The Overcoat Thief Is at Work in This City
A wave of coat thefts sweeps through Seattle hotels and lodgings; one suspect is caught red-handed with a warrant.
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 overcoat thief is again at work in Seattle. Three overcoats were reported stolen last evening and one arrest was made.
William Young, a man who is stopping at the Seattle Hotel, reported that his overcoat had been taken from his room. Patrick O'Brien had a fine overcoat stolen from his room in the Fremont Hotel. Martin Flaherty was arrested on a warrant last night which charges him with entering the room of a man named Cameron, in a lodging house on Washington Street, and carrying off a valuable overcoat.
While modern Seattle struggles with high-tech corporate theft and digital fraud, this 1909 headline reminds us that petty property crime has always been a part of urban life. The specific mention of 'Washington Street' (now 3rd Ave) and the Fremont Hotel grounds the story in a neighborhood that remains a bustling hub of commerce and lodging today.
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