Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 264, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 November 1917 — ROBBERS MAKE A BIG HAUL [ARTICLE]

ROBBERS MAKE A BIG HAUL

FRANCESVILLE BANK ROBBED OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS EARLY TODAY. Professional crooks, arriving in Francesville at an early hour this Thursday morning by automobile, nitroglycerined their way through-the vault door of the State Bank of that place, securing between $5,000 anu $6,000 in cash, $5,000 worth of Liberty loan bonds and SBOO worth of stamps, escaping undetected while Francesville slept peacefully on. The robbery occurred between three and three-thirty o’clock. The robbers came into Francesville from the north via automobile and left the same way. The yeggs gained entrance to the bank by “jimmying” their way through the side door, after which they gained entrance to the vault with four shots of nitroglycerine. Only the main street of Francesville is lighted during the night and these lights were turned off by the robbers, leaving the city in . total darkness. The men went about their work so quickly and quietly that Francesville was not aware that anything unusual was occurring. One man, a bachelor who sleeps in a downtown business room heard each of the four reports when the men were blowing the vault door, but gave no thought to the matter and turned over on his side and went back to sleep. Not until hours afterwards did he make any report on what he had heard. Providing the stolen Liberty bonds are not registered ones, they can easily be converted into money by the thieves. The money derived from the sale of the stamps will make the total haul of the robbers -close to $12,000 —a pretty fair nights wage. Nearby . cities have been notified of the robbery and lookout will be kept for the men. No attempt has been made to trail them, as they are probably beyond reach by now. It is probable that they pursued the tatics -employed by others who have made frequent visits to small towns in northern Indiana to commit robberies. No doubt the car which they had was a stolen one and was used to take them back to some town where they caught a train for the city. David Beasly is the president of the bank.