The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-10-11
LETTERS FOUND
IN PLUM ALLEY
Furnish important Clue to Fri
day Nights Mail Pouch
Robbery.
JOB DONE BY AMATEURS
LOOT SUCH AS TO YIELD LITTLE
OR NO RETURNS.
JOB DONE BY AMATEURS

Ally uOuDI DIS u NIACNhOA NLC tNN
pouch missing from the D.. & r. G..
depot Friday evening was simply mis-
laid or stolen, was settled yesterday
morning by the finding of the empty
sgack. showing that II had been ripped
open with a knife, and the later dis
covery of a portion of the contents of
the sack.
AS detailed in yesterdays Herald, a
mail pouch, containing twelve regis
tered packages and a quantity of ordi-
nary mail. was stolen from the Denver
& Rio Grande depot. The sack had
been delivered from the postoffice, and
was lying on a rue at the depot
awaiting the arrival of the train, which
was thirty minutes late.
Yesterday such developments oc-
CURED in the case as to lend several
valuable clues to the officials working
on the case. First. the mail pouch was
discovered in a o car in the yards,
within a short distance a part of the
contents of the sack We're found lying
on the ground, and later in the day an
other portion of the contents of the
sack was found in Plum alley. This
latter has given both the postal in
spector n the city detectives the
principal clue to work on.
Found in Plum Alley.
Early in the forenoon the police de-
partment received a telephone message
that a mail pouch was lying in a box
car near h Denver & Rio Grande de-
pot. Policemen GOlding and Wilson
We're Immediately sent out and found
the sack, which showed that it had
been cut open and its contents taken
out, with the exception of one regis
tered letter, which the thief or thieves
had apparently overlooked. Some fifty
feet away from the car two registered
packages and two two packages of let
ters were Oun on the ground. and
had evidently been dropped by the rob-
bers.
The most valuable clue TO the iden-
tity of the thief, however, was secured
yesterday afternoon. About 2 o'clock
James NJ. Adams, who owns a tent and
awning store at 80 and 81 Commercial
street. discovered in Plum alley a
number of checks and torn envelopes
lying beside a garbage barrel. The in
cident was so peculiar that he commu-
nicated the fact to the police and an
investigation was made. which devel-
oped the fact that the checks and en-
velOpeS were a portion of the contents
of the stolen mail sack.
The checks found aggregated &c.
1880, and were drawn in favor of the
following:
COLORADO Mining company, Prove.
SO, 333.15; AIonzo Wallace, $40: Sweet
Candy company, $40; A. Fisher Brew
ing company, s1S.41; Strevell-Paterson
Hardware company, $2O5.S7; C. R. Saw
age company, S40.42; H. w. Doscher,
s4O9; w. Boatman, IS; J.. NJ. Marriott,
81; Anne Clawson, SO; Goshen Meat
company. SIC; A. Ray Homer, $50;
Chapman Mercantile ompan So;
Lyon Bros. $685.; Bamberger Goa
company. $25; cash, 81; cash. So; Keuf-
fel & Esser Co, IS: w. S. Anderson,
81; H. A. Vannoy. agent. $26.2S: w. S.
Henderson. S100-S7: Consolidated Gas &
Electric company, $11-40; Salt Lake
Hardware company, $40.75. A certifi-
cate of deposit in favor of F. W. Kirk
ham for S115, and a non order on
Springville. Utah, for $50. We're also
found in the pile. With the exception
of the first three mentioned checks, all
the others had gone through the clear
ing house and were remittance from
Walker Brothers bank to the Farmers
& Merchants bank at Provo. IN ad-
ditiOn to these checks were also found
a bundle of envelopes, riied of their
contents. and addressed to Cotton.
Spring Glen, Provo, Green River, Bo-
nita, Price. Scofield. Ferron. Vernal
and other points in Utah and Colorado.
This stuff, as has been said. was
found lying in a garbage barrel in
Plum alley, and the indications were
that his and other matter had been
thrown in the barrel, the stuff found
having dropped outside the barrel The
barrel had been emptied earlier in b
day. Upon the discovery of the checks
and envelopes Postmaster Thomas tel
ephoned to the crematOTy. but learned
that the garbage taken from the vicin-
ity of Plum alley that morning had al
ready been placed in the crematory-
Work of Amateurs.
The suppositiOn is that the mail sack
thief. after rifling the envelopes. a
thrown the mass into the garbage bar
rel, and that a portion of it had fallen
to the ground.
Thai the robber, or robbers. found
their efforts in vain is pretty well es-
tabIished. OF the registered packages
none was known to have contained
money. Six of them contained mining
stock, but these. of course. could not
Weld money. The stock known to have
1 49,. ooDtainad I'm tha Registered mack.