Article Text
Thursday morning the payroll for the Amesbury from the through Portsmouth train with regular car on the eastern division the Boston & Maine to the small train the branch with only a baggage car and with a Until the & Maine entered upon its period of there been train directly from Boston to Amesbury on this train was carried regular mail car with armed clerk But that train was discontinued time ago, and the transfer of the mail to the baggage on the Newburyport branch noted today that the baggage afthe last car on the run Newburyport Amesbury, since the train, after reaching Amesbury. through train to Boston on the return trip an engine is simply hooked to baggage for that trip Hence the conductor fireman ignorant of the robbery. oney Cannot Be Traced Among the firms for which the money destined were the Biddle & Smart Company, builders of automobile bodies, the Merrimac Hat Company The money was consigned to the River National Bank of from the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston. completely covered by according to Gov W. P. G. Harding of the Federal Reserve Bank, who stated that all of currency are such shipments ered by blanket insurance policy Gov that his bank had no way of tracing the in the mail be physical impossibility for the bank to keep a record of the serial numbers and other identification marks of all the bills distributed stated that the payroll was largely in bills $5, $10 and $20 although some of it was in larger bills. Run on Bank Is Denied The former practice of the Ames to pay their employes in currency but there have so many payroll robberies that practice has been discontinued and payments are made by check by the bank The bearing payroll yesterday morning as usual by Samuel Porter of Amesbury, his driver. Herbert White and John Ryan Fred Reid. who guard the truck from the station to bank. happened that Chief of Police Scott was also on to meet the train and its payroll, but instead heard of its theft There were rumors abroad. the that of the had started run on the River National Bank and police called to control the crowd. These rumors proved to be false, and the statement of Pres of the bank that there was plenty of money on hand meet the payroll and that the lost money wholly covered insurance seemed to satisfy Beach "Gang" Suspected Promptly Jor. dan the alarm from the there on the scene large detachment. not only of Amesbury and Newburyport police but State patrolmen under the command of Sergt Daniel Murphy Sergt others the group the way from the came from Rowley and other nearer head quarters. Park Colvin postoffice inspector in charge of the New Eng land district. assigned inspectors Thomas Thomas Guiney and Carl Nelson the and they too, were making a. thorough checkup of the Late the afternoon conference was held at the Amesbury Police Head. quarters the inspectors. the railway police, Chief Scott and Lieut Griffin, who conducting the in. for the State. Plans were laid for the night search. From sev eral sources came the statement particular Salisbury Beach 'gang is suspected of being implicated, and Lieut Griffin's long search in that region with baggagemaster Jordan seems to bear out that statement. Sev- officers expressed the opinion that the next to be will be the abandoned mail pouch and, very likely, an abandoned car. $2000 Reward Already In any event, the net spread wide for the bandits, who, according to Inspector Colvin, have perpetrated the first railway holdup of which there any record in New England The fact postal authorities standing reward $2000 for the apprehension of each implicated in such holdup, and the fact that it is thought the and the will offer further rewards. led the police to feel confident that the will be caught, especially both baggagemaster Jordan and excellent descriptions of the men and could readily identify them. One aspect of the case that has caused much of such large of money in baggage no protection for the baggagemaster Mr Jordan, in his statement in Boston yesterday pointed out that he has repeatedly complained of situation to the authorities. It is deemed probable that the rule will be changed hereafter
