April 2, 1914
Forgetting the Date, He Is Inveigled From His Warm Bed ___ He Was Called by Practical Joker to Identify Alleged Bank Robbers Caught Boring Into Vault ___ “Did you catch him? Where is he? Where was he? What was he doing? Did he get in?” Breathless
and hatless, panting with excitement and fatigue, J.F. Primm, cashier
of the American Bank and Savings Company, dashed into the central
police station last night at 10:30 o’clock and propounded the above
questions to Police Captain .D. Greet. “Catch who-, Catch what?” queried Captain Greet in return. “We have caught several tonight.” “Why, the man who was trying to bore into the vault in the bank,” answered J.F. Primm, still breathing hard. “That’s the first I have heard of it,” Captain Greet suavely informed the banker. “Has a man been trying to get into the bank?” He Saw The Joke. Well, I’ll be ———!” shouted Primm. “I might have realized it before now, but I didn’t, and there are the cigars.” “What’s the matter, Jim?” Captain Greet asked his good friend Primm. “Matter?
Matter? I was in bed, sleeping soundly and dreaming of the big stacks
and sacks of gold in, the vault in the bank. Suddenly my dream ceased,
and I awoke to hear the telephone bell ringing. I answered, and some
one told me it was the police station and that a man was trying to bore
into the vault, and asked me to come to the station. Here I am. But you
must also remember this is April 1. I’m the guy, I think, that has been
fooled.” And Everybody Smoked. The genial police captain
and the reserve patrolmen, jailer and patrol drivers who were sitting
around were treated to cigars and, incidentally, had a god laugh on Mr.
Primm. He returned to his home, but not until he reassured himself that
it was only an April fool stunt. E.E. Eckstone, manager of the
International Produce Company, reported to the police yesterday morning
that he had been made the victim of what was perhaps the most serous
All Fool’s joke of the day. When he arrived at his office on South
Santa Fe street shortly after 7 o’clock, he found that the building had
been entered and that a large steel safe containing all of his books,
considerable money and other valuables, including his typewriter, had
been stolen. A rear door had been broken. Property Not Located. Up
to a late hour last night no trace of the stolen property had been
located by the detective department, to which the matter was referred.
Eckstone said last night that if his books and papers were returned he
would not care about the safe, money and typewriter.
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