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KILGOUR’S HOTEL ROBBED
TILL TAPPED AND BOOZE AND CIGARS TAKEN
Three Suspects Arrested
[Welland Tribune, 17 September 1909]
When F.W. Kilgour, the portly proprietor of the M.C.R. Hotel, came down stairs on the morning of Tuesday last, he found the hotel had been burglarized in the night.
Three bottles of Imperial were missing, and a quantity of cigars. The cash register had been opened and relieved of $2.75. The money taken consisted of twenty-five cent pieces, ten dimes, and three quarters. One quarter was left in the till as a nest egg.
The burglars had gained entrance by raising one of the windows with a pick and removing the bars. Their operations were not heard by anyone during the night , and Mr. Kilgour was entirely unaware as to who his night visitors were.
In the morning the news of the burglary gradually spread, and Alex Harper, councillor for Crowland, and a well known man in his district, put Mr. Kilgour wise to the fact that three or four fellows who looked suspicious to him, were taking it easy under a tree in the T.H.&B track.
Mr. Kilgour telephoned to Chief Jones and the two together, about 1 o’clock, drove up in the direction indicated to investigate. They spied four men under a tree close to the T.H.& B yards, and proceeded to take them in charge. One fellow “tied his kite,” and left his shoes and coat in possession of the Chief, not intentionally as a keepsake, but because he didn’t have time to take them along. They pointed a revolver in his direction but he didn’t stop for a little thing like that. One of the other three picked up a whiskey bottle and threatened to knock the Chief’s brains out, but big F.W. slipped around behind and brought him down to the ground. This left two-a big ‘un and a little ‘un. The big fellow was asleep and was quite easy to deal with. When he awoke, he found he was handcuffed. The little one didn’t show fight and that is the story of their arrest.
One empty whiskey bottle, which was similar to those stolen from the hotel, was found where the prisoners were, and a railway man produced another, which he found in the yard. The prisoners had a number of broken cigars on them and a lot of five and ten cent pieces and one quarter. They were noticed dropping some money as they were being marched along to the town cells.
In the afternoon one of the cells became filled with a dense smoke. One of the prisoners stated he let a match fall on his handkerchief and it went up in smoke, but the authorities are more inclined to believe he was burning some papers he didn’t want seen.
On Wednesday morning the three were arraigned before Magistrate Burgar on the charge of vagrancy. They gave their names as Frank Prentiss of Pittsburg, James White of Buffalo and James McDonald of Toronto. They pleaded not guilty. The first two claimed to have walked from Fort Erie on Tuesday morning arriving here about nine o’clock and the last mentioned said he came via Burlington_____Robinson. They said they were in search of work.
They were remanded to Welland jail for one week.
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