The Copper Wire Heist
Four laborers are taken into custody after allegedly stealing 50 pounds of copper wire from local transit facilities.
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.
William Morgan, Thomas Eichuna, Charles Japjei and John Christen, each giving his occupation as laborer, were arrested this morning by Detectives Fitzgerald and Ellison on a warrant charging them with stealing 50 pounds of copper wire from the car barns of the Tacoma Railway & Power Company on A Street. The warrant was sworn out by W. L. Harris, a representative of the company.
“William Morgan, Thomas Eichuna, Charles Japjei and John Christen, each giving his occupation as laborer, were arrested this morning.”
Copper theft remains a persistent issue for Tacoma’s modern rail and electrical infrastructure, mirroring this 1904 incident where transit property was targeted during a period of rapid electrification.
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