Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1920-05-14
Lone RObber Boards Train and
Gets Away With 500, 600 In
Currency; Is Killed Later
Enters Mail Car And Forces
Mail Clerk To Tie Others;
Police Kill Him After A
Lively Chase Through
Chicago.

Chicago, May ,14.-Cne of the
most daring train robberies that has
! taken place in recent years in the
middlewest ended this morning in
the death of a lone bandit who last
night looted the Illinois Central New
! Orleans limited and the recovery of
| currency estimated to total nearly
100000.
| One policeman. shot by the bandit,
riously wounded.
The bandit was identified as
Horace Walton, aged %, OF st.
Joseph, Missouri. Walton fell with
four bullets in his body after .barri-
cading himself in his apartment and
fighting a pitched battle with more
than 100 police, including several
picked rifle squads.
| Walton boarded the train at Gill
man, a few miles from kankakee,
last night. taking a seat in Il Pull
man. A Decatur pouch containing
Registered mail was taken on the
train at Gilman.
Took Bold Step.
| AS the flyer pulled out Of Kanka-
kee, Walton stepped into the mail
car and announced that he was the
postal inspector. He walked toward
Elmer F. Harris chief clerk, and his
four assistants. then suddenly drew
a gun and commanded hands up"
The clerks obeyed. Harris and three
of the clerks were ordered to lie
down on the floor and James E.
Burke. the fourth clerk, was forced
to bind their hands behind them.
Walton then tied -Burke's hands and
,set about a leisurely sorting Of the
mail pouches.
Armed with the clerks key he
picked out and rified the bags which
contained shipments Of money. re-
marking that Its easy when you
have inside information" A travel
ing bag appropriated from one of the
clerks furnished a receptacle for the
money.
After filing the bag Walton kept
up running fire of banter with the
Eclerks until the train reached Engle-
wood station, in South Chicago,
shortly before 1 a. m. There he
gathered speed, leapcd out.
Shot Patrolman.
Fifteen minutes later Patrolmen
William A. Roberts and John Ken
bricks met, Walton. Their suspicious
slWere aroused by the bag and Roberts
i tstepped forward to question the man.
4 Walton, with his revolver in his
Roberts fell, shot in the head and
side.
Walton leaped into the areaway of
an apartment building, while Ken
bricks dropped behind Raberts' body
sapa. opened fire. AfteE.n exchange
|. pof shots the policemans flashed f4s-
Il ward and grappled with slle q man,
4 Walton dropped the bag and fed. -
Police rifle squads summoned, by
neighbors, located the man in an
apartment house half block away.
, They surrounded the building and
for more than an hour poured hun
dreds of bullets into Walton's apart
ment. He returned the fire steadily,
using two guns, then suddenly
dash on the room and found Wal
ton on the floor dead, with four
bullets in his body
membership card issued by the
st. Joseph Y. NJ. c. A, and letter
addressed to Mr.. l.. V. Walton. No.
, 523 North Seventh street, st. Joseph
. were found in his pocket
Patrolman Roberts was rushed to
ia hospital, where doctors said he
could not recover. Patrolman Thom-
as Serriter also was wounded, but
not fatally.
Walton had lived in the apartment
) where he was killed for several
weeks, according to neighbors. The
holdup apparently had been carefully
e planneO "A postal inspectors badge,
t a mail pouch key and an Illinois cen
trail. time table, printed in pencil on a
) card, were found on the body,
Was Bank shipment.
[ Decatur, ILL.,, May 14.-The money
secured from Decatur mail pouch
on an Illinois Central train near Chi
. cago by train robber Thursday
/ night was being shipped from local
bank to Chicago bank. It totalled
$105,0OO
II Inquiry at the local postoffice
! brought the information that a
l stranger was noticed loafing in the
corridor Of the postoffice about noon
w. M. Bering, postmaster. is making
a personal investigation in the alb
sence of a postal inspector this
morning.
Father Learns Of Death.
St .IQSenh No May raca