The evening world., 1893-11-02
BOOK A MILD CRANK TO-DAY.
Still He Was Strapped in a Strait.
Jacket in Prison.

A whole squad of court officers sur
rounded George Book when he stepped
on the platform before Justice Koch in
the jefferson Market Police Court this
forenoon. He was charged with send.
ing a threatening postal card to Scenic
Artist Gustave Volz, of Froctor's Thea
tire. calling for the payment OF $40 which
Book claimed Volz owed him for years.
The story of a desperate attempt that
Book made last night on Capt. O'Con-
nor. of the Tenderloin station, while he
was being booked for a cell, had pre-
coded the prisoner to court, and 1t was
deemed advisable to keep him under
strict surveillance during the proceed
ings.
Book had been placed in the rapidly
increasing ranks Of cranks, n that,
together with the fact that he was a
fellow of powerful physique, did as
much, perhaps, as anything else to slim
ulate the fear the court officers seemed
to hold him in. And yet Book told an
altogether coherent story of the debt he
said NolZ owed him.
Years ago. in Portland, Ore, Book
said, Volz was employed by him in a
big painting and decorating business.
At n time Volz borrowed $40 and then
left him to come East. Some time
afterwards Books business failed and
he was without a dollar.
He drifted to New York, and found
tried to collect the debt, saying he would
take a dollar or two at a time. He
claimed he couldn't collect a penny,
which thoroughly frightened Volz.
This postal-card, which caused Books
arrest, said Book was starving. and
wouldn't wait any, longer for his
member it Is cranks'- day, and also !
have been Chicago. I give you until
Saturday or join my and then fol;
lowed a very crude drawing OF a skull
Volz showed the postal to Cept. o'Con-
nor. who sent out his detectives to ar
rest Book. They found MIN In a saloon
was given on the postal card. BY a
pretext the detectives got him over to
the West Thirtieth street station-house
1t is said that when Book realized that
and made q vicious lunge at Capt. O'Con-
nor's tn oat with a keen-edged file.
Detectives Sullivan and Lang interfered
and prevented the prisoner doing any
harm.
He was calm enough this morning
when arraigned. but the. threatening
character of the postal induced Justice
ordered Book to furnish $500 for his good
behavior for six months. Book was then
led back to the prison and the keepers,
still fearful of an outbreak, Immediately
strapped Book in a strait-jacket bind
ing his arms by the wrists to his sides.
The keepers weren't taking any chances
with him.. they explained.
An Evening World reporter saw
Book in the prison. This is what l
get for lending a friend money" he
said. He hadn't the slightest suggestion
of a crank about him. except that his
attire was very d~ilapidated. He has a
frank. open face and honest blue eyes.
He repeated the story of lending Nolz
money when he was in a prosperous
| painting business at Portland. Ore, and
how now that he was penniless and
hungry he asked for a dollar or two to
drive hunger away.
When asked why he wrote the postal
card about "cranks' day" and Chicago.
Book said he did not know what he
was doing. If he was a crank bent on
hurting anybody. Book was subtle
enough to conceal that fact, and he was
uncommonly docile.
Capt. Connor did not press the
charge OF attempted assault on him by
Book, nor did his officers tell of the
finding of a s~harpened bavonet, which
had been ground to a stiletto-like point.
In the prisoners coat that had been
found in the stable at 263 Avenue b.
An old officer of the court remarked,
sententiously: IF it's crankism to ask
for the payment of money we lend,' why
there's a lot of us in danger of being
locked up as crank?."