Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-04-06
$4,000 IN MONEY
AND JEWELRY ARE
TAKEN FROM STORE
Loss Is Covered by Burglary
Insurance - Explosion Is
MuffIed by Closed Doors
of VVIt

The main vault Of the Cham
berlin Johnson DuBose department
store, wherein the cash, books, jew
elry and other valuables of the COM
pany are stored, was entered some
time between closing time Saturday
afternoon and Monday morning, by
safe blowers who succeeded in Sc
curing considerable loot and making
clean getaway.
The exact loss has not yet been
determined, but according to Henry
S. Johnson, president of the COM
pany, it is estimated at approximate
ly $4,000. Mr.. Johnson said that
there was about $1,000 in cash in the
safe, part of which was in silver and
which was not taken, while a number
of Liberty Bonds and q quantity of
jewe1ry were in the safe. Just how
much of these latter were taken
could not be learned Monday. Mr..
Johnson said the company's loss was
fully covered by burglary insur-
ance.
The vault of the company is To-
Gated in the southeast corner Of the
third floor front, the entire front
end of this floor being occupied by
the business offices of the company.
The robbers entered the vault by
drilling into the dial Of the door and
punching the combination locks
completely out. They then blew open
several small safes inside the main
vault, took the cash boxes and pa
pers outside of the offices and rifled
everything.
Theory OF Robbery
| Whether the robber entered the
building from the outside, or allowed
himself to be locked in the building
Saturday when thd store was closed,
! is a matter Of speculation. A Win
dow on the second floor was found
open and ladders placed to it from
the inside of the building, but as the
company employs no inside night
watchman it is not known whether
this window was locked. No evil
dences were found of a forced en-
! trance.
| The detectives, however, are In
! clined to believe that he entered
from the outside through an office
building next door, climbing on the
roof Of Jacobs pharmacy, which Is
at the corner of Whitehall and
Mitchell streets, and walking across
the roofs of buildings to the level OF
the second floor of the Chamberl1n-
Johnson-DuBose store, where he en-
tered: The office building next door
is never locked, and affords an en-
trance to the roof of Jacobs phar-
macy from a second story window.
Experts Did Job
The Job was performed by an e&
rert yeggman, the detectives GO
claring that it was one of the mos1
modern and complete they had beel
called upon to investigate In some
time. They further declared that an
electric drill was used in entering
the vault, evidences being found
where the safeblower had tapped the
wires and had used the motor OF Ii
electric fan to run the drill 1t was
also said that the nitro-glycer'n
charges which opened the smaller
safes had been touched off with cleo
tricity.
After securing the many small
cash boxes which were inside the
smaller safes, the robber simpl1
smashed their. locks to open them,
scattering the papers and checks
which were not taken, into a disa--
ranged heap on the floor. Many thou
sands of dollars worth of checks
were not taken, as was considerabl
number Of expensive watches ana
other items of jewelry.
In order to carry off the loot, the
robber visited the leather goods de-
partment iii the basement of the
store and selected four leather hand
bags and leather coat case, the
| total valuation being $317.50. He
used discriminating taste in select
ing the bags, number being moved
from their accustomed places, but
not taken.
Chamberlin Johnson-DuBose is one
of the largest, department stores in
Atlanta and the entire south. 1t is
located in the main shopping dis
trict on Whitehall. Y