Jasper County Democrat, Volume 18, Number 19, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 June 1915 — MEANEST THIEF HEARD FROM [ARTICLE]

MEANEST THIEF HEARD FROM

Stole 140 Young Chickens From Rev. Petty, the Barkley I*reacher. Rev. Petty, pastor of the Barkley M. E. church, was in town Monday and reported that some low-down thief had visited his chicken house the night before and stole 140 young chickens. They were pure bred Rhode Island Reds and were only six weeks old. Rev. Petty would not have taken $25 for the bunch. As the thief “pased up” the older birds, if is evident that he expects to have a nice hunch of “fries” to put on the market in a few weeks The chickens were in a closed house, and the thief opened the door in going in and closed it again on coming out. Chicken stealing is about the lowest and most despicable business a person can engage in, and to steal chickens from a preacher—when it is a well known fact that all preachers love fried chicken—is still worse. Some of these gay chicken thieves who have been plying their trade in Jasper county for the past few years, are going to be brought up with a short turn cne of these days, either with a load of buckshot or a term in the state prison. In fact, there are four prisoners in the county jail now awaiting trial who are alleged to have been engaged in this business up in about Roselawn and in Keener and Union townships.