Money and Maid Disappear

Sometimes the Pantagraph was too anxious to give ALL the facts about a crime. When Mrs. Mayer Livingstone's money disappeared it was reported to Capt. Gierman of the Bloomington Police Department. She told the police that a maid had been working in the house that day who was filling in for their usual maid. When Mrs. Livingstone noticed that her money was missing she made some attempt to locate the maid, who was named "Ruby." Unfortunately, Mrs. Livingstone did not know Ruby's last name. It was stated in the paper that Ruby had "disappeared" that night, but how she could have disappeared when the Livingstone's did not even know her name is a puzzle.

Of course the Pantagraph reported that Ruby was "colored," but the Pantagraph also reported in detail just where Mrs. Livingstone kept her jewels (which were NOT stolen.) This seems to be a case of too much information. Mrs. Livingstone was now going to have to find a new and better place to hide her jewels than under a mattress.

Whether Mrs. Livingstone and the police would have jumped to the conclusion that Ruby took the money if she were not African American can't be known, but the leap here was a very fast one.