The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1917-08-31
APPREHENDED

Bad Gang Of |. v. v. Secured and
Held for Sending Poison and Ph0S-
phOrOuS ThrO the Mails.
A couple of weeks ago an arrest
was made in Milbank Of a party
who came to the post office in this
city and attempted to get mail for
Jack Nelson and number Of other
names. Among the packages tor
these names was a bottle of the
most deadly poison and large am
cunt Of phospherous. No mention
of the matter was made in the
papers at the time as the authorities
were desirous Of keeping the con-
federates of the man in ignorance
of the arrest until they could be To-
Gated. The following from the
Aberdeen American indicates that
seven of these confederates have
now been arrested and sufficient
evidence secured to assure their
conviction of the most diabolical
crimes in connection with poison
and fire:
Extremely clever detective work
by City Attorney 4. B. Harkin and
Federal secret service men who
prefer to remain unnamed has re-
suited in the landing in Jail at Abb
erdeen, Webster, Milbank and
points in Minnesota Of gang Of
eight |. w. W's, whom it is pretty
certain the evidence when brought
to trial will show ranged up and
down the state setting fires to prop
erty in revenge for the expulsion
of the members of the order from
this section.
In at least four cases the evidence
is at hand to convict the guilty
ones, the authorities having located
the actual perpetrators beyond
doubt. Two of these cases were
the fires at the Aberdeen Transfer
and Delivery Service barns in Alb
erdeen few weeks ago.
The actual work in these four
cases was done by two men. The
method used was to wrap live phos-
phorus, which, confined in water
and wet, will not burn, in wet
cloths, around which was wrapped
excelsior and outside done up in
paper. so it looked like an ordinary
| package from any retail stor..
! This package, dropped into the
stall of a barn, or hidden in the
hay, was inoccuous until the cloth
ldried out in the summer heat.
Dry, the phosphorus burst into
flame, igniting the excelsior for a
rapid start. The process is one
often demonstrated in any chemis-
try class, when the qualities of
| phosphorus were under study.
In the course of the investigation
Of the fires, the finding Of the first
clues and the following of the vari-
Gus threads which finally entangled
eight men in the tolls Of the feder-
al law. great deal Of the inside"
workings of the |. w. VS., was
revealed.
Originally there was but one
man under suspicion. then another,
finally four were located and the
fact that tn re were four more
closely connected with the first
quartette revealed. For the past
week large amount of work has
been done in an effort to lay hands
on the men higher up before
springing the trap on those about
whom incriminating evidence had
been secured. the actual workers of
nefarious deeds.
One clue led to another, informa-
tion was secured which revealed
the connections between workers.
and finally more than two weeks
after the clamp had been quietly
laid on the first man. came the fin
al cleanup Of the circle yesterday in
the arrest in Minnesota Of the
brains" Of the work of destruc-
tion.
For two weeks the first arrest
has lain in the Brown county jail,
for ten days the second man has
been confined. the third was picked
up few days ago. and finally the
entire eight have now been run to
earth.
Altho cognizant Of these facts,
Fand the news was Of the most SEN
sational order. Aberdeen newspaper
men have aided the authorities in
suppressing any publication of
what was being done until the fin
al trap was sprung.
Even now much information and
detail must he kept out of the news
paper that sources Of information
and methods Of securing evidence
/ 5000