The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1912-09-19
DR.. Horner Tells How 1t Happened

DR.. j. B. Horner, or Lamont, who
had the misfortune to have hi
pocket picked of SITS at the recen
state fair, tells just how he wal
touched in an article in last weeks
Lamont Chronicle, as follows:
AS people still continue to ask ms
about my misfortune at the state
fair in being robbed of $175.O0, ant
as none of them seem to have hearl
correct account of it, I will write
for the better information of inquir
ing friends brief substance of the
facts. .|.
My daughter, Mabel Horner, anG
myself reached the fair grounds
about $3.50, August 27. We stayed
for the night performance. Or
leaving the grand stand we Went
west on Grand Avenue, the one useC
by autos. On approaching the exit
noticed it was not the usual place
for taking the street cars, and spoke
to a gatekeeper asking him where
the exit was for the street cars. He
said, Right out there" l said
where do we get our tickets?' He
said, You do not need any; just
pay the conductor
Seeing quite g. crowd already out
side standing along the track | sup
POSED he knew what he was talking
about and that arrangements had
been made for boarding cars at that
rOint also. We went out and took
our places with others. We had not
stood there long until we saw we
had been wrongly informed, as no
car came by Or stopped at that point.
rho u-I
Walnut street where the car track
turns south from Walnut and goes
around a loop to the street car exit.
The loaded cars came down from
the exit and struck Walnut street
at the point where we were stand
ing. After waiting some time dur.
ing which many loaded cars passed
without stopping, a single empty
car came along and stopped for the
crowd at that corner, which was not
much more than a car load as usual
at such times. The crowd surged
for the car and we were carried with
the rest. We were within few feet
of the entrance when a lady directly
in front of me, with childr in her
arms, cried out that she was being
crushed. I pushed back little and
said, Don't crowd on this lady with
, the baby in her arms
At that instant l was pushed from
behind on the shoulders and at the
same time felt hand at my hip
pocket Instantly l knew what it
meant, and turned as quickly as !
could, placing my hand at the same
time on my pocket. The pocketbook
was gone. l looked and four feet
behind me stood young man, just
standing there and looking at me.
seized him by the arm and accused
him. He looked so blank and dazed
as if he did not understand what l
said that l thought ne was not the
man and released his arm. At the
same time my daughter called for
the police, but there were none
there. Some one said there was a
policeman across the street east by
a drug store. We went across and
found one herding the people back
to keep them from going up to the
track where the cars were being
loaded by those who had come
through the turn stiles.
This policeman took me into the
drug store and called up the police
station down town. l reported my
loss to the detective, who talked to
me over the phone. This was done
in five minutes after the robbery.
We also stopped at the station when
we got down town and met the de-
tective, to whom I gave an account
of the affair. He made a few notes
and said fol me to call in the morn
ing. We did so and the detective
CIR hof tn q
and look along the tracks and in the
weeds and we might find my pocket
book, and there was a chance that
some of the money would not be
found in it as the detective said
pickpocket thieves went through a
purse or pocketbook as quickly as
possible and then threw it away
to avoid the chance of having it
found in their possession.
We went out to that corner and
made a search. We did not find
mine, but we found six others that
had been ritled and thrown down
at that same corner.
Now it is not likely that we found
all that had been stolen there the
night before, as it was two o'clock
when we reached the place. 1t is
quite probable that there were not
less than twenty-five robberies at !
that one corner.
We took some of those empty +
purses to the station in the evening
and showed them to the detective. /
He looked surprised and said not !
one of these persons reported their
loss to the station, as they should |
have done.
There were chief detectives there
from other large cities watching for
their home crooks and it was report
ed in the papers that there had been
seven crooks arrested on being |
recognized, and held during the fair. |
The papers also reported that the
detectives were praising conditions,
in that the town and grounds were
SO well policed and led people to ,
feel they were as safe as ii they |
were at home. Therein laid much
danger, as the people were not SO
apt to be so fully on the alert.
A much better protection would
be to have all dangerous places lib /
orally placarded, warning people to
be on their guard. That would be
like locking the stable before the