The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1912-06-27
ELLSTON POSTOFFICE ROBBED.
ieggmen Blow Safe and Secure $3.50
and $50 i'm Stamps.

and $50 i'm Stamps.
The fourth or fifth postoftice rob-
berry that has taken place in this
part of Iowa occurred at Ellston, a
small town about twenty miles south
east of here early Monday morning,
when yeggmen blew the safe in the
rear of the pOstottice building and Sc
cured about $3.50 in money and
about $50 worth of stamps. The eX-
plosion was heard by two young men
who happened to be returning from
spending the evening in the country
They telephoned Postmaster Waller
but when he got to the postottice
about an hour later the job had been
completed and robbers not in sight
They then went to the barn Of
DR.. Goard where they secured a
horse and buggy and drove west
BY this time party with an auto
had been organized to start after
them. They were followed west
past the town of Tingley when they
lost the trail. The telephones were
used and a couple of farmers near
Diagonal saw buggy carrying two
or three men drive into barn lot
! One farmer was left to watch while
the other went for more help but by
the time the Diagonal marshal and
| others had arrived the men had es-
| capped and there was nothing at the
barn but the doctors horse and bug
gy.
Two suspicious characters bought
tickets at knowlton for Alton juno
ton on the early morning train, and
a little later it was reported that
there were three suspicious looking
characters already at he junction
Two of them that had been waiting
at the junction bought tickets east,
one for OttumWa and the other for
o'clock The other bought a ticket
for Omaha. Nightwatchman Brown
of Alton was sent to the junction,
and he in company with Grant Shell
ton made a search of the coal chutes
at Talmage and were on their way
to the stock yards when freight
pulled in from the south on the c.
G. w. They then stopped to search
the train instead of going to the
stock yards. When the stock train
was pulling out two men from the
stock yards caught it, but it was too
late for the Alton men to stop it.
1.-The next stop for the freight was
Peru and the officers were telegraph
ed to search it there but the men did
not stay with the train until it 60 to
Peru.
The station agent at Shannon City
telegraphed the agent at Arispe that
a tough locker" had just passed.
there at 9 o'clock going north up
! the track on foot, but never got to
Arispe A farmer saw man leave
the track and take for the creek
about two miles south Of Arispe.
| The country was travelled by Mar
shall Grandfield and A. L. Brown but
no one was found and it was thought
he hid for the day.
Postofice Inspector Ranger and
Detective Burke of Creston came
down on No. 17S to Alton and they
| in company with Postmaster Deit-
| rick and a number of others went to
Ellston in autos but no robbers were
found or nothing that looked like
them.
The safe at the Ellston postoffice
the building near window. AS the
luuON is ~" LllC AOOOC10 NOuAu
have done the work without going
into the building at all. That they
gave it a heavy charge was evident
| by the distance the door was blown
and the way the room was damaged.
The depot at Ellston was also en-
| tered and the cash drawer looted OF
it's contents, which amounted to 9
cents. 1T is believed by Ellston peo-
pie that this was done by the same
parties before the postoftlce was
robbed
| About six weeks ago the postoffice
at Hopeville was robbed. Last week
the office at Macksburg was robbed.
Saturday night the one at Conway
was robbed, and the robbery at ELL
ston makes four within six weeks.
On all occasions the safe was blown
open and in every case except Con-
way horses were taken by the rob-
bers with which to make their es-
cape At Conway they took the
hand car.-Afton Star-Enterprise.