Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1901-10-22
Details Of the Robbery of the Chicago
Postohdce of Thousands of DOL
lars in Stamps.
Thieves Were After Money but Bored
a Tunnel into the Wrong Vault
to Get It.
Work of Drilling Through the Steel
Of the Vault Occupied Several
Days of Time.


$74,610 in stamps, was discovered here
when the wholesale stamp department
of the postof1ice was opened for busi-
ness. A rapid investigation developed
the fact that the burglars had craWled
under the flooring for about 300 feet,
bored hole in the bottom of the
vault, secured the stamps and escaped,
removing their booty in a wagon. The
work of forcing an entrance to the
vault had evidently been going for
ward with the greatest patience for
many days. It is believed, however,
that the intention of the thieves had
been to enter the cashiers vault, in
which there was $4,000 in money and
stamps valued at hundreds of thou
sands of dollars. The bottom of the
vault is of steel, half an inch thick.
In this 81 holes were bored until
space 18 inches square-just enough
to allow the entrance of a. mans body
had been so weakened that it was
possible to take out the whole plate
with little difficulty. A dry goods box
stood over the hole thus made and con-
cealed the work of the robbers while
it was in progress. When discovered
the finger marks of one of the burglars
were still discernable on the dust OF
the box, which he had pushed to one
side.
Carefully Planned and Executed.
So carefully had the job been
planned that men working in other
parts of the building had not the
slightest inkling of the daring robbery
being worked almost under their
noses
The robbers drove up to the south
east corner of the postoffice building
in wagon, the tracks of which could
be plainly seen. The building is a
temporary AFFAIR and the men had only
to open little door to admit them.
selves underneath the flooring Tc
reach the vault it wals necessary tc
crawl about 300 feet over odds and
ends of boards, which Uttered the way.
The route evidently had bene carefully
studied, for detective who went un.
der without knowledge of the loca-
tions became lost and was nearly over.
come by the foul odors before assis-
tance reached him. Having secured
their plunder the robbers loaded it
into the wagon, drove across a vacant
lot and turned into Wabash avenue in
front of the Art building.
OF the $74,610 in stamps taken
$4,712 were in postage DUE stamps
and $1,000 in special delivery stamps.
So the convertible stamps amounted
to $67,s2S, but of these S4,82S were
Pan-American stamps of and 10 cent
denominations.
Largest Stamp Robbery on Record.
F. o. Spalding, chief clerk of the
stamp department., discovered the rob-
berry when he opened the vault at 7: SO
o'clock. The safe had been locked,
with it's contents apparently secure, at
5 p. m. Saturday. Mr.. Spalding at
once notified Postofhce Inspector
Stuart, who began an investigation, as
sisted by his deputies and squad of
detectives from city hall. After COM
pleting the search the inspector said:
"It was the largest stamp robbery
ever known in the history of the pos
tai service in this country. To get to
the vault the men entered through a
trap door. A few feet in they encoun-
tered a brick wall which they dug
through rather than prowl around for
a clearer route. The wall, like others
under the building, is Of fimsy con-
struction and it could not have taken
them long to pick their way through
it. A hundred feet or so further on
they ran against another wall and
this also they dug through. On the
way they also encountered a number
of pipes and as the floor is but two
feet and in some places three feet
above the ground they tunneled under
the pipes. The stamps were arranged
in 20 pound bundles and the weight of
the load they carried off must have
| been 500 pounds"