Masked burglars entered the Springfield, Massachusetts, home of Alderman A. H. Rogers one night in April 1909. An alderman was an elected member of the city government, and the Rogers residence on Temple Street may have appeared to the intruders to be a promising target.
Before going upstairs, the burglars tore the telephone from the wall. It was a simple but effective precaution. No one inside the house would be able to quietly call for help.
The men then entered the bedroom of Rogers’s daughter, Miss Neil Rogers. They bound and gagged her, dragged her downstairs to the kitchen, and forced her to reveal where the family kept its silverware and pocketbooks. They also entered the bedroom of Rogers’s elderly aunt, frightening the frail woman so badly that she was reportedly unable to move.
Meanwhile, Alderman Rogers slept through the invasion.
After ransacking the house, the burglars left Miss Rogers bound and gagged. They did not appear to be in any great hurry. According to the newspaper, they calmly walked out of the residence and boarded a car, disappearing into the night with whatever valuables they had taken.
Miss Rogers eventually managed to loosen both her restraints and gag. Once free, she cried out to awaken her father. Rogers called to people passing outside, and the police were notified despite the disabled telephone.
Burglars Gag Girl
SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts. — Masked burglars tonight entered the home of Alderman A.H. Rogers, on Temple Street, bound and gagged Miss Neil Rogers, daughter of the alderman, and, dragging her down a flight of stairs to the kitchen, forced her to tell them where the silverware was kept and to point out the pocketbooks of Mrs. Rogers and other members of the family.
They also entered the room of Mr. Roger’s aunt, directly in the rear of Miss Rogers’s room, and so frightened the aged woman, who is feeble, that she was unable to move.
After the men had ransacked the house, they left Miss Rogers bound, calmly left the house and boarded a car.
Miss Rogers succeeded in undoing her bonds and the gag and cried to her father, who was asleep. He called passersby and the police were informed.
It was found that after entering the house and before going upstairs, the burglars had pulled the telephone from the wall, making a telephone alarm impossible.
Source: New York Tribune. New York, N.Y. April 11, 1909.
