Evening star., 1932-03-01
Less Than $500 in Cash and
$1,000 in Bonds Missing
From Vault.
13 SAFETY DEPOSIT
BOXES WERE EMPTY
Securities Could Be Cashed ONLY
at Bank in Remote Part of
Country, Officials Hold.

An almost complete inventory today
revealed that the yeggmen who burned
open SO safe deposit boxes at the WASH
ington Savings Bank obtained compara-
lively little loot as a result of one Of
the most daring robberies ever effected
here.
Thirteen Of the fifty boxes opened
with an acetylene torch we're empty,
and a check-up Of the contents of so
Of the remaining 81 showed less than
$500 in cash missing, according to
Thomas e. FARRELL, president Of the
bank.
Seven $1,000 Federal Land Bank
bonds, however, had not been located
at a late hour today, although bank
officials were of the opinion that it
would be extremely dangerous for the
yeggmen to attempt to cash them in.
Left Jewelry Behind.
The yeggmen left behind them, strewn
about the floor of the rif1ed vault, a
large quantity of miscellaneous jewelry,
part of which remains to be identified.
Mr.. FARRELL pointed out that the pres
ence OF three valuable diamond rings,
recovered from a litter of discarded
stocks and bonds, indicated that the
robbers sought only currency and ne
gotiable Government bonds.
Meanwhile, police were without q
clue to the identity Of the robbers, be-
ieved to be three in number. A tho
rough canvass of the neighborhood re-
vealed no one who had seen any suspi-
cious persons near the bank between
Saturday night and the time the rob-
berry was discovered, when the bank was
opened for business yesterday morning.
Detectives, however, were investi-
eating report that large sedan bear
ing New York license tags was parked
for hours late Saturday almost imnedi-
ately in front Of the bank.
License Number Not Known.
The license number of the machine
is not known to Investigators.
Large pressure tanks containing
acetylene and oxygen gas. which were
left in the vault, were taken to police
headquarters in an effort to trace their
ownership.
The robbers, who worked with gloves
and left no fingerprint impressions, also
abandoned a pair of gloves, two over
coats and a canvas work jacket q
buzzer system rigged into the basement
vault and small carpenters saw.
They gained entrance to the bank
building with a duplicate key, forced
the lock on q door leading to the
through petition separating the type
writer company Office from the stair
way leading to the vault.
Posted Lookout.
The robbers posted lookout who
surveyed Tenth street through peep
hole cut in window display screen Of
the typewriter company Office, and
wired buzzer between the lookout and
the vault.
They cut through the steel door of
the vault and its reinforcing bars with
the torch and apparently spent most
Of Sunday and Sunday night burning
open the safe deposit boxes, which we're
selected at random from several hun
dred
officials of the bank notified box
owners of the robbery and spent most
of last night in the vault, checking over
the discarded valuables and identifying
them with the assistance Of the owners
Most Of Articles Identified.
At q late hour today 80 customers
who had rented the rified boxes had
been interviewed, Mr.. FARRELL said
None has reported any considerable
amount of, cash missing, and large
amount of the jewelry. stocks and bonds
and bank deposit certificates discarded
by the robbers has been identified.
Two patrolmen were assigned lass
night to guard the vault, and will re-
main on duty, Mr.. FARRELL said, until
repairs can be effected.
The buzzer system, together with the
clothing and several sheets of black oil
cloth, with which the robbers screened
the windows of the basement, are being
examined for possible clues.
Bonds Can Be Traced.
The buzzer, with its so yards Of wire
and two dry-cell batteries, is of a type
that can be purchased at any sand
10-cent store. and the oilcloth was
bought new for the purpose
Farm Board officials said today that,
while the missing Government bonds
may be caShed in at some bank in a
remote part of the country they can
be traced through serial numbers and
probably will be identified Immediately
if presented at an Eastern bank.
Police say that two men probably
worked in the vault while a third re-
manned on guard upstairs The rob-
bers made no effort to enter the banls
proper, and the vaults on the street
level, where the banks currency was
stored, were not tampered with.