Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1894-02-10
A DARING ROBBERY.
Sl'pssM Sah-Dlouss 1t the Newport
News Post-0ihcs
CLEVER WORK OF cRAcKsnES.
ny secure siss In Money. Several Reg
'ersd letter.. and %, 100 In stamps
No Clue TO the Crooks.

NhwPoRT NEWS. February s.--(spe-
c'al)-The post-ofiice in this city was
entered at an early hour this morning
ana robbed Of about $4,000. Who did the
uceu mas yet TO be found out. The rob-
oefs. besides sl2& In money. carried away
several registered letters which came in
last evening and 1910 worth Of stamps,
s<So OF which were Of the Columbian
issue.
me ofncc was closed last night at 10
O'CLOCK. the front door being left open
az usual 10 enable people who have boxes
70 get their mail. An hour later the
entire building was closed. small boy
10 employed TO open the Office in the
morning. build fires. and sweep out. He
entered the building about O'Clock. The
room, he says. was filed with the fumes
OF burned powder. To the left OF the en-
trance To Postmaster fuckers private
Office was the safe.
n WRECK
When the boy looked at II he was
amazed 10 find that the left-hand side of
II was wreck. He then reported 10
Postmaster Tucker. and ten minutes
later the police had been notified. The
INVESTIGATION that followed showed that
the thieves had gotten into the room
through a rear window. The catch by
which the lower sash was held down had
been slipped far enough TO one side TO
enable the robbers TO raise the window
by inserting chisel underneath H..
When the sash had' been raised an inch
or two IL was an easy matter to shove IT
all the way up. The safe In which the
stamps. money. registered letters, and
other articles OF value were kept was
an old-fashioned Barnes fire-proof affair.
The burglars opened 1t by drilling a
hole on either side OF the dial. Then they
dug out enough of the soft material with
which the space between the inner and
outer plates OF the door was filled TO In
sert good charge of powder.
THE EXPLOSION.
a fuse and parlor match did the rest.
But one door OF the safe was shattered.
The other was left as sound as ever The
explosion. IL is supposed took place at
$40 o'clock. as the large clock on the wall
stopped at that hour. A safe drawer con-
timing about a dollars worth Of stamps
was found behind house about hum
dred yards from the pOst-oiiice. AT this
master Tucker Immediately wired the
authorities at Richmond. Norfolk Ola
Point. and other places TO keep on the
lookout.
QUICK WORK.
The work of the thieves was NndouDt-
eddy accomplished in 4 very short time
They had little use for anything besides a
drill and powder. although they had pre-
pared for an emergency by taking with
them a large sledge hammer. which was
left lying near the safe.
UNPRECEDENTED.
The hammer and several chiseis were
stolen from Washington-avenue black
smith shop some time during the night.
The building I'm which the post-oince
Is kept is at the corner Of Washington
avenue and Twenty-fourth street. part
OF the town not much frequented AFTER
u O'Clock at night. except 10y people on
their way TO and from the low saloons
and variety theatres on Twenty-thlrd
street. The supposltiOn f. that the ROB-
berry was committed by men drawn mere
by the gauzy reports concerning the re-
sumption OF work at the ship-yard pub
lished during the past week or TWO.
Several hundred strangers nave arrived
since last Monday. and among them there
arc doubtless many crooks.