Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-09-19
CITY HALL BURGLARY.
A'lsmpt 10 Open Safe FsIIsd-
 sfo Worth ei SlsDps Tstsu.

.@.s..+ lE
 A most daring burglary was perpe-
 trated last night in the. City hall. the
 comptroller's office having been
 broken Into, sl0, worth of stamps
 having been taken and an attempt
 made to break open the safe, which
 contained $8,0O0. .st{
 When Janitor John ,Loughlin
 opened Comptroller M. D. Russell's
 ofiice he found things in a state of
 confusion. indicating that the in-
 trusioh was made in great haste. All
 of the desks were opened, the draw.
 CTS pulled out, their contents tossed
 around and chair or two upset. He
 saw at once that a burglary had been committed and he then looked at the
 huge safe. He found the doors
 locked and immovable. but in front
 was plenty of evidence showing that
 the intruders had made desperate ef- forts to effect an opening. The bur glar had made mat of some loose papers, and evidently he was smok- ing while he was at work on the safe doors, for butt. of a cigarette was on the floor with a few burned match es, showing that the cigarette had re- quired .relighting more than once.
 Finding the safe was intact the janitor looked around the room again and this time his gaze settled on Assistant Comptroller Shanna- hans desk. This was found open with the roller top broken near tho lock, piece of wood foot long and an inch wide having been cut out of 1t. The contents of this desk, like the others, were topsy turvy, all of the inside drawers were pulled out as well as those on the sides.
 This concluded the inspection In that room and the janitor passed along to the other offices opening into the comptroller's. All were found in state of order and their contents undistnrbed.
 Miss Catherine M. Calvin was the first of the staff of clerks in the comptrollers office to arrive. An in- spection of her desk revealed that about $10 worth of stamps bought yesterday, and lot of picture postals, the harvest of the summer now on the wane,, had fallen into the bur glars bag. This comprised the booty of the nights work. ..r,
 But. how about the safe?" she gasped. There is $10,000 in it."
 All safes" said the janitor, com placently, working off pun. This sum of money was part of the payroll for to-day. Soon the other girls in the offices in the City hall arrived and when they heard the tidings of the midnight burglary they swooped down upon their respective desks and searched for their harvest of picture postals and were happy when they found them secure.
 When the police were notified they got to work instantly and after few minutes reported that 1t is a wonder that not only offices in the City hall but the building itself had not been stolen. .. Detective Dodds stated that. 1t is as easy to. get into any of the offices. on the west side of the hall as 1t is to. walk the street. Not a window in any of them, is locked, because they can't be locked, so that there is nothing left the en- terprising burglar to do but raise any of the old windows and step in at his leisure. The window which this burglar chose opens on the ante room of the aldermen's chamber and out on the fire escape, so that he just | walked up step or two on the fire escape, raised the window and en- tered. He then had to pass through two doors to enter tho comptroller office, and he also had to pass the | door which opens from the city court room to the detectives office. This office is occupied every night to mid night by one of the staff of detec- lives and last night 1t was occupied until that hour as usual.
 s What makes the police believe it was through the window in the al- aermen's 1ante-room the burglar en- tered is that the window sill was ;trewn with pieces of dried paint and chips of wood which would be easily Snocked off the window by the in- .ruder's hands when raising it. This explanation disposes of the mystery low the burglar got in.
 The absence of dynamite in the natter satisfies the police that tho burglar was no novice. Had he used my explosive the shock that would 70 through the building, if not the 'eport, would arouse the officer in ,harge in the police station, and the ,olice telegraph would send an alarm through the city in moment and 'scape for the burglar would be,ou. If the question.
 The police say the city got off we'll md that no doubt some one will make up to Miss Calvin for the loss if her picture cards, and the assisr. mt comptroller will get new desk, md all the girls in the City hall will i've him fall flowers to deck it with he first day, and that taking it all n all, the police say. he wasn't such
 bad burglar after all, for look at Il the good that must follow his noc- urnal visit.