The San Francisco call., 1910-11-13
ROBBERS Of EAST
INVADE CALIFORNIA
Advance Guard of Band Seeking
to Escape Rigors of Winter
Has Arrived

The winter season is on and over
the mountains from the cities OF the
east there is coming to California a
band of yeggmen. safe crackers. stickup
men, gaspfpe thugs and others OF that
ilk The advance guard has arrived.
Their followers are on the trek.
Every winter" said Frank Depue
of the bureau of criminal Identification.
this band wanders out of the inclem-
ent climate of the east to seek warmth
and comfort in California. And they
don't come here for vacation. They
ply their trade consistently wherever
they go.
WARNING FOR WHOLE STATE
This winter, according to advices
from the east. the influx is going to
be a little larger than before. Many
places in the east are complaining Of
hard times, and hard times are harder
on the yeggman than they are on
the merchant. There is nothing so
disappointing as the blowing up Of
an empty safe.
This would be a good time to issue
a warning to the entire state. If the
merchants in the smaller cities will
be careful to keep their safes empty
this winter they may be saved many
thousands of dollars. The safe cracker
likes to operate in the smaller towns
because the risk isn't so great.
The state Of California has been
warned Of the influx and 1 think the
peace officers will be prepared to cope
with those ewho break the laws. Still,
it is best to be careful, and I want
to advise every one TO exercise all
the cautioR within his power We
will make this a hard winter for the
thug in California
ADVANCE GUARD CAUGHT
Two of the advance guard are now
in the Fresno county jail, while Sheriff
r.. ID. Chittenden and Finger Print Ex-
pert Depuel are preparing the evidence
the safe of the postoff1ce at Laton. near
Fresno, October %. More than $1,000
was stolen.
Postmaster A. B. Smith, who lived
near by. heard the three EXPLOSIONS
which cracked the safe and ran out
with a shotgun. He saw nothing and
returned TO his house, only TO learn
later that his safe had been robbed.
Sheriff Chittenden took up the trail
next day and found that q horse anu
buggy had been stolen. He followed
the buggy tracks around the county.
finding the horse in a peach orchard
near Kingsbury. He arrested four
men IN hlnBSDuTy Two lO1Q
straight stories and were released.
FINGER PRINTS IDENTICAL
Frank Depue of this city was sent
for and he removed the safe door 70
this city yesterday, after taking finger
prints of the two suspects. At the
top of the safe door in the soap which
had been used as cup to pour the
nitro -gLycerine into the crack. were
found finger prints of the yeggmen.
Several of these tailed with the prints
of the suspects.
One of the men gave his name as
Richard Dot. and said he formerly
drove an express wagon here for the
Wells Fargo company. He said he
lived at 81 Laura street. this city. In
spector O'Connell of the federal serv-
ice worked on the case hefe while De-
pue was in Kingsbury and located Dots
mother at 52S Lisbon street. Dot is
about % years old. His pal. George
Dale. admitted to Depue that he had
served terms in half a dozen eastern
penitentiaries on similar charges. but
both declared that they were not i'm
plicated in the job at Laton. Chitten-
den and Depue declared yesterday while
working on the case in this city that
they had strong evidence against both
and were accommodating more.