South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1917-04-24
BUTTER ROBBER
HELD BY POLICE
Jack B. Kelly is Accused Of
Making Raids on MiChi-
gan Central Cars.

Many South Bend dealers have
been buying butter from one of the
most daring and systematic thieves
encountered i'm the experience of the
northern Indiana police, according
to word received Monday evening
from Michigan City.
Jack r. Kelly. "a years old. now
lies in the county Jail at that place
charged with semi-weekly wholesale
robberies from Michigan Central
fast freight trains. He is said 10
have confessed TO authorities that
his system has netted him an aver
age of $50 per week since last fall
and that most Of the stolen butter
was disposed of 10 dealers in South
Bend. Some of it was sold in Niles.
ShadOwcd for Two Weeks.
The arrest of Kelly at his home
near Waterford. between Laporte
and Michigan City. followed a two
weeks shadowing by Michigan City
police and railroad detectives. 1t
clears up a mystery which has baf-
fled the railroad officials for months.
They had been unable 70 account for
the disappearance of repeated guam
titles of butter in shipments from
the Elgin creamery.
When a squad Of officers, headed
bv Detective Schelene of the Michi-
gan City force, descended upon the
Kelly house they found Kelly hiding
beneath a stairway that led 10 the
attic. Mrs. Kelly, who tried 10 bar
the door before the officers, was
caught before she could make her
escape through "A rear door. Two
loaded revolvers. one an automatic,
were found in the bedroom indicat-
ing the pair had been prepared for
any eventuality
Find Butter Apparatus.
Twelve tubs of butter each con-
tanning 60 pounds. were found in the
cellar along with a rude apparatus
by which the creamery cakes were
reworked into pound rolls 10 appear
as country butter.
Kelly and his wife rented the
home at Waterford with eight acres
surrounding it last fall. Kelly rep
resented TO the landlord that he was
from South Bend and that he was a
salesman for the Arbuckle Coffee CO.
He was always well dressed and TO
the neighbOrs the Kelly's were ap-
parently prosperous and respectable
no suspicion had ever attached 70
them i'm the locality. Kelly drove a
Ford car which was supposed to
have been used in his work as cof-
fee salesman.
How Kelly Worked.
According 70 the officers who
Swallowed Kelly for some time be-
fore his arrest this was his system.
/ Twice each week he drove to Mich
igan CITY and parked his car down
town. Boarding a South Shore car he
rode TO Hammond. There he waited
I for the east bound fast freight on
I the Michigan Central Climbing on
/ This train in the darkness he quickly
/ located the creamery car, broke the
seal and entered. At a point just west
\ of Michigan City. Kelly threw out as
many tubs of butter as he could
| conveniently carry in his automobile
/ He then rode on into Michigan
I CITY. took his car and recovered the
! butter. IL was taken at night TO his
home where he and Mrs. Kelly re-
worked il.
Between these raids on the butter
/ cars Kelly acted as salesman, offer
ing the stolen butter 10 unsuspectine
merchants of South Bend and Niles
where he calculated the least chance
! of discovery lay.
detective Gets on Trail.
Aroused bv the repeated losse:
from the butter cars Michigan Cen
trail officials placed detectives on the
case. private tip. however. came
10 the Michigan City department &
few weeks ago that Kelly would beal
watching. Acting upon this cleV
Detective Schelene Swallowed th'
suspect even following him TO Ham
mond on one of his raiding eNcur
sions When the officers had wha
they believed 10 be conclusive evi
idence they raided the Kelly home.
Judging from the amount of but
ter which has been disappearing
the police are inclined to believ'
that Kelly has been making evel
more than the $3.50 "a week 10 which
he is said to have confessed.
similar butter robberies have beer
reported by the Lake Shore railway
So far no evidence has been obtained
connecting Kelly with these robber
les but the police believe il possibl
that the same game is being worked
Dv "a pal" Of Kelly'S.