The Bank Exchange Saloon Robbery
Thieves executed a precise break-in at a Seattle saloon, vanishing with $400 in cash and valuables despite the saloon's central location.
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.
Some time yesterday morning, between the hours of 3 and 6 o'clock, thieves entered the Bank Exchange Saloon through a transom over the back door. By means of a brace and bit, they effected an entrance into a drawer just over the safe, where about $400 in money, a watch and chain, a revolver, and several other articles of value had been placed for safekeeping. All these things were carried off, and no clue was left by which the thieves could be detected. Messrs. John Blanchard and James W. Smith are proprietors of the saloon, and the loss will fall upon them.
“All these things were carried off, and no clue was left by which the thieves could be detected.”
The Bank Exchange Saloon was a fixture of Seattle's early commercial life. This crime highlights the vulnerability of small businesses in the pre-electrification era, a concern that still echoes in discussions of downtown small business security.
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