The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-06-15
BANDITS STORY MAY UNRAVEL MAIL MYSTERY Officials Identify One Robber-Four Others
 Are Held TIP LEADS RAID
 TO CHICAGO FLAT Detectives Sent To Search
 For Buried
 Loot
(By Associated Press.)

CHlCAGO, June l4.-A Qulck solution of all details of the holdup Thursday night of Chicago, Mil wAukee & St. Paul mail train a few miles from Chicago by four auto loads of bandits, who obtained money and bonds, valued at up- wards of $1,0o0,0o0, was predicted by the police tonight after two mail clerks had positively identified one train robber.
 J. H. Wayne, desperately wound ed, and believed by the police to be the bandit who was shCt by a com panion who mistook him for a mail clerk during the robbery, is the man identified as one of the bandits. With three other men and a wom- an, Wayne was taken into custody in a spectacular raid on a flat upon a tip that the bandits would be there.
 Two detectives left for the, scene of the robbery late today when it was reported that a confession had been obtained from one of the suspects held and that the officers had gone to try to locate the place where the loot was buried
 Much Explained Shot
 At first Wayne told police that he was shot while at Hammond, by q woman by the name of Miss MarEsret 1 Ray. Later he said bootlegger shot him. Five bullet wounds were found in his body and doctors said he would probably die. Walter McComb and his wife, whose flat was raided. and Paul Wade, who said he lived in Tulsa, Okla, and James Mahoney, who were found in the flat, are the other suspects.
 It is reported that Wayne later said that he was shot by the bandit leader for disobeying orders. The police did not reveal which of the suspects had admitted participation in the holdup but said two others besides Wayne had been partly identified by mail clerks as participants.
 Trace Records
 The police were attempting late to- night to trace the record of the sus- poets about whom little was known McCembs detectives said, had been under surveillance several times.
 Menwhile Sheriff Peter M Hoffman, after a perusal of his records, said a description of one of the bandits tallies almost exactly with that of Lucky Tommy" O'Connor, Chicago murderer, who broke jail three years ago, five days before he was to have been nange,l.
 New Money Found
 A new $1,O00 bill and a $500 bill were found in Wayne's clothing and a $1 900 bill was found in Wade's pocket. Serial numbers of the bills do not corrc- spond with those of any of the money thus far reported stolen, it was au- nounced after a hurried check.
 Wade was reported to have been an aviator and this fact led to a revival of the theory that the bandits capei in an airplane seen near the scene of the robbery.
 The known loot was increased today to $447, ,000 in cash and bonds, but it was admitted that more than this amount is missing and unofficial sources placed the loss at between $1, ,0OO, 900 and $3,000,000.
 Postal inspectors and government agents were devoting great part of their time to investigation of the theory that the robbery was the result of in formation given the bandits by postal employe or a Federal bank employe, this theory being due to the faultless precision with which the holdup was executed.
 We have some of the bandits" Chief of Police Collins said tonight. We hope to have them all before morning. We expect to have the loot then, toO.'
 Capt. Wm. Shoemakers said the bandits had overlooked S5O0,OOO which was in one mail sack left by the rob bers.
 The police held the prisoners tonight but planned later to turn them over to the federal authorities in order to forestall writs of habeas corpus in the state courts for their release,