New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-02-23
TON WEIGHT OF LOOT
THIETES RIFLE THE
.CETENIH'S HOME. t
Ind Regiment Puts Up q
Statue of Mercury to Re
place Stolen Pillar.

The sensihilities of the 9TH Regiment
received a rare shock i'll the discovery
that thieves had been pundering the
regimental armory OF fixtures. castings
and decorations said. to be worth more
than S2.O6O. Officers of the regiment
charge that men at work In remodelllng
the structure were the offenders The.
masterpiece of the Iooting was the re-
moval of one of the two bronze Candida
bra. each ten feet high and weighing a
ton. which fianked the main entrance TO
the drill floor 80
Elaborate precautions have been, taken
to prevent the. continuance of the thefts.
The squad Of armorers has been in
creased and special men put on guard
over the two hundred trophies and other
prized possessions Of tho regiment. A
speciaI guard has also been set to Vateil !
the belongings of-the con ntestants in sthe
national indoor lawn tennis tournament ,
which is snow being played in the ar
mory. The silver prizes have been in
The bronze column which has disap p
.peared stood as the newell post OF one
of the stairways which led up from the
entrance hall to the company room ana
the gallery 1t, supported handsomely
designed arrangement of lights, and,
with its-twin at, the foot of the opposite
stair. is said to have cost Sl,9OU.
HOW THE CHANCE CAME.
Material for the reconstruction OF the
building was hoisted through the en-
trance hall where the two candelaora
stood. One day late in November tue
column which has since disappeared was
knocked askew by swinging LOAD OF
iron eirders. 1t was taken down and
Law for a time on the floor near oH'
When the time came to replace IT II
was gone.
Jnouirv among the workmen showed
that the column had been holsted TO tiie
top floor of the building and from there
lowered outside the. walls to one OIL tiie
wagons which were used to cart a""H
tho debris Thus it escaped the hotice
- the resimental armorers on guard at
+ba door Of the building. The inVestlga-
ton which followed. it is said, showed
hat
,rbich had been taken down from diIer-
ont parts Of the building had been a'-
st,acted apparently in the same way
IN, .sti,.that followed within the resl-
mant was sensation OF the hrS' ma
+uda An inventory was. taken at ohco
of oil the -regimental belongings, anu
,horo was grave alarm about the pftnllze
cir and.
,,,b;cb. there are nearly two huhureo.,
The officers tried to place the re9pois
hilitv for the thefts upon the cohtfdell'is
firm The contractors have dechneo 10
,o ,b,+ Wow OF the situation, and the
question is still awaiting settlement
COLONEL. APPLETON TALKS
This is a question between the con-
tractors and their worhmen. to'"f'e'
Daniel Appleton said last night i heil
mon took whole lot Of old JUNK an"
tho company has not been able to ret
o,.or i believe The bronze column
v.s tho most important thing that Was
+aLer That is all the contractors hisI-
ness, though.
In repiy to 4 direct question. hoNeNe''
Colonel Appleton SAID that me '"''''''l'
with all the other articles III inc pu'iu-
ing. was In fact and in Ia" the property
q, the regiment. The 9TH is the only
one Of the city regiments whlch OWNS
tic own arrnory. William ID. Kelly. pres
,dant of the firm Of Kelly & Kelley the
oo,irac,ors in the case, said emphat-
oo,l,, that his Arm had not assumed the
responsibility for the thefts.
Some one at the armcry has satirlcal
sonI The entrance hall was cleared OF
its litter and scaffoiding to make ready
for the lawn tennis tournament. ana
something had to be put in place OF the
r,ias,ne bronze TO balance the one across
Tho hall. What they actually did put
-, uas a statue, nine feet high, Of Mer-
curry. the feet god of thieves
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