Midnight Theft on Rose Street
A city worker narrowly avoids disaster when a burglar steals his savings while he sleeps.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The house of J. M. Morrow, on Rose street, just back of where Sheriff Woolery lives, was entered by a burglar about 11 o'clock last night and $80 in money stolen out of Morrow's pocket. He fired three shots at the thief as he was making his escape. The burglar entered through the front window. Morrow's sister was sleeping in the front room and heard some noise, but dropped asleep again. The robber passed through this room and entered the room in which Morrow was asleep. He took $65 in gold, a $10 bill and $5 in silver from Morrow's pocketbook. Morrow awoke and started after the thief, who fled out the window. Morrow fired three times, but the thief escaped. Detective Roberts tracked him a short distance and noted the intruder had been in his stocking feet. Morrow had just been paid off by the city, having been employed in the water-works department, and the thief evidently was someone who knew he had the money.
“The detective tracked him a short distance and could see that he had been in his stocking feet.”
This 1892 report highlights the perennial anxiety of home security and the visibility of one's finances in a growing town. Today, Rose Street is known as 12th Avenue, and the concern over 'insider' knowledge regarding a city employee's payday continues to resonate in modern urban safety discussions.
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