The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-02-27
CRACK SAFE IN
MARRIOTT STORE
Robbers Perform Neat lob and
Get Away With More
Than $500.
ENTER THROUGH SKYLIGHT
MRS. MARRIoTT's DIAMONDS
SAVED By MEREsT CHANCE.

ksafe-crackers broke open the safe at
j. al. Marriott's market, 22-24 West
First South street, some time during
Tuesday night, and carried off $21o.95.
They overlooked Mr.. Marriott's bank
book, in which were a number of
checks and t97 in bank notes. How the
robbers missed finding this money is
hard to explain, as they pulled out the
entire contents of the safe. after open
ing the door, leaving books and papers
scattered upon the floor. In addition
TO the S21095, the thieves took with
them an envelope containing 1880
shares of Tetro mining stock, belong
ing to Mr.. Marriott's brother, A Mar
riott of Goldfeld
II was by the merest chance that the
robbers were not able to carry off Mrs.
MarTiott's diamonds. Fearing to keep
her Jewels in her home. Mrs. Marriott
had given them to Mr.. Marriott to lock
in the safe in the market. 1t was his
intention to place them in the safe, but
on Tuesday he went TO the Mccormick
bank to get the TetrO stock and, hav-
ing the diamonds with him when he
opened his safe deposit box, he placed
them inside. But for that, Mrs. Mar
riott would now be mourning the loss
of her jewels.
4 Work of Professionals.
The work of the safe-crackers indi-
Gates that they were professionals. Mr.
Marriott is positive that they were ia
miliar with the interior of his store.
They approached the store from the
rear. Placing a barrel upon a box.
they managed to get on the roof of the
large room back of the store. They
then cut the wire screen protecting
the skylight, removed a pane of glass
and descended to a platform immedi-
ately below the pane they had taken
out, and easily gained the floor. AS
the skylight was frosted and covered
with SCOT, il would have been imposSi-
BILE for the robbers 10 peer down into
the back room ana select the right
place at which TO remove a pane of
glass. For this reason. Mr.. Marriott
believes that they knew where to begin
work before they assembled to the roof.
Once inside the building, they passed
into the store. The safe is back of the
counter and is partly screened by the
sides of beef slung from hooks between
il and the counter. But while the safe
could not readily be seen by persons
passing in the street outside, it would
have been easy for any person gazing
through the store windows to see the
robbers moving about.
Mr.. Marriott thinks that the safe was
ODeiQed and robbed too quickly for the
tfityves to attract the attention of the
nightwatchmen and policemen on the
beat.
1T could not have taken more than
five minutes for them to do the job, -
he said. "They did not use powder.
That is no longer necessary for experts
in the safe-cracking line.
Their tools were of the simplest
kind. They entered my place equipped
for their work with a twelve-pound
sledge hammer and a steel punch. They
first knocked off the handle of the COM
fination lock. This done, they placed
the punch into the hole made for the
handle. This they struck twice with
their hammer, causing the tumblers to
fall. After that, all the robbers had 10
do was to open the safe and help them
selves. They pulled everything from
the safe in their search for valuables. -
After the safe-crackers had pos
sessed themselves of their loot, they