Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1922-09-08
FUR COATS OF $500
VALUE ARE STOLEN
Houghton & Simonds Drygoods
Store Is Entered by Burglars
Also Enter Kuech DrygOods Store and
DOnnell & Davis Store and Make At
tempts ut Three Others.


One of the bodcst burglares in Brat
tleboro in years occurred shortly after
midnight yesterday when three stores
on Main street were entered and an at
tempt made TO enter three more and mcr-
chandise to the value of 5000 taken from
one of the stores The establishment
that suffered the principal loss was that
of lloughton 4 Simonds, drygoods. from
which five fur coats and two suitcases
were taken. The other stores that were
entered were +. W. Kuech & Co.. dry
goods, and Donnel and Davis, millinery
Mrs. &. A. Wood proprietor, and en-
trance was attempted at the clothing
store of f.. j. Fenton. the drug store of
w. f. Root K Son, T.. +. Perry & Co. s.
clothing store and the tire store of Don
+. Bcllevilc.
Village Commissioner Henry +. Whit
ncy. ir.. and Officer w. Il. Tyler started
an investigation at an early hour yes
terday and later were joined by States
Attorney Harold f.. Whitney.
The firm of IIoughton 4 Simonds has
offered a reward of $500 for the appre-
hension and conviction of the person
or persons who made the break in their
store and made off with the fur coats.
Several clues are in the hands of the in
vcstigatorS. The holiness of the breaks
and the value of the goods stolen has
provided an impetus that Il is hoped
will result in the apprehension of the
! thieves and no stone will be left I'M
! turned by the officials in charge to run
! them down.
From. various clues it is evident that
| the break mt Houghton & Simonds's was
committed first The thieves are thought
to have passed into the alley between
| the Hooker building and the Vermont
! Savings bank and the entrance is
! & 1.
| Iluughton x Simonds store through Il
rear door. which was found unlocked
in the morning. After ransacking the
office in the store. and making away
| with the coats, the thieves made their
escape down the steep bank back of the
Hooker building to the railroad track
along which they proceeded to point
directly back of the Kuech store. Foot
prints were found leading from the
railroad track up the bank through the
undcrbrush to the rear of the Kuecl
store where the thieves are thought tC
have crawled along wall to the rOoi
of a shed at the rear of the store. Hav
ing attained the roof of the shed, thu
thieves made their way to Il window a
the rear of the basement. A pane. o
glass was broken and all the broke1
low the passage Of Il nuns body throug
the window After entering the base
: ment. the robbet opened the rear door .
means of kew which was in the doa
!. md allowed lis companions to entei
In breaking the window pane, the rol
/ her carefully laid aside several lars
pieces of glass. and in doing so, LEI
several very fine finger prints whic
were taken and which form defnit
J clue.
Julius f. Kuech said yesterday tina
as far as is known three or four blar
| I'll nj .,fa gtn
: of the basement shelves may have bee
taken Mr.. Kuech was not certain a
to whether the blankets were stolen O
not. but it is thought they were take
as the pile of goods seemed considerable
disarrangcd. Before leaving the kuec
store the thieves went up the stairs int
the main store where they took out
drawer from Mr. Kuechs desk and scat
tered the contents over the top of til
desk. They also opened other drawer
. but did not touch the cash register o
, the safe.
Upon leaving the store they gained a
entrance to the Donnell 4 Davis stor
by breaking n pane of glass in the rea
, basement door One of the thieves the
inserted his hand through the openn
and unlocked the door. They made thei
r wav up stairs and took the cash regis
ter which occupies a position on one O
the counters near the front of the stor
: and carried it to q table in the real
where they examined the register, lay
e ing the sales slips on the table. The
\ found few pennies in the cash drawer
q which they left untouched. As far a
could be ascertained. no merchandis
= waq taken from this store.
: The breaks were definitely fixed as ot
: curing between the hours of midmgn
and = O'Clock At that time. Mrs. Fannl
T.. Prouty. who lives over the kuec
u store. happened to get up and while sh
{ was in her kitchen she thought she hear
+ a noise like someone running on the Hoo
below. When informed of the break
that morning she said she was positlv
n that the noise she heard was made by on
t of the thieves as he ran the length OF I'll
n | Enrch store.