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Show LUNATIC ATTEMPTS H TO III BAM 1 Walks Into Merchants5 National ""fB of Omaha With Threat of M Using Explosive. ! JH VICE-PRESIDENT STALLS j Ifl UNTIL DETECTIVES ARRIVE J IB Liquid Which Man Said Was 'H Nitro-Glycerine Proves to Be j Colored Water. iHI OMAHA, Neb., March 10 A boldj , llfl attempt was made this morning to rob) I9H the Merchants' National bank at Thif- tccnth aud Farnuin streets by a man) who although at first thought to bo a- , :"jiltI desperate criminal, is now believed by. ' the police to be a lunatic. : " vjBrl The man, who gavo his name as L.' 4 mB&I L. Fee, formerly of 'Rock ford. Ill,,1 ', .j EKfl walked into the bank soon after it1 . ' -JBS opened and menacing Vice President' 1 Luther Drake with a "bottle which ho ! 'Bfl said contained nitroglycerine, demand- . Jvl ed $5000 cash. Mr. Drako. though be- 11 j U'B licving for the moment that his life Uwfl and those of his fellow officials ind' ,5 cj jAw-fl omployecs of the bank might he in im- ! !.3 -W SC 'm mineut danger, conferred calmly with' !?"l( MvJ)3 the would-be robber until other officials- mM?m called the police and the man was tak- : IM en into custody. Tests by tho police flfl seem to show that tho contents of the- i ffl bottlo were harmless. f j fjll Told Wild Story. s:! Ut Tho man entered tho bank soon aftert '"v-Jlu.B the doors were thrown open aud aslccd lvM to sec Vice-President Luther Drake in' i Ji 1,bH his private cilice. Drake seated him- : jj &yH self opposite the man, who began talk- )'t.i fiJ9 ing in a rambling manner about having f ' 'TriT$9l had $5000 in the .National linnk. ofi, f fj mfM Commerce in Kansas City when that ii bank failed. V a.'Qfl "And since all you fellows arc in to- jjj M-H gcther, you had 'just better hand mcj , R VyLvl over my money or I'll blow vou and ; Ifj Vtrll this bank and all of us lo hell,'' sud- ? P .SjH 1 dculy said the fellow, producing a) ; f HAtiM three-ounce bottle containing a thick, U WrH yellow liquid. ,' y CjlfH "Don't you make a move. This is 11 - JlV-JB filled with nitro-glyueriuei If you I m-IjI move, 3-011 aro a dead man." - tjtjH "You don't want to die j'ourBclf,' 1 .j ' tVo4(H do you?1' coolly asked Drake. " I, I 'fJUiH Was Roady to Die. ' ' . J't M , "Oh ,yas, I came in hero readv to - trl C ; I jH die.'' responded the stranger, "bull 'A Vj '" ifl when T die, I'll take everybody iu this1 u "1 iH building with me." , X IB "WeTj. I'll go and get you the mon- J 'a jj H ey, ' said Drake, rising from his chair. k aH "Sit down, said the man.t i .'c. Ofl "If you get. up again without per- "'' 'i . '1 mPM mission. T "II just drop this bottle. You J LvpaMH know what will happen." ir Drake sat down. ' 7 ' ' ' Jl S'hI Drake then told the mnu ho "would t j " j 'fflH tnlk it ovor with him nnd the stranger ?H accepted, all the time keeping the bot- l w KH tlo in lus hand within sight. Noticing ! rlH that the man seemed thiu and pinched. ( j -H Drake asked hiin if he was not huugry. , I if! '.'J have been studying over Und l 1 H matter for several day's, and have nod . jHI eaten a thing for forty-eight hours," i 1 Ml answered the mnn with the bottle. 'vj8$tH Was Easily Duped. a ! 'Il "Well, lets go have breakfast and' i I talk this over, proposed Drake. f j "All right; but don't try auvi- '. j firH monlcoy business, or you are a dead nH man," was tho reply. ( ''Mj President Hamilton of the ha1)lc X entered the next room-during the con- ,' h 'UH ersntion, and heard enough of it td I " UH enable him to know what was goineJ 1 ' 'fj on. As Drake aud the stranger left) I . j VflH the room together Hamilton telephoned fj the police station for plain clothes. 4 VTT-H mon, and followed tho two men to a j lH nearby restaurant. ' j "jH, tfM Drake and the man were on opposite : .! If -if sides" of a table when three detectives J 'la' accompanied by Hamilton, entered1 Jj I Jig the room. .Slipping up behind the. s ijB.'iH stranger, the detectives pinioned hij I - 'H-il arms and relieved him of his bottle j j 'iBfH before he knew what was up. lie I fl:H was then taken to the police station. I wajH Was Evidently Iusane. j MilH At the police station later the mnu it J llfH gave his name as L. L. Fee. and said, y 11)111 thnt he came from Bockford, III., last - 1 wjlH October. Since then he has lived m j fljJH Omaha, and has been out of work, lln iLliH is a plumber by trade, and has beou U llH drawing $5 a month .from tho f 'j Qj'fH Plumbers' uniou while out of work. ? ) fflH Fee acknowledged that, ho never H g-H was in Knnsns City, and that his storv' ' J ' fS'MH of h-iving mone3 in the bank of 'thn'fc , .. fS WB cit,y was untrue. Fee says he had read i j f Pl of banks being robbed iu the manner ,1 'ulT'B he attempted, rtnd that he determined 't .; J yM fo try the scheme. Ho insists that the j. M T bottle contained no nitro-glvcerine, but ,j j' f KH was only water, with a coloring imW Hk ! Tfl Nl tcrial in if. The police took tho bottle fj 4j ( to the river bank und fired 'info it' , M il VM with a rifle. The bottle was broken, II i J JM but there was no explosion. f JI " iH |