The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1896-11-06
BAD THIEF BETRAYED
WALLACE is GIVEN
AWAY BY HIS PAL.
a Mail Pouch Taken From the Kansas City
Depot, Opened at a Hotel and the Let
tiers RiHed-The Prisoner Boasts of Past
Deeds and Pleads Guilty.

-. VdlldCc, alias WlL''dilE, "''ho IthFS
ford, was arrested last night at 'he
Lincoln hotel, Fifth street and Broad
way, while in the act of ridiny a mail
pouch which he had stolen from a truck
at the Union depot, Wallace is .
stranger in Kansas City. Postofice
authorities believe that his arrest is the
most Important Of the kind that has
been made in several years.
Last Saturday Posof1ice Inspector
Sutton was visited by Frank White. u
young man who follows race tracks,
and who was employed at Exposition
park last summer. White said that he
could bring about the capture OF what
he believed to be a dangerous criminal.
White boarded at the Lincoln hotel.
Last Thursday a wcll-drcSscd, slnrcwd-
looking young man registered at the
hotel as G. III. Hamilton. White rccog-
nized him as Frank II. Wallace, whom
he had known in various parts Of the
country as Il hangcr-on at pool rooms
ahd race tracks. Wallace said llc had
Just come from st. Louis.
i've got a good thing for you" sad
Wallace to White on Friday. We can
make scads of money aud run little
CildiCc VI octiS CauSIl1
Wallace then told how he had made
lie had lived in clover He had gotten
til he literally had money to burn.
mon to him as dirt. He spent last
summer at Atlantic City, N. j., and
other fashionable seaside resorts, en-
joying everything that money could
buy.
This graft can be worked easier
in Kansas City than in any other towp
in the United States" said Wallace,
c~onfiAcntially. This is u dead easy
town
Wallace proposed That White assist
him and the two would divide the
spoils. 1t was arranged accordingly
that they would 90 to the union depot
Sunday night, steal q mail pouch and
open the letters in their room atthe
Lincoln hotel. Wallace was prepared
TO i~inpcrSonatc, a railroad man. He
wore a blue suit, on which wero brass
q. A. r. buttons. This suit was worn
only at night.
White and Inspector Sutton agreed
upon a certain signal to be given from
. VIII dow in the room in the hotel III
case the robbery was committed.
Wallace and White went to the
Union depot about $3.50 o'clock Sunday
night. They. were %shadowcd by the
Inspector. Wallace didn't think that
they would get much money. Said he:
"This is Sunday night. business
men don't send much valuable mail on
Sunday. Monday night is best, for
then there is lots Of money and checks
In the letters. I'm not going back to
tho hotel, However, without some
thing"
A letter pouch lay on a truck ready
TO be sent West on a Santa Fe train.
A post-ofice employee was standing
more than twenty-five feet away.
"Now hold my overcoat,' said Wal
lace.
The two walked briskly by the truck.
Wallace grabbed the pouch with ono
hand and with the other hand took the
o~vercoat from Whites arm and threw
the coat over the pouch. The two men
lost sight of them and reached
the hotel before they did. He saw no
signal and went home.
q knife and dumped the letters-ahout
s00-on the floor. Each letter was
torn open. Only a few checks and
postal orders were found. White grew
nervous vel the absence of the in
spector. Wallace was preparing to
put a stone in the pouch and throw it
in the Missouri river. AS an excuse to
get out of the room, White said he was
nervous, and went after a drink of |
whisky. He found Policemen Coslcv !
and Wilson, who went to the room and
arrested Wallace. The latter did not
betray the least surprise.
Deputy United States Marshal Shell
by rearrestcd Wallace this morning
and took him before United States
Commissioner Perry, where he was
given a preliminary examination on
the charge Of robbing the mails. Wal
lace pleaded guilty.
Wallace is &c years old and nnmar-
ried. His relatives are supposed to
live in California. He said that about
q year ago he was second steward in Il
hotel at Annex, Cal. White has known
him for six years. Wallace was in the
employ OF the city government at Den
yer, Colo, several years ago and was
discharged for enlightenment. He told
White that he had stolen mail pouches
for years. He once got Sill, 900 check
out Of a mail bag. He used a young
woman as confederate to get it cashed.
She dressed in mourning, and repre-
sented that her father had just died
and she wanted to invest some money.
The two bought real estate, either in
Pittsburg Or Allegheny City, Pa, for
$4,000 and were given Sc, 900 in cash.
Wallace has SIS, 900 Of money in a bank
somewhere in the East. He has been
afraid to draw it, because officers were
after him for crooked work. He had
planned to visit a number of iewelry
houses and buy diamonds with the