The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-06-20
MASKED ROBBERS.
DO SLICK WORK.
They Hold up the Employees OF a
Philadelphia Trolley Line ana
Then Crack the Safe.
WESTERN METHODS FOLLOWED
Some $4,000 Sccurcd...Company
Officials Say Discharged EN-.
ploycs Were Concerned.

OF masked robbers, probably ten In
number. early this morning ralded The
receiving office Of the Fairmont Park
transportation company. at Belmont,
in Fairmont park. and after holding up
the receiver and Ave other employees OF
the railway, blew open the safe, secured
5000 the company's receipts for two
days. B Url
Frank Levan. receiver; Frank Wat
son and Henry B. Whitehouse. conduc-
tors: james Cavanaugh, fireman OF the
power house; Philip Eaves, electrician,
and William Cadmus. laborer, were
bound hand and foot with wire. In ad-
dition to the men who actually COM
mitted the robbery others operated
miles away from the scene by destroy
Ing the telegraph and telephone wires
connecting with the trolley company.s
main Office. .s.4
The Fairmont Transportation COM
Dany operates various lines OF trolley
cars through the park for pleasure
riders. The traffic being unusually
heavy on Saturdays and Sundays the
robbers evidently decided upon this
morning as being a good time to make
u big haul.
The men above named were all In the
office when the burglars made their ap-
pcarance. Each intruder was armed
with two revolvers. and they took the
employees completely by surprise. It
was the work OF Il few moments for the
robbers to pinion the workmen, who
were rolled over to one side of the room
with their faces to the wall After
nearly two hours work the safe had
been cracked and the gang disappeared.
The entire city detective force Is on the
case, but the cracksmen left no clue.
The Receivers Story.
Frank Levun. the night receiver, one
OF the men gagged and bound by the
robbers, told this story of his cxperi-
encc:
While | was standing at tho south
ern door of the office next to the stalled
N'A 4 III tIlc ltul. i III IL
Ing saw two mcu with masks on their
faces. They had two big revolvers
apiece In their hands and came directly
UP to me at the desk. They told me not
to move or cry out or they would kill
me. One fellow, who was OF enormous
size, stuck one OF his pistols against
my ear. They took me Into the conduc-
tors room, tied my hands and feet with
wire picture cord and left me on the
floor with my face to the wall. The
electric lights were burning brightly all
the while, and when got in the con-
ductors' room saw that Whltehousc
was being held up in the same way by
other desperadoes, also With masks on,
and being bound and gagged
When We were laid on the floor a
man was detailed to guard each of us.
In Il few minutes in came another VIC
tim, whom think was Watson, con-
ductor, and he Went through the same
thing. Then some more OF the men
came in and were bound. and by this
ten or twelve OF the desperadoes at
Work In the car barn, and that they eN-
pected to gather In the whole list of
employees and then crack the safe. which
contained about $4,000. The burglars
worked very quietly. They whispered
whenever they said anything to one
OF their number They turned our bod
les away from the safe so we could not
See them and started to work on the
safe. 1t only took them ten minutes
to blow the safe. The works on the
inside, however. got tangled up and
they worked and hustled to open the
door wider for an hour and half.
Explosion Of Dynamite.
"The explosion OF dynamite filled the
room with smoke that nearly choked US.
The tools they must have gotten from
the machine shop, as they started to
work at once when they had US bound.
The guards frequently threatened 10
shoot US IL we made the least outcry or
motion. think they must have had
wagon to take away the cash, because
1t was largely made OF dimes. nickles.
quarters and half dollars. which Is very
heavy and not easy to get nwny With.
shortly after the money was taken
the guards who were over Us with
drawn pistols LETT, telling US to be quiet
Or We would be shot. After consid-
cradle hus.ling. Philip Eaves. the cleo
iflciaG. got himself unloosened and he
ln!oosencd us.
u tried 10 reach city hall by wire.
but the wires OF both telephones had
been cut. and had 10 run In the pitch
dark cross country to the Belmont
pumping station, where ! gnve the
alarm and they tclcphoncd In from
th"Ft shortly before 3 o'clock TO the
city hall and Informed the detectives
Peter Duffall and Charles Smith, who
say they live In Newark, N. j.. and AL
bert Lewis. OF Philadelphia were ar
rested In Farmont park on suspicion OF
being connected with the robbery.
Conspiracy Suspected.
Charles a. Porter. president OF the
fairmont Park Transportation COM
bahy. this evening said that the clerks
mad made an examination OF the books
ana found that the exact amount OF
money stolen was 1886 ~. This was
The chsh In the conductors canvas bags
which had been handed in as each car
came into the barn.
There Is every reason 10 believe that