Jasper County Democrat, Volume 16, Number 82, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 January 1914 — FITTING OUT FOR WINTER. [ARTICLE]

FITTING OUT FOR WINTER.

Two Tramps Surprised While Burglarizing the G. E. Murray Store. While making his rounds at about 12:30 o’clock Saturday night back of the stores on the north side of Washington street, Nightwatch Critser discovered a couple of men in the G. E. Murray’ store. He hurried around to the Nowels restaurant for assistance in capturing the men, and telephoned to Mr. Murray. Before the nightwatch got back to the scene again with his posse one of the men had made his getaway and the other one was just attempting to. John Morgan chased the one and caught him in the rear of E. D. Rhoades’ residence, and he was landed in jail. fie is about 21 years old, and gave his name as Victor Greenvyood, and said he was from Schenestady, N. ¥., and that he had met his companion in Detroit, Mich., on Christmas day, and they had been bumming together since. They both spent Friday night in jail here, where they applied for lodgings. The men wanted a new winter outfit of clothing, it seems, and gained entrance to the Murray store through one of the read windows. They had stripped off their old clothes and put on complete new outfits from the. skin out, the one caught having on two suits of underwear, but in the hurry to make his getaway after they had been alarmed by the nightwatch’s presence, he did not have time to put on the socks, but had two pair of wool socks in his hand or his pockets, and had by mistake got on his old coat. They had both donned new underwear, suits, shoes, heavy sweaters, overcoats and caps, and but for the one caught being a little slow at dressing himself, both would have got away with their outfits.

Greenwood was arraigned before Squire Irwin Monday and bound over to the circuit court in default Of S3OO bonds. Later — Thomas Lowe, who lives in the former Pumphrey property on Forest street, informed The Democrat yesterday forenoon that a young man had called at his house Monday afternoon, about 4 o’clock, and asked for something to eat. He was rather stockily built, wore new clothes, including a heavy woo] sweater and mackinaw overcoat. He was too well dressed for a hobo and did not look like he had been bumming his way on the railroad He said he had just got off the 3:30 train, but his looks belied the statement, as he was not dirty nor dusty as he would have been had he been hitting the blind baggage. Mr. Lowe thinks now that this was the thief who made his escape, although autos were sent out in different directions Saturday night in seach of the fellow and the telephone was used to notify the officers in nearby towns to be on the lookout for him. If It was this party, he had evidently been shrewd enough to “lay low” right in town for a couple of days before venturing out, and may still be here. The Fair Oaks section foreman on the Monon, who lives about a quarter of a mile southiof Fair Oaks, near the railroad, rejmrts that a man answering the ame description ns the man who called at Mr. Lowe's Monday evening, stopped at his pla' e Sunday afternoon and asked for a "hand-out.” The man was so w< 1J dressed that the section foreman thougiht it strange that he should be asking for something to eat. lie told there that he was making his way to Louisville, and said that he thought he would go back to Roselawn and take a train from there. It is probable that he was the Burglar who made his escape.