The Omaha morning bee. [volume] (Omaha [Neb.]) 1922-1927, 1922-12-19
Every Road
tODenver
Is Guarded
Officers Armed With Riot
Guns Search for Bandits
Who Cot 100000 i'll
Front Of L. S. Mint.
Bands Leader Wounded

Denver, Dec. fs.--tBy \. P1-Every
peace officer in Colorado tonight Is
eombing the highways leading from
Denver i'll search of the masked BAN
dts who shortly after 1910 this
morning shot and killed Charles LIN
ton. guard of the Denver branch of
the Kansas City federal reserve bank.
stole $500 900 III paper currency and
escaped after waging gun fight with
armed guards on duty at the United
States mint. The money was being
transferred from the mint to dely-
cry truck of the reserve bank stand
Ing at the curb and was In SO pack.
ages of $1,000 each. All Of the money
was in So denominations.
Police expect to be aided in their
search for the escaped bandits by the
fact that one-apparently the leader
was shot seriously. if not mortally. by
q. government guard on duty at the
mint and as the bandit turned to fire
a final solley at the guards as tho
cur sped away.
An automobile carrying seven men.
two wearing masks and one dropping
over the edge of the machine, bleeding
profusely was reported to police as
having been seen speeding northward
out of the city shortly after the rob-
beR-. Police riot cars have been dis
patched in pursuit of this car.
Officers Carry Riot Guns.
Denver police unhesitatingly de.
clared the robbery was the largest
and the most sensational daylight
| holdup ever executed In Colorado.
All patrolmen and detectives of the
local police department have been
armed with riot guns and are being
assisted in the search by county and
federal authorities.
| Tho disregard of the bandits for
! human life marks the robbery. ac-
cording to police. as one OF the most
| determined in police annals With
! sawed.off shotguns, two of the bandits
bombarded the front door of the mint
| as they leaped from their automobile.
Fifty government employees sum.
moned by an alarm bell seized shot
guns and rushed to the doors or win.
dows of the mint, shooting at tho
holdup men, who returned the fire
and at the same time calmly pro.
ceeded to load the currency into their
own car.
Fuslllades of shots ripped through
buildings across the street and spat
against granite walls as the guards
and bandits exchanged shots
Bandits Open Fire.
The four members of the federal re-
serve bank crew employed in the
transfer Of the funds, J. e. Olson,
cashier; c. T. Linton. J. Adams and
| William HaVenor. had just left the
entrance of the mint and were walk.
ing toward their machine standing
near the curbing when another car
containing the bandits drove up along.
side of the wire-enclosed truck.
According to witnesses. two or three
men carrying guns leaped from the
car and with a shout of "hands up
opened fire on the reserve bank enl.
ployes. The shooting attracted tho
attention of guards within the mint,
who sounded the alarm to other IN.
side employees and then rushed out
upon the steps of the government
building to shoot at the robbers.
Linton, according; to information OBJ
tanned by police after questioning OF
several eyewitnesses, attempted TO
throw the money into the grilled back
compartment of the reserve truck at
the holdups' command and he was
shot by the leader of the bandits. Lin
ton 1el to the pavement, but man.
aged TO crawl to the sidewalk, where
he lay during the course Of the fight.
Guard Dies in Hospital.
Following the escape of the high.
waymen Linton was removed to tbs
! county hospital where he died with.
out regaining consciousness.
Then work of transferring the cur.
rency Which they had taken from the
guards TO their own car completed
the bandits re-entered their automo.
bile amid rain of bullets from
guards IN the second story of the
mint and sped toward the civic cen.
ter.
AS the car gathered impetus ths
leader OF the highwaymen. standing.
on The running board. turned toward
the government building as though to
iire q 1nal volley at the guards. As
ne did SO. Peter kiedinger. a guard
VINO was on duty at the main en-
trance. fired rifle at the bandit who
was seen to crumple up on the run
ning board and who was pulled ins,ds
tho car by tho driver. Kiedinger In
positive that he wounded the fugitive.
Police Car Wrecked.
rive riot cars. the first CARRYING.
Manager of Safety Downer and Police
Chief II. K. Williams, answered ths
first call from the mint. One of tba
police cars was wrecked In a collision
at Sixteenth and Court Place but the
occupants of the car escaped injury.
The money was the property of tho
Denver federal reserve bank, the mint
merely being a depository for II, due
to the lack of sufficient vaults In lha
bank building.
Director J. Il. Grant of the mint
stated that the number on every bin
IN the consignment was on record and
lhat banks throughout the country
would be warned TO be on the look.
out for them.
SO terrific was the gun fire during
the clash that more than 50 distinct