The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1872-08-22
BOLD BANK ROBBERY.


BOLD BANK ROBBERY.
Master wOrkmen In Vi1iafny-A
Vault Entered from an AdJoin-
ing Building and the Contents
stoien.
The Baltimore american of Tuesday
gives an account OF the robbery Of the
Third National Bank of that city, at
some time between Saturday evening
and Monday morning. Upon opening
the bank Monday morning, when the
proper officers went to unlock the bank,
it was discovered that there was some
thing wrong, and locksmith was
summoned, who. after an hour g hard
labor, succeeded in cutting off the locks
and getting the door opened, when 1t
vas discovered that the vault had been
com pletely ransacked, an entrance hav.
ing been effected thereto by means Of
hole about eighteen inches square
leading to q small room in the sdjoin.
ing marble-tront building, owned and
until recently occupied by John S. Git
tings, Esa. On further investigation 1t
was discovered that the tin boxes be-
longing to private depositors. left in the
vault for safe keeping, together with the
vsluables and books of the bank, had
been removed from the vault T. rough
the hole above noticed into the office
adjoining.
The story OF the burglars operations
is told as follows:
On the 18th Of June two prepossess-
ing Young men, apparently English
men, rented from John S. Cuttings,
ESQ.,, the lower floor of his building,
ostensibly for the purpose Of conducting
grain and commission business.
They furnished the Office in good style,
and to all appearances were doing a
thriving ard legitimate business. 1t
now turns ont that the ostenslble busl-
ness Ct the firm, which went under the
name of Stabler d Co.. was merely a
blind, and their real object was to rob
their neighbors, the National Bank.
The watchman of the bank, Michael
Barnett, was on duty day and night,
but go adroitly and noiseless'y y was their
work conducted that no sound-not the
slightest-was heard.
In the back office of Stabler u Co,
the wall directly opposite the bank
vault shows that q large picture or
chart had been hanging just over the
place where the hole was cut. Thus
the party engaged in the work might
have been working on the two walls,
thirty-two inches in thickness, for sew
eral weeks. This back office was also
detached from the front by brick
wall, and WAS reached by a door, and
by closing the latter the work could
have gone on night and day without ia.
terruption or observation even from any
one entering the front Office.
The appearance OF the office Of
Stabler & Co., in the Cuttings building,
showed clearly that the burglars must
have been thorough masters Of their
business. All the tin boxes taken
from the bank vault had been broken
open, and the papers that would prove
OF no value, except to the owners, scat
tered about the floor in the greatest con-
fusion.
The burglars seem to have operated
at leisure and enjoyed themselves, as
thev left an ample lunch OF cold
chicken and bottles OF wine in Citing 8
vault.
The debris OF the work was carefully
slowed away in the safe and in tine
counter drawer of Stabler Il Cos; even
the carpet was not soiled, and there was
nothing about the room that would in.
dicate to the most prying eyes that any
thing wrong WAS going on.
The vault in the bank, and from
which the money and valusbles were
taken, is oil the ordinary kind, but con-
structed 10 such manner that it was
supposed burglars cou'd make no im-
preston upon it. That portion Of the
vault cut into was eight inchesin thick
ness, built of hard burnt brick laid in
cement, and outside Of that was plas.
ter of boiler iron, nearly half an inch in
thickness; then came the party wall
proper OF the bank, sixteen inches in
thickness. The vault was supplied
with q burglsr-proff Lilly sale snd q
Miller sale. The sdrot robbers failed
to get into the latter safe, although a
desperate effort was made to blow the
door of with gunpowder, but the Lilly
safe was forced open by means Of a
| jsckscrew. This morning the bank
officers caused the door OF the Miller
safe to be cut away with chisels, when
it wss found that the robbers had failed
to secure upwards OF one hundred
thousand dollars in cash.
The robbers, it appears, after getting
into the vault 90 hampered the inner
door that it could not be opened from
the outside, this being done probably
for the purpose Of delaying the bank
officers in getting into the vault this
morning, thus enabling the robbers to
get away as far as possible before the
robbery was discovered.
The loss to the bank is estimated at
about SIS, 900 in greenbacks and other
available funds, which, it is understood,
will in no wsy impair the credit OF the
bank, it having . large surplus OF
profits safely invested. The loss to
the depositors of the tin boxes can
hardly be estimated, ss many OF the
owners are absent from the city.
The greatest excitement prevailed 10
Baltimore during the day, and the Wild
est rumors were current The ofhcers
OF the bank offer q reward Of $4,000
for the detection OF the robbers, and the