Evening star., 1901-03-12
YEGGMEN ROB POST OFFICE
SAFE AT COLLEGE PARK, Md.
BLOWN OPEN.
Plunder Divided Within Two Hundred
Yards of the Scene of the
Burglary.

| tuiS morning tnat the safe IN the
post office at College Park, Prince Georges
! county, Md, had been blown open during
the night and robbed of it's contents. in
cluding cash and stamps Inspector Board
man. who received the message. notified
! the post office authorities, and inspectors
were sent to the scene of the robbery to
make an investigation, That the job was
the work of 'yeggmen" the police have no
| doubt, and they believe the robbers belong
to the gang which has been operating ex-
| tenslVely on Maryland post office safes
AT just what time the crime was commit
| ted is not known. for it was not until Post
! master George H. Calvert went to open
! the building this morning that he dis
covered evidence of the burglary. He
| had heard the smashing of the glass some
| time during the night, but paid no partic-
| ular attention to the noise, believing it had
been caused by the blowing out of loose
| pane of glass from the kitchen window
| As soon as Mr.. Calvert went down stairs
| this morning he walked directly to the
| kitchen to ascertain what damage had
been done by the wind. Much to his sur
| prise, he discovered that a glass in the
| kitchen had been badly shattered. A
| further investigation showed that the safe
had been blown open and robbed and the
| building badly damaged. More than a
| dozen big window panes were shattered by
| the explosion, and the robbers had taken
| all the valuables in sight. The postmaster
| congratulated himself, however over the
| fact that the building had not been de-
Stroyed by fire.
| Besides being postmaster Mr. Calvert
conducts general merchandise store and
has charge of the Baltimore and Ohio
| freight office. His two sons We're sleeping
| in the building with him when the eXplo-
! sion occurred, and, notwithsta anding the
| force of it was so great, they were not
awakened.
While on his way home last night, about
| IL o clock, George III. Calvert, jr., saw two
strange men on the road. Upon his APP
| proach they moved TO the opposite side of
| the road. 1t is believed these men were
| the robbers. and that they were there
| watching the building to make certain of
| the whereabouts of the members of the
| family before they began their work.
| There We're three men engaged in the af-
| fair, it is thought, for the reason that the
| footprints of three men were discovered
leading from the house to the electric road.
about two hundred yards distant, where
| the men evidently divided their plunder.
Pane of Glass Removed.
An entrance was effected by cutting a
pane of glass from one of the windows.
Upon getting into the building the burglars
proceeded to fasten the doors leading from
the store to the part of the house where
the postmaster and his sons We're sleeping.
This was done by putting thumbscrews in
the doors and door jambs and fastening
wire across the doors. Wire was also fast
eneO on q gate On the obtSitS ol bHe uulluIuE
In the event of the occupants of the house
being aroused the burglars knew these
faStenings would retard the postmaster
and his sons in any effort to pursue them.
1t is supposed that while two of the bur
glars were securing the doors and gate the
third member of the gang used a brace and
bit on the iron safe, preparatory to put
ting in an explosive. The destroyed safe
and surroundings indicate that powder
was the explosive used, for some of the
paper money in the safe, which had been
overlooked or abandoned as useless, was
scorched
AS already stated, the force of the eX-
ploson was great enough to blow open
the safe and shatter the windows. As
soon as the burglars could get together the
contents of the safe they put them in
mail sack and went as far as the electric
tracks where, stated, they probably
divided the piunder. The abandoned mail
sack was found there. They also left the
brace and bit near where the mail sack
was found. Usually safe blowers leave
their instruments on the floor near the
safe, but in this instance they started away
with them, probably intending to hide
them in the woods, where they could get
them later in case they wanted to attack
a safe in some other post office. In their
hurry however, they forgot the brace.
which had probably been taken from some
nearby blacksmith shop.
A Constable's Find.
A special correspondent of The Star at
Hyattsville furnishes the information that
the mail sack and paper box, containing
several hundred postal cards and a num-
Der Of letters of no money value, the latter
belonging to the postmaster, were found
thts morning by Constable Vincent of Hy-
attsville.
Mr.. Charles Calvert, jr., who, while re-
turning from Washington at late hour,
saw a man hastily walk from point in
front Of the store toward the Baltimore
arnd nEC go hn q m "a r.
ticular attention to him. and is therefore
unable to give any description Of him. The
postmaster and his assistant declined to
state the amount of the stolen funds but
it is intimated that money and stamps to
the amount Of about 800 were taken.
Result of investigation.
Detective Flather was sent to College
Park to make an investigation Of the affair.
! He reports that the burglars had drilled
holes in the top Of the safe. The amount
Of property taken, he was informed,
amounted to about $5OO-stamps to the
value Of $3.50 and S150 in cash. So great
was the force Of the explosion that
quantity of pennies. nickels and dimes We're
scattered about the floor. The safe door
was torn from it's hinges and thrown fully
ten feet from the safe. A heavy stamping
table was also thrown across the room.
Several of the burned bills were picked
up from the floor, and it is believed some
of the money taken from the safe was
scorched. The robbery. 1t is believed was
committed between and o'clock in the
| morning, when the barking of a dog
aroused Mr.. Calvert.
Post Office Inspector Wilson also visited
the post office and made an investigation.
The building Is not more than seventy-five
feet from the Baltimore and Ohio tracks,
and it is believed the burglars caused the
explosion about the time a train was pass
Ing in order that the noise made by the
train would deaden the sound, Among the
plunder were many books of stamps. The
stamped envelopes and postal cards alb
stracted from the safe were left where the
burglars divided the plunder.
HIS LOCOMOBILE RAN AWAY.