Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1901-10-24
BOLD THIEVES At CHICAGO
Tunnel Into Post Office Vault and
Get Away with $74,61o
Worth of Stamps.
The LOOT IS CARRIED Off IN WAGoN.
Work Cleverly DOne-Brick Wall and
Steel Vault Fail to Protect the
Government Treasure-Detective
Hard mt Work on Case-NO Clew
Yet Found.

ct fOunO,
Chicago, Oct. 22.-Thieves entered
the vault of the wholesale department
of the Chicago post Office between
Saturday evening and Monday morn
ing and accomplished the biggest
postage stamp robbery on record.
They secured $74,61O in stamps of
various denominations and escaped.
Skill, ingenuity and wonderful endur-
ance were required successfully to
carry out the plans that evidently
had carefully been laid.
Two brick walls, each two feet
thick, were tunneled through, and q
hole 10 inches square was made in the
bottom of the steel vault. The air
under the building where entrance
was gained is sitting. Inspector Far
rell was overcome by the bad air Mon
day when making the first investiga-
ton, and the wonder is that some of
the thieves did not succumb to the
odors and the hard work in so close
place.
Entrance was gained to the space
under the temporary structure on the
east side of the main building
through small door. The men then
took diagonal path to the main
brick wall and tunneled through it.
Over a Path of Darkness,
This admitted them to the space
under the main building, with moth
ing between them and the vault foun-
dation but 800 feet of darkness. The
path to the vault was made almost
in straight, line, as shown by the
trail in the slime and dirt. When it
was reached the wall was broken
through, evidently with a pickax. and
only the steel floor remained to be
broken through. It was attacked
with a drill and 81 holes bored
through half an inch of steel. A lever
was used and the piece encircled by
the holes pried out.
The stamps taken weighed more
than TOO pounds, making the task of
transporting them to the open air one
of hardship when the necessity for
haste and the long dark tunnel with
its foul air are considered. It was &C.
complished, however, and all that
was lost en- route were five one-cent
stamps found underneath the vault
Monday morning by Paul Hull, Post
master Coyne's secretary. .-.s
Wagon Used to Garry Stamps Away.
Wagon tracks at the rear of the
building lead up to the door entered by
the men, and it is thought that wagon
was used to carry away the loot. The
size and weight of the pile of stamps
would make wagon necessary, in the
opinion of the post office authorities.
When Fred Spaulding, chief clerk in
the wholesale stampdepartment, closed
the vault saturday evening it contained
$76,06S worth of stamps. He discov-
cred the robbery Monday morning
about seven o'clock, when he opened
the vault to prepare for the days
business
Detectives at Work.
Inspector Stuart was notified in
haste, and all the inspectors, with a
squad of dozen detectives from Gen.
trail station, were soon at work on the
case. Ciews are lacking. Inspector
Farrell went through the tunnel, fol-
lowed by Inspector Stuart and w. S.
Mayor. Farrell was overcome by the
bad atmosphere, and before his COM
panions could continue their trip I'M
der the floor of the post office it was
necessary to admit air through half a
dozen trap doors in the floor.
The path of the thieves was easily
followed, and the inspectors reached
daylight finally through the small
door on the east side that had served
the robbers.
The founda alton of the vault makes
small room about four feet high,
and it was there that the work of
drilling the holes through the steel
floor was done. Besides the large hole
through which the men reached the
vault door, there is a smaller one near
the foundation of the cashiers vault
joining the first on the north side.
This leads the inspectors to believe
that perhaps the men made a mistake.
In the cashiers vault there was about
$4,000 in money and about 81 900, 900
in stamps. .,
This vault could have been reached
as easily as the other, but the floor is
thicker, being composed of two sheets
OF steel and layer of concrete.
Fine Stock Show.
Kansas City, Mo-, Oct. 22.-Kansas
City's big annual fancy stock show
opened at the stock wards pavilion