Weekly journal-miner., 1915-11-24
PROMINENT MEN INVOLVED IN
 ARSON PLOT
SENSATIONAL EVIDENCE EXPECTED AT TRIAL BE- GINNING AT ST. LOUIS ON DECEMBER 9TH.

1 ST. LOUIS, Mo-, Nov. 2. - Ar
 unusual trial will be begun in St
 Louis on Monday, December 9th, a:
 the continuation of charges that there
 has existed in this city widespread
 arson conspiracy. A long list of fires which have occurred in St. Louis, with
 evidences of incendiary origin, is es
 timated to nave netted the conspir,
 ators in the alleged arson cases a profit of some $2,5OOOOO in the past few years. In view of this prevalence O. incendiarism the police had long been on their guard but 1t was not until September II last that they con firmed their suspicious by the alleg- cd confession of Herbert o. Baker, fire insurance agent.
 Baker was arrested on the night of i September II, few hours after four men, afterward referred to as torch es" were taken as they were unload ing four barrels of gasoline at the plant of the Christian Bellows Manu- featuring Company.
 The arrest of these four men was due to the fact that the head of the firm had revealed details of a plot to have his own factory fired-a plot which he told the police had been pro- posed to him by an insurance man and which ne pretended to enter in to in order to assist the police in the detection of the guilty.
 After Baker had made a statement to the police, 1t was announced at detective headquarters that Baker had revealed, not the existence of an ar son trust but that several groups of men, working on similar lines, had conspired with heads of business firms to set property on fire that the firms might collect excessive insur ance. An insurance agent was always in these plots, according to the story, and he was to reap his profit by get ting commissions on the excess in surances written before the fire
 The grand jury began an inquiry into the arson conspiracy on Sept ember 16, aud returned final indict ments on October l.
 The following were indicted
 ROY M. B. TIDD, mayor of Web ster Grove, Mo-, a fashionable suburb or St. Louis; president of the Nixon Jones Printing Company, whose five story plant was burned on the night of September 4. Barrels and boxes of gasoline were found in the base ment of the printing plant after the fire, the police said. Before his in dictment Tidd had brought $l0, coo damage suit against Assistant Fire Chief Fucker because after the fire Fucker would not give him free access to tine burned printing office.
 JULIUS R. BERSn, vice president of the Bersh Insurance Agency Com 1 pany. Bersn was named in the same indictment as Tidd in connection with the Nixon-Jones fire. The indictment was based on testimony that Bersh, in trying to arrange a plot to fire | the Christian Bellows Company plant, had referred to the Nixon-Jones fire and had said that Tidd would get the insurance" Bersh also was in dicted for alleged participation in the fire that destroyed the Gilmore-Bon- fig Decorating Company establish ment on July "A, and for the project ed burning of the Christian Bellows factory.
 HARRY c. GILMORE, head of the Decorating Company, for alleged complicity in burning of the establishment of that concern.
 HARRY MEL, secretary to Gil more, indicted in connection with the fire.
 E D w ARD MILNER, alleged torch" accused in connection with he Gilmore-Bonfig fire; also in con lection with the alleged attempt to ire the Christian Bellows plant.
 OTTO F. LEHMAN, insurance ad- l, uster, indicted in connection with the Ilieged plot to set fire to the Christian [ Bellows plant MORRIS GREENBURG, MAX and MICHAEL O. f -ONNOR, alleged torches" indicted i n connection with the plot to fire I he Christian Bellows establishment. | No indictment was returned against ' Herbert O. Baker, the agent, whose rrest opened the way for the ex- ! austive grand jury inquiry. Baker tas a principal witness before the n rand jury.