Jasper County Democrat, Volume 18, Number 104, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 March 1916 — ROUNDING UP CAR THIEVES [ARTICLE]

ROUNDING UP CAR THIEVES

Orson Lewis and Ernest Speaks in Jail and Considerable Loot Recovered. As a result of the sleuthing of Monon Detectives Hayes and Schofield, Orson Lewis and Ernest Speaks are now reposing in the Jasper county bastile and a half-dozen other denizens of Rensselaer are said to be under survelience. Stealing merchandise from freight cars on the sidings has been going on here more or less for the past three years, and of late the complaints became so numerous that a systematic sleuthing was inaugurated by the Monon officials in their effort to break up the unholy practice. After some six weeks’ work by the Monon’s detectives during which about all the people residing near and along the north and south sides of the Monon tracks were under survelience, search warrants were gotten out Mondav and a search made • ■ of Ernest Speaks’ home in the northeast part of town and near the railroad, and also that of his brother-in-law, Orson Lewis, who lived a short distance away but on the north side of the tracks. At Lewis' nearly a dray load of goods were found that are alleged to have been stolen from freight cars, while a smaller amount was found at Speaks’. The latter had contemplated moving to Idaho and had been disposing of sortie of his effects, and it is believed that he, I had disposed of quite a bit of the; loot he had secured. J

Following the search the young men were placed under arrest by Sheriff McColly ’ and Deputy John Robinson and placed in jail. They were arraigned before Squire Spitler Monday afternoon, where they en<tered pleas of guilty and were bound over to the circuit court in default of SSOO bonds in each ease and were remanded back to jail.

Lewis has a w ife and several children, while Speaks is married but hag no children. While some petty stealing has been going on here it is believed for two or three years, it is only daring the past few months that they had became flagrant, and the goods taken during all this time were of a class that do not run into money very fast, and the total Stealings will probably aggregate but a few hundred dollars in value. The goods that have been stolen here were practically, all front mail order houses in Chicago and were consigned to farmers about Rensselaer and therefore were not taken from the cars at once by the consignees. In the alleged loot onnd at Lewis’ waS about two-thirds nf a half-barrel sack of flour, some having been used out of the sack, new pillows, comforts, a mattress, boots, notions, several suits of underwyar. bolts of muslin and calico, boxes of groceries, extracts, toilet goods, children’s and ladies’ underwear, skirts, embroidery, etc., one rural mail box. three gallons of carriage varnish, a buggy heater, rolls of building paper and numerous other articles. At Speaks’ were found a box of soap, several bottles of "in-l oil, two dozen towels, five work shirts, a 25-lb. sack of sugar, a large sack of salt, etc. Up to yesterday noon no niore arrests had been made, but it *s believed that there are more of th° gang Speaks and Lewis, however, decline to incriminate others in their pleas of guilty, but it was very probable that more arrests would follow. The Democrat was in form ed