Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1919-04-07
EIGHT ARE BROKEN INTO
DURING NIGHT BY
THIEVES
ESCAPE FROM CITY
AFTER SMASHING LOCKS BUR.
GLARS PILFER 1st CLASS LET
TIERS DEPOSITED AFTER COL.
LECTiONS SUNDAY p. M.-VISlT.
ED kANKAkEE.

Mail box thieves reported working
in several parts of Illinois during the
past week, last night swooped down
upon Ottawa, leaving a trail Of eight
broken locks and az many pilIered
boxes in their wake The Wholesale
robberies. which were perpetratel
principally in the loop" AID nearby
districts, We're not discovered until
this morning when the carriers start,
ed out upon their routes to make col
lections and deliveries. They found
government locks irreparably smash
ed and the contents OF the boxes
gone. .,ss
Postmaster James j. Dougherty
was notified and after counting the
toll found that these boxes had been
'hmmied' and burglarized:
{. b & Q. depot
Corner OF Clinton and Main streets.
Main and Court
La Sale and Lafayette
La Sale and Washington.
La Sale and Marquette
Columbus and Lafayette.
Paul and Washington.
Break OF Clasps
In all cases the locks were broken
open or the clasp torn from its fas-
tening The box at the 20" depot
was opened by the latter way and
/ nall theothers a Jimmy" or strong
bar was used to pry the lock apart.
In some cases the hinge was entirely
broken off, showing that the burglars
used large quantity of force to tn-
iasten the bolt Sears on the locks
show what pressure was used to
break them
Left no Cews
The work was so secretly done not
a clew was left by which the postal
authorities can trace the perpatrd.
tors OF the crime. Investigations con.
: Quoted in the neishborhoods visited
by the thieves, lef, the postmaster
and his aids as much in the dark as
ever. No one saw any suspicion
looking characters lurking near the
mail boxes at any hour of the night
or early morning. That the Job was
performed by transcient burglars
who specialize in this one branch OF
yawlessness is evidenced by reports
flowing into Ottawa of other cite
visited by the same crew. Kankakee
is the latest to have beenrobbed.
dozen boxes being forcibly opened
last Friday night.
Ignorant on Mail in Boxes.
The Post Office has no means of /
knowing what mail had been deposit
ed in any of the robbed boxes ter
4:30 O'Clock Sunday afternoon. The
last collection is made Sunday at that
hour For that reason Post Master
Dougherty has issued an order to
all persons who placed letters in any
of the boxes after 4:30 O'clock to let /
themselves be known. In this manner
a definite hour can be arrived at and
a start made towards chasing down
the burglars. by means Of trains they
had to take to get out of ottawa.
The majority of the boxes we're
empted of all contents, if contents
there were, but in one ftWo in-
stances papers and second class mat
ter were left untouched the thieves
having a penchant only for first class
matter
Work from "a" to Rock Island
Taking the Kankakee robbery as
the criterion for a start, the local
post Office employees are confident
that the gang came into Ottawa oyeI
the % and then worked their way
up to the Rock island depot where
they gat out of town undetected The
boxes with the exceptions of those
in the very heart of the loop, follow
ed that trail. IN coming thru the
down town district they kept to
Main street, part that is not as
heavily travelled as other portions
of the loop on a Sunday night. They
ltheI went up on La Sale street rip
ping open the boxes as soon as they
got out of the business section.