The Great Money-Jar Heist
A notorious career criminal and his accomplices are captured after a daring burglary at a Seattle clothing store, prompting the store owners to turn the crime into a promotional spectacle.
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.
Thomas Wallace, an aging career criminal, along with accomplices John King and James 'Kid' McClelland, was arrested for the burglary of Hyams, Pauson & Co. on Front Street. Wallace, a veteran of San Quentin and the Salem penitentiary, used a step ladder to climb through a store transom at 3 a.m. on June 4, hiding inside for an hour before stealing a jar of money. Detective Edward Cudihee apprehended the trio a week later. Following the arrest, the store owners—seeking to turn the bad publicity into a gimmick—announced they would stage a reenactment of the crime to determine the winner of a public 'guess the amount of money' contest, complete with a photograph of the thief as a souvenir.
“His broad, low forehead, covered with stubby gray hair, plainly marks him as a criminal, while his large, light blue eyes give out an expression that always makes one glad he is in jail.”
This story highlights the 1890s era of sensationalist retail marketing, where store owners treated local crimes as public entertainment. It captures the intersection of early Seattle's desperate criminal underworld and the city's aggressive commercial boosterism.
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