The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1909-01-21
Bold Burglar Caught Working in
Main St. Store Sunday Morn.
ing Escapes From Officials
R0BSkEN0SHA HARD WAR co.
Man Had Entered Through the Rear
Window and Walks Out at Front
Door While Oficers Enter
Through the Cellar

After brief rest with the evident
intention of getting their second wind,
the Kenosha burglars started work
again early Sunday morning and the
store of the Kenosha Hardware COM
pany on Main street was entered. It
/ is not known whether or not the burg
lar got any booty, but it is certain that
after he was discovered at work in
the store he managed to get away with
a clear hide and the police have abso-
lutely no clue to his identity. The
store was entered just before two
o'clock Sunday morning. It had been
closed at the usual hour Saturday night
and the burglar made the entrance into
the building by breaking a window at
the rear Of the store leading into the
basement. He had been at work in
the store for some time when he was
discovered by Merchant Policeman Will
liam Smith and he at once laid plans
to capture him. He called the police
office and Officer Feldschau came to his
aid III the capture. Smith had left two
men at the front door to guard it and
with Merchant Police Officer Millager,
he shad entered the building through
the basement window. While the men
were getting through the basement the
burglar leaped to the front door and
opened it and escaped. The two men
who had been left to watch the front
door had evidently been so excited or so
frightened that they had made no eff
forts to stop the man. The fellow seems
to have been at work in the store for
some time. He had broken open the
gun and cartridge cases and had select
ed one of the best guns in the store
and had carried it into the basement
and concealed it under lot of waste
paper. He had opened half dozen
boxes Of cartridges in an effort to find
some that would fit the gun and had
then made a mistake and taken the
wrong shells. There was considerable
money in the safe, but no attempt had
beenanade to open it and all the money
was found as it had been left on Satur-
day night. Charles r. Stanhope, one
of the proprietors Of the store came
to the store early Sunday morning and
made an examination and so far as he
could discover the burglar had not
managed to get any large amount of
booty. It is possible, however, that the
fellow got away with a. lot Of smaller
articles The report to the police this
morning was that that money to the
amount of 1888, So worth Of stamps
and revolver were missing.
1t is generally thought that the
burglary was the work Of one Of
the local crooks. He had evidently
watched, the police officer on his beat
until he passed the building and then
broken the window in the basement and
made his way into the store. The
police have no good descriptions of the
man as it was so dark in the store that
it was impossible for Smith to see him
but he could see the shadow when the
fellow moved about in the ROOM The
police threw out dragnet of officers
just as soon as it was known that the
burglar had escaped from the building,
but they failed to pick up any SUSPECT
Gus characters,
The burglary was an unusually dar-
ing pne as the hardware store is in the
very center Of the business district and
there must have been considerable
number Of pople passed the store while
the man was ransacking it. In addi-
ton to this there was a light burning
in the store and the burglar made no
effort ito put out. this light depending
on the guards Of the show window to
protect him from being seen. The case
from which the gun was taken was di-
rectly in the back of one of the front
windows of the store.