Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1919-08-14
BURLINGTON pOUlOERS
AND ISLAND CALVES
Ingenious Scheme by Which 1t
is Alleged Grand Isle County
Farmer Was to Part Gratuit-
ously with Some of His Live
stock
stock

One hundred and twenty pounds of
burlington boulders hidden in the
body of Ford truck owned and OPP
Grated by Leon Hersberg of III Archi-
bald street, this city, dealer in cat
tie, sheep, hogs, etc, offset the weight
of four calves which Hcrsberg bought
several weeks ago from Warren Pearl
a Grand Isle county farmer. and the
accidental discovery of one Norris
COPELAND. also of Burlington, who was
husily engaged in throwing off the
boulders into the roadway from Grand
Isle, resulted in the arrest of the two
Burlington men Tuesday in this city
by Sheriff Victor Hurlburt. The were
taken to the county court at North
Hero yesterday for preliminary hear
ing before the assistant Judges.
The case will be prosecuted by States
Attorney Fl. w. Keeler of Grand Isle
county, who in his warrant for their
arrests alleged that they. obtained the
calves In manner against the laws
of the State and by classifying the
weight of their auto truck by means
of the hidden boulders. Hersberg has
secured the services of Attorney Rufus
L. Brown of Burlington as his senior
counsel.
How the Burlington men obtained
the calves under their scheme is an
interesting one. The State alleges
that the Ford truck. containing the
stones hidden In 1t was weighed and
its weight noted. Then the calves were
driven into it and the two dealers. to-
! gether with farmer Pearl. drove off
I to public scales in Grand Isle town
| to weigh the entire truck and calves
| together. in order to convince Hers
berg that the Pearl farm scales were
recording the true weight of the truck
and also of the calves. Hersberg and
! Pearl sat on the drivers seat, while
COPELAND was in the rear with the
calves. Hersberg kept driving fast and
talking to Pearl to keep his attention
while COPELAND busted himself with
throwing out the stones along the
roadway. the engine roar assisting to
! drown the noise of their fall
1t was not long before COPELAND had
thrown the entire 120 pounds Of per-
fectly good Burlington stone away. il
being strewn along the Grand Isle
highway for a mile or more. While
he was throwing the boulders away
several men were working along the
road and noticed the stones being
tossed from the machine and one o.
the men looked at them and was sat
isfied that they were not from the
county.
When the public scales were reach
ed the Ford was driven on to them
the three men getting off and thu
total weight taken, out of which wa
deducted the weight of the truck
which was 100 pounds lighter thai
the first figures of the weight takel
before the calves were put in. Thi
process naturally made the weiEh
of the calves 100 pounds less thai
Pearl knew they weighed. he havn'
. weighed them separately at home an
jotted down their respective weight
on a single. A verbal scrap then FOL
, lowed, with the result that the calve
| were not purchased.
Farmer Pearl took the matter VI
with the States attorney who 20
. busy and secured an exhibit A. som
! 60 odd pounds of the stone from tn
= highway.