The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-06-17
WORK STORES
WITH FORGED
MONEY ORDERS
Crooks Reap Harvest in Salt
Lake, Using Forms Stolen
From SChurz PostoffiCe.
WELL KNOWN FIRMS
AMONG THE VICTIMS
OPERATIONS PROBABLY EXTEND
INTO NEVADA AND TOTAL is
ESTIMATED AT $4,000.

Citizens of Utah and Nevada are vic
tins of money order forgers 10 the ex-
tent of approximately $4,000. The ben
eiciaries of the game by which these
citizens lost their money are not
known. They secured the money by
means Of forged postal orders. the
blank forms of which were stolen from
the pOstoftice at Schurz, New.
Salt Lake people and Murray BUSH
ness men have already reported losses
aggregating $500. 1t is the belief of
Postmaster Arthur L. Thomas that be-
Iofe another tWenty-fOur hours shall
have passed this amount will be great
ly increased. II is the opinion of the
postmaster. too, that the game has
been worked in GOldheld and along the
line from Schurz TO salt Lake. There
Is no clue 10 the identity of the men
VINO forged the orders, and the descrip-
tons the authorities have been able to
obtain are vague and one at variance
with the other.
Blank Forms Returned.
When Postmaster Thomas opened the
office mail Monday he found in an en-
Velope addressed TO the postmaster at
salt Lake book of blank money or
ders numbered 400 to 4, 500 belonging
TO the pOstoffice at Schurz. There was
no note of explanation. The book
originally had contained another hun
dred orders sol to 4. 700
Postmaster Thomas wired the post
master at Schurz informing him of the
TACT of the recovery of the book Yes
terday forenoon he received this teIe-
gram in reply:
Money order form 1901 TO $500 miss
ing from this office. Taken about June
6. Return book.
H. W. COY, Postmaster"
This was the first intimation the To-
cal officials had received of a robbery
at Schurz. and the first knowledge
that all was not right with orders is
sued apparently at that Office.
None Are cashed.
Three money orders purporting to
have been issued at SchurZ were pre-
scented at the window I'm this city
Money Order Clerk Williams had re
ceived no notification from the Schurz
office that such orders had been issued,
and consequently did not cash them.
Soon more came in from the banks. Up
TO o'clock last evening ten orders in
all had been received. All Of the orders
are made out in favor of Joe Burns.
and the name i. Baker is signed as
postmaster at Schurz. The name of the
remitters on some of the orders varies,
but they are all in the same hand
writing.
These are the losers and the amounts
reported yesterday: Utah Liquor COM
pany, SS5; 5. Salmensen, $50; Rowe &
Kelly. S65: Davis Shoe company, S35:
Mullett Clothing company, S35; Gray
Brothers, S35; the Heidelberg. S35: J. NJ. /
Marriott, $50; d. a. Markell, S35: LO-
renzo Williams, Murray. $50; A. Frank,
Murray. $50
II will be noted that the orders are
for either S65 or S35, the crooks evil |
IDENTITY aiming To make an even hun |
dred dollars with two of them.
Thieves Are Alarmed.
II is believed that the thieves took |
the money ORDER forms from the /
Schurz postoffice while the postmas- |
ter's back was turned, and that their /
loss was not discovered until some /
time after they had been taken.
What prompted the return of the I'M 4
used forms, of course. is only a mat
ter of conjecture. The theory is that 1
the operators became alarmed and en-
plOyed the means To which they resort
ed TO rid themselves Of conclusive evil
dence of guilt in case of arrest. should /
the forms have been found in their
possession at the time of their cap
ture.
Descriptions of the men who pre-
scented the money orders at the differ
ent places are meager. The one who
secured the money from Rowe & Kelly
is described as tall and dark and about
50 years of age. The Utah LIQUOR
visitor was of a sandy COM
plexion.- with red hair; he was about
40 years of age. The Davis Shoe COM
pany was made the victim of a short,
stout man. about 90 years OF age.
II is possible that the Schurz Job was