The Oskaloosa herald., 1904-08-18
A BIG BURGLARY
At NEW SHARON
SAFE BLOWN AND
$4,000 TAKEN.
BUILDING WRECKED BY SHOCK
Robbery Perpetrated at 2 O'clock
This Morning Thieves Make
Good Their Escape Post
Master Wallis Loss.

New Sharon, Aug. 16.-The New
Sharon postoffice was burglarized this
morning and the robbers got away
with something like two hundred and
fifty dollars. The safe is complete
wreck and the interior Of the office
is practically demolished. The front
windows were blown out by thu force
of the explosion. The safe was drill
ed from the top and explosive, most
likely nitro glycerin, was thus ex-
ploded on the interior Of the safe.
Both doors were blown Off
Mrs. Baker, of the Baker house,
heard the explosion. She says the
report was quite loud. 1t aroused her
and she left her bed to see what
time it was. The clock said ten min
utes of two o'clock. She did not
know what the explosion might be
and the thought that robbery was
being committed did not occur TO her
Others about town were aroused in
their slumber by the sound of the ex-
plosion but none gave any thought as
to what the sound might be.
Ed DUNCAN, clerk of the postofice,
was the first to discover the trouble
this morning, when he came to the
office. He found the front doors and
the north window, where the thieves
probably entered, standing open and
the interior of the Office a bad wreck.
Ed gave the alarm and Postmaster
Vail was soon at the scene Of the trou-
BILE.
The thieves has secured number
of tools at the Dryden wagon shop.
| first entering this place and then
working with the drills, and otner
tools % the postofice safe.
Postmaster Vail at once notified
Sheriff Ed Valentine, at Oskaloesa,
of the loss sustained and the sheriff
took up the clues at hand. Elder
Willitts, who stopped at New Sharon
on the early morning Iowa Central,
stated that couple of men dressed
as laborers boarded the train as he
| left it. This clue was followed and
the two men were found to be citi-
zens of the town. They stated that
no one else was at the station with
i them. DIR. Todd told of a vehicle be-
j ing driven into town about one O.,
i clock. Mr.. Andre heard a team being
lsrixel yerx TanAaly soi " ~ a1s s. IN.
}. o'clock and the way in (which til
! team was being urged caused him Il
make special note of the occurrence
, 1t is thought that the robbers were
driven into the city and left it in the
same way.
Mr.. Vail is not yet certain Of the
postoff1ce. The robbers failed to get
quite quantity of funds. The mon
ey must have been badly scattered by
the force Of the explosion. Mr. Vail
picked up forty dollars in bills scat
tered through the debris of the Office
and quite an amount of silver lies in
the pile of rubbish. This was badly
blackened by the explosion. The
penny supply was not touched, and
the box rent funds escaped notice.
No stamps were taken The stamp
supply is kept in the New Sharon
bank and the few that We're in the
office were not touched The safe
was personal property and Mr. Vail
will have to lose it, The other losses
win likely be made coed BY the aoy,
eminent.
i The bloodhounds owned by Trur n
Carr were brought to the scene let
on account Of the confusion were in.
able to do anything.