Yesterday at about one-thirty in the afternoon, a large black automobile stopped not far from the Sixteenth Street State Bank, at the corner of Sixteenth Street and St. Louis Avenue. Six bandits got out and entered the bank. They flashed their revolvers before the eyes of the cashier, Mr. Jacob Kolish, and locked him and Miss Elsie Landover, and four depositors into the private office of the president, Samuel Maltz. The robbers then entered the teller's room, took $4,500 in paper money, and made their escape.

Mr. Maltz, the president, was not in the bank at the time, but his father, Mr. Nathan Maltz, a director of the bank, was locked in with the others.

The audacious robbers, in their hurry, did not even attempt to break into the vault, which was securely locked and contained several hundred thousand dollars worth of Liberty bonds and other valuable papers. Apparently, they 2understood the difficulty attached to trying to break open the vault, and, therefore, departed, saying that they had just returned from France, and "we must earn a living somehow".

The bank will not lose a cent because since its founding, it has been insured against theft. An agent from the insurance company immediately made his investigation, and we are informed that the bank will receive a check today from the insurance company for $4,500.

It is remarkable that the robbers overlooked $500 in silver and several thousand dollars worth of Liberty bonds which were lying on top of the desk. This proves that they were not experienced thieves. Officials believe that they are from the neighborhood, and that they watched their chance for a long time and finally chose to act at lunchtime when most of the employees are out.

The Sixteenth Street State Bank opened as a neighborhood bank, seven months ago.