Bridgeton pioneer. (Bridgeton, N.J.) 1884-1919, 1893-02-16
VOL. XLVI.
JUST PURE DEVILTRY.
such q .Mess Has NOt Been Seen
Here Ever BelOre...Great
Loss Of stock.

lie
remarked man as he stood looking
over the interior of John Thomas gro-
Gerry store on Broad street. The Ian
guage was neither chaste nor elegant,
but possibly was in a few words the
most forcible that could be used In
fully expressing the speakers feelings.
The store had been sadly plundered,
and 1t would take a half dozen cameras
in as many different positions to Illus
trate the condition the stock was
found In, when the doors were first
opened Friday morning.
Some time after six o'clock that
morning, Lester Brooks went to open
the store, and no sooner had his gaze
rested upon the interior, than he was
dumbfounded. Before his gaze, scat
tered all over the floor, in one jumbled
condition, lay the stock that Thurs-
day night was left in its proper place,
and in excellent order. Brooks imme-
diately sent for Mr.. Thomas, and an
investigation was made.
A PIONEER reporter reached the
store before seven o'clock, and all the
devastation and ruin was before him
as the perpetrators had left it when
they made their exit.
To describe tits an almost impossible
task. In the rear of the store barrel
of granulated sugar was upset upon
the floor In and over the sugar were
emptied the brine and pickles con-
tanned in a pickle barrel. A little
further front was half barrel of white
A. sugar scattered over the floor, and
over this was sprinkled a liberal sup
ply of mince meat taken from buckets
upon the counter. Then was a CON-
fusing mass of cakes, crackers, BISCUITS,
ETC., dumped in one pile from barrels
near by, and through them were
mixed, broken bottles of olives,
pickles, etc., from the shelves, and
quantity of dried apples. raisins, and
hominy. Further front were more
crackers and cakes, and buckets of
raisins were thoroughly mixed with
rice and hominy.
All the goods on the counter were
scattered about, and many valuable
goods ruined. Back of the counters
there was more devastation. The
shelves in the rear of the counter,
usually filled with dry goods, and
fancy goods, and fancy notions were
like mother Hubbard's cupboard-en-
tirely bare. Down on the floor behind
the counter, were piled all the goods
In hopeless tangle. The heavy rolls
of dry goods were unrolled. Corsets
were taken from boxes and scattered
about. Fancy notions were taken
from the case, and pulled out In the
general mass of disorder. Many of
these goods are hopelessly ruined.
The cigar and tobacco case was
stripped. All the cigars were either
taken or thrown upon the floor and
trampled to threads. Plug tobacco,
together with hominy and dried apples
were mixed all through the coffee in
the bins.
Molasses candy was scattered all
over the floor, and mixed up with
other goods. ALI the drawers and
boxes were pulled out. Lard was
taken from tubs and smeared over
everything. Everything like boxes
were opened and the contents scat
tered.
The perpetrators were not yet salts.
fed. They scooped up handfuls of
hominy and threw them on the shelves
where were canned goods, etc. Nuis-
ances were committed of the most
sickening character. The desk in the
office was ransacked, and papers gen.
orally scattered everywhere.
What was the object?
That is a question, the answer f
which is most difficult to determine
1t was not robbery, that is certain.
The two money drawers were wrench
ed from under the counter, and few
pennies taken. Some cigars and to-
bacco were taken, half a cheese was
supposed to have been stolen, but this
may be found when the mass is un-
tangled. Two Columbian coins in the
desk were taken. The safe evidently
was not tampered with, showing no
signs of having been touched.
Whoever committed the nefarious
deviltry entered the store through the
Office window at the side of the store.
The window was pried from the
bottom, uptil the clasp over the top
was broken. Out on the soft ground
could distinctly be seen the tracks of
three different persons, and it Is quite
likely that there must have been at
least that many people to have done
the work. A box was placed under
the window to assist the human devils
to enter the store.
No precaution WAS taken to prevent