Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-07-21
Robbery OF Deposit Boxes Causes
a Panic Among Patrons in
Chicago.
Men and Women Crowd Into the
Masonic Temple Alter Their
Valuables.
Panic Is Threatened and Police
Called to Preserve Order
Other News.

Chicago, July 21.-The news of the
disappearance of nearly $4,000 from
the vaults Of the Masonic Temple
Safety Deposit Company last Satur-
day spread to such an extent today
it cause a run on the vaults. When
the day vaults We're opened for busi-
ness there was a struggling crowd Of
men and women depositors in waiting
who feared for the moneys and val
uables they had deposited in the COM
panys strong boxes. For time there
was almost a panic in the crowd. Tho
police have secured no clews as yet
to the disappearance OF the currency
belonging to race track men.
| Officers of the Masonic Temple Safe
ty Deposit company, after delay of
thirty-six hours, called on the police
yesterday fer aid in solving the mys-
| terry of the robbery by which five book
makers vaults We're robbed of about
| $4,000 Friday night An hour later
the detectives assigned to the case had
made two discoveries which made it
apparent that the safety deposit boxes
might easily have been rifled, despite
the supposed precautions taken by the
company.
| These discoveries We're not made with
| the help OF the deposit company. AfteE
the officers had said it was impossible
| that anybody but the booilmakers
themselves could nave taken the money
| the booknaiiers and detectives had a
conference in Lieutenant Rohan's Office.
/ When it was over the police said there
was no doubt that the money really
had been stolen by one of two methods
used to rob Chicago safety deposit
| companies heretofore
From the time the robbery was dis
covered the officers of the deposit COM
/ pany said it would have been impossi-
/ BILE for an attendant to obtain duplicate
keys to the boxes rented by the book
makers. This was disproved without
much trouble. They had asserted, too.
| that nobody except these renters could
lopen the boxes. because of the master
| key. This statement also was shown to
be incorrect. TOR by the admissions OF
Night Watchman Elliott the master
key often is used an hour before the
! renter arrives at the vaults, the tum-
blers of the lock being thrown in so
! that all that is necessary to open
vault is the key of the renter
Even these discoveries did not change
the views of the officers of the COM
pany They continued to assert that 1T
the money had been taken from the
| vaults the bookmakerS had got it. Then
they pointed out that. according to fig
ures published yesterday. all the book
makers that We're robbed admitted
heavy losses during the Washington
park meet, which closed Saturday
night.
Then Detective Hanley told of case
| in which safety deposit vault was
robbed by this method only few
months ago. A bell boy at the hotel
where a holder of 4 deposit box lived
got impressions of his keys. Then he
hired a box in the same vault himself.
BY passing in often ''e became known
10 the guards and learned that at cer-
| tain hours the master lock was turned
off.
| One morning he entered the vault,
won't to the box of the guest of the no.
| tel and took out securities valued at
$50 OoO AS all We're recovered eventu-
al1y and the desire of the safety de-
rosit company was to keep the story out
OF the newspapers there was no prose-
cution.