Los Angeles herald., 1893-01-12
BLEW OPEN SAFE AND BUILDING.
A Terrific Explosion in Hey
wood Brothers Building.
1t Was Evidently the Work of I'm
expert Safe Blowers.
Ten Pounds of Powder Supposed tc
Have Been Used-The Damage
Which Was Done-The
Police ut Work.

POltce ht Work.
At ABOUT 2:45 o'clock yesterday morn.
ing terrific explosion was heard in the
building 6S3 Upper Main street, on the
corner of Upper Main and College
streets. Private Watchman 9. Malcolm
and Police Officer Goodman came upon
the scene to find the front end of the
building blown out, the two huge double
doors of the safe blown out in the street
q distance of 120 feet, and the remaining
portion of the safe blown in or further
backward in the building distance of
about 80 feet. The little frame business
Office was totally wrecked. The build
ing was heavily charged with powder
smoke, and the atmosphere in the
vicinity of the building was hazy with
the escaping smoke. The safe weighed
about two tons and each of the
doors weighed about 500 pounds.
Near where the safe had stood
was found an empty 10-pound
powder can, recently having contained
"duck-shooting" powder. From the
wreck the can must have been full and
the entire amount emptied into the
safe; but when the can was found there
was nothing in it. Through the outer
double door of the safe q hole FIVE
eighths of an inch in diameter had been
drilled, and through this hole the
powder was blown. An elevator rope
was used as fuse, which was extended
back in the building about 30 feet, q
portion of the rope having been wrapped
around the safe. After the fuse was
lighted the burglars evidently went
through partition door into the store
room and there awaited developments.
But after the crash of matter and gen.
eral wreck they evidently opened the
store room door from the inside, which
opens on Main street, or else they would
evidently have been blown out in the
wreck.
The building is three-story brick,
160x75 feet. The frontage on Upper
Main is of frame work. The building
juts back upon New High street, and
in walking backward the ascent is grad
ual, and near the rear of the building
the bottom of the windows on the south
side are only one or two feet above the
ground. They are not barred but only
fastened with catches as windows usu-
through one of these side windows.
runs partition, dividing the storeroom
ing is used by Haywood Bros. & Co. for
the manufacture and sale Of furniture.
The north half or College street side is
used as a salesroom and the south hall
as store and manufacturing room. In
the front of the building in the south
west corner is, or wae, the business
office-a frame partition 20x14 In the
northwest corner of that little busi-
ness Office stood the usual fire proof,
burglar-proof safe." The cashier had
left only $17 in the safe. When the
clerk came down at the usual hour
yesterday morning to open the store he
found the entire front of the building
open, and also found scattered around
upon the floor $16 85 of that $17. The
valuable papers in the safe were subse.
quently recovered from the wreckage.
The sidewalk in front was strewn with
shattered glass and timbers. Several
articles of furniture were broken and
blown into the street. The glass panes
in all of the windows on the north side
of the building were broken by the con-
cussion. There are many windows in
the building. and these vents no doubt
saved the brick wall from damage. The
upper portion OF the frame partition
wall was loosened to the extent of about
half its entire length through the build
ing.
The damage is estimated at $1,000.
Adjoining this building on the south
there is hay barn to the rear, in which
tramps have been in the habit of Sleep
ing. Watchmen Malcolm and Goodman
had passed the building about 10 min
utes before tile explosion, in search of
tramps. Shortly after the explosion the
officers visited the barn and found man
in the hay. II want you," said Watch
man Malcolm. The man replied: "No; (;
it is not me that you want, but those
two men in there" pointing to a hay
bunk about 20 feet distant. The man
then said to the officers: "The explo.
sion woke me and / looked out and saw
two men running across the horse lot,
like they we're coming here. One was a
short man and the other was larger"
The officers looked in the bunk where
the man said two fellows had been Sleep
ing, but they were not in. The two men
evidently ran across the lot to New
High street, and thence escaped.
They were certainly not expert bur-
glars as is shown by the quantity of
powder used and the large hole drilled
in the safe. A hole fve-eighths of an
inch in diameter is much larger than
that drilled by professional burglars
one-third of an inch is the size usually
bored.
Carpenters were engaged yesterday in
clearing away the wreck, and putting in
q new front to the building.
The detective force of the city is act
lively engaged on the case.
Another Burglary.
On last Saturday night the Cape Horn
saloon was entered by burgula lars and a
silver watch, two boxes of cigars and a
few other articles were stolen. The
Cape Horn is in the vicinity of the fur
niture store of Haywood Bros. 4 Co.,
the scene of the burglary yesterday
morning.
STILL ANOTHER.
During the same night the Point
saloon, on North Main and Alameda
streets, was also burglarized and some
cigars were stolen.
The First Law OF Nature.
This self-preservation Is acknowledged to be-
and people who adopt against the encroaches
of disease a genuine medicinal safeguard, ac-
credited by experience and the sanction of
physicians, afford happy illustration of the