The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-05-01
BOLD ROBBERY FOILED
Burglars Plan to Rob M. Bur9's Dry
Goods Store.
interrupted in Their Work, They
Hastily Depart.
All Of Stolen Goods Recovered, but
Men Escape.
Robbery Would Have Amounted t.
Upwards Of $3.50.
From Thursdays Daily.


A bold attempt to perpetrate an ex-
tensive silk robbery at NJ, Burgs dry
goods store was made last night pro
badly before ten o'clock. That the,
thieves were not successful is rare
piece of good luck.
At about lO;4 o'clock last night two
car repairers, Nels Sandquist and George
Doolem, discovered a large roll of silk
concealed in dark part of the union de-
pot platform, between the depot and the
baggage room. As they took possession
Of it they noticed a man standing on the
platform on the side of the depot to-
wards the city. They could not see this
man in the darkness well enough to gain
a description of him, but they noticed
that as soon as they took the silk he ran
away and did not again show himself.
The car repairers telephoned to the
police station that they had found the
silk. and an officer visited the depot and
took the roll to the city hall. 1t was the
impression of the officers that some
woman had stolen the roll from store
and taken it out under her cloak. 1t
does not appear that any effort was made
to ascertain whether any of the dry
goods stores had been broken into during
the evening, probably on account of the
early hour when the silk was found.
This morning when the clerks arrived
at Mr.. Burg's store they at once discover
ed that it had been entered during the
night. A roll of silk was lying on the
floor outside the counter, and burned
matches and cigar ashes were abundant
Investigation showed that one of the
back windows was open, and that two
more rolls of silk were lying back of the
store. one near the door and the other
in the alley They had lain there since
before the snow fell, as there were no
foot prints in the snow. Had the Off
GERS visited the place during the night
they would at once have discovered the
silk and the open window.
The iron shutter outside of the win
dow had been pried or jerked open, tear
ING ont two screws that held hooks. The
window had then been pried up, leaving
the way clear. The burglars lad visited
the office and second floor, as the matches
showed, but had not disturbed anything.
Nothing is missed from the store except
the rolls of silk that have been recovered.
Officer Lundberg tried the front door Of
the store to see whether it had been lock-
ed, as is the custom of the police, at
about ten o'clock, and it is thought that
this frightened the burglars so that they
took hasty departure, letting some of
the goods fall as they ran. 1t is believed
that they intended to catch the blind
baggage on the train that was almost
due when the car repairers discovered the
stolen goods.
Sulcl llOh cu OtllCNCS tHdI ShC thiCNNc
are professionals, and that they intended
to make good haul, but were interrupt
ed in their work Silk thieves have late
ly been operating in the west. One rea
son that makes him think that the men
were professionals is the fact that they
selected only black silk, without any
stripes or checks that would have allowed
of Identification.
The roll that was found at the union
depot contained sixty yards, valued at
$l.65 a yard. The pieces found in the
alley We're the same kind of. goods, and
the roll that was on the floor was worth
81 yard. Several small pieces had been
folded up to be placed in the pockets of
the thieves, perhaps, but were left in
the hasty departure of the men,
Contrary to the usual custom, the
light in the store was truned out last
evening when the store was closed, and
the store was in darkness during the
night. 1t was dark, stormy night,
and the burglars had everything in their
favor.
Mr.. Blirg states that the goods in the
four rolls of silk which the robbers had
started to, make away with were worth
from $3.50 to S275. He got in some
new silk goods Monday, but these were
not disturbed by the robbers.
There is no clue to the men who broke
into the store. 1t is fortunate that all
of the goods were recovered.
The burglars did not stop to wrap up
the bolts of silk, and the one found at
the union depot was not concealed in any
way other than in the darkness.