The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-09-01
NUNS The WORD.
Jersey City Police Preserve
a Discreet Silence About
Burglars They Don't
Catch,
"NEWs" MANS DISCOVERIES
Eight Houses Attacked in Colonel
Dickinson's Neighborhood-
Trail of the Serpents.

concerning crimes winch tney are unaplc
to ferret out. They are willing that the
whole world should know what they do
accomplish. but they take as much pains
to conceal from the public what they
don accomplish as the criminals who
BATTLE them do 10 cover up their tracks.
Thus on Monday morning last Chief of
Police Benjamin Murphy handed to the
reporters Acting Captain O'Brien's state
ment of an attempt to burglarize City
Treasurer Dickinson's house, at No. 63S
Jersey avenue. but he said absolutely
nothing about the eight other houses in
the same block which the burglars en-
tered or attempted to enter. He rave
the paper a graphic account of how
the prompt arrival of Patrolmen Tooley
and Donnegan. who were summoned by
former Alderman Albert Losel, caused
the burglars to flee, and laid great stress
on the fact that they did not get any
of the Colonel's property. He maintain
ed a discreet silence, however, about the
silverware which was stolen from the
house of one of the Coloneps neighbors.
AS a matter of fact there was COM
mitted, in the early hours of Monday
morning, as daring a series of burglaries
as was ever attempted in Jersey City.
The burglars were evidently profession
ais, and they not only understood their
business but were also we'll acquainted
with the neighborhood they chose to OPP
crate in. No block in the city would
have afforded them better advantages
han that bounded north n south by
Sixth and Seventh streets and east and
west by Grove street n Jersey avenue.
On q III cf6nS ~ tho hf@alr n 80 - 10 49,
alleyways leading between the houses,
and on the Jersey City end the houses
are built Philadelphia fashion, with a
broad alleyway running in the rear, Civ
ing access to the woodsheds from Seventh
street. On the Sixth street side, about
100 feet east of Jersey avenue, is a liv-
cry stable. with a. large yard surrounding
ii. A person caught in a trap in any
of the back yards would have his choice
of a dozen ways of escape, as the long
line of sheds, running the entire length
of he block, makes all the alleyways
and the stable yard.
On the Seventh street n Jersey avenue
are a number of fashionable houses.
1t was these houses that a gang of burg
lars, probably four in number, chose to
work upon after midnight on Sunday.
That they would have made a rich haul,
there is no doubt had it not beer from
the fact hat burglaries in that locality
have been SO numerous that the residents
now keep their silverware and all their
~valuables in their sleeping apartments
where thieves are not likely to enter. A
News reporter spent ar hour last night
in trailing the course of the thieves. They
must have begun operations shortly be-
fore one o'clock. They started by enter
ing the house of Mr.. VanWinkler, No. 21
Seventh street, about half way between
Grove street and Newark avenue. They
got in forcing the rear window which
let them into the kitchen. The Van
Winkler family was away and the house
is in charge of an aged man named Me-
Quade. He say that shortly before one
o'clock he heard a noise in the basement,
but was too badly frightened to investi-
gate. In the morning he found that the
house had been entered, as was proved
by the mutilated windows. The thieves
upset things but did not secure any val
uables, as there were none in the base
ment.
From Van Winkler's louse they fol-
lowed down the row, ar then down Jer-
sey avenue. Mrs. Moss keeps a boarding
house at No. 243 Seventh street. She had
left her pocketbook on the sideboard in
the dining room Sunday night. There
was no money in it. The thieves forced
the kitchen window, turned the pocket
POOL inside out, and left leaving the
kitchen door open. The next house. No.
PAS, is occupied by John Britt. The thieves
skipped it, as Mr.. Britt was up and about
the house, and entered the home of lanes
Cook, No. 245ha. Mr.. Cook had consider
able valuable silverware in the dining
room. The thieves ransacked the buffet,
tossing the table linens about tine room
ard stole a quantity of silver spoons and
knives. They then entered the boarding
house of Mrs. Chauncey at No. 247 by the
same means they employed on all the
other houses. They didn't find anything
their visit. The dining room and floor
was strewn with burnt matches, and the
kitchen door was open when Mrs. Chaun-
cey went downstairs in the morning
The last house in the row. on Seventh
street, they passed by, as it was robbed
once before and the owners have since
fitted all the windows with iron graf
ings. The burglars next crossed the all
leyway started down the row of
brick houses on Jersey avenue. They
first tried the house Of Yard Master
never locks the basement windows, but
he keeps a small dog in the kitchen to
guard the house, At l:50 o'clock he
heard the dog bark vociferously. SPRING
ing from his bed, which is in the rear
room on the parlor floor, he started to
investigate. He feels sure that he heard
men escaping over the back fence. After
he had investigated and found nothing
missing, he returned to bed satisfied
that whoever the m~arauders were they
likely to return. The dog evidently
frightened the burglars badly, for they
passed by the next house and the second
one, which is occupied by former Alder
man Losel, and worked on that of Col.
were trying to get in there that they
were heard by Mr.. Losel, who blew a
call whistle and summoned Patrolmen
Tooley and Donnegan. Before attempt
the thieves removed a glass from the
window of Fred Payne's house, No. 636.
What leads to the belief that there were
more than two burglars is the fact that
the house of Mrs. Sarah Backus. No. 6s4
Jersey avenue, was ransacked. The
thieves were evidently frightened away
by the alarm given by Mr.. Losel, as they
left by the front basement door. Had
they entered that house before attempting
to rob Colonel Dickinson they would have
left by the rear door. On the second floor
office Of DR.. W. S. Boyd. Scattered about
the office were q number of burnt
matches. At the head Of the basement
stairs were & number of small pieces Of
paper, which had been torn as il for use
as tapers. In the dining room were found
several cigarette butts. which showed that
the thieves must ave spent some time
there. There was nothing of intrinsic
value in the lower part of the house ex-