Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1920-11-21
Details of
Mail Theft
Given Out.
Federal Officers Tell Story
Involving Poverty, Greed,
Gambling Chances, Love,
Hate and Cupidity.



Record Train Robbery
Plans for the biggest train rob-
+, berry ever staged in the world were
conceived originally by Orville Phil
lips, IL, and Fred Poffenbarger, 10,
according to the first connected and
detailed story of the crime which has
been made public by postal in
spectors.
The story involves sordid poverty,
4 greed. cupidity, gambling chances,
double crossing. love, hate and, in
tact, the entire gamut of human emo
tons and circumstances.
Orville, deserter from the army
facing arrest and Imprisonment upon
discovery of his identity, was des-
perate. He told his pal, Fred, that
he could obtain information from
his brother, Meirle, 20, which would
enable them to stage the robbery.
The three of them met frequently
during the six weeks preceding the
robbery TO lay their plans. They al
50 rehearsed the stories they would
tell if any of them were captured.
And upon their subsequent arrests
they all told stories identical in
detail.
Car Driver Unknown.
Poffenbarger was authorized by
his accomplices to select fourth
man to drive the automobile for
them. He obtained a friend whom
neither Merle nor Orville knew.
Later developments indicate that he
entered into collision with this
friend to "double-cross" the Philips
brothers.
On the appointed night, Saturday,
November Is, the Phillips boys and
Poffenbarger met at the Union Pa
ci6c transfer depot, while the fourth
accomplice, waited at Fifteenth street
and Eleventh avenue with the car.
Merle mounted the engine and his
two companions boarded the train
ON the step at the side of the car
they planned to rob-,
.Meirle was TO act as lookout while
! Ire young bandits broke into the
Il car and threw out the loot. Poffen-
95hargnr broke the glass in the door,
II Unlocked and opened it after the train
Started. Then he and Orville
climbed in, threw out the pouches,
and jumped after them. They were
obliged to complete the entire job
while the train covered six blocks
between the transfer station and the
crossing at Fifteenth street.
Robbery Carefully Planned.
\ They had planned and rehearsed
so carefully, however, that the sacks
were dumped on the designated spot
and hauled out of sight before the
train started, with the exception of
one pouch of the 10 tossed to the
ground. This was noticed by a.
mail clerk on the last car in the
train and led to the discovery Of the
robbery.
The Phillips boys and Poffenbar-
ger then began to place the sacks
in the waiting automobile. When
FIVE had been loaded by them, the
driver threw his machine into gear
and sped away, leaving his accom-
plices behind with four sacks. This
act was, according to private ar.
rangement between Poffenbarger
and the driver.
All of the boys took a gambling
chance that the daring robbery would
net them material reward The
chosen car was filled with registered
mail sacks, containing packages of
varying value. They could not dis
tinguish the bank registries from
others.
Gamble on Contests.
Nor could Poffenbarger and the
driver tell in advance whether the
five sacks they stole from their &C
complies contained stuff OF more
Value than that in the pouches LEI:
behind when the automobile ran
away. AS it happened, the $4,000
currency shipment from San Fran
cisco was in one of the sacks carried
ci;.
Poffenbarger and the brothers
took their four sacks to the home
II the former, 243o Sixth avenue, to
split the loot. They cut open the
sacks, but found little of value. Mos:
OF the stuff was bonds, which were
rendered non-negotiable by being
stamped on their faces. Five dia-
1nond brooches were found, but the
stones were small.
So the Phillips brothers really
We're double-crossed and obtained
practically nothing as their share for
participation in the robbery. They
did not know the driver of the auto.
mobile and were led by Poffenbarg.
or to believe that he had been dou'
tle-crossed, too
This was not the case, however
since the driver saw him later that
s:Ght, or sometime the next day,
and delivered to him about $25.000
in currency as his half of the loot
in the five mail bags stolen by them
firm their accomplices. This he
look to the home of T. A. Daily,
21s3 Seventh avenue, for conceal
ment. DAILY, his wife and H. A.
Reed helped him to hide the cur
rency in various places.
First Arrests Sunday.
First arrests in the robbery case
we're made Sunday afternoon when
postal inspectors took Meirle and
Earl Phillips into custody. Meirle's
suspicious action in riding from the
transfer station with the engineer
caused this move. His confession
cxoneratcd his, brother. Earl. but
later implicated Fred Poffenbarger,
the next man to be held in the case.
The stories told by these two boys
Turn to Page Two. Column One.)