New-York tribune., 1911-04-05
BOY MAY Be DEAD,
LOCKED IN EMPTY CAR
Ex.Convict Tells of Plot to
Avenge Himself on
Prosecutor.
PHILADELPHIA LAD MISSING
Nephew of Assistant District
Attorney-Mysterious Mes
sage Says He Was Lured
to Railroad Yard.
PHILADELPHIA LAD MISSING
rBy Telegraph 10 The Tribune. J


Philadelphia, April ito keep vow
Of vengeance which he made against
Assistant District Attorney Joseph p.
Rogers. a former convict enticed twelve
year-old Bernard Rogers nephew OF
the lawyer. and an orphan, to the Balti-
more & Ohio Railroad yards. at 34th
and Reed streets. on Monday OF last
week and locked him in an empty boXoar
This is the statement on postal card
which presumably was written by the
former convict and which was received
to-day by Cornelius F. Rogers. brother
Of the Assistant District Attorney. from
whose home the lad disappeared on that
day.
The card Is signed with the prison
numbers. "S643-C-352." and in it the
writer expresses glee over the misery
which he has made the relatives of the
boy feel and hopes that the boy IS no"
dead
So startling was the message the caro-
contained that the police ana raiirodo
officials have begun searching lnvest-
CATION. Every effort is being made 10
discover tnc car III "Hieh ''' 1890
the boy was placed. .,o
S,mewhere the relatives believe. there
ia a car OF the Delaware, 1.ackawanna
G. Western Railroad. No o9.i9o. ana
when this is found they think tney VIII
End inside Of 1t the body Of the boy
Message on the Card.
The card was dated April 3. 1t was
nailed last night at Station d. which is
~ Sth and Christian streets. This is
the message it bore
Cornelius F. Rogers, No. 1884 South loth
street. city
Dear sir: Your nephew YOU will find
i'm an empty boXcar. D., l.. q W. NO,
20 1876 which | put him IN AT oith anu
Reed streets. on the Baltimore g oil'o
Railroad. ,o
The uncle Of the said boy convicted me
for four wears and sent me 10 the peni-
tentiarv. | swore vengeance on MN, put
take greater pleasure in making MS
neople miserable, like he made my SIS
ters .,,, e.o ,i,,
again. .o
This is no phony letter, and l hope
-- he is dead. o.., . ~,
Yours from the pen. S'4o-'--oo-'
When the uncle received this card IT
was at once laid before the police IN
orirv was made of the freight officials or
the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, ana
search Of the records 0f the local ONCE
was begun in the effort TO trace the car
ON two points the police are assured.
one is that the writer was an ex-convlct,
and the other is that the numerals
signed TO the me- sage were intended 10
mislead. The first number is that whlch
is put opposite the name OF the prisoner
when he is admitted 10 prison. The let
ter &C" stands for cell. and the second
number is the number of the cell
Wrone Numbers Used.
This system of records is I'm use at the
nenitentiary and at the two county pris-
ons. 1t is apparent that the writer OF
the ge knew this form. but that
H., numbers were not those which were
rIaced opposite his name on the actual
record.
The numbers OF prisoners on the rec
ords OF the Eastern Pententiary do not
run as high as S,ti@ and this number
is not on record at Moyamensing Prison,
but IL is found in the records OF the
Holmsburg Prison. II was attached to
negro prisoner. who finished serving
term OF Imprisonment six years ago.
The second number is that Of a cell in
ward used for white prisoners only. so
that the combination is evidently a
blind.
Assistant District Attorney Rogers
said tonight that he was inclined 10 be-
licve that the story was true. and that
the lads body eventually would be found
in freight car
Until the car is found. We have no
means of knowing where the boy Is, but
until the report is either proven AN
absolute faIsehood or verified the mem
hers Of the family will not draw an easy
breath. he added