The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1912-04-20
r EXTRAORDINARY CASES Nl q I'm AIS or CRIME
g." asked superintendent, va

him In carrying on some, child wht
had wealthy parents The plan wal
to steal one Of Commodore Wander
bits grandehiIdtciS the youpges
that we could gets 1:'s ~ =
"wbat would you do with it," asked
Mr.. Walling.
'Hold 1t for ransom. The child
was to be concealed in a boat, and
was to negotiate for its ransom.
refused TO have anything to do with
the suggestion. I thought there would
!, be too much risk in trying to obtain
ransom. from the Yanderbilts. They
are; too rich, have too much power,
\ and are not the Kind Of people to be
frightened. There would be no trouble
in stealing the child, but the difficulty
would be in the negotiations"
4 "Gil" Mosher's story strongly I'm.
pressed the superintendent, who was
convinced that he knew more than he
had told and that he had not disclosed
this much out of any honest motive,
but in the hope Of securing part Of
the reward. Captain Hedden soon
arrived at police headquarters and
confirmed the story.
..If my suspicious are correct, Mr..
Ross" he continued addressing the
uncle OF the lost child, this William
Mosher Is the leader Of the con.
spiracy He arranged the plot and ls
the writer of the letters sent to Mr..
Ross. ! am familiar with Mosherg
writing, and 81 you,wIll show me the
letters can tell you whether or not
he is the author Of them"
"will you describe this Moshef's
writing to me before show you the
letters% asked Captain Helms, the
philadelphia detectIv. who had &C
companled Mr.. Ross to New York.
"He writes very rapidly and Is care.
less. He seldom finishes page with.
out plotting It. He often writes either
above or below the lines, and .whe
he folds a letter it is in peculiar and
awkward manner" =
The letters we're produced and Cap
tain Hedden at once identified them
las undenlably the writing OF Mostier..
The blots appeared upon the pages,
Just as Captain Hedden had told, and
the letters were awkwardly folded.
This Identification profoundly i'm.
pressed all present. .,'
Arrangements were at once made
between the New YotI and Philadel-
phia police for cooperation. Captain
Hedden, pursuing his investigation,
learned that Mosher and his conted.
crate Douglas had invented moth
preventive called "Mothee," and that
they travelled about the country with
! q horse and wagon selling this and
other small articles. He also learned
that Mosher had brother.in.law
named WesterYelt, former police.
man Of New York who had been dis
charged from the force and was prob
ably implicated in the abduction.
Mosher's real name was discovered
to be Johnson, and 1t was learned
that his family lived in Baltimore.
Two police detectives were sent to
search that city. 1t was known that
William Mosher had formerly lived
in a boat on the water and that he
had been a notorious river pirate.
Pinkerton's men were also placed on
the case, but. weeks elapsed and all
were still as far as ever from obtain
ing a clue,
ON August "a Superintendent Wal
ling sent the following letter to Cap
tain Helms in philadelphia;
II am more confident than ever
nat the parties Clark tDouglas) and
IMosher, alias johnson, are the par.
ties we want. Some one has let them
knowthat they are being looked after,
and that is the reason for their
change Of tone. They are frightened,
and would, i believe, make terms very
moderate, provided they could be as
sured of safety. There is no danger
of their going to Europe; they have
no money, and Mosher's wife and cbil.
dren would keep him here. or this
you can assure Mr.. Ross, providing j
am right as to the parties, and l have
no doubt Of It. l think 1t would be
well for Mr.. Ross t, keep in COM
municatlon ar ,posslble) with them
Superintendent Walllng sent for
westervelt and asked him, to assist
in finding the kidnsppers. to which,
after a few days consideration, he
agreed. 1t was the idea of Mr.. Wal.
ling that Westervelt could be induced
to help in the discovery by the prom
Use Of a share In the reward WeSter.
welt, however, was apparently play
ing without cards Of his own, for his
assistance proved Of no material USE.
1t is even probable that Westeryelt
put Mosher and Douglas upon their
guard. Somebody kept the kidnap.
pers informed as to the means that
the police intended to adopt In track
ing them, by means OF advertisements
in the newspapers. Westeryelt would
never admit that he had seen the,
men, but always protested to he
searching for them. Westeryelt fur.
nished Information to the effect that
Mosher had been living in Philadel-
phia recently, and that he rented an