RAIDING EMPTY HOUSES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 296, 7 May 1913, Page 5

RAIDING EMPTY HOUSES.

A CHRISTCHURCH NUISANCE, Christchurch, May 5. The house with the curtainless windows and branded with the "To Let" sign is proving almost a gold mine to a certain class of people just now in Christchurch. There is something American in the celerity and calmness with which they carry out their nefarious work, and so far at least little has been ascertained of their identity. The plan is a simple one: The empty house is entered at a time when the neighborhood is "silent as the pathless desert," and the criminals proceed to remove whatever may prove of the least possible value. Even if the house is listed as "Unfurnished" they succeed in securing a good deal of booty. In one case, for instance, the range was taken to pieces and made away with, as well as the handles and locks of the doors, the fastenings of the windows, a few old pots and pans, and several other trifles that could be disposed of without much difficulty. The thieves had also a certain sense of humor, for when the owner reentered the house she found written in white chalk on the mantelpiece the words: "You can have what's left."