Daily Kennebec journal., 1911-03-07
New York Police Startled
By Robbery Of Broker,
Envelopes Substituted When.
Victim Was Knocked Down.
Successful Coup Evidently the Out
come Of Long Planning.

New York. March G.-Aaron Ban.
CROFT, a broker, SG years old. WIS
robbed last Thursday afternoon uf So
curities worth approl olimatciy 500 90,
in the vestibulc OF the Produce Ex
change Safety Deposit q Storage Com
paay. but he did not discover his loss,
until today.
ior the last - years il has beer;
Mr.. Rancroft's habit every Thursday
afternoon to deposit tie firms valn-
ablcS in a box rented by them from
tEc deposit and storage company. The
whole distance from his offices to the
vaults is not rOrc than 300 feet ana
anyone making the trip is in constant
sight of tho office windows.
Last Thursday Mr.. Bancroft as usual
placed securities worth about 100000
in a large envelope. tied with red tape
and with the firms name printed in
the corner. Alone. ho walked from
his office to the Produce Exchange.
\ Hight Of steps leads from the street
level entrance to the vaults. As Mr..
Bancroft reached the bottom Of the
steps he noticed a young man whom
he only remembers as rather under
Mr.. bancroft continued on his way
down the corridor but just as he was
about to turn the corner at the end
of the corridor into the vaults tail
man. in a great hurry. came running
around the corner in The opposite di-
rection ana bumped into him. The
shock OF the collision WAS sufficient t.
throw Mr. bancroft off mis- feet. lie
fell and III falling dropped the on
vclope.
That was the cue for the man who
,.ad been leaning against the Wall.
II stepped up to Mr.. Bancroft, as
sisted him to his feet and WAS s1lici-
tous to tuck the fallen envelope eader
his arm. At least Mr.. Bancroft
th,aght it was the fallen envelope.
He went on to deposit it III MS box
as usual This morning when his son
George bancroft, unlocked the
boz 10 check ND the securities before
the opening of busint - for tn" week.
he found that the only envelope Their
contained three old newspapers. y
clever substitution had been affected.
Both the firm of George Baher"ie
< Company md the private de''S-
tives working on the case. We're cor
inced that the substitution was Worh :
I'd by men WHO had made close s'uds
of the Bancrofts. their habits ahh
their business methods.
The securities ,verr 1ade up 7i fali-
road anR industrial stocks when t'ul"
easily be hypetheeated in any stoch
b,nkeraep house in the United states
having connections with the New York
Stock Exchange.
So bold robbery in daylight, i'll the
very heart Of the financial dlatri't
shocked the nerves OF the surprised
police like a bomb. Years ago lnsper-
tor ByrncS had drawn dead line
across the city at Fulton street below
V which he ordered that no crook or
pickpocket should go On even an m
nocent errand under pain of instant
trouble with the police. For wears the
financial district wax the safest place
in the world for II man with Il large
sum ot money ur with valuable seenri-
ties on his person.
\ robbery so Vlrv"rly executed inul-
ratcs to the police a directing lnt"!i-
Srncc of no mean order. If IL job OF
such size can hv worked 50 easily M
bruaa daylight there. it VAS declared
there is the SraN.St concern for what
may follow. unless the robbers arc
promptly caught.
William NJ. SdlliNan. attorney .or :h.
Pancrofts said this afternoon that the
numbers of all th" missing certificates
were in the firms possession. Part Of
HE securities had been transferred to
the namc uf thu BancrOfts. h" said.
and less apprehension was felt about
the robbers realizing promptly on the
securities SO transferred than on the
others, which had not undergone the
transferring process.
We have certain people under sus-
picion" Mr.. Sullivan said. The rob
berry may have been one engineered
nutirely by professional crooks and it
may have been an inside job with out
side assistance"
The firm of George Bancroft & Co,
Is COMPOSED of George Bancroft and