On examining the store, they discovered below the main stairway on the first floor a hole in the wall about eighteen inches square. An electric drill with wires attached to an electric light socket under the stairs showed how the robbers had succeeded in cutting through the fourteen inch fireproof wall. Drills, chisels, and a small bottle of nitroglycerine were found a few feet away covered with dust. The floor in front of the hole and the wall about it were covered with blankets and quilts taken from the company’s stock, apparently to deaden the sound of drilling. The bricks of which there was a small pile had evidently been drawn out one by one as fast as they were loosened, with the aid of a small pulley and tackle that were lying in the hole.

Some footprints in the dust at the foot of the stairs indicated that one of the men had been stationed there as a look-out to command a view of the street through the big plate glass windows of the store. These with the tools and tackle were the only clues.

Patrolman Parker notified the detectives of the central police station while Mr. Otter informed Postmaster White. When the post office vault was opened everything was found to be in confusion. The stamp cases had been rifled to the extent of over $18,000 worth of stamps of all denominations. The cash boxes had evidently been overlooked for they were found to be intact.

[Pg 115]“At no time of the night was the post office unguarded,” said Postmaster White. “Arthur Cummings and Henry Leister, mailing clerks, were in the mailing and sorting rooms until they were relieved by the day force. Patrolman Cutting, a messenger, and mail wagon drivers were in and out of the office at all hours of the night.”

Post Office Inspector A. B. Holmes of Cincinnati was notified of the robbery by telegraph, and Inspector G. C. Helms of Fort Wayne, whom he detailed to come here to investigate, arrived late tonight.

SUGGESTIONS

  1. Find an interesting “feature” in every unexpected occurrence.
  2. Give all the facts and stick to them.
  3. Don’t be carried away by wild reports; investigate every rumor.
  4. Keep cool, no matter how great the disaster.
  5. Don’t overestimate the extent of the damage and the number of persons killed or injured.
  6. Remember that not all persons who appear in the news are necessarily “prominent” or “well known.”
  7. Avoid describing persons or property as “endangered” or “threatened” when they are not actually in danger.
  8. Don’t overload your story with minor details.
  9. Give life and action by using direct quotation whenever it is appropriate.
  10. Include verbatim accounts of eye-witnesses or survivors in big disasters.
  11. Make clear to the rapid reader the exact relation of all incidents to the principal event.
  12. Look for the motive in murders, suicides, embezzlements, and similar crimes.
  13. See the “human interest” in police news.
  14. Don’t call an accused person a criminal unless he confesses or has been convicted of crime before.[Pg 116]
  15. Don’t try criminal cases in your news stories; leave that to the court.
  16. Give both sides; the accused as well as the accuser has a right to be heard.
  17. Avoid predictions of “sensational developments” when they are not likely to occur.
  18. Don’t put a “mystery” in your story when none exists.
  19. Remember that the truth, and nothing but the truth, interestingly written, makes the best news story.

PRACTICE WORK

1. Criticise and rewrite the following fire story:

In a fire which destroyed the plant of John B. May & Co., paint and varnish makers, 20 East Harmon street, late yesterday, five men who took desperate chances in escaping from the blazing structure were injured and Mme. Celloni’s famous bohemian restaurant was temporarily put out of commission.