Rural Retreat times. [volume] (Rural Retreat, Va.) 1892-1918, 1911-10-13
Arson Octopus Stretches
81 TentocleS ktar M2

positively our lowest terms. Take EN-
or leave en-"
How about the risk?'
There will be no risk To avert
suspicion you must take me in as an
employee. You yourself can be as far
away from Chicago as you like!"
With that Jacob produced his arson
contract, an extraordinary document,
which assigned to the saloonkeeper
$1,700 of the total insurance on the
Dreyfus place. The merchant fell in
with the plan. He signed the agree
ment to pay the saloonkeeper in the
event of a fire, and handed Jacob the
$500 earnest money. The ingenious
conspirator was put on the employees
roll and intrusted with the door key
to lock up the store at night and open
1t in the morning.
On the Saturday half-holiday of
June 3 Jacobs admitted himself to the
store after hours and opened six five
gallon cans Of gasoline which had
been sent there concealed in the inno-
cent-looking shipping cases used by
the firm. Starting at one end of the
| shop, he poured the oil in stream
| that meandered the length of the
| floor, with the partially emptied cans
distributed at strategic points among
the piles of stock. At right-angles to
the stream he stretched half-hour
time fuse, lighted with a match the
end farthest from the oil, and, locking
the door behind, quietly went on his
way.
In all these operations Jacob had
| applied with his best skill the prin-
/ ciples of scientific management adopt
| ed by the arson trust The telltale ex-
celsior shavings and giye-away kero-
sene soaked paper have long since
| been discarded by the Chicago savants
in favor of the quick, sharp, success
sive explosions of gasoline, which de-
| stroy the exploding cans and the stock
| of merchandise almost simultaneously.
Not only is the evidence burned up,
but the firemen and salvage corps
have no chance to save any of the
stock of goods, which salvage would
reduce the amount of the insurance
paid
/ But on this occasion something or
other went amiss. The fire fighters,
arriving quickly, scented the odor of
gasoline. After the fire was put out
and an investigation made, an unex-
ploded can Of gasoline was found back
in corner. Michael F. Sullivan, the
fire attorney of the city, sent for the
brothers Dreyfus Leopold had spent
the day of the fire at Gray's Lake, a
resort fifty miles distant, but Lazard
| had worked in the store that same
| Saturday morning.
After more than six hours of sharp
examination by the fire attorney and
che police Leopold Dreyfus broke
down and confessed that he hired
Jacob and the saloonkeeper to de-
stroy the store. He told the story of
It substantially as given above. He
implicated many others in wide net
work of conspiracy that startled even
the detectives by the astounding reve-
lation of systematic, scientific arson
| trust.
Through the further confessions of
the elder Dreyfus 1t was hoped to ex,
| pose the whole crooked league of dis
| honest merchants and paid settlers Of
fire, league. 1t Is said, that has
caused at least fifth (more than 7O0)
of all the Chicago fires in the last
decade, that has extended its opera
| tions from New York to Portland,
Ore, and that has reaped yearly
profit of $75O.000 for the saloonkeeper
who Is it's head.
Leopold Dreyfus, however, killed
himself next morning in his Michigan
avenue home, whittier police detec-
| tive had taken him at his own request
| to see his wife and children before go
ing to the police court. The discov-
! cry of his arson and the targle of his
| financial affairs had driven him prac-
| tically insane. The saloonkeeper and
| Jacob vanished.