The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-01-30
EACH HAS A GUN
Jersey city's Collector Takes
No chancesforAn
ss Hold Up.
CLERK ACKERMAN In A CAGE
Duties Of the officials Should q
a Thief Drop In-Ofice
"a Perfect Arsenal.

Every man In City Collector Simeon
smiths office on the first floor of the new
City Hail is walking arsenal from the
time the office opens in the morning until
1t is closed in the afternoon. Since the
Collector has been in his new Office he has
become possessed of an idea that a thief
Will get away with some of the city's
funds. As consequence he has put
Deputy Collector Ackerman in a cage.
Mr.. Ackerman takes charge of all the
money. In the drawer where the money
is kept Mr.. Ackerman has a 44-calibre
self-cocking revolver about two feet long.
This is for the Deputys protection. II
he gets the drop on the thief first, he of
course does the shooting and the thief
goes away filled with lead rather than
silver and gold.
MIR. Ackerman is crack shot and it
would be an unwise thing for anyone to
monkey with him. However, If the thief
gets the drop on Mr.. Ackerman and or
ders him at the point of revolver to
hand over the money, he merely slips out
of his chair and steps down on spring,
which is hidden under his chair. The
spring rings alarm bells in the desks of
every clerk in the office. The clerks
have all been trained and when the alarm
is sounded they go to certain points to
head off the thief.
Steve Egan does little trick, it is said.
of jumping over the office railing and
skipping down the corridor toward Peter
McCree's saloon. John Wanden goes to
the front door. His part of the defense
is to try and detain the thief by telling
him an alleged funny story while Egan is
locking for policeman. Mr.. Ackerman
n
away.
James Burns drops out of side vim
dow into Mercer street, makes for Jim
my Hunts saloon and waits there SO as
to be able to follow the thief in the
event of his coming out of the Mercer
street entrance.
w. H. Vermilye's part of the pro-
gramme is to- send a message through
the pneumatic tube to the "Omnibus
Room" which is presided over by Gus
todian Datz, advising him and the City
Treasurer to lock their offices, that there
is a burglar in the building. Jim" Mer-
ritt, the celoreds messenger, only had to
turn white and look terrible. W. H. Tut
of the presence of the thief by going up
stairs in an elevator which runs from the
City Clerks Office to the Mayors.
While his trusty employees are doing
all this the City Collector remains In his
private office and reads 'aThe News
Some of the officials are trying to have
fun with the City. Colleetor because Of
the precautfoR against loss he has taken.
but he laughs with his friends about it
and insists thattthe scheme is an excel
lent one. He has no desire, however, TO
put the scheme into operation.
While the Collector has taken all these
precautions to prevent the theft of money
from his office, he has forgotten that
about the only time he is really in dam
ger of losing the money is when he car
ries it through the corridor, past the
or n
the City Collector. When he makes this
trip he is accompanied by only Jim,
Merritt. OF what service he would be il
knows;s but several officials have adj
vised the Collector not to place too much
confidence in him.