The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-02-04
THE RECENT BANK ROBBERY.


Alarmed.
This morning one of our reporters paid
| another visit to the scene of the audacous rob-
berry which was perpetrated in the Kensington
| National Bank. and there discovered that il
| one of the private watchmen had not en-
| deavored to kill two birds with one stone, by
soling shoes whilst he guarded the bank, the
robbery would in all probability never have been
| perpetrated, and he would now be regarded as
he maniiestly is not as an able guardian of gold
| and greenbacks.
Being admitted into the Presidents room,
where but recently the two watchmen were
! living borS de combat, we found the cashier,
! Mr. Mcdonnell On the tables and floor lay
! battered tin boxes which had been forced open
! by the robbers; and from the confused mass of
! papers that had been dumped out of them
number of depositors were hunting for their
own. Said our reporter to Mr.. MCCONNELL
SIS it possible to get list of the persons
! who have, suffered by this robbery, and their
! individual losses?"
1T is not" replied be- 'for the bank officers
| cannot Themselves tell what the boxes con-
tanned The losers were allowed to place their
packages in the proof by the courtesy of the
officers; and as there were no conditions that the
bank should be responsible for their safe-keep-
ing, it, of course, loses nothing"
HAS any action been taken," we further
queried ''in regard TO the disobedience of the
watchmen?"
'Ycs, sir; Mr.. Morris Murphy has been sus-
pended.
in charge and let them in, and Mr.. Holmes was
only an assistant"
lit was unfortunate that they were hood
winked so completely
1T was" excitediy responded the cashier.
Before left on Thursday afternoon ] said to
the watchman. "Do not let any one into the
building, and if they try to enter shoot them
down"
''Were they we'll armed?"
"Oh, yes, sir. Besides their pistols there was
loaded gun in the room. They could have
kept a hundred ZEN out"
"How was it," we then asked, "that the people
who live on either side of the bank were not
alarmed at the unusual noise made by the
pounding on the safe at midnight"
"Why you see one Of tie ,oatcbmeH is a sort OF a
shoemaker, and he has been accustomed 10 bring
ing IN his bench here and l1Orbing at night.
When the people heard tie bdmnIerinq hey
thought II 1cds him hd1nneriRg on his LdpStoHe!
But if Mr.. Murphy had not disobeyed orders in
the first place, the robbery would not have been
committed"
Our reporter then withdrew.
The bank has obtained a new safe in the
place of that one which the robbers operated
upon. 1t was discovered yesterday that the
latter could not be opened by the ordinary
means the violence of its assailauts having
thrown the lock out of gear. A safe builder
was sent for, and in ten minutes, with a ham
mer and cold-chisel, the whole top of the
chilled-iron receptacle was forced off and all
its contents exposed. Had the robbers kept at
work little longer than they did, all the funds
mercy and the disastrous consequence to many
person would have been beyond any remedy.
Providentially the robbers gave up their work
just ten minutes too soon. 1t is now estimated
that the loss to the special depositors will not be
! less than $4,000. One of them, a woman in
| very humble circumstances, loses S500-her all.
| This morning the institution is going along ap-
parently as smoothly as ever, and no one would
| ever suspect that night before last it was the
| scene of such bold and ingenious crime.
MIR. Morris Murphy's Version of the Trans
action.
In all the reports that have been published
| thus far of the robbery Mr.. Murphy's version of
| it has not been taken. This morning we. met
| him and obtained this statement
A great deal has been said about negligence
on my part; but, while admit that am not
wholly free from blame, yet the cashiers manner
| threw me off my guard. But / had better
commence at the beginning. The men (rob-
bers) first came to the bank at half-past five on
| Thursday. One of them was dressed, so l am
| told in police uniform, the others were in citi-
zen's dress. They said they were police officers.
! was not there at the time. They told
| John Holmes about their suspicious,
and then said:-"You had better 90 back
| to the cashier and talk to him." Holmes went
back to the cashier and the latter said, Tell
them that thank them for the information, and
| tell them to give my com mpliments to Lieutenant
| Clark" Then when John returned, they told
him what they thought was going on, aud then
| think they said to John, 'We will be down to
| see you to- night"
1 =
| ] changed part of my clothes and came right
| down stairs and said, 'Well John, we have got
| TO keep good lookout for these fellows" and
| then remarked Il am little tired and will lay
by the vault door reading. Then the knock
| came at the door, and my dog ran
| out and commenced to bark furiously. [ went
to the door and cried out, ''Whatdo you want?"
a voice came from the outside, ''We want to see
John Holmes" sad "John, somebody wants
| to see you at the door" and he replied, IL
| know, il is these police officers" The door was
| opened then, | think, so John could see them,
and when he looked out he said, "Yes, these are
| the police officers, let them in" / thought that
| they were all acquainted, and so ! let them in.
One of the men called me to the door and
| asked me If | knew two men that were passing
on the opposite side of the street, saying "They
are the men whom we have been following down
| the street You had better watch them"
| then put on my coat, stepped out, and walked
| up to the corner of Laurel street, and then back
to the bank, and l could see no person who
looked suspicious to me- He asked me, when
! / returned, if | saw any one l knew. / said,
yes saw one man who had just come out OF
q rolliBg-mill near at hand. He was going up
the street as fast as he could"
We went TO the bank door then. 1t was open a
lsttle. We went in, he ahead of me. As soon
| as ! came In the police officer, who stood Just
| inside the Yestibule door, came up TO me and
| quickly put his arm around my neck and choked
me- at the same time drawing my head back
wards, and while / stood in that position, he
| grabbed me; and as soon as he grabbed me one
of them struck me in the pit of the stomach
and this was followed by four or five similar
| blows.
While this was going on, got one of my
| hands free and put ii into my pocket to get my
pistol But one of them suspected my intention
and quickly jeTked my hand out and twisted
my arm and placed IL behind my back, and the
other shackled me. Here | was powerless
They had treated Holmes SO before / got in.
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