The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1914-05-28

Blood hounds were soon ON the
| trail and they were only a few min
utes in running from the hotel to the
place where the grip was found.
Identification of the gun and the
! fiashlight have been made. Marks on
the clothes gave clue to Oskaloosa
as the possible residence place of the
owners of the dirty linen.
Sheriff Campbell and his men came
| to Oskaloosa and are now working
with a strong probability of making
some arrests here. Two young men
are now under examination and have
made admissions that place them un
der suspicion.
Sheriff Cambell of Fairfield and of.
ficer John Ruggenberg of the Oska-
| loOsa police force left about twelve
thirty o'clock this afternoon, driven
| by John Holt in an automobile for
Fairfield via Fremont where they will
make a search for young man nam.
ed Harold Tropp, said to be the
owner of the identified suit case
The officers took with them H. Lewis
and Willard CoXey, alleged to have
been implicated in the affair and who
admit being at Fairfield and register
ing at the Court Hotel under assum-
ed names. 1t is said that the lads
admit knowledge of the affair but
they refuse to state who was guilty
of the assault or the attempted rob.
berry.
Lewis and COXey were drawn into
the affair through having been seen
by officer in company with Tropp in
this city Monday and the pocket fash.
lightlight dropped in the hotel was
sold to one of the boys here by loo
al firm and was by them identified
The lads were picked up at. their
homes here and it is stated admit
having been at Fairfield and Ottum.
wa. They are being taken to Fair.
field for Identification by the wound
ed hotel man. The boys were also
identified here by travelling man
who saw them on the train in posses
sion of a grip from which they effect.
ed change of wearing apparel.
Events and developments in the
Fairfield robbery and assault case
came thick and fast Sunday. The
third man, young Tropp was arrest
ed and taken to Fairfield. Lewis
made sworn confession that impli.
Gates the trio and all have made ad
missions enough to connect them with
the case.
Harold Tropp who is not much ov-
er Is years OF age, returned to his
home here late Saturday morning He
was bound for Waterloo but changed
his course and returned to Oskaloosa
The father Immediately called the po-
l;an I'D 20 shn
law. The record entered upon by the
son finds no sympathy in the minds
of the parents, who are most excel.
lent people in every way and although
heart-broken and Frustrated by what
their son has done and in a way re-
fusing to believe that their boy can
be connected with the affair to the
extent charged, and sentiment of ill
ial nature is set aside that the law
may take it's course in the matter
The position of the parents of all
these boys is most trying and they
have the sympathy of all good people.
Confession Secured.
Harry Lewis, Sunday afternoon,
before notary and witnesses in OF
tumwa made a full confession of
the part in the affair taken by him
and the confession implicated COXey
and Tropp. The confession was Sc
cured by John B. Holt, manager OF
the OskalOOsa Motor Bus 4 Transfer
company who drove the boys to Fair
field Saturday and was in Ottumwa
yesterday. While not acting in an
official capacity the opportunity OF
obtaining the confession came to him
and he made the most of it. The state
ment was made under oath before 5.
Cornell, a notary and duly subscribed
by John b. Holt and II. c. Richards,
an officer of Ottumwa. The confess
ion covers three typewriter pages.
Lewis told that "CoXey," Tropp
and himself went to Brighton Tues
day, May 10, but Omits the object of
the trip The three boys were to-
gether From Brighton they went to
Fairfield and stopped at the Court no.
tel where Lewis registered as }. f.
Martin of Davenport. They obtained
double room. They remained in
, Fairfield all day and left Fairfield
that night going to Abba, and Wed
nesday night they put up at the Will
cox hotel. Thursday they went to
Ottumwa where they spent the day
They returned to Fairfield, arriving
about 1870 o'clock i'm the morning.
Lewis states that upon arrival here,
he went to the Rock Island depot
while the others went down town.
After waiting at the station about
thirty minutes Tropp appeared sud
denly and said they were in bad"
and would have to duck" Said they
worked out on the night clerk of a
hotel, that the clerk hit him, had him
down on the floor. He had lost his
hat. They went down into the yards
for a time and here Tropp donned a
suit that was in the grip and a lit
tie later Tropp disposed of the suit
case Lewis advised against attempt.
ing to board the passenger trains
and the boys then separated. He went
to the depot and returned to Ottum-
wa, "Coxey" accompanied Lewis from
Fairfield to Ottumwa. At noon Fri
day they returned to OskalOosa and
were arrested Saturday morning.
Willard Cox, was positively identi'
fed by landlord Joe DunleaVy OF
Fairfield Saturday afternoon as the
fellow who struck him with the lead
pipe and both BOYS were recognized
as two of the men registering at the
hotel early Wednesday morning. The
boys were taken directly from Oska-
In lxE - Shn