The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1901-10-22
ROBBERS SECURE
BIG FORTUNE
Chicago Postofflee Rob
bed by Burglars.
WORK OF SOME DAYS.
Thieves TunneIed Under Building
for Great Distance,
BORED THROUGH VAULT FLOOR.
Booty Was Hau:ed OFF In Wagon and Con-
sisted in $4,000 Id Stamps iarg-
est Stamp Robbery in His
tory of Postal Service.
Was cleyerIy Ex-
BORED THROUGH VAULT FLOOR.
(By Associated Press. )

10Y ASSociateU fresS.
CHICAGO, Ills, Oct PA sensa.
tional robbery. which netteI the per-
petraters s1i,6to in stamps. was discov-
cred here this morning .shen the whole
sale stamp department of the postoftice
was opened for business. y rapid inves-
tfgation developed the fact that the burg
lars had crawled under the flooring for
about 800 feet. bored g hole in the bot
tom of the vault. secured the stamps,
and escaped, carrying their booty In a
wagon
The work of forming an entrance to the
vault had evidently been going forward
with the greatest patience for many
days. 1t is believed. however. that the
intention of the thieves had been to en-
ter the cashiers vault, in which there
was $500 in money and stamps valued.
at hundreds OF thousands OF dollars The
bottom of the vault is of STEEL half an
inch thick. In this 81 holes We're boreta
until space Is inches sduare-juse
enough to allow the entrance of a mans
pody-had been so weakened that 1t was
possible to take out the whole plate with
little GItflculty. A dry-soods box stood
over the hole thus made and concealed
the work of the robbers while it was i'm
progress.
cLEvERLY DONE.
men discovered to-day the finger
marks of one of the burglars were st1IIs
aiscernible on the dust of the box, which
ne had pushed on one side. So carefully
nad the JOB been planned that men work.
iAs IN other parts OF the building had
not the slightest inkiing of the daring.
robbery being worked almost under their
noses.
The robbers drove up to the southeast
corner of the postoffice building in a
wagon, the tracks of which could be
seen. plainly to-day. The building is a
temporary Affair, and the men had only
TO open little door to admit themselves
under the flooring. To reach the vault
II was necessary to crawl about 500 reer
over oGds and ends of boards which lit
tered the way. The route evidently had
been carefully studied. for a detectiye.
VINO went under to-day without kuowl-
edge of locations, became lost and was
nearly overcome by the foul odors be-
fore assistance reached him
hdVihS secured their pIunder the rob-
oers loaded it into the wagon. drove
across a vacant lot and ttIrnsd into wa
bash Avenue in front of the Ars R,ild-
Ing. OF the $3.50 in stamps taken 81 no
were IN postage due stamps and 81. ESQ IN
SPECIAL delivery stamps. SO the co1Ver
t,oie stamps amounted to Sc, SOS. but OF
these H,S2S Were Pan-Americau stamns
OF and 10 cent denominations.
LARGEST N HISTORY.
r y SFatildins, chief clerk of the
Whoiesaie stamp department. discovered
the robbery when he opened the var,It
at $50 o'clock The safe had been locked
with its contents apparently secure. nj
. Z. NJ Saturday. Mr.. Spaulding notified
fostoirice Inspector Stuart. who hurried
from his home and Immediately began an
investigation. assisted by his deputies
ana a squad off detectives After COM
pietlng the search, Inspector Stuart said.
1t was the largest stamp robbery ever
committed in the history OF the postal
service in this country To get to the
vault the men dug through the BRICK
foundation wall; and a hundred feet or so
further on they encountered another
wall and this also they dug through.
On the way they met with n number OF
pipes, and as the floor is but two feet
and in some places three feet above the
ground, they tunneled under pipes Their
whole course is plainly marked in this
way. The wholesale stamp vault like the
cashiers vault and the money order
vault. is supported by a brick wall 1t
forms square, and before the robbers
were able TO get to this they drove two
holes or possibly more. for the place was
very foul. ana to have an extra. place Of
egress in case of discovery For light
they used dry batteries. one of which
was left behind. This battery and the
wagons track are the only clues that
we have at present
WORKED FOR HOURS
The space under a. vault is sufficiently
largo for a man to stand upright. and
their work must have been comparatively
easy. with the drills and steel saws which
they used. The stamps We're arranged in
twenty-pound bundles. and the weight of
the load carried OFF must have been s0g
pounds. Evidently one man handed
packages down to others waiting below
AS their progress must have been slogr.
carrying even one bundle through all
those tunnels, crawling on all fours. /
judged they worked for hours getting
their booty to the wagon.
Apparently they felt perfectly sec,ira
though somewhat disappointed at missing
the cashiers vault. where there was $aos.
coo in cash and q great quantity OF stamps.
I cannot tell now how many men worked
at the job. Every effort will, OF course.
be made to recover the property and cap
ture the men who took it. "
Postmaster Frederick E. Coynel is In
Washington. He is responsible for the
loss until an act OF Congress frees hinr
from it. For amounts up to s2H go rha
Pos has authority 10 re-
lieve pcstmasters. The robbers got $50 si.s
eG7 81. and 1o5 IS stamps also but Inspsc-
tor Stuart said he thought they would
have difficulty In disposing OF the larger
denominations
Fiae Stable Burned.
rrh re