Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-10-31
ROBBED OF LARGE SUM
MRS COLUMBUS ALEXANDER
LOSES TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS.
Last Of Series Of Thefts in Recent
Years-omcial Investigation
Discontinued.

not as much OF a mystery as it was first
supposed, according to what is said by
members OF the family who reside in the
house, and by the police. When Mrs. Alex
ander. who is the widow of Columbus Alex
ander. a prominent and wealthy real estate
operator before his death, discovered that
this large sum OF money, which she had
secreted beneath her pillow, was missing
she wasastounded and after a consultation
with the members OF her family called in
the police, but the latter had not been on
their hunt for the guilty person many hours
before they were stopped and told to let
the matter drop until further notice.
Mrs. Alexander refused to be interviewed
when a reporter from the Star called at
her home this morning. saying 1t should
be Of no interest to the public what be-
comes Of her money, but 1t was alleged
by other persons in the house. who are
relatives Of the aged woman, that they
know who took the money, and at the
proper time will disclose the name; but
they think this will not be done, as Mrs.
Alexander has expressed herself as being
opposed to a prosecution, as the suspicion
rests upon one who~has been much trusted
by herself and 1t is almost impossible for
her to believe that her confidence has been
SO misplaced.
Mrs Alexander's Holdings.
Mrs. Alexander is regarded as a wealthy
property in Georgetown. she possesses val
liable holdings in the business section of
the city, large estate near Arlington and
other tracts Of land in Virginia. Since her
husbands death she has displayed rare
ability in handling the fortune, being a
woman Of a vigorous mind and body, but
she has always believed thai banks are UNI
safe as the deporitories for money, and on
this account it Is said, she always has q
large sum Of cash secreted in some part OF
her big Georgetown mansion. Her most
popular hiding place was beneath her pill
low and mattress, but In the last two
years small sums have been taken from
these hiding places, and she therefore
found new hiding places. Although she
maintained the strictest watch over her
hidden money, In some mysterious manner
it was always discovered by other persons,
and the latter succeeded in continuing their
robberies.
when my grandmother acquainted us
with the fact Monday morning that she
had been robbed" said Paul Alexander.
a grandson, who lives with her, Il was
not surprised. l returned home rather late
Sunday night and as l was mounting the
back stairs to retire l was startled by a
creaking noise on the stairs above me.
stopped and listened and distinctly heard
the noise Of foot steps. l at once fnstf-
tuted an investigation, but found no one.
and partly satisfied that nothing was
wrong, 1 continued to my room. There Ia
little doubt in my mind that the person
whom heard was the one who had en-
tered my grandmother's bed room and
robbed her.
Arthur Alexander another grandson, who
is member of the local bar was called
into consultation by Mrs. Alexander this
morning. He said that they had reviewed
the affair and that he had closely ques-
toned the servants, and as a result learned
nothing that would throw any light upon
the case. He stated, however. that he does
not suspect any one in the house, but be-
lieves entrance must have been gained
by some one outside who knew of Mrs.
Alexander's habit Of hiding money in her
room. He did not explain Mrs. Alexander's
reason for stopping the official inquiry.
Statement by Capt. Boardman.
Captain Boardman stated today that
when he was informed of the robbery he
assigned Detectives Muller and Cornwcll
to the case, but when they returned to
headquarters they informed him they had
been told to discontinue their investigation
and therefore made no report upon what
they learned.
A member of the Alexander household
said today that these thefts have been sys-
tematic and frequent for a number Of
years, and that If the series Of thefts dur
ing the last two or three years were total
ed they would amount to more han $4,000.
The stealing of the $1,000 Sunday night they
said, was the largest lump sum that has
ever been taken. The other robberies never
involved more than $780, and the amounts
usually taken were about $50 or 800.
Although Mrs. Alexander has made
known her displeasure at any further in
quiry on the part Of the police. other per-
sons in the house and the servants have
different view. AS the facts have been
placed now, they declare there is just cause
to believe the finger Of suspicion points to
m ~ fhnv nd fhary y1y4 -
have a thorough investigation made by
the police.