Imperial Valley press., 1915-05-05

attempted to set fire to the Depot
Stables and later sought to destroy
& Southern Pacific freight car by fire,
were thwarted in the early hours of
the morning.
The first attempt was made on u
frame building in the vicinity of the
Depot Stables, when , men set fire
TO a haystack and then disappeared
in the darkness. Joseph Trow,
teamster sleeping in a barn on Main
street near Fourth, saw the rays of
{. flashlight carried by one of the
men as they planned to fire the rack.
He rushed out with pail of wa
ter and extinguished the blaze before
il had gained headway.
The hay rack adjoins the Depot
Stables and had the blaze been un-
discovered the flames probably would
have swept through that building and
communicated to the Valley Lumber
and Pioneer Transfer Companies
buildings.
1t is believed by many that the at
tempted arson last night was planned
by l. w. VS. who sought to avenge
the arrest of members of that or
ganization whom Deputy Marshal
Fleishman, the owner of the stables
on which the attempt was made, took
into custody after they had defaced
billboard on Main street.
At the city Jail yesterday the tri -
attempted to wreak vengeance upon
Fleishman and later, when they were
locked in a cell, threatened reprisals
by poisoning a valuable dog owned
ty the proprietor of the livery sta
BILE.
Telling a strange story of how he
had been sent from FL Paso to inves-
tigate alleged smuggling along the
border, the second attempt of pyro-
manacs was called to the attention
OF the police by H. H. Hopper, who
asserted that he had subdued the
flames in the freight car
Bent on incendiarism, the persons
who set fire to the car had removed
the oil-soaked packing from the boxes
used to lubricate the axles, piled
them in a heap upon the car floor of
the car, and applied match. The
highly inflammable material fired
readily and before the flames had
been subdued hole had been burned
entirely through the flooring and the
sides of the car were badly charred.
Hopper related to the police that
he was a non-salaried member OF
the United States Secret Service and
] had been forced to walk from Calex-
leo after he had lost his money in
gambling joint at Mexical. The po-
lice were inclined to discredit his
story, despite the fact that he offered
lad seen the fire and witnessed the
battle he had made to eXtinguish it.
The witnesses proved to be 2 no.
Loes who, after being quered by the
police, denied all knowledge of the
blaze.
Hopper also laid stress upon the
fact that he was a railroad engineer,
and produced a union card to uphold
his contention.
In relating the instances of the
fire, he asserted that he had locked
into = freight cars, which stand on
the siding north of the Southern Pa
cific depot, 20 hoboes.
Accompanied by officers, he un-
locked the doors of the cars and the
hoboes poured forth, were immediate
Ily surrounded, searched and then ac-
lcompanied to the city limits and in
structed to continue walking. The
outcasts were headed for Imperial ana
at last accounts were well on their
way.
Two of the men produced "bindes"
and proved to the satisfaction of the
police that they were employed here.
These were allowed to return.
City Marshal McFadden and Depu-
ty Tyson, and Deputy Sheriffs John
son, Kemp and Graham participated
in the raid on the imprisoned hoboes.
All the hoboes were without firearms
and most of them proved to be with
cut money.
Officers this morning expressed the
belief that the car had been fired by
Hopper and then eXtinguished in or
der to add to his laurels as a sleuth.
The capture of the 20 hoboes, they
assert, was consummated while the
"knights of the road" slumbered in
the cars. The doors were closed with
cut noise in both instances and the
Loboes were unaware of their en-.
, forced incarceration until some tim,
later.
Hopper, under searching questions
. by City Marshall McFadden, was un