The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1922-01-16
THREE ARRESTED
FOR BILL RAISING
TWO White Men and Negro Believed
to Be Connected With Gang.

Two white men and one negro are
being held in the EscaInbia county jail
in connection with the work of an al
| legged gang Of bill raisers that have
been operating rather extensively in
Alabama and West Florida for several
months. The men being detained al
the county Jail are H. P. McManus
alias John Kelley, Lamar Warren
whites, and a negro by the name of
Walter William Henry.
a government secret service man
who was hot on the trail Of the gang
| arrived in Pensacola yesterday and is
endeavoring to clear UP the matter. He
succeeded in arresting one of the gang
| in Montgomery, and he is now in Jail
in that city.
There seems to be a long train ofcir-
cumstances leading up to the revela-
, ton which took place down at the
county building Saturday morning
Constable Green brought the negro
down from Century Friday Afternoon
and placed him in the pail here on a
charge of vagrancy. Late Friday af-
ternoon Detective Crawford arrested
the two white men as they were at
tempting to board an outgoing train
charge of train riding. They appeared
before Judge Jones in the court of rec
ord Saturday morning and We're SEN
fenced to 80 days for train riding.
For some reason which is not quite
clear. the negro told Tailor Byrd about
the men who had been raising one
dollar notes to tens and passing them
at several Alabama cities. The negro
described the men, and Tailor Byrd
began to make a quiet investigation of
the matter. noticing how we'll the
whites filled the descriptions.
The office of District Attorney Cub
berry was notified and he and his as
sistants went down to the Jail and
heard the negros story. He seemed
to elaborate at times, but Mr.. Cubber-
ly, to make sure, wired the secret ser
vice department at Atlanta of the mat
ter, and received an immediate reply
requesting him to hold the men.
According to the story OF the negro,
he met up with the two white men in
Birmingham and travelled on the same
where, he says, to his certain knowl-
edge several of the raised bills were
passed by one of the men. He says that
they demonstrated to him just how
the ones were raised to tens with the
aid Of a common lead pencil. Continu-
ing his story, he says that at NIcGee's
switch, a siding on the outskirts Of
Montgomery, the men gave him one
of the raised notes and tried to get
him to pass it for something to eat.
The white men, however, deny having
any connection with raising or passing
the had money hut both of Them IN
Omit some knowledge of the matter,
and it is said that one of them has
confessed.
Robert Forrest, superintendent OF
the bureau Of Identification, with of
fees at the county jail, took finger
prints of all three OF the men late
Saturday afternoon in order to get
their complete history in case their
prints had been filed at Washington.
This had the effect of causing the man
who had given his name as John KEEL
ley to admit that his real name was H
P. McMapus, and that he was a parole
violator. When the government in
spector questioned him at the county
jail yesterday he admitted that he had
violated a parole granted him from
The penitentiary at Canon City, Colo.
where he had been sentenced for q
term of from one to two years for the
larceny of an automobile.
With this confession, others are ex-
pected in due time. The secret service
man who has charge of running down
the gang is following up the case very
closely. and is being given all assist
ance possible by the local authorities.