The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-04-26
MR.. ROWE'SB BURGLAR
Roams Round the Commits
sioner's Room While That
Gentleman Asks who's
There
FLED WITH FIFTY DOLLARS
Other Houses in The Vicinity
Entered Held on
Small Clews.
FLED WITH FIFTY DOLLARS

Burglars invaded the Seventh precinct
last night with profit to themselves and
mingled anxiety and amusement to the
heuseholders. The raid of the marauders
and the series of incidents which follow
ed will be handed down as one of the
funniest pages in the annals of the Jer-
sey City Police Department. There are
two or three persons who do not appre-
ciate the joke as highly as they should.
They are United States Commissioner
Linsly Rowe. who is telling his friends
this morning how he chased a burglar
in his dress suit, and Private Detective
Gibson, who is bemoaning the fact that!
the policeman in uniform is utterly de-
void of professional courtesy and does
not appreciate general ability and real
talent in the detecting line
It all happened between two and three
o'clock this morning on Duncan avenue
and in that vicinity. The principals. or
friends that it happened some other way,
but here are the facts. Commissioner
LinsIy Rowe and Mrs. Rowe had been to
a reception last evening. They retired
shortly after midnight. 1t is important
to the story to state that they spent the
evening out, as will appear later t
about two O'Clock this morning Commas
sioner Rowe was wakene by the sound
of some one in his room. He woke up
and instinctively grabbed the revolver
which he keeps beneath his pillow. He
listened and heard a noise at the chifIon-
Ter. This did not alarm him greatly, as
his children are in the habit OF coming
to their parents room in the nigh. Tor
cough medicine if they are suffering from
colds. All members of the Rowe house
hold have been coached regarding their
conduct if compelled to be about the
house in the dead of night. me RUE Is
that if asked WHO'S rhere?' they are
10 answer at once.
who's there?, asked Commissioner
Rowe when he realized that some one was
there" The rafting ceased, but there
FLORENCE. is that your demanded the
Commissioner, still keeping well beneath
the covers and holding fast to his re-
yolyer On the third call a figure, the up
per part of which was clad IN a large
cape. glided past the bed. The head OF
the bed is beside the door of the room,
which is just above the lining room, ana
the feet point towards the rear WlnaoW.
The chiffonier is by the window and at the
foot of the bed. A person TO reach the
chiffonier had to pass. within half a leet
of the commissioners head and 70 leave
had to do the same. The hgure gllded py
and the sound OF rafting suspenders was
When the person who mad visited the
chiTonier was well out of the room,
it could have been 1t was a Woman
/ am sure" he said. He waited a few
seconds and then went to investigate. Co
11l& IL AK -fO1L %l9C -
members of the household. his two
daughters and the servants sleep, he ask
ed each of them if she had been in the
room and received a negative answer
Then he decided h a it must have been
an outsider and returning 10 his room
was surprised to find that two pair OF
trousers and a waistcoat had disappeared.
Burglars have been here he declared,
and forthwith he began an investigation,
first firing two shots out OF the window
TO attract the police and then DOMINIC
his dress trousers. the only ones the thief
had left in the room. Mrs. Rowe in the
meantime had begun to investigate. On
fur cape, which she had left hanging
in the closet in the hallway. 1t was
lying as If it had been dropped from the
shoulders of the person wearing it. IhaI
explained the disguise of the burglar.
The dining room in the Rowe house is
broader than the kitchen by about four
dows, set close together. In front of
each CT the indow is a large plant.
The window nearest the kitchen door
was found open. The plant, an orange
tree, was found several feet away where
it had been carefully placed by the
thoughtful burglar Mrs. Rowe Is very
Ehe would like to tender a vote of thanks
to the burglar for not injuring it.. The
thief mad evidently entered and made his
escape by way of the window. When a
closer examination was made of the win
dow later it was found that the catch
had been forced with some narrow. in
1t was also found, from
marks on the carpet and on the window
sill that the thief was in his bare feet
when he entered the house.
The shots which Commissioner Rowe
fired did not bring the police. This is not
at all surprising, as the man who patrols
Duncan avenue has to patrol all the terri
tory bounded by Jewett avenue, Summit
venue Montgomery street and the
Boulevard. He might have been nearly
fhree-quarters of a mile away at the time
of the burglary and not have heard the
shots. The burglar probably knew just
where he was before he attempted the
job. The shots aroused the whole neigh
borhood, however. and men hastily
dressed and came running out to see what
the trouble was. Mr.. Frank Stevens tele-
phoned to Police Headquarters and Ser
geant Walsh notified the Montgomery
twenty minutes after the shots were
fired Roundsman Sheridan arrived on the
scene with PatroImen Cleverly, Meade.
Robertson, Kelly and Regain They inn
mediately divided forces and searched the
neighborhood. They did not find, the
burglar, but they made an important + Gus,
avenue, the house is occupied by Nicholas
Lyons, was found the stolen clothing:
Fifty dollars, which was in the pocket OF
one of the pair of trousers, was missing.
1t was found hat the burglar, or more
probably his pals, had entered the house
of Mr.John GopsiIl, No. % Duncan avenue,
next door to Commissioner Rowe, and had
rified the sideboard drawers without tax
ing anything, however. and had also tam
pered with the rear window in the house
of Mr.. Lyons. They had probably been
warned by the burglar who robbed Com
missioner Rowe and fed before their work
was accomplished. Detective Douglass
went on the case shortly before igh
O'Clock this morning.
In searching for cleWs he found that a
small man visited all the houses along
Duncan avenue yesterday begging for old
shoes. The man COMMISSIONS Rowe saw
in his room was small of stature. The
police are looking today for small men
who might answer the description given
by those who saw the tramp. Another
promising. He followed it to the end.
John Rowland, who lives on Duncan ave-
nue., remembered thai when he came
nome shortly before three o'clock this
morning he SAY a man standing near