The Mobridge news. [volume] (Mobridge, Walworth Co., S.D.) 190?-1917, 1913-05-16

standing Oner Wnlch the
SGS postoffice dep r m u
C1SJ makes for the capture OF
anybody who ventures to pillage a
train that is carrying the mails.
Train robbng is the most distinc-
lively American Of all professions; it
is likewise the most perilous, bar
none. One of the most recent exam
pies was the holding up of the Over
land limited, bound from San Francis
co TO Chicago and points east 1t was
halted at midnight by red lantern
placed in the middle of the track three
miles west of Omaha, and the mail
car was plundered, seven pouches of
registered letters and packages being
thrown out and rihed
The flying squadron" Of postoffice
detectiver with headquarters at Oma-
ha, got after the robbers SO quick that
the latter were actually unable to
make their escape from the city. AS
sisted by the corps OF professional
bandit hunters, under Chief W. p.
Canada, they captured every one
the holdup men, to the number OF
hVe, within Notwithstanding the
TACT that the days of train robbing as
safe and easy method of acquiring
wealth are past. The government will
spend unlimited money to catch such
outlaws, and the railroads offer addi-
tional rewards for their seizure, alive
or dead Pursuit OF them nearly al
ways winds up with desperate fight.
and the shooting is to kill
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
occupied by stalls for nine horses.
Arrangements are such that they can
be on their way to the scene Of a
train robbery within thirty minutes
after news of il has been received
Arriving there with fresh horses they
can telegraph for relay mounts as
they are needed-two Of the men be-
ing expert operators, who can easily
climb pole with portable instru-
ment They know how to follow a
trail that no ordinary person could
distinguish, and final escape for the
bandits is almost out Of the question
Train robbers have grown much
bOlder within recent years Formerly
they Piled their highly stimulating
vocation 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.
not long ago train was held up near
Benicia, Cal, and the mail ri1ed. a
gang OF nine men conducted the affair
and all of them were captured and
sent TO prison, five Of them for lie.
and the others for terms of fifteen
years TO forty-fve years.
Thus, the adoption of measures
sternly repressive, the postoffice de-
partment is enabled to prevent the
roDbins of mail trains from becoming
more popular as form Of industry
though on an average, half a dozen
instances of such outlawry occur
every year But there is another kind
of criminal enterprise which has
shown a tendency to increase alarm
ingly, and with which the authorities
find II difficult to deal. This is the
pillaging of postoffices by professional
thieves-the extent of the business
being indicated by the fact that dur
ing last year nearly 1000 postoffices
were "burgled."
This seems to be, under present con-
ditions, fairly profitable species Of
crime. Postoffi ices are easily entered
at night, and there is usually a safe
on the premises which, containing as
it does the stock of stamps and
rum of money representing postal
funds. may be expected to yield any
where from few hundred to several
thousand dollars. Not long ago the
postoftice at South Bend, Ind, was
burglarized, and $1S,653 in stamps and
cash was taken. During the same
twelvemonth the postO!fce at Daytona,
Fla. yielded loot to the extent of
$5,436 and $5,240 was stolen from the
postoffice at Santa Cruz, Cal.
The robbing of postoflices is today
a well-organized industry. conducted
by tramp-theves of desperate charac
ter who call themselves 'yeggmen.'
These yeggmen have practically super
seded the olG-time safe blowers. For
merly the blowing Of safes was done
by few skllful, expert mechanics.
who carried high-class tools and knew
just where to drill into the lock in
order to break it. or where to insert