The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1929-08-09

ICICQ Tic QOOI Tile llISI DdIlOlI lldu
come through and one of the mask
ed men covered her with his gun
and ordered her to kneel with her
face to the wall, then snapped the
lock on the door. In a few moments
the burglars had gathered the loot,
when they forced Torstenson and
Miss Hovet into the vault and lock
ed it and left.
Torstenson and Miss Hovet were
prisoners there until Ronald, Tor
stenson's little boy came to the Of
flee to see why his father had not
come home to supper. He heard
shouts in the vault and. answered
his father who told him to hurry
home for his mother. Before Mrs.
Torstenson could arrive, Janitor
Dionne, who had been working in
the clerk of courts and county
agents offices in the ather side of
the rambling one story frame court
house where he had not heard the
shouts of the prisoners, came into
the treasurer's office to do the jan
itor work when he saw that some
thing was wrong and heard voices
in the vault. He called and Torsten-
son told him what had happened.
Dionne who is a locksmith, in
structed Torstenson how to unlock
the vault from the inside, he being
unable to turn the combination.
Torstenson, under his direction,
removed a screw and unbolted the
door, releasing himself and the
deputy who had been confined for
over an hour.
Torstenson Immediately called
Sheriff Salisbury and VIM. Erick-
son, cashier of the Riba State Bank
who had written the burglary bond.
Cashier Erickson came at once and
Torstenson turned the office over
to him for checking and the Ma
tional Surety Company was immed-
lately notified at the Helena office.
Mo Trace of Bandits Found
Sheriff Salisbury arrived in a
very short time, heard Torstenson's
story and at once put the machin-
cry in motion to apprehend the
holdup artists, notified outside Of
ficers and had the news announced
over the radio. He then took up the
track of the banits who escaped in
a high powered car and followed
the trail east of Reserve when the
steering gear of his car broke and
| he was forced to return to Re-
serve.
The car he was following was
travelling fast and he was an hour
and half or more behind it, so he
gaveup the chase and returned to
Plentywood. The search was con-
tinued for weeks but no clue to the
identity or whereabouts of the
robbers was ever found, either by
the sheriff's office or by the num-
erous detectives put on the job by
the National Surety Company.
Office Open Late
The law requires the county
treasurer to hold his office open
until six O'Clock on the last day of
the tax paying period before the
taxes become delinquent and the
penalty goes into effect, which was
, the reason the office was open aft
ar ali the other officers in The
court house had gone, and it was
a coincidence that on this evening
everyone had left the court house
at five o'clock. The extra clerks il
the treasurer's office had hardi!
left the front door of the building
. when the bandits came in.
Company Officers Come
The representatives of the Ma
tional Surety Company came i'm
mediately to this city. They wer
, accompanied by State Examin
l er Jay Larson and deputies an
Attorney General Foote. A fey
: hours later General Counsel Claw
o son of the National Surety Con
d pany from the Minneapolis offiC
le arrived.
'e Treasurer Torstenson's Offit
and records were examined al
IL searched and re-examined aga
S and again but not a fault could
a found in the records. The enemi
IL of the county administration CT
re culated a variety of wild, weir
N and speculative stories about Il
te robbery.
D. All sorts of sensational tai
l. were sent to the press. Represent
nj tives came to Plentywood to be
70 the grounds when the big sto
Ia that was gonig to break, brol
70 Everybody around the court hou
a. the day of the robbery was .
u through the third degree. Not
clue was found.
Propaganda Criticism
IN Attorney General Foote and j
~ Larson returned to Helena. II
M stenson was criticized for haiv
on on so much money in the safe at
w time of the robbery, even thou
m he had in the banks every pen
w they were by law qualified to
IN ceive and it was disclosed he /
II. asked the banks to qualify
~ more which they had failed to
no and had in his possession at
Ok time of the robbery $125,000
checks to be cleared. This cor
ton had prevailed every fall
the previous four or five years ;
at one time there was 100000
the county safe, and the cou
treasurer had insured the cou
funds against burglary and Yobb
+or every year because of the prese
"a va of surplus money at tax pay
Us. use time. Further investigation disc,
W. ed the facts the treasurer had
NY NY deavor to find outside deposit
- les but could find no bank
Ialiu would qualify for these short t
. ;no deposits. Every criticism fell do
. ll Political Enemies
VIC However. the enemies of the