A Costly Penny-Pinching Heist
Local burglars use high-grade explosives to crack an unlocked safe at a lumber company, netting exactly five cents in copper.
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.
Five cents in pennies was the haul which unknown robbers carried off from the office of the Tum-A-Lum Lumber company after the safe had been blown up last night. The robbery was not discovered until this morning when Manager R. C. Mounsey went to his office; in the meantime, the robbers had made their getaway. Up until late this afternoon no trace of them had been found and no clue established as to their identity. The office safe was a complete wreck, the explosion having blown the door from its hinges and swelled the other three walls. Sheriff Mike Toner of Walla Walla, who came over at the request of the head officials of the company, said the robbers had used a mixture of nitro-glycerine and dynamite to do the job. It is thought the robbers made their entrance to the office by the use of a pass key as both doors were locked this morning. They were evidently in a hurry and overlooked the important detail of trying the safe door before applying the explosive. The safe was unlocked and the five pennies could have been extracted without difficulty.
“The safe was a complete wreck, the explosion having blown the door from its hinges... the safe was unlocked and the five pennies could have been extracted without difficulty.”
The absurdity of blowing up a safe to find it was already unlocked remains a dark comedy of errors. It highlights the vulnerability of local businesses in the early 20th century to amateur-turned-reckless crime, a stark contrast to today's digital security landscape.
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