Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-06-10
YECGS NABBED AS
WORK ON SAFElS
NEARLY FINISHED
trustworthy Employees Dig Way
Into Vault of Peoples Pow
er Company at Midnight.
IANIT0R DETECTS TWO
George 5ratton Makes Discovery and
zo,h. Thought Faithful Workers,
Are in Tolls Facing Charge.

AMER they had all but completed
,seir way through the brick and con-
crete wall OF the safe in the Peoples
Power company Office in the Safety
buiIdiuc. from a court on the east side.
p-oots Johnson. aged so years, col
orad dav fireman at the building, who
resides AT S07 Fourteenth and a half
s,reet- and Louis Sanford, aged IS, a
nine filter for the company. who re-
sides al 5Ig - Twenty-second street.
we're detected in their act shortly be
fore u o'clock last night by George
Rratton. night janitor, as he was as
cendinc in the elevator
So carefully did he leave the build
ing that they did not hear him, AMI he
vent 20 the Colonial hotel where he
called the police. Captain Kramer,
Detectives Sehnert and Officers Gruby'
and Fitzsimmons. were dispatched to
the scene and caught the men in their
act
Had but fifteen more minutes elaps-
ed before they were discovered it
would have meant a loss of over $500
in money to the Peoples Power COM
pany as that amount was kept in the
safe A similar amount in checks was
located in the vault but the payment
OF these could have been stopped.
Both men were equipped with in
struments TO aid them in their work.
When arrested they had heavy crow
bar which they used in prying out the
brick. 4 brace and bit was used for
making the aperture in which the bar
was placed. They also had a small
crovbar which they used after the
heavier device had IOosened the brick.
A small screw driver was also utilized
10 break the mortar.
When nabbed by the officers. they
had made their way through two thick
nesses OF brick. The outer layer was
OF the heavier building type and the
inner was fire-proof
After completing their way thus far
they bored a hole through the con-
crete with the brace and bit. The op-
ening made through the brick was one
and one-half feet long and foot wide
sufficiently large for a man to crawl
through.
They had planned to make the aper-
tu-e through the concrete a similar
sire and as the vault is not steel lin |
ed as soon as their work through the
concrete had been complete access to !
the money in the safe would have
been gained.
Was Fortunate Discovery.
It was exceedingly fortunate that
the night janitor had detected them. !
Working in a court on the east side
Of the building, they were entirely hid
den
only possible chance that they could
Be detected was through the windows
of the elevator shaft, through which
Mr. Bratton saw them
The place was dark but owing to the
given by the moon MI
Bratton saw the dark figures of the
tao men knowing the location of the
safe. he Immediately concluded as to
what they were about to perpetrate
and FASTENED Immediately to alarm the
police.
Johnson, for years in the employ of !
the Safety building. always thought to 4
be a trustworthy employee, had a room |
In the structure where he often slept /
AS he went out from the building he /
remarked TO the night janitor that he |
would be in early
His hours were usually good, but ,
Mr. Bratton did not see him come in I
rs early as he stated. AS the hour
reared midnight. the janitor com
menced TO think more and more of
Johnson He had always thought of
him as an honest man, and when he
was ascending i'm the elevator little
dreamed that one Of the two figures
on the exterior Of the building was
that Of the day janitor-
II Is thought that the work of break
Ing through the structure was started
but short time before the arrests
we're made. Both were likely ac-
Iuainted with the vault and knew that
L was not protected with a steel lin
ng. The tools used were those which
had been in the use of employees OF the
Peoples Power company.
Sanford told the police that he had
arrived there only a short time before
he officers, and alleges that he was
lot working with the colored man in
ne burglary. He does not account for
lis presence there but stoutly denies !
hat he IS guilty Of the charge. stating ,
nat when he got there the negro had ,
ne hole made. The police however,
ioubt his story and state that he was /
working with a crOWbar when they a..
tole up behind the pair
Needed But Few Minutes More.
The thickness OF the concrete was
MY about One-half OF a foot. 50 that =
'ad fifteen minutes more elapsed be