Jasper County Democrat, Volume 21, Number 56, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 October 1918 — DROVE LARGE TOURING CAR [ARTICLE]

DROVE LARGE TOURING CAR

With Red Wheels, Did Reynolds Bank Robbers. The following particulars of the bank robbery at Reynolds at an early hour Tuesday morning, brief mention of which was made in the last issue of The Democrat, are taken from the Monticello Herald. Other reports state that the robbers drove a large black touring car with red wheels: Another partially successful attempt was made to rob the Reynolds bank early Tuesday morning and all evidence indicates that the work was done by expert yeggmen, four in number All telephone wires had been cut at the Josseranrd corner so that all telephones* in Reynolds were out of •cotamission. The attempt w r as made about two o’clock in the morning, and was discovered by Fred Dukes, who sleeps in the room over his restaurant. He ' heard the burglar alarm, w’hich the j bank installed after a previous at- . tempt to blow the safe, and imme--1 diately hastened down stairs and started for the door. As he approached the door he saw a man standing with his back against the door and holding a gun in his hand. Across the street at the Bardonner I corner, he could see another man, ; who also had a gun. Just as he reached the front door he saw ' the men inside the bank pull down the window shades. During the time the robbers were at work the alarm would give forth a sound occasionally but although it was guaranteed to do the work the yeggmhn evidently knew how to put it out of commission.

The outer d< or of the vault was blown open, the second doors were also drilled and the lock blown off, letting the door open. The big safe inside the vault was soaped around the cracks and the big lever and lock wheel were taken off preparatory to blowing it but by this time it was after four o’clock and they abandoned the job without blowing the safe. All the postoffice stamps and two Liberty bonds belonging to Postmaster Buss were some Liberty bond money which was not inside the safe. Although the cracksmen were discovered no one was prepared to battle with them and no communications could' be established with the officers, because of their cutting the wires. When they left they went west in a large automobile.