The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1925-04-02
YECS ROB BANK AND
SHOOT MARSHAL
LAST THURSDAY NIGHT FIRST
NATIONAL OF COLD SPRING
WAS WRECKED
$4,000 AMOUNT OF LOOT
CITIZENS PUT UP FIGHT BUT
DESPERADOS WERE WELL
FORTIFIED

Colu spring, Mlnn., March, ZS--
Especial to ST. Cloud Journal-Press)
Bank bandits, estimated to thu,
number of eight or ten, came quietly
into the village of Cold Spring at 3
o'clock this morning, spotted them
selves on the highways, and various
other means of exit, cut telephone and
light wires, fired seven or eight charg-
es of nitro-glycerine in the vault and
safe of the First National Bank, shot
two people, and escaped with cash
estimated at more than $4,000 and
liberty bonds of an unknown value.
The injured: Anton Schmitt, mar
shall, shot in the thigh, Frank Meyer,
jeweler, shot three times in thigh.
Injuries to those two men are not
considered serious, though there is a
possible danger of complications from
Meyers wounds owing to the fact
that two of the shots remain in his
flesh, near the bone. -
Paul o. Theisen, barber and teIe-
phone exchange operator, doing bust
ness and living in the building adj,
joining the bank, gave the first alarm.
1t was when the first charge of nitro
had been used to blast the vault door.
He notified Fred Stein, cashier of
the bank and Marshal Schmitt. The
latter's son, however, had heard the
first shot and had gotten up. There
was an interval of few minutes be-
tween the first and second explosions
and he went back to bed. He got up
again with the second shot and called
his father who had gone off duty at
1 100 o'clock. ......
His father got up and dressed.
About this time Mr.. Meyer came to
the Schmidt house and tapped on the
window. He had shotgun. Mar.
shall Schmitt loaded his pistol ard
the two started toward town.
They crawled around the back of
buildings, finally getting out onto
the street in which the bank is To-
Gated. Hardly had they poked their
heads around the corner of the meat
market, when shot was fired at
them from a sawed-off shotgun. Both
men were foored with the shots which
followed in quick succession.
The men were unable to determine
from just what source the shots were
coming and neither fired a shot in.
return. .... ...
Within ten minutes the whole town
was aroused and villagers obtaine,
what firearms they had and proceeded
stealthly toward the bank. From so
to 100 people were out in half an
hour.
The bandits had obtained entrance
to the bank by means Of cutting
screen and using a jimmy on a win
dow in the rear. One man borrowed
ladder from the Theisen place next
door and climbed to the top of the
building where he had the protection
, of the wall extension. Another had
made himself barricade of ice cream
,, tubs, a steel water can and slab Of
granite at the Cold Spring Drug
store across the street and he had
, fired from that point. Others watch
ed from the windows of the bank.
The first charge of nitro blew the
, vault door. Then another three-ounce
, charge was used on the safe. The
safe refused to bulge. Another was
: tried with the same result.
1t was on the seventh or eighth
charge that the safe was finally OPP
ened. The percussion of the various
, charges had wrecked the entire vault,
! blown all the windows out of the
: front and sides of the bank, Jared
: the plaster off the walls and did other
damage to the building to the esti-
mated amount of $4,000, according
. to Mr.. Stein.
! The bandits had taken their time
:. in the Job, feeling safe and sure that
they would be unmolested despite the
4 fact that half the town was stirring
q about. 1t is said that they took two
: hours to do the job.
> During the general excitement, and
: minus the leadership of an officer of
: the law some of the people made vain
o. efforts to notify the outside world :.
? The telephone station was besieged
: with requests to notify Richmond and
p st. Cloud. Telephone communication
e had been cut by the bandits before
h coming into the village.
Finally one of the townspeople no
4 tilted Frank Ash, station agent al
. Rockville, who lives in Cold Spring
and he rushed to Rockville in his
. speeder and called the sheriff's office
@ 1t was shortly after 5 a. m. tina,
Deputy Sheriff Bettenburg arrived OF
r. the scene, only a few minutes after
4 the bandits had disappeared.
!. interviewed later in the mornine
: the deputy sheriff said that he hat
g number of definite clues. Chic.
among these, it is said, are th'
r. finger prints of one of the bandit
r on an empty bottle left in the bank
" 1t was three-ounce bottle and hat
h contained nitro. Another bottle, witt
id the nitro gone, also was found in thu
bank.