Search for Mail Bandits Extended Throughout Country, June 14, 1924

Search for Mail Bandits Extended Thruout Country. . . Chicago Is Scene of Mail Robbery on C.M. & St. Paul Lines of About $2,000,000. . . Officials Confident That the Hold Up Was the Result of Inside Information Obtained from Some Post Office Employee

Chicago, June 13—In one of the most daring robberies in railroad history, four automobile loads of bandits last night held up a Chicago, Milwaukee and St Paul mail and express train and escaped with registered mail valued at close of $2,000,000.

The train, en route from Chicago to St. Paul, was stopped at Randout, Ill., 32 miles north of Chicago. Consisting of eight mail coaches and two express cars, it left Chicago at 9 a.m., Central standard time. Fifty minutes later it was in the possession of the bandits. In 65 minutes more they had gathered between 42 and 45 pouches of registered mail and sped away into the darkness.

The only casualty was a robber shot by his fellows who mistook him for a trainman.

the loss early today was estimated at about $2,000,000, but Federal Reserve Bank officials said a careful check might show it to exceed that figure.

The train carried more than 70 mail clerks and guards, all armed. Only those in three cars were compelled to face the guns of the robbers. Those cars carried the registered and first class mail.

The robbers forced their way into the cars by breaking windows and throwing bombs filled with chlorine gas, which forced the clerks to open the doors and allow the robbers to enter.

Officials are certain that the holdup was arranged by men thoroughly familiar with railroad and railway mail clerks’ work.

At least two of the robbers concealed themselves aboard the mail special before it left Chicago. The train had just gone through Raidout (Randout?) and was traveling at close to 60 miles an hour. Two men, carrying flashlights and pistols, came from their hiding place behind the tender and the first coach, crawled across the swaying coal tender and into the engine cab.

The muzzle of one weapon was pushed against the neck of Engineer S.R. Walt of Milwaukee; the other bandit covered the fireman, E.J. Biddle, also of Milwaukee.

“A half mile down the track you’ll see a red light flashed on the west side,” the man back of the engineer said. “You’ll stop the train. If you don’t, you’ll be done.”

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From the front page of the Goldsboro News, Saturday, June 14, 1924