Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-09-18
TWO MEN CONFESS
ROBB|NG MAIL Of
100000 IN BONDS
Desire for "High Life" Leads
Rufus Right and C, E.
Monroe to Stage Theft on
Southern Railroad

The old, old story of a desire for
high life" which prompted a care
fully-planned conspiracy to get rich
quick by robbing the United States
mails, was revealed Thursday in the
confessions of Rufus Right. q
youth little over twenty-one, and
c. c.. Monroe, railway mail clerk
to the robbery of Southern railway
passenger train MOI So, Atlanta to
New York, last Monday.
Liberty bonds and securities,
many of them non-negotiable. val
ued at upwards of 100000 were
-. stolen from the registered mails
Monroe and Right made a complete
confession Thursday, duplicating w.
D. Franklin, until Wednesday a con-
ductor for the Georgia Railway and
Power company, as the instigatoE OF
the entire scheme. NJ"
Early Thursday afternoon kight
and Monroe were held to the fed
eral grand jury under 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, mutilat'
of mail sacks and embezzlement from
the mails. Postoffice inspectors have
taken out a warrant for the arrest
of Franklin, now being sought
Planned Robbery
Soon after the robbery Right was was
arrested in a hotel at HomervllIe
by Sheriff P. r. Lee, of Clinch coun-
TX who brought Hg imp hm 10 Monr 1s
who promptly confessed, when ar
rested. Search for Franklin revealed
his flight Postoffice inspectors
stated Thursday that every effort IS
being made to locate fr nil +hn nails
The story of Right and monroe o.
the plans Nor acquiring wealth. py
rohhing the mails reads like paee
from a novel; Months ago ago tng Ri tTt
%aa lust out of the military service;
MONROE, who had come to Ati ana
from Eagle Springs, n. u: nau ue IL
nearly two years in the railway na,1
service and was SAVING en- ms en ,
TO marry a girl ne hau oeen
- Then. according to their seoi ~
thew made the acqualh.ali'e +bev
franklin One night, e Wnvn sams
were all discussing ing tn rich he's brought
aMonroe's got it soft, sonieoit he
~emarked. Just think how ne ne
could rob mail nag' hi9h the rest
They passed the remark off as d
Ike Later, they said, the question
ame up again.
Liquor Mixed In It
Later on, Under. the persuasion Hta : cd Cd
plenty of ''high life" the two staIeu
l. SnrinlSlV
the robbery of the mails. ;a
1T was over persuaded, salo
Monroe. 81 felt like I was going 70
get caught. There was some nm Ilq Il 2r
and lot 2t,. Of t taxi and IN you Aho" no"
Franklin, according to the IL; in
snectors. apparently had very lit
tie to do with the actual robbery;
further than to join in the alleged
According to the confessions of
Right and Monroe, Right boarded
the train in Atlanta as passenger.
At Gainesville he left the passenger
coach. Monroe, wh2&s duty 1t was
to see that, the maiTstorage car was
locked, left the door ajar and Right
climbed in.
Uncle "Turns Him Up"
Right. alone in the mail storage
car, made his way to the door lead
ing into the mail car in which Mon
roe was working. Monroe handed
him a bag of registered, mail. Right
'~slit the bag open, pocketed the Sc
curities and left the train at Toccoa.
Right made his way to Homer
Vile, where he went to a hotel. At
that city he saw his uncle, II. S.
Burkhalter, representative from
Clinch county in the state legisla-
ture. Mr.. Burkhalter, surmising that
something was wrong, called on
Sheriff Lee who, connecting Right
with the reported robbery, made the
arrest
Postoffice inspectors early Thurs
day afternoon had not completed their
inventory of the securities. 1t was
stated that while there were some
Liberty bonds in the rified pouch
many of the securities were non
negotiable Accompanying Sheriff
Lee to Atlanta with his prisoner
were Postoffice Inspectors Clyde
Fleming and Robert Barry.