The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1913-05-16

an explosive. But the yeggmen prac-
tice much simpler methods. Provided
with no apparatus except a bottle OF
nitroglycerine, a coil of fuse and caps
they enter the postofice through q
door or window, with the help OF tools
stolen perhaps from nearby black
smiths shop.
Meanwhile, two or three men are
stationed outside as pickets, to give
an alarm in case anybody approaches,
or to shoot If there is occasion. Com
mon bar soap is used to fill the joints
of the safe door and enough nitro
glycerine is allowed to percolate' In
behind this "tamping" to furnish the
requisite explosion. Then the fuse Is
lighted, and, at safe distance, results
are awaited. When the safe has been
torn open, it's contents are hastily
thrown into sack. All registered
and ordinary mail that happens to
be on the premises is rifed and the
thieves make off. Should they be in
terrupted, they are always ready to
kill, and usually they escape. Now
and then they have pitched battles
with citizens, and the latter, being
unprepared, are apt to get the worst
of it.
Such job is easy, nearly always
successful, and attended by compare
lively little risk. Even If postoffice
robber is captured and convicted, the
maximum penalty under the law Is
only five years in prison. A reward
of 500 to 5000 is offered in cases OF
the kind by the government, and dur
ing the last year 1923 thieves of this
class were arrested; but the business
offers special attractions to criminals
OF the sort here described, and so goes
merrily on.
Recently there has been a new and
rather startling development of this
kind of industry. The postofice rob
bers have taken to practcing their
profession in automobiles. Upstate In
New York they are going from town
to town in motor cars (stolen, OF
counsel land pillaging postofhce after
postofice, In some instances several
of them in a night. In this way a
gang Of yeggmen can easily rifle the
postal safes in half dozen or more
towns between midnight and day
break, speeding away thereupon to a
distance OF 100 miles or more from
the scene of operations and scatter
ing. The car Is left behind 1t IL
easy to steal another one when they
want 1t.
The stamps stolen by the robbers
are easily disposed Of through
fence" in some city. who converts
them into money by selling them at
discount 1t is astonishing (say th'
detectives Of the postal service) how
few questions are asked, and how lit
tie it takes to satisfy business people
of the highest standing that 1t Is prop
err to buy stamps which are at leas
under suspicion Of having been stolen
All stamps look alike, and are curren
everywhere at face value. They cal
not be identified as stolen goods Il
the hands Of either thief or receiver
One Of the most remarkable rot
} berries occurred not long ago at Rict
mond, Va, where the postoffice wa
, entered some time between Saturda
/ evening and the following Monda
morning, the vault blown open, an
SS6,295 in stamps and money stoleI
: Two suspicious strangers left the cit
!. with several trunks soon after tn
8 burglary, and by clever work the go
J, eminent detectives traced thes
: trunks through several cities to Ne
n York. There they arrested Eddie Fa
t and Richard Harris, notorious veg