New-York tribune., 1911-12-11
RIOT OF INCEND|AR|SM
Continued from FIRST page.

night for fires which were patiently in
diary, and the police believe, in spite
Of Yesterdays arrests. that the majority
of the blazes are the work Of one man.
As far back as two months ago the
police received a description Of an un-
known man seen with unfailing regular
ity IN the neighborhood Of each Of the
suspicious fires. The district upon which
this f1rebug has preyed Is between ll6th
and 145th streets and comprises both the
East and West Side sections OF Harlem.
ID 10 recently all the dres broke out be-
fore II o'clock. and it is only within the
last few weeks that the incendiary has
begun operations after midnight Rig
crous investigation OF these fires has
satisfied the police hat one and the same
man did the work.
The firebugs method is simple. a col
lection of rags and paper is sprinkled
with oil and showed under stairway or
piled up IL a.basement In close proxim-
ity TO the woodwork. Then the man
has strolled out Of the building and
waited around until the police and Fire
Department arrived. IN few cases
the frebug has placed his oiled waste In
a dumbwaiter shaft. evidently with the
idea that the draft would suck the
flames up through the house and seal
the doom Of the building and its in
mates before help could arrive.
The police. who within the last few
weeks have been working night and day
on the situation. have talked with doz-
ems of persons who have seen the fire.
bug, and their descriptions tally per-
fectly with that Of the man seen running
from the Fort George dance hall and
hotel on Saturday night He is about
feet 9 inches tall. usually wears brown
clothes, and carries one arm slightly
crooked. as II it had been broken at
some time and imperfectly set. He
has a pale comp.exion and sharp
hatchet-like features.
Captured Once, Let Go,
The most exasperating circumstance
regarding this man is that he was caught
by a citizen at one of the Eighth avenue
fires a short time ago, but in the confu-
sion and excitement talked his captor
out of his suspicious and got away. Two
NIGHTS later the same man was seen
crawling out over the transom Of a door
and running away from a building IN
which a fire was discovered ten minutes
afterward
While for the last month the vigilance
Of the police has been redoubled. up 10
yesterday they had arrived no nearer 20
q solution Of the problem that menaces
the district. Acting on their knowledge
OF the habits Of the lone hrebug, they
have raked every crowd Of fire specta-
tors with squads of detectives in the
hope Of coming IN contact with the man
with the crooked arm Recently, since
the fires began to break out in such
n nbers and AT such short intervals.
they nave followed the plan Of pouring
detachments Of plainclothes men into the
district the moment an alarm Of fire vas
sounded.
Last night the number % fires had
not lessened and before the "au out"
alarm had been sounded upon the fire
which meant the death Of former
Captain Best 4 blaze started In the
cellar OF a four story house At No 1884
Eighth avenue. directly across the street.
The flames were coming out OF pile
OF rubbish in the cellar and were put out
without much trouble The police. al
though convinced that De Rosa and his
wife, VINO were arrested last night. are
guilty Of the charge against them. fee
certain that the chief criminal IL still
abroad. Morris, who was arrested ear
lier in the day. may be able to prove
his innocence.