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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 10, 1921)
* • - VOLUME XLI. - _______ • BANDITS BLOW ORCHARD BANK Loot Secured Less Than* Thousand Dollars.- Cashier » Bound And Gagged. h James O’Donnell’s Car Stolen By Bandits and Later Found At Yankton. Suspects Under Arrest At Sioux City. Seven bandits, using nitro-glycer irig, blew the vault doors of the Citi zons State bank of Orchard early Sun day morning, rifling seven of the safety boxes in the vault and escapee with less than $1,000. H. R. Browning, assistant cashiei of the bank, surprised the robbers ai work, was taken into the bank anc compelled to watch the proceedings after which he was left, bound anc gagged, iTj, the wrecked vault, wher the band departed. Working loose trom his bonds Browning turned in i fire alarm and aroused the entire vil lage, but the citizens were unable tc stop the fleeing robbers, who escapee in a Hudson super-six touring cal stolen late Saturday night from th| garage of James F. O’Donnell of this city. It has been definitely established that six of the bandits came to O’Neii. or. the Burlington Friday nighf and stayed here until atfer midnight Sat urday night, when they took Mr, O’Donnell’s car and drove to Orchard, where another member of the gang had been on outlook all dgy Saturday. The O’Donnell car was found at Yankton Tuesday afternoon, frozen up, and it is learned that five men pur chased tickets from Yankton to Sioux City before the car was found. Five men are under arrest at Sioux City, throught to be the bank robbers, and two detectieves, one from the Burns agency and another represent ing the insurance companies, Thurs day morning took several O’Neill citizens, and others who saw the men here Saturday, and at Orchard, to Sioux City to ascertain if the suspects are the men wanted. The Orchard bank robbery is the first to occur in this vicinity for about twelve years, the Smith bank of Page, now defunct, being the last one to be rifled from the outside. The Citizens State bank of Orchard is capitalized for $30,000. T. A. Dray ton of Orchard is president, E. R. Gur ney of Omaha, vice president; W. S. Bowen of Orchard, cashier; and H. R. Browning of Orchard, assistant cashier. r The movements of the men who blew the bank have been definitely traced from the time they left Sioux City last Friday morning in a stolen Cadilac. The experience of H. R. Browning, the young assistant cash ier, while in the hands of the bandits, was as thrilline as that of a movie but not grouped, and in pairs visited most of the stores in town. They also •spent a portion of the day down near 1 the /Burlington roundhouse, coming und going in pairs, and conferring with one who seemed to be the leader. 1 Their actions attracted the attention ■ of Chief of Police Beha and Deputy Sheriff Bergstrom, Sheriff Duffy being absent from the city, and also of the men about the Burlington roundhouse who thought they either were boot deggers disposing of their war^, or Burlington secret service men watch ing for car thieves. The east and west bound trains the Northwest ern were watched Saturday afternoon to see if the men had left town, but as they did not merchants and others were notified of their presence Satur day evening, to prevent possible rob beries. The next heard of the suspects was Sunday morning when Kfarshal Beha receievd word from Orchard that the Citizen’s Sta^ bank there had been robbed, safety deposit boxes rifled and the assistant cashier left bound in the bank. The account given by Mr. Brwning, the assistant cashier, is that he had been to a dance Saturday evening, afterward had taken lunch at a res tauiant and then started for home, go ing past the bank on his way. When he reached the bank he was stuck up by two men on the outsi4e, who took him into the main banking room and then back into the director’s room, where he was turned over to several others. The outside men then again took up their! outside vigil. Several men, he says, were examining the vault doors, in another room, but work was not started on the vault until after the dance had broken up. This, says Mr. Browning, was after 3 o’clock. Browning Was asked, soon after being taken into the bank “where does the town Bull hang out.” Per ceiving that the bandits were not aware of his connection with the bank, Mr. Browning told them that he also was a stranger in town, which seemed to modify their treatment of him somewhat. While he was converting with the bandits inside the bank’rhs. outside men would signal, by clicking their guns when any one come down the street, and the others would reply 1 f 1, m A /4/\m 4- Vl /\ r»4vn o4f» V. O ^1 V\A come deserted work was started on the vault doors, Browning being taken in by his captors to see the work done. ‘‘Just 'watch closely and you will know how it is done," one of the men working on the outside vault door ad vised him, and he was permitted to be a spectator of the entire proceeding. Soap first was placed around the com bination, he says, the dope poured in and touched off with a short fuse. The explosion threw back the tumblers and enabled the cracksman to pull out the combination. The inside door was ac corded similar treatment. The time now was about 4 o’clock, according to Browning, and the bandits hastened in their work. They looked over the safe in which the currency was kept, but discovering it to be of the screw type and of ferro-manganese steel they made no attempt to blow it. Attention then was turned to the safety deposit boxes, the locks of many of which had become jammed by the exposions, which also had wrecked much of the vault furniture. Only seven of the boxes were opened before it became late enough that the bandits must de part if they were to escape in the dark. Browning then was bound and gagged and placed on a sanitary couch in one hero, but the experience of James r. O’Donnell, who took precaution to pre vent the possible theft of his-'car Sat i urday night was not quite so thrilling. The first definite clew tq the bank robbers is that seven men arrived in Plainview Friday morning from Sioux City, driving a Cndilae car. The car was not working well and the party left it at a Plainview garage for mi nor repairs, stating that they were go ing on west on the Burlington and would return for the car in a few days. The same party of men purchased tickets for O’Neill at the Plainview depot and six of them came to O’Neill on the evening passenger, arriving here at midnight. One is known to have stopped off at Orchard and re mained there Saturday. Four of the men who came to O’Neill took lodging at the Beha hotel, conducting them selves as strangers to each other.’Two •went to the Ziemer hotel. A suspicion of the four men stop ping at the Beha first was aroused when Mrs. Beha discovered them whispering together. Saturady morn ing the men were about the streets, Stay Near Your Telephone After You Place a Long Distance Gall If * t > t ; ; i 4 ‘i j J is * After you place a Long Distance call do not leave your telephone expecting to return in time to ; receive the call It will save your time and the time of the person you wish to talk with if you will Btay near the telephone. ^ A “Report Charge” is made if the person you called is reached and on the line within an hour from the time you placed your call and yo\i are pot ready tofalfc >•■»•'* " *’ 7 “ '■;i*' ' e ^ orthvvestern Bell Telephone Co : , • _ iSSS3Bf&E9E9BS8EiEBSSBSStSB8SSSS9ttBSSOSBSlB8tESBSSSSfSSSS^S^^^S^^^S^ O’NEILL, NEBRASKA, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1921. of the bank rooms and the couch car ried into the wrecked vftult- Before leaving him the bandits tied his feet to the couch and then partially closed the vault doors. They had been so de formed by the explosions however that they could not bo closed tight. Browning rolled from the couch after the bandits had gone and in his struggles managed to reach part of the wreckage caused by the explosion. On the ragged edge of a piece of metal he sawed the rope that bound his wrists and thus was able to liberate himself. The alarm at once was given and the fire bell rung, arousing the en tire village. As the citizens were as sembling a large car, some say two cars, crept through the crowd and then sped east. One of them, the O’Donnell car, it later was discovered had been left idling, in front of the village con stable’s house while the robbers work ed. Word was flashed to nearby towns and at Plainview the fire alarm was rung and the town turned out to ap prehend the bandits if they came that way. At 5:40 o’clock, the big Hudson car, with lights out, dashed through the streets of Plainview at fifty miles an hour, while the citizens stood agape. The next heard of the robbers was when word came from Yankton, South Dakota, that the O’Donnell car had been found on the south side of the Missouri river, that five men had crossed the river and purchased rail road tickets to Sioux City, leaving Yankton at 2 o’clock Sunday after noon. Detectives of the Burns agency and the insurance companies, who viewed the work of the bandits Wednesday pronounced it that of experts. All of the men wore gloves, so that there iwould be no finger prints to betray them, and the work of blowing the compination they declared was that of a past master at the game. The only words spoken by the bandits at any time, inside the bank, was when Browning was incited to watch the proceedings and when the first safety deposit box was opened, one of the men then remarking that the box con tained $200 worth of bonds, When Cashier Browning gained his 'liberty he first telephoned President Drayton that the bank had been rob LOCAL MATTERS. A. D. Havens of Atkinson, was an O’Neill visitor Tuesday. R. H. Parker returned last week from a several months visit in south ern California. P. J. McManus left Saturday for a two ibeeks visit to Chicago »nd other eastern markets. / Mr. and Mrs. Will Biglin returned Friday from a visit with relatives at Jackson, Nebraska. W. V. Hunter came up from Omaha Monady evening to spend a few days looking after his local interests. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Horiskey re turned Sunday evening from a several weeks visit at Excelsior Springs, Mo. Chris Erb returned Monday night from a trip to Schuyler. He reports the snow much heavier in that vicinity than here. Miss Anna Donohoe has been ap pointed to membership on the library board by the tdwnship board of Grat tan township. -Charles Cole, one of the prominent farmers residing south of'Stuart, was anf O’Neill visitor the first of the week and a pleasant caller at this office. ^ The Martez was entertained by Miss Elizabeth Donohoe, Tuesday evening, at the residence of Mrs. Charles Mc Kenna. Miss Etta Froelich won the honors at cards. Mr. and Mrs. Paul L. ‘Henry, and daughter, Patricia Jane, of Geneva, Nebr., arrived in the city last night for a few weeks visit with their parents, Mr. and Mrs. E. D. Henry. Sheriff Duffy and Chief of Police Beha returned Tuesday night from Fremont, where they had gone to identify by photograph if "possible, suspects in the Orchard bank robbery. Adam Head and Floyd Osborne, champion Holt county wrestlers, will be the main card at the athletic carni val the Atkinson American Legion post is going to hold Thursday of next week. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Stark, who removed to Schuyler from Inman sev eral years ago, have decided that there is no place quite as good as Holt county and again have taken un their den to Stuart from O’Neill were M. H Horiskey, H. J. Hammond, Thoma Griffin and Max Golden. Mrs. Serafine Ergler,wife of Serfini Ergler of Stuart, arrived from Hen nersdorf, Silisia, Thursday evening o: last week after a journey of more thai a month, part of which time was open at Rotterdam awaiting ship passage The trip across required fourteen day: and stormy weather was encountered at one time necessitating the launch ing of the life boats. Mrs. Ergler re 'ports conditions bad in former Aus tria-Hungary, with bread scarce an<i meat at a dollar a pound and procur blc only in small quantities. WEEKLY MARKETGRAM. Washington, D. C., for week ending Feb. 7, 1921: HAY—Receipts generally of in ferior quality. Southern and eastern markets report increased receipts; lower quotations. Chicago arrivals light; heavier in Kansas City during last part of week, especially of Alfal fa which is showing weakness under the first run of Idaho hay. The quan tity of Idaho is not up to expectations, grades lower than No. 1 moving slowly as Kansas City dealers fear to ship to southeastern markets. Advices in dicate heavy movement from Idaho> Good Timothy scarce in many markets; Frairie arrivals light. Quoted—No. 1 Timothy $21.60, Kansas City, $24.50, Chicago, $20, Minneapolis. No. 2 Timothy—$18.50 Kansas City, $21.00 Chicago, $y Minneapolis. No. 1 Al falfa—$22 Kansas City, $25 Chicago, $22 Minneapolis. No. 2 Alfalfa— $14.50 Kansas City, $20 Chicago, $17 Minneapolis. No. 1 Prairie upland— $14 Kansas City, $19 Chicago, $15.00 Minneapolis. FEED—All feedstuffs weak; some prices $5 lower than a week ago. Stocks improving; offerings corn and wheat feeds heavier. Demand remains light. Cottonseed meal and linseed meal offered by jobbers under mill agents quotations. Considerable acti vity in hominy feed during past week with mills anxious to dispose of their immediate production. Gluten feed production improved; Demand dimin ished, reground oatfeed dull; offered at $6 Chicago market. Mixed car busi ness fairly good. Quoted bran $21, middlings $20, flour middlings $24 Minneapolis; linseed meal $39.60 Buf falo, $37.50 Minneapoliswhite hominy feed $21.50 St. Louis, $29.50 delivered northeastern markets; No. 1 Alfalfa meal $21.50 Kansas City; Gluten feed $35 Chicago; beet pulp $36 New York; dried brewers grain $33 New York: reground oatfeed $9.50 Chieatro bed. Drayton, misunderstood him to say that the bank was being robbed and taking a rifle ran down toward the bank building. Arriving there, in the dark, he saw a light in the build ing. Throwing his fur coat out in the middle of the street, so that it would appear to be a man lying in wait, he crawled off to the side and levelled his rifle at the bank door. Soon two men came out the bank. Drayton waited until they had approached a light, when he pulled up to fire. Before he could do so, however, one of the men spoke and he diacn^erod thsJ -*"“>■ were Browning and the village mar shal. This was the second escape young Browning had during the evening from sudden death. When he first ap proached the bank he was accosted by one of the bandits, who thrust a gun toward him. Browning thinking the move merely one of a friend trying to frighten him, brushed the gun aside, startling the bandit. The second map jammed a gun in Brodning’s back be fore he could follow up his advantage, and the cashier subsided as he realized the two men meant business. The stirring part played by J. F. O’Donnell in'the affair, earlier, in this city, was that when Mr. O’Donnell was informed of the presence of the men here, fie went home about midnight,, got down the old trusty pump gun and loaded It up with shot- Mrs. O’Don nell, who had already retired, was aroused by his warlike preparations and inquired why the demonstration. “I’ve decided to have order, in this house,” Jim remarked, and then he ex plained that the presence of several prowlers had been reported in town and he feared they might be car thieves. “I just want to be prepared if they come after my car,” he re residence in Inman. The ladies of the M. E. church will give a Valentine Social Monday even ing, February 14th, at the church parlors. A short program will be rendered and refreshments served. Everybody welcome. Old H. C. L. received a solar plexus blow Wednesday when pie dropped thirty-three and a third per cent on the local market. Good nine inch pies now are quoted at 10 cents per cut, four cuts to the pie, at the. Grand and other eating places. YVK.»~ J*a«uert rexurneo BbwMuji evening from a business visit at York, Nebraska. York and vicinity was visited with a heavy snowstorm last week which entirely missed this sec tion, according to Mr. Huebert, and the srcw drifted badly. Miss Mayme Grady and Pat Hickey won the honors at the card party social and dance at the K. 0- hall Friday night of last week. The affair, which was the last preceding Lent, was one of the most enjoyable of the several so far given this year. Judge R. R. Dickson has received notice from the state board of paroles and pardons of the application of a Boyd county citizen now being detain ed at Lincoln for parole. The prisoner was sent up for a nameless crime, with a child as his victim. Mr.*W. S. Swigart and Mrs. Swig art, nee Miss Katheryn Corbett, who since their marriage several years ago, have been residents of Pittsburg, Penn., Will return to O’Neill to reside, FRUITS AND VEGETABLES—Po tatoes held at 80-90e per 100 lbs. f. o. t>. northern shipping stations. Chicago car-lot market advanced 10c, reaching York shipping points at $1.10, mostly $1.08. New York market dull, $1.50 $1.65 bulk. Cold Storage Baldwin apples firm at western New York f. o. b. stations, closing $4-$4.15 per bbl. Consuming centers steady at $4.25-$5; York Im perials $3.60-$5; Greenings $4-$5. Northwestern extra fancy Winesaps steady $8.50-$4.50 per box in New York. Prices steady f. o. b. $2.10 $2.25. Sacked Tfellow onions slow and dull f. o. b. at 75c-85c per 100 lbs., consum lug markets steady at 75c-$1.25. Florida celery steady $2.66-$3.26 for large lots in city markets; steady f. o. b. around $1.75. California Golden hearts $5-$6 per crate in middle-west ern markets; Los Angeles steady f. o. b. S0c-85c per dozen bunches. Car-lot shipments week ended Feb. 5: Potatoes 3,020 cars; boxed applet 476, barreled apples 1,072; old cabbage 255, new cabbage 130, old celery 210, new celery 162; lettuce 478; onions 389; spinach 88) sweet potatoes 393; tomatocui 19. Shipments week ended Jap. 29th: potatoes 2851 cars; boxed apples 363, barreled apples 1044; old cabbage 275, new cabbage 125; bid on reDruary zo ncroruing u» wuru re ceived by Dr. A. H. Corbett. The Frontier this week inaugurates a new feature, which will appeav weekly. 'It is a marketgrapi, or par ket letter from tYayhhigtog and is of value to farmers and others interested in supply- and demand, wholesale prices, movements of foodstuff*, re serve stocks, visible supplies, etc, An item from star postofflee, north eastern flolt county, in the Norfolk News ef Monday states that: “Post master Cole butchered a boy Thurs day." As none of the families of that vicinity have complained of losing a boy recently, the kid must have been a maverick or a stray from Knox county, Wolf and coyote hunts are becom ing regular Saturday social functions down in the Chambers valley and the boys are getting that portion of the county pretty well cleaned up of ftyi pasts. W. 0. Jarman is master of ceremonies at the hunts which are regularly organized a‘nd conducted alongmilitary, lines. • r? '■ i ' / * - j* Symousyn Post No. ilH, A'UBr'c'au Legion, w-ishes fo fake this opportunity to thnrdiy the ladies who were instru mental m giving the party for the benefit of the American Legion at the K. C- hell Monday night. The Post also wishes to express its gratitude to the men. of those organisations whose funds were turned over to the Ameri can Legion. C. F. Bdwman of Ewing, was one of the first two men at the.University, of Nebraska this year to win n vi-ack ‘numeral.’ The stat-.. university is awarding ‘lljftthis year to men \ybo. nave hot won their ‘N’ in track but who. make a creditable showing practice tesls. *'“d tnft 440 yard ugU OH the boarij track in 59 ;2 apd made thy 880 yard run in T. V. Golden Was the principal speekwr at a meeting at Stuart Satur day afternoon in the interest of the movement for recognition of the Irish republic. The tnuefiiyg followed the meeting f,5r farm bureau organization and following the eloquent appeal of Mr. Golden forty signed the member ship roll of the American association fpr the recognition of the Irish Re public.. Thysp'accompanying. Mr. Gob / marKea as ne sar me gun aown near the head of the bed. Then he turned in and proceeded t° sleep the'sleep'of the jugt. • A half Four ‘later the ban dits did come to the O’Donnell garage, run out the car and pushed it down as far as the George Bradf place, where they had trouble ip getting it started The whining of the starter aroused Jesse Mellon and Mr, Bradt, but Mr. O’Donnell slept oh and did not discover the loss of his car until Monday morn ing. It is evident that the bandits had the location of most of the big and high-powered cars in the city, as the garages of Webb Kellogg, Dr. L. A. Burgess, the Art Wyant garage and several others were visited and broken into, but the cars found either with the batteries out or the cars otherwise out of commission. The O’Dpppell car, after it was started, whs taken down t-u tl*t| Burlington section houfee,' after the night passenger had arrived and the roundhpus’e help gone, the sec tion house entered and *nd ojl taken. * AMERICAN LEGION BENEFIT, The benefit given under the apspl ces of^he Community Ladles Monday evening at the K. C. hall, to assist in furnishing the new club rooms-of the American Legion post, was more than a success, both from a social and a financial viewpoint. The entertain ment, consisting of cards, refresh ments, a program aud dancing Was most enjoyadlA ahd drew a Ihtge at tendance. The big hall Was beauti fully decorated, under the directjft^ ^ Mrs. Webb Kellggg, fhe decpratiops beipg in vh« national colors and large festoons of red, white and blue stream, ers almost covering the ceiling, the colors lending a most enlivening touch to the scene. The sum of $66.27 above all expenses' was realized j\pd turned over by the ladies ta the post furniture fund. Miss Helen BigUn and Mr. Harry Clausen W.ere the prize winners at cards. NO. 36. . celery 218, n«w celery 193; lettuce 704; > onions 428; spinach 142; sweet pota toes 346; tomatoes 7. , LIVE STOCK—For the first tjm.e in ’ several weeks Chicago cattle prices ' showed slight advances compared with , a week ago. Bpef steers advanced 16c 40c; butcher cows and heifers steady to 25<* higher. Feeder steers unchang ed to 15c lower; veal calves down $1.25 $1.50. Hogs lost 5c-45c, strong weights losing most. Fat lambs down 25c-76c, feeding lambs 75c-$l. Year lings showed an extreme decline of $1,26 per 100 lbs. Fat ewes steady to 50c higher. Feb. 7th Chicago prices: hogs, bulk of sales, $8.90-$9.65; medi um and good beef steers $7.76-$9.25; butcher cows and heifers $4.50-$8.25; feeder steers $6-$8.25; light and me dium weight veal calves $9-$12; fat lambs $7.25-$10; feeding lambs $7.25 $8.50; yearlings $6.25-$7.60; fat ewes $3.75-$5.25. MEAT—Eastern wholesale fresh meat markets were almost invariably lower. Beef lost 50c-$1.50; veal stea dy to $1 lower. Lamb, mutton and pork loins down from $l-$2 per 100 lbs. Feb. 7th prices on good grade meats; beef $13-$15; veal $20-$22; Lamb $18-$21; mutton $10-$21; mutton $10-$15; iig’nt pork loins $20-$23', heavy loins $15-$19. COTTON—Middling spot cotton prices at the 10 designated spot cot ton markets dropped at 72 points dur ing the week, closing around 13-10c. Now York March futures down 66 points at 13.34c. DAIRY PRODUCTS—Butter mar kets demoralized during week; declines registered in all markets. Fallowing the price reductions throughout the week eastern markets broke sharply again on the 7th and prices are 5-0c lower than a week ago. Chicago mar ket has not developed as much weak ness as in east and is less than lc lower than a week ago, but further price changes are bound to occur shortly as Chicago is now higher than New York. Consumption demands lighter, and imports are also a factor contributing to weakness. Prices 92 score: New York 44c; Chicago, Phil adelphia and Boston 45c. Cheese markets dull and inactive. Buyers seem to be fairly well stocked and are now taking for immediate needs only. Many look for lower / prices. At Plymouth Wisconsin cheese exchanges on the 7th prices showed but little change from a week ego, although trading during the week has barely supported existing prices. Twins 23V6c; Daisies 24%c; Double T.nnorlinriic 931An* Young Americas 25c. GRAIN—Sharp price fluctuations characterized the week grain trading, Chicago March wheat dropped 6c net, Chicago May corn gained 7-8e. Visi ble wheat supply for United State and I efsTessTIKan atTfie same time a year I ago, but little attention is being given statistical position. Argentina report ed offering weather at. New York equal to $1.85. India said to have sold Italy over million bushels wheat at equal to $1.67, while exports estimate American wheat would be around $2 C. I. C. Italy. Country offerings wheat not large; Illinois farmers reported willing to sell,, although bad roads prevent haul ing. Visible corn supply nearly seven- * teen million bushels more than year ago. On the 7th seaboard reported 150,060 bushels corn sold Holland and Germany. Low prices and condition of country roads have affected country movement although Iowa farmers, showing disposition to sell. In Chicago cash market No. 2 Red winter wheat. 26-30c over March; No. 2 hard 6-8c over; New No. 3 Mixed corn 6-6 %c under May; yellow 6-6%c under. Min neapolis reports flour sales limited with cash No. 2 dark northern ll-18e over Minneapolis March. For the week Minneapolis March wheat lost 4%c at $1.44%; Kansas City March 5%c at $1.47%; Winnipeg May 7-8c at $1.71. Chicago March wheat $1.64%; May wheat $1.44; May corn 65%. v OUR INTEREST IN YOU > ^ Hi ‘ i Not all can have a large*_I III % j j bank balance, we understand I |||I Therefore, we invite small ■ , j accounts, as well as large ones and while they may not pay us jj ? financially in the start,"we I |l know that in the long run they 11 I The O’Neill National Bank I I I is interested not only in your | | I bank balance, but in you as j ml THE O’NEILL NATIONALBANK 11 I I O’Neill, Nebraska. I This Bank Carries No Indebtedness of Officers I I I I Or Stockholders. I HI ^ Capital, Surplus and Undivided Profits, $130,000