The evening world., 1909-01-27
SMASHED SAFE
FOUND ON BANK
Il Of EAST RIVER
Wreck of Strong Box Hauled
to Foot of lOlSt Street and
Dumped Out,
BROKEN WITH SLEDCES,
Police Find No Clue to Lead
to Owner at Place of
Robbery.
BROKEN WITH SLEDGES.

II the police Of the East One Hundred
and Fourth street precinct get hold OF
the playful bandits who presented them
with dismantled safe weighing ton.
to-day, they won't do thing TO the
aforesaid playful bandits. The presen-
tation entailed upon fifteen OF the
policemen in the precinct two hours OF
the hardest and only manual labor they
have performed since they forsook their
lives of regular toll to wear the blue
uniform and brass buttons.
There is robbery behind the safe and
the work Of the policemen. Where the
robbery was committed is a mystery,
as yet. The only clue is the safe itself
"a brightly vanished Mosler affair,
No 49, showing sad evidence OF bung.
ling abuse
Policeman Gutzell discovered the safe
shprtly after daylight, 1t was in a mar
ION sNlIp VI ldUu ulIutT NpItI VI VI tHe
Dock Department, between First avenue
and the East River and One Hundred
and First and one Hundred and Second
streets, The safe was lying on Its back.
Seven feet away was the door. Wheel.
marks in the mud showed that a truck
had backed up there and that the safe
had been dumped from the truck.
A Midnight Job.
Under the safe and the door the
ground was soft. This indicated that
the dumping had been done before the
freeze set in early this morning. It Is
believed that the job was accomplished
between midnight and 80 o'clock.
Before the former hour the neishbor-
hood was well covered by boys and
young men, who had been drawn out by
a small fire near the s. P. C. A. Shelter
at the foot OF East One Hundred and
Second street. After the latter hour
Harlem Market along First avenue was
alive with market men and truck gar
Geners from Long Island
Gutzell reported the invasion OF the
safe upon the vacant lot and couple
OF detectives were sent from the station
louise to look It over. They deduced
from examination that the safe had
been used in the office OF some prosper
Gus business man and had attracted
the attention of thieves
These thieves, however were not ex-
rerts They did not attempt to blow
the safe First they tried to pry OFF
one OF the chilled steel sides. Failing
in this, they chiselled off the hinges
and the combination, thus removing the
door. 1t was a tedious. noisy job, COM
lr,ung the use OF s!edse hammers.
The work OF ch!selling OF the dool
was certainly not done in the lot where
activity would have attracted atten-
ton. Why the thieves did not leave
the safe at the point where they robbed
&c Is a mystery.
Police Had to Move II.
Not long ago a safe that had been
forced open and roboed was found in q
vacant lot in the Bronx. Later 1t wa.
discovered that II had been carted from
Brownsville The safe left on the r!vel
front to-day may have been carted from
Brooklyn or QUEENS, The College Poln
ferry is only shor; distance from
where il was found.
Capt Morris directed that the safe b,
taken to the East Tenth street station
Lieut.. McCullen, Sergt. England. Patrol
man George R!dder and q dozen other
We're detailed TO make the transfer
With coats and caps off they WORKED
putting the safe into the patrol wagoi
until they were dripping with perspira
ton They had to do the work all owe
again taking the safe from the patro
wagon TO the station house. Some o
them were 20 exhausted they asked 10
sick leave,
II was thought that the owner OF tn
safe might be traced through the mum
her, 49, The MOsler people, however
do not keep a record OF safe sales b.
numbers. one Of their experts was sen
10 the station house to see II he coul
possibly nguTe out who might hav
owned the dismantled strong box.