Year: 1878

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The theory that the Manhattan bank
robbery was ''stick up" or done by ex-
perts without the knowledge of some one
connected with the institution, is hooted at
and poopoohed by the Chicago detectives,
both municipal and private One, who is
considered one of the foremost detectives in
the country, said to Times man on yester-
day that il was 30 remarkable and almost
unheard OF for bank president, cashier or
teller TO intrust his combination TO the jan
itor of the building, that be could not be-
lieye that some mistake had not been made
by the dispatches and the New York re-
porters. But" he said, ''if it transpires
that .uch was the case, especially in an in
-trution like the Manhattan, then,
we'll, dom know. Ii is very bad on the
face II IL ior somebody connected with the
bank


The jini or seemed to have enjoyed the
confidence of the directors and officers Of
! The Insii ulion for twenty year." suggested
the r-porter.


81 don't care for that How many jani-
tors Of the country have had the same hold
on he confidence of their employers, and
yet the very last thing that a business man
should do, or would do, TO my mind, would
be to give that janitor his combination.
Why sir, that is considered so sacred a
thing among bankers, as a rule, that even
presidents are debarred oftimes from OBJ
tanning it. III the officers of the Manhat-
tan institution were so loose and so care
less OF the interests of their depositors as to
do such a thing as that, they might be
equally Indifferent about some other
things"


linen you don't believe the robbing was
a surprise 10 the institution
81 don't like to say that" he sid, "but
there is


SOMETHING VERY STRANGE ABOUT THE
| AFFAIR,


TO my mind"


'iiave you any objection to stating your
theory"


IL do not know that / have any theory
about it that the public would care to know
But I'll tell you what thinks; if YOU
want to call it theory, all right. A down
town gang of men-experts-had learned
the situstion. They found out what time
the ,ni,or usually went to the establish.
ment They knew where he lived. They
knew the way to his room. They knew the
size Of his family. They knew the exact
situation OF the vault They knew the jan.
itor had the combination. Now, how did
they know it? | don't believe they knew
it from him. If the job was done by ex'
| perts, aud without the knowledge OF any
one connected with the institution II Is a
very easy matter 10 find out. In the first
place it must have been done by experts
even if they were put on by some one in the
bank. Now the ordinary burglar doesn'l
do such Jobs. Such work belongs 10 Il few,
and tell you they are very few. The New
| York detectives know, or they ought Ia
know, every expert in that line Of work
They know their hang and they ought
10 be able to locate every one Of those men
for twenty-four hours prior to the cracking
of the vault"


"What do you think OF the report CT the
amount taken"


81 think you will find that it exceeds the
amount telegraphed TO the Times. When
those men, if they were experts, went in
| they did so with the same purpose every
bank r,,bb,r has You must know that
when al, h work il done the expert not on
| ly counts upon the available funds, but he
takes away every piece of negotiable paper.
With the negotiable paper they settle on a
percentage; the other Is raised or changed
and sold to wildcat SPECTATORS. In this
case | have been figuring on what they
would make on negotiable psper-outside
of the funds they haul; They will settle al
five per cent. ii they settle at all and that
is low percentage. In that case they will
make Sl25,000 or more. So you see the
expert bank robber is shrewd specula-
| tor"


"Then they are not often detected in their
settlement"


| Never. They have their attorneys.
The attorneys address the attorneys of the
bank and most of the negotiations are made
between the lawyers. You don't make a
lawyer give away his client"
Said


ONE OF THE DETECTIVES


at headquarters:


SIT is put up job. The janitor's pos
session OF the combination looks very bad
for the management of the concern. Be-
sides, how does it come that the box con-
tanning the treasurers own papers and mon
ey was not taken. You will find a big
| kick made over this matter in less than a
week by the business men of New York
| city"


1t must be admitted that the bank rob
bers of this country have generally outwit-
ted the officers of the banks, and if the iani-
tor was put in the hole" by the robbers
by means of the gag and the gun, there are
bankers VINO ought to be put in for their