The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-07-31
Ostrich and Bird of Paradise
Plumes Valued at $4,000 Taken
From Place of L. & A. Simon,
SEEMS WORK OF EXPERTS
Thieves Use Ladder, Gain En-.
trance Through Skylight and
Make Their Escape.

One of the cleverest and most skill
| fully executed commercial robberies in
the history of this city took place dur
ing the enrly hours of yesterday morn
ing or late Saturday night when tho
wholesale millinery store Of l. & a
Simon, l4S South West Temple street
was burglarized and $4,000 worth of os
trich and bird of.paradise plumes
stolen.
While the robbers effected an en-
trance to the store through skylight
at the bottom Of light well on the
south side of the building and in the
second story, Clarence Downs and
George Ash, two pcddlers, were slecp-
ing in their wagon not more than fifty
feet from the point where the thieves
were working So quiet was the work
that neither OF the sleepors were awak
ened,
All surrounding conditions were fla.
vorable to the robbery and the robbers
availed themselves of every opportun-
lty. The Simon store is met in the rear
by the Continental feed yard, l23 West
First South street. At all hours of the
day and night teams drive in and out
of this yard. Farmers stable their
horses there and leave for the country
during the early hours of the morning.
Thus during the quiet hours of the
night and morning the movement of
men or vehicles in the yard does not
cause special attention.
Work Is Quietly Done.
S. II. Skinner, who has charge of the
feed yard. slept within $50 feet of the
scene of the robbery. and as in the
case OF the peddlers. he was not dis |
turbcd by any incident out of the or.
dinary.
large number of ladders were piled |
IN the rear of the paint shop of Harvey
Don, l24 West Second South street. The |
robbers availed themselves of one Of
these ladders They carried II to the
Union assay office, one story build
ng next door TO the Simon store, and
ov this means reached the roof Of the
ASSAY office; The skylight was metal
'immed and OF thick wire glass A
,ole was made through the wire glass
md the skylight unlocked from the in.
lde, The thieves then found them.
elves in on the second floor of the
,lmons store
On the second floor were many costly
iIks and other expensive notions. How
yer. they passed these bv and went ,
own stairs. into the rear OF the store.
'bere In n room l0xlS feet square.
'hlch could NOT be seen from the side. :
'alk on South West Temnle street. p,
ere stored all tho most valuable ar I
lc!es Of merchandise in the store. os Z
rich and bi:d-of- f-paradise pluYnes which '
nd been only recently received TO sup.
~ the fall trade. In all 500 plumes c
'ere stolen. The phimes had been =
'wed to the inside of tho cardboard u
oxes in which they were shippcd and n
.c thieves tore them out of the boxes. IL
ne nlumes were IF all colors, but prin- a
pally black and white. Adolph ST.
on. one Of the rroprietors of the store -
nd Yesterday that by simule steam. Il
g process rho nlumcs could be 70 cl
ored TO their original salable condi.
or. "
That the building had been cnterc -,
AS discovered by j. C. Hogan. nipbt In
Continued on Pque Tvzo