The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-06-23
MAIL POUCH FOUND.
But the $4,000 That 1t Once Contain
ed Was Gone.

Kansas City, June 23.-The mail
pouch which contained $4,000 in
money and 100000 worth of dia-
monds and jewelry stolen from a mail
car at Union depot here on the night
Of June 9Th, has been found by a
switching crew in the railroad yards
Of the Rock Island railroad in Kansas
City, Kan. The pouch still contained
a number of valuable articles of jew
elry. but four empty envelopes which
had contained the $4,000 in currency
were found.
The theft of the mail pouch was one
of the most mysterious and yet the
most sensational in the history of the
local postoffice. The pouch was con-
signed from Los Angeles to New York
City and contained valuable diamonds
and jewelry and $4,000 in currency
which was being sent to a New York
bank Receipts were shown for it all
the way from Los Angeles to Kansas
City. where the pouch disappeared.
Government agents from Washington
were hurried out and one of the most
extensive searches ever made by the
department has been conducted.
The loss Of the pouch was augment
ed by the fact that probably the thief
slipped through the hands of the
Kansas City police force Early on
the morning of June Z, Detectives
Huntsman and Gallagher arrested a
negro lettering on Union avenue, near
the Union depot. He was taken to the
police station and a charge CT 'inves-
tigation' placed against him. The
desk sergeant when searching the ne
gro took over $1,000 worth of jewelry
from his person and five or six hum
dred dollars in currency. Shortly af-
ter being locked up, the negro sent for
an influential attorney of Kansas City
and told him that he would give 5000
| if he was freed in police court in the
ninC "a ho
charge changed from investigation"
to "vagrancy," and the next day. there
being no other charge against him, he
was ordered to leave town. Two days
later the federal authorities issued
photographs of a negro known as
Charles Stephenson and under various
aliases. The picture proved to be an
exact likeness of the negro who had
been under arrest. Federal author1-
ties Immediately struck the negro's
trail and traced him to Denver, where
the search was apparently dropped. A
reward of $4,000 has been offered by
| the government for his arrest.
Postoffice officials refuse to divulge
the value of the jewelry recovered. but
J it is believed almost all of the original
, shipment was intact in the pouch
The pouch was, found in a patch Of
weeds near where from ten to twenty
switch engines pass each day. Rail-
road men say that for several days
crews have spoken of that white
patch of something" and it became
rather joke among the switchmen.
While his train was passing the stop,
William Louth, switchman, jumped
off and investigated. The money en-
velopes cut, apparently by paper
knife in a very neat way. lay in a
stack by themselves. The pouch was
some feet distant and when Louth be-
gan to rummage in it he extracted a
number of packages unopened and I'M
touched. 1t is apparent that the thief
was unaware of the value of the stuff
| he had overlooked. The unopened
packages were Immediately handed
! over to the federal authorities.