Out of print: Baltimore crime news of 1940

Here’s another look at what Baltimore newspapers reported to their readers in 1940. From my stash of old papers — The Sun, Evening Sun and News-Post — I find that crime reporting reflects the era: Long before drug addiction became widespread, firearms were not commonly owned and violence was for the most part limited to the occasional crime of passion. 

In one Saturday edition of The Evening Sun, from October 1940, we find no reports of homicides or even armed robbery. But here’s a sample of what passed for crime news:

An amusing story (right) about two guys from Philadelphia who decided to skip out on their $6 bill at a nightclub on Fayette Street, only to find themselves on a roof of a building and unable to make their escape. They decided to go back inside and pay up, but went through the wrong window and ended up trapped inside an adjoining restaurant.

The second crime story (below) tells of the arrest of some teenagers for trying to get into a high school football game by scaling a wall. The group included public school students as well as a few from private schools. Presented with the case the next day, a judicial official named Henry Mann was none too pleased with teens being arrested for such a prankish offense. This one went from a story about police to one about policy.