The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1911-09-28
-FOUR ROBBER|ES
n ONE NIGHT
is REC, MADE BY THIEVES
IN Bf. KINGS LAST SATUR-
s DAY NIGHT
HAUL is NALL FOR THE TROUBLE
Less Th; : Five Dollars in Cash Sc
cured the Gans-No Clue to
Ioe",ity of the Thieves

Last Saturday was a busy night for
the gang Of thieves that is operating
in Bookings. Four business houses
were entered that night or early Sun
day morning, but less than five dol
lars is the net total of their haul.
The places entered were the Brook
ings Roller mill, J. O.. Peterson's
jewelry store, M. d. Orhrans' meat
market and S. c. Cornell's billiard
hall. There is so far no clue to the
identity of the thieves, but it is very
evidently local talent, and mighty
poor talent at that. Their work was
bungling and amateurish in the ex-
IRENE, but they must be given credit
for ability to evade the night watch.
At the mill they entered the Office
through a window and for the time
and work they put in they were
poorly rewarded. They picked up
fifteen cents in pennies in a drawer
in the desk, overlooking another
drawer containing eighteen pennies
and a nickle, and then valiantly at
tackled the safe. The safe is used
only for the protection Of the books
from fire. 1t was not locked and the
combination was written upon a tag
attached to the handle. The robbers
did not take the trouble to examine
it, but attacked the handle and com
bination dial with an axe and bent
them all out of shape and then evil
IDENTIFY gave it up as a bad job. The
safe is pretty badly battered up, but
it is still good enough to resist the
efforts OF burglars of this calibre.
At Peterson's jewelry store the
thieves entered by breaking u a side
window. They looked over the place
thoroughly, but did not take anything
from the stock, being evidently in
search OF cash The watches and other
jewelry of value were in the safe and
the gang made no effort to get into
that.
Orhrans' meat market was entered
through the back window, a pane of
glass being broken out. AS is the
custom, only the screen door was lock
ed and the thieves could have entered
here more easily and with less noise
than by breaking a window. They
secured two dollars in cash.
The gang entered Cornelps billiard
hall by breaking the glass of the front
door and they evidently must have
kept good tab on the night watch to dc
this. They secured W. dollars in
money from this place,
If the work of Saturday night is a
forerunner of what may be expected
this fall and winter, it will be up to the
city council to provide additional police
protection. 1t is all very well to
criticise the night watch, but he un'
doubtedly has done as we'll as any one
mar could. The only place where
fault could be found with him is in
having that big dog with him. The
animal follows right at his heels and
as it is about as big as a horse it Is
easy for an evildoer to keep track d
the watch. However, they would
undoubtedly keep tab on him
if he was alone, and with
the amount of ground he has to
cover there is plenty OF time to pull
off a burglary while he Is on the other
side of his beat. 1t may be necessary
to put on a secret service man, as
was done last winter when We were
having an epidemic of robberies and
fires.