Evening star., 1919-09-21
$1,000 REWARDF FOR
EACH BANK R0BBER
Twenty-Five HoId-Ups in
Kansas Recently Forces
Drastic Measures.
DEAD OR ALIVE'THE WORD
BY HERBERT COREY.

=
years ago there was a most success
full deputy" in Kansas. He belonged
to the "go-gettem" rather than to the
modern or magazine style Of deputy
United States marshals. Every now
and then he started on the trail of
bank or making a faro dealer take
long, quivering sniffs at the bouquet
end Of six-shooter. And just as like
as not he would return empty-handed.
but satisfied. His papers would be
turned in indorsed in this fashion:
This man died while l was serving
the warrant"
Frank Albright, who used to orna,
ment Wichita and points west, and
who was, when last heard from, in
command OF feet of lumber yards
which own Cleveland as their home
port, rode with this "depitty' several
times. He finally gave up the deputy
business, because some of its more
material features got in the way of
his esthetics. Things happened some
times. said Albright, that were really
grating. There was the occasion, for
example, when this deputy laid out In
the brush for several days and finally
got his man when that misdemeanant
came sneaking in to get drink at the
spring.
Sought His Cash Reward. >
ut was hot weather." said Albright.
$50 the deputy just cut OF this out
casts head and rubbed a little salt on
it and put in in a sack and started
for town to cash in on the reward.
The state paid dead or alive in those
dear by-gone days. When he got right
near Wichita his horse went lame on
him and he turned it loose and started
to walk in. But by and by he caught
hay: and he climbed up on top with
the granger.
mister?' asked this inqufsitive sod
mangler. And the deputy. being a
little cross that morning. what with
his horse going lame and everything,
he just united the mouth of the sack
tom and spilled that salted head onto
the hay in front of the farmer.
"'He never uttering a word the
deputy told Albright later. No. sir.
it was right queer. He never utter
ing word. He just sort of spread
out his arms and he skinned away
from there like a right worried duck.
I reckon it was three hundred yards
before he let down his legs and went
to running"
Reward Recalls Old Days.
The old days are recalled by the
recent action Of the Kansas Bankers
Association in offering a reward of
$4,000 for the capture and conviction
Of each individual engaged in a bank
robbery. The industry as developed
in Kansas calls for crew Of four
men. - Two do the actual sticking up
Of the bank officers, one acts as look
out, and the fourth is ready at the
wheel in. the automobile. So that
lucky people who can drop the but,
terf1y net over quartet of bank rob-
bers. in Kansas might conceivably
cash In to the extent of $4,000.
Volunteers for robber catching have
Every one realized that it is a civic
duty, to throw a bank robber and sit
on his head If he is detected in the
pursuit of his nefarious arts, but the
trouble has been. that the average
bank robber fights quite up to the
very high standards Of the old James
and Younger days.
Three men robbed a bank at Bailey
Vile and two of them Unexpectedly
two were shot. So were two of the
three patrolmen. A stooI-pigeon tip
ped on the fact that his two partners
planned to rob a bank near Tulsa A
posse waylaid the robbers. but they
killed one officer before they died.
"One man might have escaped, but
he tried to help his desperately
wounded companion away" the news
reports stated.
Many Kansas Banks Robbed.
Twenty-Five Kansas banks have
been robbed since the first of the year.
In only one case were the robbers
captured, and that was when the Kan
sas City officers accidentally ran
afoul of the Baileyville group. Okla
homa banks have likewise suffered.
So have banks in all the western
states. The practice of bank robbing
with fmmunity--has SO grown that
some action. which would bring home
the predatory bacon was forced upon
the bankers. So they offered q re-
ward for ARREST and conviction"
!. But that does not carry any lure
with It to the wise man. Arresting
hank robber IL about as hazardous as
biting q. shark on tho lip. for one
L. q