Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1891-06-12
BIG DIAMOND ROBBERY.
Manner in which New York Crooks Got
in Their Work.

in Their Work.
New YORK, June 12.-The mammoth
establishment of Hilton, Hughes a. Den
ming robbed said The World, Thursday
morning in double-leaded types. An
enormous building, buiN chiefly of iron,
with the lower floor encased in shutters
of steel, found easy of entrance by skill
full burglars, who are able to make a
rich haul and escape without leaving a
clew to their identity.
A watchman stationed at each of the
four corners of the building ut all hours
of the night outwitted by burglars who
get in with their tools and out with their
booty without so much as exciting sus-
picion.
1t is wonderful, but it is true, that the
store of Hilton, Hughes & Denning was
robbed last Friday night in the cleverest
style that has distinguished burglary
in New York for many years, and, 80
far, not an inkling has been obtained by
the police as to the identity of the rob-
bers. These shrewd burglars were evil
IDENTIFY expert professional diamond
thieves, and the plunder they secured
consisted of $4,000 worth OF gems from
the jewelry department of the firm. The
astonishing feature of the robbery is the
fact that the thieves should have selected
the store of Hilton, Hughes 81 Denning
of oil Others in the city. One would
suppose that they would have preferred
q safe deposit company's vaults or the
United States sub-treasury.
The newspapers last Saturday morn
ing published paragraph of a few lines
concerning slight fire in the great dry
goods and miscellaneous store of Hilton,
Hughes q Denning, which occupies the
entire block bounded by Broadway,
Fourth avenue, Ninth and Tenth streets.
That fire was part of the scheme of
the burglars, but nobody thought so
then, as it was not until the following
day that the burglary was discovered.
When the store was opened on Saturday
morning it was found that one of the
safes in which the diamonds are kept,
had been forced open during the mig ut
and its contents stolen,
There was great CONSERVATION in the
store, and after quiet but rapid invest
igation Superintendent Clancey rushed
down to police headquarters and report
ed the robbery to Inspector Byrnes, vino
at once put several of his best men ON
cd its employees, under penalty of instant
dismissal, to preserve absolute silence
concerning the robbery-to avoid speak
ing Of it even at home and not even to
gossip about it with each other. In
spector Byrnes has worked on the case
with all of his well known energy and
ability, but the thieves are now enjoy
ing, in what appears to be absolute Sc
,,tst -, Of l,ai,
berry.
The firm places the value of the stolen
articles at only 10000, but there were
work and probably $4,000 is what
might be called conservative estimate.
There are people who would say that
diamond jewelry, all of which was in
the safe, and all If which was stolen,
was worth vastly more than $4,000.
Whether the valuables in the safe were
worth $4,000 or $4,000, the thieves
took them all, and then arosethe delicate
question as to how they Nere to get
away. A burglar who can open a
locked safe can close it again. and that
is what these burglars did.
Having done SO, how to escape with
the booty became in reality a burning
question. The store of Hilton, Hughes
& Denning is the big building that was
built by A. T. Stewart for an uptown
retail establishment when he had the
foresight to see that his Chambers street
store would be too far down town III
few years, and when people predicted
that his business would fail because of
its transfer from the center of trade to q
point so far north as Ninth street and
Broadway.
Time, however, justified his wisdom,
and after the death of the merchant
prince the business was carried on in a |
similar manner by e. j. Denning & Com
pany This firm as everyone will re-
member, became known year or two
ago as Hilton, Hughes & Denning, thus
keeping in the business at the old stand |
the money if not the name of A. 4.
Stewart.