The Washington times., 1922-04-09
Wife and Baby Needed
Food; Cummings Took
Up Old Trade of Yegg

how"
This was the statement OF Charles
Luce Cummings. twenty-one years
old, 1898 A street northeast, when
he was questioned at detective head.
quarters yesterday. He was caught
in the rear OF a, grocery store at
1910 q street southeast early Friday
morning. With brace and bit in
his hands he was attempting TO bore
hole In the door when he was
pounced upon by Policemen Heard
and GrigRs of the Fifth precinct,
When searched at the station house
he was found TO have gloveav brace
and several drills, a can on an ex-
plosive substance, a flashlight and
q hammer.
According to Cummings, It was
his sincere desire to lead straight
life, but when his baby came and
he was without means he decided TO
return to the old ways. Although
only twenty-one years old, Cum
minss Ia said TO be one OF the
~slickest" yeggs In the East.
First Robbery At Is.
His career of crime began when
he was fifteen years old. At that
time he and two others entered a
grocery store, which is one OF a
large chain, on Thirteenth street,
between c and ID streets northeast,
and sawed a safe door from It's
hinges. The interior Of the strong
box was ransacked and the contents
OF value were taken. Something
over 500 was stolen. In effectlng
his entrance by a transom window
Cummings left tell-tale finger print
on the glass. A photograph Of the
print was taken and was filed at the
ldentification bureau.
Ten months later he and some
other companions were arrested on
the charge Of stealing automobile
tires from private garages, and
when his finger prints were clossi-
fled Il was discovered that they
matched those left on the transom
window at the grocery store. He
was sentenced TO the National Train
ing School for Boys, but was later
paroled.
About q year elapsed before he and
his companions resumed operations.
On this occasion they entered a hard
ware store and carried the safe from
the place. Placing Il in an automo-
bile, they removed the strong box to
a place near Tuxedo and broke IT
open with heavy hammers. The saf"
contained about $500. Tho money
was taken, and for a short time the
yeggs lived high. A policeman found
the broken safe in the woods.
Cummings also was involved, whilo
he was in his teens, In an attempted
safe blowing Job at an engraving
plant. Had the burglars not hidden
their tools In the basement OF q
lunchroom near where the attempted
safe-oracking took place, the police
perhaps would stfll be looking Tor
them. After Cummings and his pals
found that II was futile 70 attempt
TO force open the strong box, they
took what they could OF value and
hurried to the lunchroorn. The po'
lice received Information that they
had hidden their tools there ana iay
In wait. Cummings returned, And as
he was about 70 leave the place win
the kit in his hand he was nabbed.
In this instance the case against him
is stili pending.
First Year a Busy One.
Cummings has the record Of hav'
ing had five housebreaking charges
xainst him in one year, and that
when he was only fifteen years old.
A detective who has an intimate
knowledge Of the methods employed
by the yeggs of the country, said
today that Cummings Is an expert at
blowing safes. although In some cases
In which he was involved the lob
was bungled- It was not, however,
due to his lack Of knowledge Of the
use of explosives.
When he was a youngster he used
| to visit a tract of waste land near
the city jail. where the Government
was engaged In leveling out the hills.
He soon became acquainted with the
methods used by the dynamiters who
were engaged in the hazardous task
of blowing up the rocks, and he de-
cided to make some, experiments.
Placing dynamite, which he had
stolen, into lengths Of iron pipe, he
would attach the necessary electric
wire and percussion and, standing at
safe distance, would explode the
crude bombs. These experiments he
continued to make until he became
proficient in handling explosives
Since 1919 Cummings had kept the
straight and narrow path until he
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