The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1920-09-17
TWO MEN CONFESS
ROBBING MAIL OF
S30O,00O IN BONDS

conspiracy to get rich quick by rob-
bing the United States mails, was re-
vealed Thursday in the confessions of
Rufus Kight, a youth little over FL
and C. C. Monroe, railway mail
clerk, to the robbery of Southern
railway passenger train No. SO, At
lanta to New York, last Monday.
Liberty bonds and securities
many of them non-negotiable, valued
at upwards of 100000 were stolen
from the registered mails. Monroe
and Right made complete confes-
sion Thursday, duplicating w. D.
Franklin, until WEDNESDAY conduc-
tor for the Georgia Railway and Pow
er company, as the instigator of the
entire scheme.
Early Thursday afternoon Kight
and Monroe were held to. the federal
grand jury under a bond of $4,000
each, in default of which they were
remanded to Jail. The charge is in
three counts-conspiracy to rob the
government, mutilate, of mail sacks
and embezzlement from the mails.
Fostoffice inspectors have taken out
a warrant for the arrest of Franklin
now being sought.
Soon after the robbery Kight was
arrested in a hotel at bonneville by
Sheriff P. r. Lee, of Clihch county,
who brought him to Atlanta Thursday
He implicated Monroe, who promptly
confessed when arrested. Search for
Franklin revealed his flight. P Postoffice
inspectors stated Thursday that eve
ry effort is being made to locate
Franklin on charge of conspiracy
to rob the mails.
The story of Kight and Monroe OF
the plans for acquiring wealth by
robbing the mails reads like a page
from a novel. Months ago the two
boarded at the same place. Kight
was just out of the military service
Monroe, who had come to Atlanta
from Eagle Springs, N. c., had been
nearly two years in the railway mail
service and was saving his money
TO marry a girl he had been engaged
to for long time.
Then, according to their story
they made the acquaintance OF
Franklin. One night, when they
were all discussing the future, some
one suggested that riches brought
immeasurable pleasures.
"Monroe's got it SOFT" someone
remarked. "Just think how he could
rob a mail bag, pocket the money,
beat it and live high the rest of his
life"
They passed the remark off as a
joke. Later, they said, the question
came up again.
Later on, under the persuasion of
plenty Of high life," the two stated
that they began seriously to plan the
robbery Of the mails.
81 was over persuaded" said Mon
roe. 81 felt like l was going to get
caught. There was some liquour and
lot of talk and you know how
things like that CO."
Franklin, according to the inspec-
tors, apparently had very little to do
with the actual robbery, further than
to join in the alleged conspiracy.
According to the confessions of
Right and Monroe, Kight boarded
the train in Atlanta as a passenger.
At Gainesville he left the passenger
coach. Monroe, whose duty it was
to see that the mail storage car was
locked, left the door ajar and Kight
climbed on.
Kight, alone in the mail storage
car, made his way, to the door lead
ing into the mail car in WHICH Men
roe , was working. Monroe handed
him a bag of registered mail. Kight
slit the bag open, pocketed the Sc
curities and left the train at Toccoa.
Kight made his way to Homerville,
where he went to a hotel. At that
city he saw his uncle, H. S. Burk-
halter, representative from Clinch
county in the state legislature. Mr..
Durkhalter, slrmising that something