The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-07-26
EPIDEMIC OF BURGLARIES.
A Jimmy Leaves Its Mark on Several
Window Stills.
THREE CONGRESS STREET STORES
RAIDED.

Rear Windows at sawyer's Confectionery
Store and Fred. A. Turner's Drug
Store Forced Open and the Cash Regis
ters Robbed-Parisian Cafes Window
L Screens Defy Entrance.
Four burglaries within as many nights
have set the storekeepers to feeling trifle
uneasy. Saturday night a store at Stroud
water was entered by burglars, who
carried off small invoice of plumber.
Sunday night two breaks were made on
Congress street, one in Sawyer's con-
fectionery store and the other in Fred A.
Turner's drug store, money being stolen
at each place. Monday night the Partisan
tcafe on Congress street had Its turn, but
its heavily screened windows prevented
it's visitors from getting inside.
At Sawyer's confectionery store, corner
Of Congress and Franklin streets, the
burglars, Sunday night, made haul OF
S812 They overturned a refuse bucket
in the rear of the establishment, and
using it as a stool unsorewed the wire
| screen, then with Jimmy" pried Ut
| the bottom sash of the window, breaking
| the fastening. That gave them an easy
| entrance to the rear workroom, but they
were still separated from the main store
| by locked door. Here again the jimmy
came into play, it being inserted between
the door and the casing. and BY prying
they succeeded in springing the lock.
| Mr.. Sawyer has made it a rule to keep
| one gas jet burning in the store all
| night. The burglars preferred to do tnelI
rummaging in the dark. so they turned
out the gas. There are two cash registers
in the store, one at the confectionery
counter and the other near the soda foun
tain. Both of these were forced open,
and from one 81, and from the other 81. Il
taken. When the store was opened Mon
day morning, the rear door and window
were found open and the gas extinguished.
Nothing but the money from the cash
registers was missing.
The same night Fred A. Turner's drug
store, at the corner of Congress and
Washington streets, was visited by
| burglars. There they used jimmy te
pry open rear window. They did moi
have to squander any time in opening thu
cash register, the drawer having been LEFT
unlocked They found $l.S0 there and
appropriated it. They knew where MIR
Turner kept his choicest cigars, and they
carried off about rs out of box of {
| favorite brand.
| At the Partisan cafe, Monday night
cellar screens were torn off, three iror
bars removed, the fly screens torn from
the rear windows, and attempts made te
foroe open the front door and windows
but the burglars were either frightened
off or their attempts to pry open the win
dows of no avail. Heavy inside screens
in the cafe prevented the opening of thu
| windows.
The break at Stroudwater, Saturda!
store, was probably done by the SAM
parties who operated in the city on tn
two following nights. They found nj
money, but helped themselves to cigar
and provisions.
Mr.. Sawyer, the confecltoner, is in
| Cllu0o ~ po1lSNo ull0U Uuo Ufotk LII III
store was made by couple of seedy look
ing strangers who called at the store Sat
urday afternoon. to beg for dime. Thei
visits were several hours apart. When OH
OF them called Mr. Sawyer was in hi
office in the wholesale department, put
ting into envelopes the money with whicl
to pay his employees. He gave the caller
dime, to get rid of him. The caller en-
tered the store by the front door of tn
wholesale department, and after receiving
his gift OF a dime passed out through
the retail store, and thence to the street
The other fellow did precisely the same.
The day before the Stroudwater burglar
two tramps were begging food in tina
vicinity.