Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1919-05-24

FIVE ARRESTED AS SHOE STORE
ROBBERS; RECOVER STOLEN LOOT

his station, which he believed to have
been stolen. McQuade got on the
clcw and after finding the shoes, call
ed up the Ottawa police and Mr.. Ne
galfin. the former to notify them OF
the find, and the latter to ascertain
whether or not there was reward.
When notified any bills contracted
would be straightened up by Mr. Me
satin McQuade went TO the Reinke
building and took possession of the
boxes This morning Mr. Megaffin,
who rushed to La Sale, on the infor-
nation furnished him, made identiii.
cation complete. The shoes were all
accounted for.
Digging further int othc case Me
Quade found out RomcnOfski had re
ceived the boxes from Kelly and Gcb-
hardt aSturday night anl as favor
TO them. he said consented TO store
thcm in his barn Later the party
went to one of the La Sale card
games, where the junk dealer was in
formed the shoes had been stolen
The next morning he ordered the
boxes removed and called upon Reinke
to get them out of his taru. Reinke
took them without any knowledge of
the contents and after discovering
what was inside he tipped off the
police, telling them of his suspicious.
Before passing into Romenofskis
hands tho shoes spent Saturday in the
Ncndome hotel, and were taken from
there to the jnk dealers place.
At t o'clock McQuade called back
the Ottawa police station and told
the men at headquarters he not only
had the shoes. but two Of the suspects
We're known to him He named tFr
pair who are now being sought IN
another Illinois city As McQuade ha,
no means of knowing whom the ioca
police had under suspicion before Civ
ing the names back to Ottawa. tht
train became red hot and the pa'ro
was ordered out to pick up every
youth who had been mentioned in any
way in connection with the shoe rob
berry.
Chief Makes Arrests,
Manned by Chief Grove, Captain
Maurice Hart. patrolman Dan Fitzger
aid and Thomas Reilly the patrol was
dispatched to the homes Of all six oi
the suspects. Four Of them We're
dragged from their beds and rushed
to the county jail, each being taken tc
his cell separately and ignorant o
the arrests of any Of the others. Th5
patrol was on the jump from midnight
until $50 o'clock, when the last Oi
the suspected youths were taken II
custody. Koenig was taken in cha~@C
at the Hotel Vendome, in La Sale
later in the morning.
All five protested against arrest
declaring their innocence and DENYING
/ any knowledge whatsoever of who thu
perpetrators of the robbery were
/ Arthur Knutson was emphatic in hi
! dcnials OF any knowledge of the crime
/ He is married and when the gra,
/ auto pulled UP in front Of his home Il
/ take him to jail a touching scene wa
enacted in the house, during Whic
the mother fainted knutson is tn
owner of an automobile, and his cor
nection with the case is traced BY tn
/ officials through the machine, it heln
/ alleged he furnished the transnortf
tion facilities for moving The loot on
Of town. Knutson, however, is frr
in his denials that he not only di
not furnish the machine to carry ava
the shoes in, but that he had no know
edge Of the crime until after it wa
reuortcd in the papers.
"Known by the Company, Etc.
If there are innocent men anon
. the group caught in the police dragnC
today, and there probably are one {
two, their plight can be blamed
the old axiom of a man being know
by the company he keeps. The M
i0riiv of the group of young me
mixed ND in today's sensation hay
been known at intervals during II
past wear or more to frequent loc
gambling houses The lure Of Y
, poker table is blamed for the dow
, fall and predicament they now III
, themselves in. The expose of todf
4 probably means the death knell
! gambling in any of its phases in [
f tawa. A half dozen parents who a
{ overcome by the catastrophe VISIT
@ upon them this morning probably W
h attend to that little detail, if no o.
else does. They will have the unit
support of everyone in Ottawa fro
@ the moment they start their crusa
c until they bring it TO succesSi
t termination.