The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1911-04-09
MURDER OF A STATION AGENT
CHARLES n. CONkLIN or Gro.
Ton LAKE FOUND DEAD.
Arriving Passenger Discovered His Betly
Last Evening place Had Deen
Robbed His son Teiesraphs - De.
spstcher to send Help There at Once.

R0Obed-Hs son Teoegfaphs 10 DE.
spatcher to send Help There ~ Once. !
Charles H. Conklin. the station agent
at Croton Lake. a station on the Putnam
division Of the New York Central Rail-
road thirty -four miles north Of New York.
WAS shot and killed at about o'clock Last
night. He was also the postmaster at
Croton Lake and was about IS years old.
His son. Charles Conklin. Jr sent over
the wire to the train d4spatcher's office
at White Plains message saying that his
father had been shot. The police don't
know who did the shooting. Two arrests
were made in this city later in the evening.
but the mon we're lot 60.
Conkln was in his Office at 7.s5 clock
sending q report to the dispatcher. He
shut OF his key and took a commercial
message from an engineer on the new
aqueduct and proceeded to send it. The
engineer was Thomas May OF III Charles
street. West Hoboken May wanted to
tell his wife that he would be homo by II
O'Clock. COnklin took the message. not
withsta nding that the rules Of the COM
pany allowed him to 60 home for the day
at 7:SO p. NJ. He was still working at his
instrument when the 750 train for New
York pulled out. taking May and COM
panion.
That was the last seen OF the station
agent until about ten minutes later. when
the evening train from New York paused
to drop its passengers Some Of the m
strayed into the waiting room to say
good evening to Conklin and to ask him
why he was At work after hours. They
found him lying on the floor. He had
been shot three times. The Office was
IN disorder. The money which COnklin
had taken in during the day amounting.
the New York Central officials think. to
about SiOO-was gone also. The appear
anoe Of things was such as to make the
observers figure that Conklin had put up
. good fight for the company's money
before the marauders shot him.
Charlie Conklin. who was In the habit
OF going to the station to walk home
with his father. found the passen gers
In the Office standing around his father Q
body. Charlie asked them II they had
done anything about it and they said
they hadn't because they didn't know
how to use the telegraph instrument.
Charlie knows how to send . message.
but he can't receive 80 he sat down to
the key. called for the despatcher's once
at White Plains and sent this message:
MY father has been held up and MUIR
dered. Send help"
He ticked this messa ge cE over and over
again. He couldn't fslI from tho answer
ing clicks whether or not his call had
been picked up.
The dispatcher sent orders to the fol-
} lowing train. which doesn't regularly stop
at Croton Lake. to slow up long enough
to find out what happened. The pas
sengers from the earlier train were still
there and so was Charlie Conklin. but
tho conductor couldn't figure any better
than they who had done the shooting.
A telegrapher. however, looked owe
the messages and found that the one
fled by May was the last thing that Conk-
lin had done. and they reasoned that MAY
was one OF the last persons who saw
!, the station agent alive. So the call went
out to the New York police to arrest May
and Charles Herbig. his companion
, Wucu tuey kob 10 .>cW IoTh. EAcep'
for one Italian who got on the train AT
Elmsford they were the only passenge
by the 7:ss who got on a, Croton Lake.
> The police OF the West l52d street police
: station were on hand when the train
|, reached l55th street. They found May
and his companion with no trouble at all
The two squeduct workers readily con-
! sented to 20 to the station with the police
to await whatever action might be forth
coming. Later X. II. Burke. chief OF the
aqueduct police, came down from Crotor
Lake and agreed that May and Herbig
knew nothing of the murder. They were
, allowed to go home. They said, though
a that il they were wanted later they woulC
! gladly answer TO a summons
I The country around Croton Lake j,
wild. The murderers could readily make
of to the hills There are many camps
= Of Italians in the neighborhood and they
could easily find shelter. The Coroner
Of Westchester county at Ossining thought
that some aqueduot workmen. knowing
8 that on Saturdays the receipts at Crotor
. Lake are seven times az heavy as on
2 other days. may have done the murder.
-
. THREE NEGROES LYNCHED.