Jasper County Democrat, Volume 23, Number 71, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 December 1920 — MT. AYR BANK LOOT FOUND [ARTICLE]

MT. AYR BANK LOOT FOUND

Dug Up at Dalton, 111., Where Burled by Thieves a Year Ago. J. R. Sigler was called to Chicago, this week to identify some of the papers lost in the bank robbery that occurred here a year ago the first of this month. The papers recovered, and which Ms. Sigler went to ident# ify, were some gravel road bonds owned by J. S. Brenner and a certificate of stock in the U. S. Chlckle & Confection Co., owned by the writer. The last named bond was the con* necting link which identified all the, other papers, which had not yet been disposed of by the thieves. The parties who robbed this bank a little over a year ago got in bad in an attempted hold-up on the west side In Chicago, when they shot and killed a watchman. Three of them were captured at that time and two will go to the gallows this week for the murder of. the watchman, while the third, who turned state’s evidence, goes to prison for life. The one who drew the life sentence formerly lived at Dalton, a Chicago suburb, and was a policeman there for a number of years. He owned a small farm near Dalton and after he had been imprisoned in connection with the murder of the watchman, he wrote several letters to some c» his folks in which he referred to his pigs, asking them to. look after said pigs well. The fact that the request was repeated in these letters led the authorities to become suspicious and they found signs of fresh earth in the pig- pen .and began digging, the result of their labor being the unearthing of a package of securities which proved to be the ones taken from the bank here. The package was carefully wrapped in newspapers, placed in a coWee sack and buried some four feet under ground. When opened the U. S. Chlckle bond disclosed the writer’s name and address and brought us a lengthy telegram of inquiry at the time of the find and which was mentioned in these columns then. A few days later the bank got a telegram seeking a description of the missing property. This information was supplied at once and all the papers found in the lot proved to be from the bank here, and* consisted of the ones above referred to and a number of registered Liberty bonds. Being of such a nature that they could not be disposed. of without creating suspicion and having hopes that at some time they might be able to realize something on them, they had thought to keep them safe by putting them Underground- Mr. Sigler was permitted to bring home only the gravel road bonds and the U. S. Chlckle bond, the Liberty bonds requiring to be sent to Washington for release, payment having been stopped on them at the time they were stolen. Interest has been coming regularly on all of these bonds and now the originals will soon be back in the bank in the hands of thg rightful owners. The savings stamps were not recovered, of course, as neither were any of/ the abstracts and other valuable paperstalten ip this robbery. IMany have waited in hopes that >£lß class of the loss might, when discovered useless, be returned or where they could be returned. But it appears that no such good luck Is to be ours and all who had such

papers in the vault are doomed to have them replaced with new opes. Such procedure means considerable expense, £ut it now seems the only alternative. Indeed, the loss of the deeds, mortgages and abstracts, etc., comprised the greater part of the loss in this robbery, yet all are glad ]to get back even the papers rei covered. —Mt. Ayr Tribune.