Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1900-07-12
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+ How the Bank Was Robbed :
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: How the Bank Was Robbed 5
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III ERE is the mystery Of great
crime solved at last. In Nav.
1888, the sum of $4,000 IN mutilated
currency Disappeared from the sat
chel in which it was being trans
ported from the American Exchange
national bank, New York, to the treas
ury at Washington.
John II. Walkinshaw, who played
an important part in the robbery, now
tells the Sunday World exactly how
it was perpetrated.
In the days when there were horse
cars on Broadway Walkinshaw was a
driver IN the company's service. The
conductor Of his car was Edwin S..
Crawford, his brother-in-law.
He was a good-loolzing young man,
with pink cheeks and a girlish voice,
who paid particular attention to the
grooming of his hair and finger nails.
Spending more money on the adorn-
ment of his person than his wages of
two dollars day warranted, he
swelled his income by knocking
down" fares - that is, neglecting to
ring them up.
This made it desirable to secure as
many passengers as possible. The
driver could bring this about by TAX
ing more Roadway than he was en-
titled to and making up for lost time
toward the end of the trip. Craw-
ford squared" the driver - >.av
Meanwhile the spick-and!span con-
ductor had made a valuable friend-a
rich and influential young New York
er, who often rode on his car. This
individual procured him situation
as messenger in the American Ex-
change national bank, and; the Broad
way railroad was relieved of dis
honest conductor. :..tt
On May 4, 1888, the, bank had $4O,-
600 in bills sufficiently well worn to
be exchanged at the treasury for new
currency. In the ordinary course of
business they were made up in a pack
age to be expressed to- Washington.
This was the work of the paying
teller, Mr.. Watson. He counted the,
money with his usual care, and for
some little time it lay on his desk
in plain. sight of four clerks, who aft
erward s>vore to the: circumstances.
Mr.. Watson with his own hands tied
up the bills in a neat: package, sealed
it, countersigned it., labeled it $780,
G0o," addressed it '.:'United States
Treasury, Washington, D., c." and
locked it in leather satchel.
At three o'clock this satchel was
delivered. to two messengers, to be
carried to the office of the Adams
Express company. One, of them was
sold Man" Earle, who had worked
for the bank years, and was known
to be as true as steel. The other was
Edwin S. Crawford. = .Iz. Is
Followed at little distance, accord
ing to custom, by the bank detective,
the old and the young man thread
ed Broadway to the express Of
fee, carrying the satchel between
them. .- +. s4s.+s.st
Together they started up the stairs,
but Earle, who was little out of
breath, fell behind few steps. Or
perhaps Crawford, who was carrying
the satchel, was in a hurry.
They joined company again after
passing the first turn, where the
Stairs were dark, and thereafter
until it was delivered to- the proper
officials of the express company, who
gave them receipt for it. Shortly
afterward they returned to the bank.
A satchel, properly marked and adj
dressed reached the treasury in due
course. The clerk who opened it and
took out the package realized at once,
so accustomed was he to handling bum
dies of currency, that there was some
thing queer about it, and was care
full not to tear it open until he had
procured the presence of Treasurer
Hymans. re
Sure enough the package contained
not currency, but bundle of wrap
ping paper cut to greenback size.
One thing was clear from the out
set, and that was that the money had
surely left the bank in the hands of
Earle and Crawford. Beyond that all
was mystery. When had the false
package been substituted for the orig
inal? f s#
Old man Earle was above suspicion.
Crawford, his companion, could have
done no harm without his knowl-
edge! Stay! Did he remember that
moments separation on the stairs? II
he did it had been SO brief that he
failed to associate it in his mind with
the mysterious crime ~
But it was in that moment that the
deed was done. In this place-al-
though other exciting events should
come first in chronological order
shall be interpolated John H. Walk
inshaw's confession, made to the Sum
day World ~ years after the crime:
my right name is John 81. Wa1k IL
shaw. I worked with Edwin. s..
Crawford on the Broadway surface
road, though in another name.
"Afterward he went to work in the
American Exchange national bank,
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