Washington telegraph., 1855-01-10
Astounding Mail Robbery.

The mail robbery at Elmira NY proves to be
an astounding affair For more than a year mail
matter. and some instances, whole mail bags have
been missing somewhere between n York citv
and the West lnnumerable complaints reached
the Department at Washington and several agents
have been sent over the road to detect the thiec
1t was supposed for time that there was an or
ganized band of robbers that Travelled in the cars
especially express trains where through mails are
in the keeping OF baggage mer only Some were
detected but not enough TO account for the losses
continually going on Every large post office on
the line was in turn suspected, but nothing deve-
oped-
So outraged had the Department become that
arrangements were secretly made to arrest stimuli
taneously every route agent on the cars baggage
men and switch men on the New York and Erie
railroad and see who the robber was Every
man had been spotted, and another day or two
would have seen them all in durance vile
At last telesTaphic dispatch announced six
teen mail bags riled mostly OF their contents had
been found IN vault at Elmira. ~ Y-' This
was so incredible that at first it was not believed
Such was the fact, however, and the robbers have
been arrested with plenty of proof wel.as plum
der to convict them.
Elnira Is very important town on the New
York and Erie railroad, where the Buffalo and
Niagara Falls and several other roads meet Of
course, at times there would be a great accumu-
latIon of mails there, and an opportunity of tax
Ing now ana Ilen baS without Its being noticed
As mails due the Elnira Office would not be mo-
Tested for fear OF being missed by the postmaster
only the through mails were taken.
The local mail agent who had the contract for
taking mails 10 and from the cars was an old
gentleman by the name OF Gates He Use TO en-
ploy his son. fEolickng. drinking sort OF a chap
10 drive a cart and handle the bags 1t appears
that he had an accomplice by the name OF Stone.
young fellow employed in a stable where Gates
kept his horse In the of this stable was a
high fence, over which was privy belonging to
one of the public schools of the place. II was in
this privy- after the night train had passed. that
these fellows used TO take their stole mails rifle
them, and throw the bags in the vault
Stone, it appears, thought he had made money
enough in this way, went to New York ctv en-
gagged partner and was going into business with
very fine cash capital. He made Gates. his
drinking accOmPlice. promise when he left to rob
TO more mails. but Gates getting short undertook
a bag on his own hook one night, and either
being drunk or interrupted. left letters scattered
about the privy which being found by the scholars
next day. were reported to the Postmaster. The
privy searched and from its vaults was fish
ed up SIXTEEN mail bags ard any quantity of letters
In one bag found $4,000 draft. In anoth-
er- $1,000 in money overlooked. Gates got but
$1,000 in the bag he robbed and left some $1,000
III IL Gates confessed all Stone denies every
thing. but was overheard to saw that he did not
care what they did with him. if they would let
him first have one hour with Gates
ICledreldnd PlaindeaIer