The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1924-06-20
MAIL TRAIN Is
ROBBED OF MILLION.
DARING BANDIT CREW HOLDS
UP TRAIN MEN. RIFLES CAR,
ESCAPES.
ROBBERS UNCOUPLE ENGINE
FROM COACHES OF GOVERN
MENT MAILER NEAR CHICA-
co; OFFICERS SCOUR COUN-
TRY VAINLY.

FROM COACHES OF GOV ERN-
MENT MAILER NEAR CHICA-
GO; OFFICERS SCOUR COUN-
TRY VAINLY.
Chicago, June 12.-One of the ban
dts who held up the Chicago, Milwau-
kea and St Paul mail train at Ron
dout, Illinois, 80 miles from Chicago,
tonight, was killed by a bullet fired
from the gun of one Of his band, ac-
cording to information reaching here
late tonight.
It was also said that the bandits
broke the windows Of the coaches and
threw formaldehyde inside. The
fumes of the acid nearly Overcame
the clerks and guards inside before
they finally surrendered.
Chicago, June 12.-Forty pouches
of registered mail containing bonds
and currency valued at mere than a
million dollars were stolen by train
robbers when they held Up Chicago
Milwaukee, and St. Paul mail train
near Rondout, H., 80 miles north of
Chicago at 1920 o'clock, Central
Standard Time Thursday night.
En- Route To St. Paul
The train was enroute from Chica-
90 to st. Paul and its first scheduled
step was Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Three of the robbers rode "blind
baggage" or just back of the tender
of the locomotive of the train, accord
ing to Lawrence Benson, chief Of the
railroads special agents.
CAS- the train approached ROndOut
the robbers pulled the air brakes
which brought the train to a stop,
he said.
"The train stopped at Buckley roac
crossing, two miles this side of Rond-
out. Before it came to a stop two OF
the robbers boarded the engine anC
covered the engineer and fireman
with revolvers. In the meantime the
three men who were on the tender Tn
coupled the locomotive The robbers
in the car forced the engineer to drive
the locomotive to ROndout, two miles
down the track.
Strung Along Tracks
"The robbers were strung along the
tracks for the length of a car or two
and almost at the spot where the en-
CINE stopped" Benson said.
"Three or four of them forced thu
door in the first car. They were me
with rain Of bullets from the mai
clerks and guards in the car but thu
robbers succeeded in overpOwerinl
them. One bandit, however, was shot
How badly, we don't know.
"The robbers then forced their wa!
into the second car and the third, bu
escaped unscratched from the rain O.
lead the guards an dclerks fired a
them and, as in the first car, the!
succeeded in OverpOWering the guard
and clerks.
DisObeyed Orders
Although there was a crew of Y
mail clerks and guards en- the train o
eight cars. they were all locked i
and their instructions were that in n
event were they to open the doors
They were all armed and instructed t
shoot to kill anyone attempting t
force entrance into their car.
'The clerks and guards from tn
three cars were forced outside an
lined up against the train. They wer
guarded by three of the bandits.
AS soon as the robbers had gath
cred their loot they piled the sack
into four automobiles parked O.
Buckley road. The three bandit
guarding the train crew made tn
crew turn away from the road as the
Ietreated toward their cars"
Number Unknown
None of the train crew was abl
to estimate the number of robbers.
AS soon as word of the hOldu
reached Chicago, all available e.
press, federal and police officers we1
put aboard a special train which Sc
out for the scene of the robbery.
A group of motorists, enrcute t
Chicago, reported to the authorities {
Libertyville, Ills, that four automC
biles travelling at a fast rate of. spec
had passed them can the road to Lii
ertyville. officers were unable
find any trace of the robbers, how
ever.
The train carried 1900 mail poucht
or about 80 tons of mail, local pos
Office officials said. Of this thel
We're $50 pouches of first class maj
forty pouches of parcel post and fol-
carloads of American railway expre
shipments.