The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-04-26
JEWELRY STORE ROBBED.
Swearingen's Show Window Cracked
by Bold Burglars.

bold and daring daybreak robbery
was made at the F. W. SWearingen
jewelry store at S19 Kansas avenue
Sunday morning about O'Clock. A
heavy stone was thrown through the
plate glass show window The glass
was broken by a man in a light suit
with man in a brown suit and prob
ably others as accomplices but that is
all now known about the identity of
the robbers. Nearly forty watches
were taken from the window, worth.
from SIS to SIS each. Much other jew
elry was left in the window but the
watches only seemed to be the object of
the crooks.
The police worked hard on the case
all day and are still investigating
though no trace of the men has been
round. At no other minute of the night
could the work have been accomplish
ed SO easily for the patrolman on the
peat mad just gone to the station and
the merchant police had gone home
thinking the nights work finished 1t
IS strange that the thieves should have
learned SO much about the move
ments of the police. Officer Brown. on
the beat from Seventh to Tenth on
Kansas avenue. in which district the
broken window is located, was Just
! then covering Patrolman Walkers beat
| from Seventh north to Fifth, that Of
| ficer having gone home, leaving Brown,
| as is his custom, on the long run to
| cover the two beats until seven O'Clock
when day officers relieve him.
| But besides covering the two beats,
Brown had just gone down to the
! prison at the corner of Fifth and Jack
| son, one block from the lower end of
| that beat, to take a paper there. Com
ing back up Kansas avenue he saw nor
heard nothing, for it had just been
finished, so he stopped at the Cremerie
restaurant near Eighth avenue for his
| breakfast.
| While Brown was at the north end
of his beat and at the city prison, Dr.
| Long, with office and residence across
! the street from the Swearingen store
sat in front window up and dressed
He tells the following story of the rob-
berry: LAS I sat there at the window
I saw man in light clothes and slight
| ly stopped walk carelessly but quickly
| along the street. A man in brown with
| a derby hat passed him a few doors
/ from the jewelry store but so far as ]
could see they had no conference A
| few minutes later I saw the light
| clothed man come up from the south
| and stop in front of the Swearingen
| window and push an object through It.
for there was loud crash. The mar
stood there but a moment after the
crash of the glass when he turned and
d
ruins of the Copeland hotel. Just as he
| passed out of my sight near the cor
ner of the building I heard him say tc
| somebody, Well, it's all off, / hurried
back into the room and called my wife
i to watch the place while I went down
| to call the police. Walking brskly
| down the avenue seeing no officers ]
| stopped at the Cremerie restaurant and
/ there found Brown eating at the coun-
ter. He asked me to go back and tele-
I r1I,o CT fny IL
| he guarded the rest of the jewelry. ]
| did as he asked. When I came out OF
| the restaurant this time I saw the man
| in the light suit standing against the
north sidesof the State Journal build
| ing. He must have come back by that
| window again. Then I went over to
| the store and Brown told me I better
| go and rest. Now while was over in
| my room / saw both these men, one on
| each side of the street. go south and
| my wife watching said the man in
| light clothes had gone directly past the
store. Why the officer did not grab
| them after the descriptions had given
| ] can not understand. The two men
| disappeared after stopping a second at
| the corner of Ninth street The police
man followed them to the corner and
then / heard him blow his whistle"
Behind the Copeland hotel ruins the
| watch trays from which the watches
/ had been stripped were found and
| taken DUCK lO TIE SUITE. just OUTSIDE
the plate glass the big stone, appar-
emily the keystone from the arch OF
one of the hotel windows, was found
Two hat pins were found in the alley
| where the watch trays were. evidently
having been discarded as poor articles
to handle.
Mr.. Swearingen said in talking OF
the loss. ..All the watches taken be-
| long to late consignment and / have
checked over the list and have the ex-
act stock numbers of those missing Sc
| that il ought to be possible to get trace
of them later on when they are dis
posed Of 1 do not care to criticise the
| police, but it is quite evident that the
patrol force must be short on men The
| police have done all they could since
| yesterday morning but there seems to
be little hope of finding any clues Two
men were suspected and investigated
but released"
City detectives doubt that an out OF
town man or men could find out SO
| much about the custom of the police
| without arousing suspicion and think
/ it must have been some one who knows
| the city and the police ARRANGEMENT
very well. Yet from the observations
of DR.. Long 1t is quite evident that the
man who did the trick had accom-
pIices shading the policemen to see
where they went and made the theft
when the only patrolmaH for the two
| beats was five blocks away.
There was no insurance kept on the
jewelry lost but a telegram came from
the jewelers. Security Alliance this
morning offering 500 for the conviction
of the thief