Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1888-08-16
Riaed the Mail Boxes.
SOMETHING NEW IN THE GRIM
INAL LINE AT CHICAGO.
TW0 IMPORTANT ARRESTS
Over a Million Dollars Taken From the
Mail Boxes-The Criminals Ar
rested in the Midst of Evil
dence of Their Guilt.

CHICAGO, Aug. 15.-Fred Won Ober-
kampf and Thomas J. Mack were held
by United States Commissioner Hoyne,
the first named for examination and the
second to the federal grand jury. They
are charged with wholesale robbery of
letter boxes, extending over a period of
two years, involving the theft of thou
sands of letters, including enclosures of
drafts, checks and ~postotfice orders, ag-
gregating an amount known to exceed
81, 000, 600 face value. Won ~Oberkampf,
the chief offender, who says he Isl mem
Der of q noble German family, has been
lodging for more than a year at No. 1870
North Market street, with Herman
| Kugel, and taking his meals with Mrs.
| Christian Dohern at No. 119 Erie street.
He came and went at irregular hours,
and said he was employed as atranslater
and writer by the Daily Stats Aeitung.
Mrs. Kugel observed him time
and again come into the house
with his pockets stuffed with
his room unexpectedly saw him burning
| Oberkampf offered q check for $57 to
Mrs. Dohern in payment for his board,
the genuineness of which Mack certified
" II SLCSh wac Loollo w 10 SShoihS,
hut the endorsement was a forgery. Mrs.
Dohern thereupon swore out a warrant
for Won Oberkampf's arrest. This was
on Thursday last, and Friday night about
Z o'clock the delinquent boarder was ar
rested at the corner of Washington and
Market streets, where he was to meet by
appointment Miss kugel, sister of Her
MAJ Kugel. The police searched. Won
Oberkampf's room at the kugel resi-.
dence and found u trunk filled full of
letters, packed neatly and all tor open
and addressed differently. Col. Kidder,
chief postotice inspector for this divis-
ion, was then notified. Won O~berkampf's
old room at 1870 Market street, was then
searched, where another trunk full of
mail matter was found. He was taken to
the East Chicago avenue police station.
On Saturday and Sunday the prisoner
stubbornly refused to tell anything, but
he admitted in part his guilt, aud
directed the officers to a room in the
Metropolitan hotel which he had recent
ly occupied. The officers searched the
room and found a valise filed with
broken mail matter and a bunch of keys.
Won Oberkampf said he had a confeder-
ate named Max living at 3105 Cottage
| Grove avenue. The detectives went to
his house and arrested Thomas j.. Mack.
They also found in one of the
rooms a package of opened letters and a
bundle of stolen checks. Won Oberkampf
declares, however, that Mack is an inno-
cent man. an that he had in mini an
other man. What was found with Mack
he says, was left with him. All the cap
tured mail matter was taken to Col. Kid
der's Office and there spread out in a
strange medley. There are stamps,
w ting pads, bits of jewelry, piles of
trust deeds, mortgages, insurance poll
cies, drafts, checks for large and small
amounts, money orders and promissory
notes. The whole number of let
tiers is roughly estimated at 1850
A singular feature in the whole
collection is that in every case the
stamps had been torn off. 1t would
seem that an important motive in the
robbery was to get the stamps, and the
value of the stamps alone on the letters
saved, and the probable number of those
destroyed, must have been considerable.
Of course, it is impossible to estimate
the mount of money stolen by the
thieves. There is not much cash sent in
letters proportionate to the number sent,
but in so large a quantity of mail the
cash must have been a good deal. The
thieves probably had keys to the street
boxes, or had a confederate in the car
riers' force. The locks to the boxes have
been changed within the last six months
but the stealings have been going OF
just the same.