The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-06-11
MAIL ROBBERS
MAKE BIG HAUL
Over $4,000 in Pouch Stolen
Last Saturday Night at
Kansas City.
LOSS FINALLY LEAKED OUT
MONEY EN- ROUTE FROM LOS AN
GELES TO NEW YORK.

Los Angeles. Cal. June 1O.-Reluctant
ADMISSIONS made by the pOstOffice Off
Gals of three cities today confirm TO
some extent the belief that the disap-
pearance Of a registered mail pouch
somewhere within the jurisdiction of
the Kansas City (Mo) postofice last
Saturday. night will prove one Of the
biggest hauls in the history of the
pOstOffiCe department From private
sources it was learned late today that
a package of at least $40, 600 i'm cU--
Tency was among the contents Of the
pouch which carried, i'm addition. an
unusually large number of letters ana
packages containing money and other
Valuables to an amount which can only
be cOnjectured but which may reach
$50 600 more.
En- Route to New York.
The pouch was in transit from this
city to New York and the postal in
spectOrs who have had the case in
charge for at least fOrty-eight hours re-
fuse any explanation of the manner in
which il became lost to sight i'm trans
fer from one responsible guardiaH To
another. as the department regulations
providing for the protection of regis
tered. matter are of the strictest. That
d pouch OF valuable mail has disar-
peared was admitted today by the de
partment al Washington by POsJThas-
ter NJ. II. Flint of Los Angeles and by
Inspector W ]. Vickery attached 10
the Kansas City pOstOfiCe, who appears
10 have the case for investigation. IN
no case. however, was there any posi-
tive information to be secured as 10
the amount stolen or as to the method
employed in carrying out the robbery.
Laxity at Kansas City.
The fact that the mail in process or
transfer at the union depot in Kansas
/ City is handled in a temporary sub
station since the destruction % regular
/ branch Office by fire several months
ago, supports the theory thai advan-
/ tage was taken Of conditions pre-
sumed to be more lax than ordinary.
/ There is reason TO believe that the
/ $50 900 package Of currency which Nill
undoubtedly prove To he the 'drgcst in
divdUal loss. was a shipment made by
Il Los Angeles bank to its New York
/ correspondent. such transfers being fire.
quent. Postmaster Flint of Los An
geIes stated that it would be imD0ssi-
/ BILE for any official of the department
4 to even estimate the toJal contents Of
the missing pouch until the holders Or
receipts issued on the day in question
have made afidavits as IN the matter
entrusted to the mails. Mr. Film. al
mitted, after being shown the dis
( patches from Kansas City, THAI H. had
! been notified of the loss, adding that
the responsibility of the postC:Fice- for
its delivery ended when it YVES locked IN
Ithe presence Of Witnesses by the regis
try clerk. and delivered to ths railway
postal employees.
Many Money Packages.
Late this afternoon. some additional
information relative 10 the package Of
currency supposed 70 have been i'm the
pouch was obtained from Cashier
/ Charles Seyler of the Farmers & Mer-
chants National bank of this city,
who said:
According TO our information. a
mail pouch, made up here on June
and leaving for New York on the fol-
lowing morning, has disappeared. A
conservative valuation Of The currency
contents furnished by this and other
banks Of this city will be $4,000 The
total amount is made uD of between
thirty and fifty packages, the exact
number being difficult TO determine.
THE missing funds were placed I'm
the DOstohice the evening OF June 3.
their destination being New York City.
Our correspondent there is the Chemi-
cal National bank. TO whom our pnr-
ton of the shipment was consigned"
Sealed With Rotary Lock.
It is admitted that the registered
IpOuch that has disappeared left here
over the Santa Fe railroad the morning
of June 4. and was due i'm Kansas City
on Saturday. In the shipment of reg
istered packages through the pos,O;lice.
mail pouches are sealed with a Tut3ry
lock at the initial point, with no oppor-
tunity Of being opened without being
mutilated prior 10 reaching their des-
tinatiOn. For this reason, it is argued.
none of the postal employees was in a
position to secure knowledge Of the COLI
tents en- route
STOLEN AT KANSAS CITY.