Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1894-02-23
Held Up the Court.
Daring Performance of II Man who Has
Been RobbIng the Post Office Depart
ment by Novel Method.

ment Dy n Mover MetnOus
Leroy Harris, man with several aliases,
who was undergoing examination before a
United States commission at Buffalo, n.
Y, last Saturday, "held up the officials
in the most approved western style and
made his escape,
For several months the United States
authorities have been on the trail of a rob
Der who entered score of pOst-OiiCes i'm
Massachusetts, and Connecticut and got
away with large numbers of blank post
Office money orders and postal notes. 1t
was lIarris's plan to enter a pOst-Oflice and
represent himself as an inspector, and then
steal blank post office orders, department
envelopes, and the forms of official ad-
vices used by postmasters to notify each
other of the issue of post-oflice money or
ders He was once a clerk i'm the New
York post-oflice, and had sufficient famil-
arity with the workings of the money or
der department to enable him to operate
SUCCESSFULLY He would make out a noti-
fcation to postmaster at a certain town
of an order issued for $780, Then he
would fill out the drawing form for him
self, 90 to the city on which he had drawn,
present his order, cash it and disappear.
| Complaints of his forgeries piled in on the
department. 1t was evident to the author
| tiles that it was all the work of one man.
An inspector traced Harris to Buffalo
and arrested him last Saturday at the gen
| eral delivery window of the post-oiiice as
| he was asking for his mail. Harris showed
resistance at once, and it was necessary for
| the inspector to handcuif him. As soon
as United States Commissioner Fairchild
| could be found Harris was brought before
him in the post-oilice building. The com
/ missioner read the complaint against lIar-
ris, which charged him with forging the
name of William H. Clark to money or
der for 500, sent from Buffalo, and cashed
at Valparaiso Inl. Then he turned to the
| prisoner, whose handouts had been taken
off, to administer the oath preparatory to
hearing his testimony:
"Hold up your hand said the venera-
BILE commissioner.
"Hold up both OF yours, was the quick
reply, and Harris sprang to the door, put
his back against it, and covered the little
group with his revolver.
The deputy marshal, commissioner, and
district attorney, each with a revolver in
his pocket, threw up their hands,
keep them up or I'll fire." said iIar-
ris, still keeping the men under cover o'
his revolver. He then fumblei for the
]
backed out, shut and locked the deer and
leisurcy walked out of the building.
But he didn't have all the fun on his
side. He made his way to Niagara Falls,
and across the river to Clifton on the Ca
madam side. \ description of him was
telegraphed to Detective Jack Griffin OF
the Dominion force Griffin was in bed
Sunday night when the message came. lie
dressed himself put revolver in each
pocket, and went to the station. by the
light of the one small lamp he saw a
mild looking man dro Ssing in corner,
his collar turned up and his hat drawn over
his brows. Griffin couldn't tell very wei
whether this man had the limp which
was one of the characteristics of Harris
but decided to take no chances. He threw
open the door of the station, covered the
man with a revolver and yelled:
Throw up your hands now
The stranger stood up, made a frantic
move toward his own pocket, and then put
his hands above his head. The conditions
of the day before had been reversed, and tn,
bold post-oflice thief had been caught.
After little hesitation Harris yielded tC
the inevitable and came across to the Amer
lean side without a requisition and wa
lodged in Jail in Buffalo.