Intoxicated Burglars Stumble into Police Trap
Three men broke into the Louvre saloon, couldn't find the cash, and ended up getting arrested after getting drunk on the stolen goods.
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.
After breaking the lock of the front entrance to the Louvre saloon at an early hour this morning, three men, supposed by the police to be professional burglars, stole a quantity of liquor, became intoxicated, and walked directly into the hands of Detectives McKay and Ellison. The men were locked up as drunks, and shortly afterward, the burglary of the saloon was discovered. The suspects gave their names as Henry Lohman, Otto O'Brien, and Ernest Voss. The cash register was unlocked, and the men took little but the liquor.
“Three men, supposed by the police to be professional burglars, stole a quantity of liquor, became intoxicated, and walked directly into the hands of Detectives McKay and Ellison.”
The 'Louvre saloon' is a relic of the era before Washington's 1916 statewide Prohibition. This story captures a classic, albeit clumsy, criminal act that reflects the rougher edges of downtown Tacoma's early 20th-century nightlife.
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