Omaha daily bee., 1909-06-11
MONEY Hid IN ROBBERS LEG
Contents Of Mail Pouch Tucked Away
in Unique Place.
HOLE MADE FOR THE PURPOSE
Bandits Les. IL should he stated,
Was of wood-InsPectOrs Tell
How They Caught Their
Man.

Postoffice Inspectors II. s. Grogan Of
Lincoln and Frank Frayser Of Kansas City,
who have been assisting In the Overland
mail robbery case, are in Omaha as wit
nesses before the federal grand jury. Both
inspectors work in this territory and Kan
sas. since the Overland mail robbery in
Omaha May % Inspectors Grogan and Fray
ser have made an important capture OF
registered mail robbers at Topeka and
landed their men in jail after a chase all
over Iowa and South Dakota.
The ringleader Of the robbers was Otto
Battles, a one-legged fellow who was form
erly driver of a mail wagon between the
Topeka general office and the depots.
The case is an interesting one" said In
spector Grogan, land has kept us pretty
busy. The Topeka postoffice occupies the
same general relation to Kansas that
Omaha does to Nebraska, all monthly re-
mittances being made from the Kansas
postoffices through the Topeka office and
all rural carriers Of the state are paid from
that office. Since January 1 there has
been a systematic disappearance Of val
liable registered mail from the pouches on
their way from the Topeka depot to the
postoffice. This occurred only on the first
Of each month when the outside remittances
came in. We became satisfied that It was
a case OF someone having illegal possession
of a registered mail pouch key. But nc
keys were missing. as every key is num-
bered and its location known.
Battles Under Suspicion,
Suspicion finally pointed to Otto Bat
ties. who had formerly been a driver OF
the mail wagon, but who had lost a leg q
few years ago by falling off the wagon
and being run over. A mail wagon driver
was also suspected, but nothing could be
secured against the latter, so we kept or
the trail of Battles. He disappeared from
Topeka. We traced him to Council Bluffs
Omaha, Perry, Ia; Chadron, Feb., anc
Rapid City, and finally to Wall, S. d.
H kept low during April and finally
~re-appeared in Topeka in May with a part
ner, Merlin Reed. June the loss of sew
eral valuable registered packages was re
ported from the mail wagon and Fraysei
and l being in Topeka at the time, wen
right to work. We followed Battles to hi
home, a squallid place in North Topeka
; and reached the house about ten minutes
after he did.
we approached the shanty we de
} tected the odor of burning coal oil ant
guessed at once that Battles was BURNING
the evidences of his robbery. We cor
: nered him in the shanty, extinguished tn,
/ fire and found fragments Of burned regis
tered envelopes and a part of a registered
. receipt. Reed was also at the house, a.
4 was Battles brother-in-law, a man name'
e Stroud, and Battles mother. They wer,
all placed under arrest, as was the regu
E lar driver of the screened mail wagon.
: Carried Money in His Leg.
We searched Battles, but found moth
- ,-N4 ~
leg and there found a cushion pocket II
which was a registered mail pouch ke
, and over $500 in money packed away neatl,
In the pocket. About the house we foun,
all the evidence of a thieves den, frag
ments Of articles evidently stolen fror
the mails during the spring and winter
The money, being marked, vas easily iden
titled as a part OF the remittances fror
postoffices out in the state of Kansas.
IAN aged blacksmith by the name O
Clark, hearing of the arrest Of Battles, re
ported tc Us that he had at one time mad
a key for Battles, not knowing that h
was committing a crime. 1t appears tina
Battles had stolen a registered mail loo
and disfigured 1t in such a way that Clar
could not tell what 1t was, took the loo
apart and had the key fitted. The res
was easy. The key would open any ma.
pounch.
Battles plan was to lie in wait for tn
, mail wagon and get aboard of II. TIL
driver, we will call him Smith, being 4
. collision, would leave the wagon for
while, letting Battles drive it alone
A around through the warehouses in a round
about way, and by placing the desired ma
r sack between his knees, would open tn
sack and take out the packages he wanted
r rifle them at his pleasure, and then. meet
ing Smith at some appointed spot, woul
turn the wagon over to him, relock tn
d pouch, and then disappear. later dividin
the profits with Smith and Reed.
y The amount OF money secured by Bai
ties and Reed since January ! is owe
d $1,000"