The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-07-05
find BANDITS CAR HERE

| Continued from Page One)
the safe. The men were in town for
almost an hour.
| A bottle with a small quantity of
soup in it was found in the bank
building by Sheriff Kiene today. 1t
was clouded and resembled the kind
boiled out of stick dynamite.
| stole Car In Topeka.
| Everything officials have been able
to discover today indicates that the
four robbers came from the east,
probably Kansas City, in an Allen car
as far as Topeka, where they stole a
Ford, drove it to ST. Marys and back,
left it in Topeka and went on east in
| the Allen.
Dick Hoffman told Harvey Parsons,
chief OF police, and l.. L. Kiene, sher-
| iff, today that he saw four men of
whom he was suspicious, at a school
house near Newman yesterday after
noon.
Topekan Saw Them.
IT was SICK" said Hoffman, land
| stopped at the school house to lie
down. The four men drove up in an
Allen car. They were all good-sized
men, all wore blue clothes and were
| in their shirt sleeves. All of them
| were smooth shaven except one and he
looked like a. haH-breed Mexicansafid
had moustache. The man who drove
the car and seemed to be running
| things they called Bill" He had two
dress 1 saw him put on in the school
| house closet. They talked then,
among themselves, about something
they were going to pull off, but I was
| too sick to pay much attention to
them They drove away late yester-
day afternoon"
| The Allen car was not the one that
was at ST. Mary's. 1t was a Ford.
The automobile, a Ford, which the
Topeka police have every reason to
believe was used by the robbers. was
found at an early hour this morning
Third streets. The car belongs to J.
E. Burgett, 43O Freeman avenue, and
was stolen between 7:30 o'clock and
| $3.50 o'clock Tuesday night as it stood
in front of Ulamperls store while Mr..
Burgett and his family attended the
Crystal theater, 418 Kansas avenue.
The license number of the car is 11707.
Mr.. Burgett had the key to the. car
| in his pocket. An extra pair of over
alls was found in the car this morning.
Car Stopped at Silver Lake.
The same car drew up in the rear
of a store at Silver Lake about $3.50
o'clock Tuesday night and four men,
one with knotted handkerchief over
| his head. which led to the belief that
a woman. was in the party, shouted
to clerk to bring out five gallons of
gasoline. The clerk got the gasoline
and with a f1ashlight approached; the
car, throwing the light towards its oc-
cupants. s 8.
"I'll handle the flashlight." said one
of the men, as he sprang from the car
| and grabbed the light.
The flashlight was held directly over
the gasoline hole while the clerk
poured in the gasoline. The same
scene was enacted while water was
being poured in the carburetor.
The clerk, who wishes his name
withheld, told Chief Parsons of his ex-
| periences this morning. AS the car
drove away he flashed his light on the
rear of the car and got the number
11,707. This information was given to
| Chief Parsons before he informed the
clerk of the number CT the stolen Bur
gett car.
II thought there were four men and
Pair of Overalls Found.
Chief Parsons and Sheriff Kiene
with several men each are spending
| the whole day following up the few
clues offered. In the Burgett car a
pair of overalls were found. They