The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1872-08-24
Heavy Bank Robbery In Baltimore
THE Third National Bank the
Yicti11l--&1O OOO Stolen,

Heavy Bank Robbery In Baltimore
THE Third National Bank the
Tictin.--$5O, 900 Stolen.
There was brought to light in Baltimore on
Monday morning last the most bold, daring
and successful bank robbery that we have been
called upon to record for some time, the Third
National Bank on the east side of South street,
near Second, being the victim.
DISCOVERY OF THE ROBBERY.
After the bank had been opened on Monday
morning by the proper person the teller as usual
proceeded to unlock the vault, but to his great
surprise failed to move the inner door. The
lock seemed to perform its usual functions, but
still the door would not open, and the teller
finally concluded that something unusual must
be wrong on the inside of the vault. lock-
smith was sent for, and after an hour of hard
labor the vault doors were opened when the
astounding fact of the robbery was presented
to the astonished notice of the cashier and
clerks. The vault had been completely ran
sacked, the cash safe burst open and rifed of
It's contents, whilst the floor was strewed with
papers thrown aside by the robbers in their
search for plumber. The means of access YVES
plainly IN view, an entrance having been
effected through hole about eighteen inches
square leading to small room in the adon-
ing marble front building, owned and until re-
Gently occupied by John S. Cuttings, Esq. On
further investigation it was discovered that the
tin boxes belonging to private depositors, left
in the vault for safe keeping, together with the
valuables and books of the bank, had been re-
moved from the vault through the hole above
noticed into the Office adjoining, and suspicion
was at once directed to the party supposed to
have committed the daring act
THE BURGLARS-wHo WE'RE THEY
On the 18th of June two prepossessing look
ing young men, apparently Englishmen, rented
from John S. Cuttings, ESQ.,, the lower floor of his
building, adjoining the Bank on the north side,
ostensibly for the purpose ofconducting grain
and commission business, paying three months
rent (S65O) in advance. They furnished the
office in good style, and to all appearances were
doing thriving and legitimate business. 1t
now turns out that the ostensible business of
the firm which went under the name of Stabler
d Co., was merely blind. and their real OBJ
Ject was to rob their neighbors, the Third Ma
tional Bank. The Waterman of the bank was
or duty at night, butso adroitly and noiselessly
was their work conducted that no sound--not
the slightest-was heard.
THE BREACH IN THE WALL.
The breach in the wall of Mr.. Cuttings build
ing is nearly Al feet square on the outer edge,
the width diminishing slightly as it works in
ward toward the vault. The portion of the
iron plating cut away measures 22t by l6
inches. just here the burglars made miscalcu-
lation. No doubt they intended that the open
ing through the inner brick wall of the vault
should be of the same dimensions, but they
carried their drilling operations through the
iron little too far eastward, so thatit extended
few inches beyond the inner line of the east
or end wall of the vault. Thus their opening
into the vault through theinner eightinch wall
81 -
gre dimensions of % by 124 inches, suggestive
of rather tight place for a man to work his
body through and but for the fact that the
operators were men of small frame the thing
never could have been done.
IN the back private Office of the building oc
cupied by the burglars, in the side wall toward
the bank, the robbers commenced operations
by breaking away the wall at point about
three feet from the floor, making an opening
about four feet square, through six courses of
brickwork, until they arrived at the iron wall
of the bank vault. 1t being necessary to pro-
coed very cautiously and quietly with this
work, no doubt many weeks were occupied in
it's prosecution, as all the surroundings show
The robbers had laid off the size of the open
ing, and had provided large cotton cloth,
which they seem, between the Intervals oftheir
operations, to have pasted securely over the
breach in the wall, as the cloth was found with
the evident marks of paste or mucilage, and
the edges of the wall around the breach were
also similarly marked. Over all this as a
further concealment, q very large map had no
doubt been hung, as ANAL to support such a
screen had been driven IN the wall, and the
map was subsequently found in the vault of
the robbers office. All these preparations for
concealment having undoubtedly been used,
and the evident care with which all the broken
plaster and bricks had been removed from the
locality, confirm the theory that the work of
breaking through the bank wall was a very
tedious affair, and must have been in progress
for long time
TOOLS USED BY THE BURGLARS.
The tools used by the burglars in their labors
upon the walls, iron sheathing of the vault and
tie Miller safe are of the finest steel, and ex-
hbit a wonderful ninety of workmanship,
each tool evidently having been constructed
under The personal supervision of an ex-
perenced burglar. nest of files, evidently
never having been used, ranged in size, from
the eighth of an inchein thickness to the regu-
lar triangular shaped implement. At the Mar
shal's office one ofthe smaller files was brought
to bear upon bar of iron one and a-half inch
in thickness, and in half minutes time the
bar was cut into to the depth of three-quarters
of an inch. Then there were augers, without
handles, powerful brace of peculiar work.
manship, several ingenious tools for enlarging
holes in iron, three short pieces of rubber tub
ing, at the end OF one piece was a small silver
plated perforated cap, and which upon being
unscrewed was found to be filled with raw cot
ton. This tubing was something new to the
detectives, they being unable to assign it to any
duty within the range of a burglars exploits.
THE BANK VAULT.
The vault of the bank, which the burglars
finally invaded, was constructed in the Ordi.
nary manner, but not very substantially. 1t
was constructed of hard burnt brick laid in
strong cement, with casing of boiler iron half
inch in thickness. This structure was built
close up TO the bank wall on the north side,
which made, with the wall Of Cuttings & Co.'s
building in which the robbers had located
themselves, a combined wall of thirty. nine
inches in thickness.
THE LOSS OF THE BANK.
The actual loss of the bank in cash and securi-
ties is as follows
Green backs and National bank notes .$57 900
Bonds, Railroad and Governments . I3 900
Total loss of the bank ............. $40, 900
1t was supposed at first to be much more than
this, but some bonds that were thought to have
been stolen were found later in the day among
the mass of papers strewn about the vault.
The cash stolen was portion of the reserve
fund of the bank. Fortunately about $3.50 900
of the banks reserve was in New York in the
hands of the Union National Bank, the re-
deeming agent of the Third National, and thus
escaped.
Up to Thursday night there are no further
developments to record in regard to the rob-
berry. So far as ascertained the robbers seem
to have covered their tracks after leaving the
field of their adroit operations with remarka-
BILE success. They are clean gone out of sight
and sound with all the plumber, and are doubt
less enjoying quiet laugh at the i'll success of
the baffled hounds of law.