The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1901-10-24
SENSATIONAL STAMPiRO ROBBERY
Chicago Postoffice Loses $4,000 Worth
Of Postage Stamps Taken Through
Tunnel Almost in Presence
of Employees.

CHICAGO. Oct, %. = One of
the most daring and cleverly ex-
ecuted postoffice roberies ever
committed was carried out at the
Chicago postoffice Sunday night.
Seventy-four thousand six hun
dred and ten dollars worth of
stamps of different denomina-
tions were taken from the big
burglar proof vault in which
they were kept, and no one about
the Office had an inkling of what
was going on. though several
hundred employees were in the
building, some of them wit thin a
few feet of the spot where the
robbery took place. The man
ner in which the deed was COM
mitted, however. made it impos-
sible for the workers inside the
building to know what was going
on
When the employees of the
stamp division arrived at the
Office Monday morning there was
nothing to indicate that every
thing was not right, and not un-
til the huge vault where the
stamps are kept was opened did
they know that the government
was loser to the extent of nearly
$1,000 Immediately upon open
ing the vault a hole, large
enough to admit the passing of a
large man, was found in the floor
of the vault, near the center. A
hasty examination showed that
stamps were missing and an in
ventory showed the amount to
be S74, ,610, $1,000 of which were
special delivery stamps, S4, 722
due" stamps, and of the 500, ,888
remaining "a, 826 worth was Pan
American stamps of 8 and 10 cent
denomination.
The first trace of any kind that
was found and which is expected
to prove an important clew was
the discovery of wagon wheel
tracks leading to and from the
southeast portion of the long
structure and at a point where
the burglars made their entrance
and exit.
Lieut. McWeeney is working
upon clew that may throw
light on the robbery Several
dry batteries" were found about
the vault, bearing the trademark
of the Manhattan Electric COM
pany, with offices on 5th avenue.
While the vault was surround
ed top and sides by heavy stone
masonry. there was nothing un-
der the floor of the vault but
earth, and tunnels under the
building made it possible for the
burglars to come within few
feet of the vault. The remaining
distance had been tunneled by
the robbers themselves to point
just under the middle of the
vault, and then section of floor
had been taken out with the as
sistance of drills, and the rest
was easy. The work was appar-
emily done by experts. They
even employed electric drills,
worked by dry batteries, in their
work Having constructed their
own tunnel from the intersection
of one of the tunnels under the
building to a point under the
vault, they drilled small holes
about !. a half inch apart along
three sides of square, and
broke the interstices with a.
sledge, and then forced the piece
of steel flooring down and broke
it off, thus making the opening
through which entrance was OBJ
tanned to the vault. Through
this opening the stamps were
taken out and taken through the
long tunnels under the building
to the opening under the carpen-
ter shop of the postofice at the
extreme southeast corner of the
building, and from there loaded
into a wagon and taken away.
It is estimat ed that the combined
weight of the stamps taken is
over two tons, and the robbers
must have had a wagon to take
them away. It is the habit of
the employees of the stamp de-
partment to lock the vault at