May 9, 1907 (Thursday)

BURGLARS CASH IN WHILE POLICE PUT ON A SHOW: It seemed like a good idea at the time when someone suggested that the police in Bayonne, N.J., put on a "playlet" at the Bayonne Theater on Tuesday night. It also seemed like a good idea to PUBLICIZE the event. The production, called "Forty Minutes at Police Headquarters," drew a PACKED HOUSE. Some quick-thinking burglars also took note of the production. While the city's finest were involved in the stage show, the crooks were busy in the unwatched sections of the city. They robbed three houses in the city, including the home of the former street commissioner. They got plenty of jewelry and a PRAYER BOOK.
The prayers seem to be working because they haven't been caught yet.

MARS BECKONS: This summer, Mars will be the closest it's been to Earth in the last 15 years, so an expedition leaves Saturday to set up shop in the Andes to take pictures of the planet. The Lowell Expedition is named for Percival Lowell (right), who has long held a fascination with Mars and wrote a book with that title in 1895. The expedition will be led by Prof. David Todd of Amherst College. They will use a camera designed and built by William Gaertner.

SUBMARINE SETS A RECORD: The submarine Octopus (right) set a speed record yesterday during trials off Newport, R.I. It covered the measured mile numerous times -- with and against the tide -- and averaged faster than 9 knots, quite a bit quicker than the Navy requires. It covered each mile in about 6 minutes, more or less -- while submerged. The other submarine in the test, the Lake, suffered a leak in a torpedo tube and could not participate.