Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1907-03-09
UNCLE SANS Cash
MISSING IN CHICAGO
SUBTREASURY LOSES $4,000
And MAILWAGON GONE.
Secret Service Men Kept Busy Try
ing to Run Down the Thieves-Mail
Wagon Full of Registered Mail
Driven Away While Postman Was
in Big Building Getting Letters.

Chicago-At midnight Saturday
Secret Service Chief Wilkie and his
detectives ended the week with fail
ure to capture the thief who stole
$4,000 from the United States sub
treasury. Stimulus was given the
search by the daring robbery of a
mail wagon of registered mail valued
at a sum variously estimated from
$4,000 to $4,000. The many big rob-
berries in Chicago federal institutions
,ompels the belief that bold gang
Of thieves regard Uncle Sans deposit
tories here as a rich field for opera
tons.
Investigation into the subtreasury
robbery disclosed several mysterious
losses of money in that institution
within the past few years. Compare
lively recently $1,000 disappeared from
the cage of a trusted teller. Another
money counter discovered a 5000 loss
and it is alleged that other losses OF
money, followed by changes in the
personnel of the tellers, occurred and
were never made public. In addition
to the two big postoffice robberies
brought into notice because of the
stealing of the wagon Saturday night
another attempted robbery was re-
vealed.
Teller George w. F'itzgerald's arrest
for an assault upon a reporter Satur-
day afternoon stimulated interest in
The numerous sensations in federal
circles.
The mail wagon robbed began to
travel over its route at p. m. 1t
collected four large pouches at the
board of trade. Then it proceeded to
he Masonic temple and picked up two
other sacks. At the South Water street
station it got four well filled bags.
when it stopped at the Stock Exchange
the driver, Charles l.. Patterson, en-
tered the building and, taking the con-
tents of one mail box to the wagon,
he emptied them into the sacks re-
| served for that building. He returned
to get the remainder and after a few
minutes returned again to the side
walk. The horse and wagon were no
where in sight. The startled collector
ran to the corner and looked in the
four directions of the two streets. His
first thought was that the horse had
continued on the regular route with
out waiting for him. He ran to the
next stopping place. Failure to find it
there was followed by a report to the
police. Forty-four stations started de-
tectives in search of the rig. 1t was
found in a dark street. where it had
been abandoned after the thieves had
looted it. The robbery is the third big
one within four years.
Burglars tunneled under the tenn
porary building on the lake front and
carried away $4,000 in stamps. Two
years later wagon containing regis
tered letters and packages valued at
$4,000 was stolen from in front of
the Masonic temple. The thieves es-
capped capture in both cases.
Robbers Captured.
Chicago John Smith, r. T. Fitz-
gerald and Eugene Sullivan have been
arrested on charge of robbing Uni
ted States mail wagon which was
standing in front of the Stock Ex-
change building last Saturday. The
men we're arrested in a room which
they rented. Sunday they were in the
room all day, opening the mail, pre-
sumably secured from the wagon.
When an envelope was opened and
nothing found it was thrown into the
stove. Mrs. Mary Rooms. keeper of
the boarding house, noticed the odor of
burning paper and Investigated. She
caught the men destroying the letters,
and they told her if she informed the
police they would kill her. She made
confident of woman companion,
who informed the detective department
of the matter, and the arrest of the