Jasper County Democrat, Volume 17, Number 65, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 November 1914 — GENERAL AND STATE NEWS [ARTICLE]

GENERAL AND STATE NEWS

Telegraphic Reports From Many Parts of the Country. SHORT BITS OF THE UNUSUAL Hapiteningg in Distant " and Nearby Cities and Towns.—Matters of Minor Mention From Many Places. . b CHALMERS STATE BANK ROBBED Safe Blowers Got Away With About .$.‘1,500 in Cash Wednesday Morning. Nightwatehmnn Frank Critser got word here early Wednesday morning to be on the lookout for a gang of bank robbers, who had blown open the safe of the State Bank at Chalmers, and made their escape. It was thought the robbers had made their getaway in an automobile and had driven north. Nothing was seen of any strangers here, and at this writing no trace of the robbers has been found.

The blowing of the safe occurred at 2:Q5 a. m., the clock on the wall of the bank having stopped at that moment. The explosion seemed to have been timed to occur while a freight train on the Motion was passing. The bank is immediately east or the Motion station and Is In the corner room of the Chalmers hotel building. The hotel Is conducted by William Vaughn. Vaughn heard the explosion and ran down to the street. One of the robbers knocked him down and took him to the stairway and called Mrs. Vaughn, his wife, to assist Mm and lake care of him.

it is thought that five men were concerned in the robbery. Four charges of nitroglycerine was placed in the door of the bank safe, and the explosion tore the safe to fragments. The robbers look tools from the Monou section house. One of the robbers left in the bank an Overcoat with a drill and a pair of wire nippers in the pocket. They had taken the precaution to cut all the telephone wires leading out of town and also the main cable to the central office. Many people heard the explosion, and it was not long until the country was being scoured by posses in automobiles. It is said that the robbers were last seejp running north out of town.

As soon as the pursuers reached neighboring towns where they could secure communication by wire, all the towns in this section of the state were notified to be on the lookout for the robbers. The bank is said to have lost about $3,000 in currency, S4OO in silver and SIOO In gold. Charles VanVoorst, is president of the bank, and he stated that the loss is covered by burglar insurance. The Monticello Journal, in speaking of a possible connection with the robbery, says: Monday two met professing to be machinists out of a job were in Monticello begging help and walking about. One of them stepped into the Trust Company bank and wanted the job of cleaning and oiling the time locks to their vault and safe. Of course he didn’t get the job.