The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-02-26
SEEK $173,OOO THIEF
Subtreasury Officials Expect
Arrests Shortly.
employees UNDER SUSPICION
FOrty-three Persons i'm Chicago Of
fee and Robbery Was Committed
by One of These Is Belief of secret
Service MsH-FOFty Detectives Are
Busy ON the Mysterious Case.

Special 30 The Washington Herald.
Chicago. Feb. 25-The mysterious theft
Of sl7s.0oo-aH IN bills OF large denomina-
tion-from the subtrcasury Ia the Fed
eral building. continues TO battle the
authorities to-day. They struggled until
far into the night 10 clear up the case,
but without definite results tt was
rumored that arrests might be expected
shortly. The robbery is one Of the largest
in the history Of the Treasury Depart
ment.
It became known that the money dis
appeared from the cage Of George W
Fitzgerald, los Fulton street, the assoIt-
ing teller
Mr. Fitzgerald frankly reported the
shortage a week ago this afternoon 10
Assistant Treasurer William BoIdenweck,
in charge OF the subtreasury. With the
publicity of the theft to-day and the on
trance into the case OF District Attorney
Edward W Sims, the efforts of the forty
detectives under Capt Porter. chief Of tha
Secret Service bureau in Chicago, were
redoubled.
Inasmuch as the Federal authorities are
some one of the employees Of the Office, all
employees are obviously under d measure
Of suspicion Fitzgerald himself. says
that the door to his cage was unlocked,
and that any one Of a dozen or more men
may have gone in there without exciting
suspicion. II is in this cage that Fitz-
gerald receives every dollar Of paper
money that goes into the institution.
FOrty-thFee Persons ShadOwed.
The rolls of the subtreasury show forty
three persons employed there besides Mr..
Boldenweck, and in sense. all are being
shadowed, but the five persons known to
have been in the cage week ago Mon
day-besides FitzgeraId-were:
William 5 Cable. 5726 Erie street. Aus
tin, who exchanged many large bills for
those of smaller denominations on the
day of the robbery. He declares that he
knows of no way the shortage could have
occurred. Gable Is currency clerk at
81 200 a year.
Henry S Lock, 3449 South Paulina
street, who on last Tuesday was charged
by Fitzgerald with money that should
have been charged to another teller. Mr.
Lock has bank accounts at the Mer-
chants Loan and Trust Company and the
Northern Trust Company banks. He is
currency clerk at 81, 200 year
Thomas II. Ledden. 1011 Home street,
Oak Park, currency clerk, $500 year.
Charles A. Ranker. currency clerk, at
81 800 a year. 36S North Franklin street,
married, about thirty-eight years old.
Frank :. Walsh. 642 West Sixty-third
street, clerk at 1920 a year; was in Fftz-
gerald's cage on the day of the raid.
Every one of these men was put through
a long examination by Capt. Porter
They all were able TO explain their pres
ence in the cage and were unable to
account, they said, for the disappear
ance OF the money. They expressed the
belief that the shortage was the result
Of an error in bookkeeping, or in the
paying out OF a larger sum than was
intended.
Reports Loss Promptly.
One of the government authorities who
is in possession Of all the information in
the hands of the Secret Service men said
that suspicion did not attach any more
to Asserting Teller Fitzgerald than to any
OF the others. The fact that Mr. Fitz-
gerald had reported the shortage promptly
to Mr.. Boldenweck was considered in his
favor
Warrants in blank have been prepared
for service on persons against whom eus-
picion viii be leveled finally.
The theory that an error occurred has
been abandoned practically by the au-
thOrities, with the exception of Mr.
Boldenweck. who still clings to it in a
helpless sort of way. District Attorney
Sims, the Secret Service men, and the
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