The Topeka state journal., 1899-11-30
SAFE BLOW TERS
Three Topeka Firms Suffer Last
Night at Their Hands.
Evidence That an Organized
Gang Was at Work.
MADE ONE GOOD HAUL
Over $500 Taken From Gran
teer & OberIy.
Thieves Supposed to Have Used
NitrO-Glycerine.
NO ALARM WAS GIVEN
Neither Police Nor ANY One
Else Startled.
TOpeka's Night Force Must
Have Been Asleep.
Over $500 Taken From Gran
teer e. Oberly.
Thieves Supposed TO Have Used
NitrO-Glycerine.
NO ALARM WAS GIVEN
Neither Police Nor ANY One
Else Startled.
TOpeka's Night Force Must
Have Been Asleep.

A gang of safe blowers made a tour
of Topeka last night. and as a result
three Topeka firms are not in as
thankful a mood on this Thanksgiving
Day as they might otherwise have
been The victims of the burglars are
Granteer & OberIy, grocers, at Tenth
and Topeka avenues; Thomas Page,
proprietor of the Mid Continent mills
in North Topeka; O. NJ Brill, a grocer
on Topeka avenue in North Topeka,
north of Grant school building.
Just in what order the gang operated
has not yet been determined definitely.
but it seems probable that they began
at Brilrs grocery, then came to the
mill, and finally came across the river
to Granteer & Oberly's. At the frs
place they were frightened away before
they got into the strong box. and at the
mill they secured only about SO in
change. but at the Tenth avenue gro
Gerry they made a large haul. securing
$254 in cash and s42. 81 worth of checks.
The checks, of course, will be valueless
to the burglars.
At Mr. BriIFs grocery the thieves
gained admittance to the store by
breaking a window in the rear of the
meat shop. The safe occupied one cor
ner of the store next to a front window.
The store room is crowded with mer-
chandise and groceries, tinware and
crockery We're packed in around the
safe. The safe is a small one with
single door. The burglars evidently
poured nitrOglycerine into the crack
above the safe door. and then touched
it off with a fuse. The front of the
door was blown across the store, break
ing a bucket of syrup, and smashing
crockery and tinware. The cement pOr-
tion of the door was left intact. and
the thieves evidently became frighten-
ed and left without trying to get farth-
er in the safe. as NIr. Brill had to pry
the remainder of the door off this
morning. Nothing within the safe was
injured. Even if they succeeded in get
ting into the safe they would secure lit
tie booty. as the only money there was
in the safe was about SO worth of old
coins The only damage done is the
Wreckln= OF the saIe door ana the
smashing of some OF the grocery stock
The thieves made themselves a large
amount of unnecessary trouble, as the
safe door was unlocked all the time.
Mrs Sullivan who lives across TOpe-
la avenue from the store says she
heard the explosion. and got up and
looked OUT but seeing nothing she went
to bed again She says 1t occurred
The once of the Mid-Continent mills
stands just a block east of the Union
Pacific depot on the north side of the
tracks. MI Page employs night
watchman who is supposed to make
the rounds OF the mill property, includ-
ing the Office, every 20 minutes, but the
thieves broke into the Office, knocked
the combination from the safe door.
opened it, took the money drawer, and
got away without the watchman seeing
them. They even left the safe and the
Office in such shape that the watchman
did not discover that it had been tam
pered with until he started to sweep
about 4,30 this morning. The safe is
quite large one with double doors, but
Mr. Page says it is not supposed to be
burglar proof. but only fire proof. and
he never leaves much money in il. The
thieves knocked the combination loose
from the front door, then pounded the
lock through so that the door opened
easily. Inside the safe was a wooden
money drawer, divided into COmpart-
ments for change. 1t contained about
SIS and the thieves took drawer and all.
After ransackinE the other compart-
ments. they shut the safe door. threw
the lock and combination under the
safe. and left
The first that the watchman noticed
OF the burglary was about 4.3O when he
started to sweep out the Office and en-
countered the pieces of the lock under
the safe Then he noticed that the COM
btnation was zone and he made an -
animation An electric light was burn
ing in the Office all night This morn
ing the empty money drawer was
Iot'ild oy a rstlirOau II II III a cOai
near the office.
At Granteer & OberIy's grocery
store at Tenth and Topeka avenues the
gang bored holes in a door in the rear
OF the store until they could break out
a panel and push aside the bolt which
held the door shut Then it was neces-
sary TO break the other small bolt
winch fastened another door between
the rear and front rooms Of the store.
ne safe Is one of the single door Va
rlety. and sits in an Office on the line
between the grocery and meat depart
ments Of the store. The office partitions
are or wood up to about five feet from
the noor and above that they are bev-
eied plate glass. The safe was lust to
The right as one entered the Office. and
less than three feet directly i'm front of
II was a small steam radiator.
The burglars evidently used nitro
Elycerine on this safe also. but ii can
hardly be imogined how il was blown
on without doing more damage TO fts
SURROUNDINGS than it did. The door of
the safe was blown around the cor