditch alongside the road.
He did not return the fire and soon
it ceased The robbers then escap-
ed through the door on the Oppo-
site side of the car and made their
way up the road. Bennett saw them
very dimly as they crossed the road
to get into the ditch in which he
was hiding and although he was
nearly 100 feet distant from them
he emptied his automatic at them.
ReinfOrcements Called.
When the noise had ceased, Ben
nett could hear muttered implica-
tions and among other things
vpice said. Leave him lie there"
Bennett believes he shot one Of the
fellows, although an investigation
conducted later on when Church had
returned failed to find the man. Hts
cap lay in the ditch, however. The
officer at once telephoned into head !
quarters for reinforcements and sew
eral additional officers went 20 the
scene of the trouble after securing |
a riot gun at the sheriff's office. But /
the four bandits had effectually made /
their getaway and nothing more was |
seen of them.
same point was entered and con-
quantity of hides was stol- |
en-. The officers of the company |
were on the lookout for another at
tempt and they detected the men at |
the job, but were unable to capture |
them