Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1900-07-03
BURGLARS USE DYNAMITE.
Postofice at Albany Robbed, but
Little Plumber Secured.
BUILDING IS A WRECK.
The Whole Town is Startled by q
Fearful Elk p1osion-Men Make
Their Escape.

Albany, Wis, June 29.-[Special !
Burglars blew open the safe in the post
Office at this place this morning at $50
o'clock. They only secured about $50 in
cash and stamps and some cigars and
confectionery.
There was $3.50 in an inside vault
This was not taken, as the explosion
failed to break the inner combination.
There is no clue to the parties commit
ting the deed. Telephone messages were
sent Immediately to surrounding towns
and hopes for their capture are enter
tanned.
A Fearful Explosion.
At 2:30 o'clock this morning the viii
layers were aroused by an explosion that
shook every house in the place from the
very foundations The people thought
than an earthquake had surely struck the
place. Every man, woman and child hur-
ried out in the streets dressed in their
night clothes TO find out the extent of
the supposed disaster. Scenes of the
widest excitement prevailed and men
rushed about to discover the source Of
the great confusion.
Finally it was discovered that an at
tempt had been made to rob the postofIice
building located in the center of the vii
lage and that the blowing up of the safe
noise. The first of the men out on the
street noticed a man leaving the postotfice
building and run swiftly up the street,
where another man seemed to be waiting
for him. The two ran swiftly on tho
road north.
1t was afterwards discovered that the
two men joined a third further up the
road with q horse and buggy and the
three raced north as fast as the horse
could carry them.
Building a Complete Wreck.
Examination Of the postoffice building
found it to be a complete wreck, big
charge Of nitro-gly cerine had been in
serted in the safe and the explosion
shattered the front door, blowing pieces
through the building i'll every direction.
Large section of the iron door passed
through the ceiling and another knocked
down the west wall. Every pane of glass
in the building, the postOffice boxes and
furniture were smashed to small pieces.
The big front door was complete wreck.
Every window in the business places
on each side of the postOtfice was broken
and the ceiling cracked and floors bent.
The force of the explosion was terrible:
The robbers had evidently overloaded
with dynamite
1t was found that the bold robbers did
not get anything from the SAFE but they
had rifled the cash and stamp drawer and
stole some $50 worth of stamps and small
change.
The awful explosion scared the bur-
glars away before they could rifle the
safe.
Posse After Robbers.
It took some time for the citizens to re-
gain their equilibrium and then they
started out to hunt the robbers. A posse
was organized and on horseback they
secured the whole country for miles with
out any result. The buggy was tracked
as far as Attica, and the supposition is
that the dynamiters cut across to Evans
vile and caught a train north or south
there The authorities of Rock, Green
and neighboring counties were notified,
but no clue has so far been found.
Much Damage Done.
A. Blakely is the postmaster at AL
bany and he says his building was entire4
ly destroyed and will have to be rebuilt.
The safe door was blown to pieces and
scattered and the corners cracked wide
open He says the charge Of nitro
glycerine must have been enormous to
cause such a complete wreck.
1t is hoped to catch the three men be-
fore they get out Of the county. No de-
scription of the men can be given. The
damage to Albany structures, including
the postoffice and safe, will be about
C1000 ~, CT S00