El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-03-29

= ASIINGEON ID. C., March %
NJ DO you want $1,000 If so
Just catch a raIlway mail rob
Der. Uncle Sam viii pay you that
much Tor hlm-this being a standing
offer when the pOstOffIce department
makes for the capture Of anybody who
ventures to pillage train that IS car
rying the mails
Train-robbing is the most distinc-
lively American Of all professions; Ii
is likewise the most perilous bar none
one Of the most recent instances was
the holding up of the Overland Limited,
bound from san Francisco TO Chicago
and points east 1t was halted at mid
night by a red lantern placed in the
middle of the track three miles west
of Omaha, and the mail car was plum
dered seven pouches Of registered let
tiers and packages being thrown out and
rifled.
The flying squadron" of postoffice
detectives with headquarters at ANA
ha. got after the robbers so quick that
the latter were actually unable to make
their escape from the city. Assisted
by the corps Of professional bandit
hunters employed by the Union Pacific
railroad, under chief W P. Canada
they captured every one Of the hOld-up
men, to the number Of five. within
week-illustrating the fact that the
days of train-robbing as a safe and
easy method Of acquiring wealth are
past The government VIII spend IN
-
and the railroads offer additional re
wards for their seizure. alive or dead.
Pursuit OF them nearly always winds
up with a desperate fight, and the
shooting is to Kill,
Eight Dead Shots.
Chief Canada. has under him eight
men, all Of them dead shots with rifle
or pistol They travel in a special car
Of extra length, half OF which IS occu-
pied by stalls for nine horses Ar
engagements are such that they can be
on their way 10 the scene Of a train
robbery within 80 minutes after news
OF it has been received. Arriving there
with fresh horses they can telegraph
for relay mounts as they are needed
two Of the men being expert opera
tors, who can easily climb a pole with
n portable instrument They know
how to follow a trail that no ordinary
person could distinguish and final es-
cape for the bandits is almost out OF
the question
Train robbers have grown much bold
or within recent years Formerly
they piled their highly stimulating vO-
cation in remote and isolated parts Of
the country nowadays they do not
hesitate to operate in densely populat-
ed districts and near the largest cities. I
Not long ago. train No. To- on the
Southern Pacific was held up near Be
nicia Cal. and the mail rifled. A gang I
of nine men conducted the affair, and
all Of them were captured and sent TO
others for terms OF Is years 10 IS
years.
Thus. by the adoption Of measures I
sternlv repressive the pOstoffice de-
partment is enabled to prevent the 4
rObbing Of mail trains from becoming I
more popular as a form Of Industry 1
though on an average, half a dozen in Z
stances of such OutlaWry occur every I
year. But there is another kind OF I
criminal enterprise which has shown 4
a tendency to increase slarmingiy, and J
with which the authorities find II diff /
fcult to deal This is the pillaging /
Of postoffices by professional thieves !
the extent Of the business being indi- /
Gated by the fact that during last year 4
nearly 200 pOstoffices were "burgled-"
Profitable Species Of Crime.
This seems to be, under present con-
7itions, a fairly profitable species O.
crime POstoffiees are easily entered