Jasper County Democrat, Volume 20, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 April 1917 — TWO STORES ROBBED AT LEE [ARTICLE]

TWO STORES ROBBED AT LEE

Second Visit in Two Years Paid to Hardware and Grocery. J. H. Culp and G. A. and O. A. Jacks of Lee were in Rensselaer Thursday morning to see, if they could obtain any trace of burglars who broke into the hardware, store of Culp & Son and Jacks Bros.’ grocery and got away with about I $l5O worth of merchandise Wed-1 nesday night. At the former place! the entrance was gained by bursting the lock on a rear door, while at Jacks Bros.’ the lock was pried off a side window. While it was difficult to^jieter-1 mine jjist what had been taken when Mr. Culp and party had left Lee, in the , hurried examination |

that had been made when they went to open up their places of business Thursday morning and discovered that they had been broken into, it was found that a quantity of - knives, loaded shells, spark plugs, light globes and other small hardware had been taken at Culp & Son’s and that the safe, in which was about S7O in cash, had been tampered with but not broken open. At Jacks Bros.’ a large pail of lard, about sixty pounds of meat, I a caddy of tobacco, two boxes of | cigars, shoes, overalls, etc., had been taken.

The only possible clue to the robbers was that some woman who was up at 1:30 w’ith a sick child, heard an auto pass by her place! going toward Rensselaer. The rain that followed of course obliterated all trace of this auto, and it might have had no connection whatever I with the robbery anyway. All the surrounding towns were telephoned to be on the watch, but nothing! has developed at this writing.

Lee is a little town about ten miles east ’of Rensselaer, on the Monon, and about two years ago the same stores were robbed of a small amount of merchandise and entrance'was gained in precisely the same manner. At that time it was practically assured that the burglars were a couple of strange young men who had been seen there on motorcycles during the day. But this time it would have required an auto to have carried away the bulky plunder taken. O. A. Jacks’ store was not entered. The family live over his place of business, a fact which was probably known to the thieves, who were evidently familiar with conditions. McCurtain’s bloodhound was taken from Parr to the scene of the robbery, but because of the rain was unable to be of any service.