The San Francisco call., 1903-12-08
MEETS ENEMY
BY ACCIDENT
Sudden Encounter of Mime
apolis Men Leads to Ar
rest and Police Inquiry
MAKE CHARGES OF THEFT
Belligerents Engage in Row
in, Hotel and Are Arrested
for Disturbing the Peace
Oakland Office San Francisco Call,
111e DrOo6vuov noc

lib 6TOdQWdys Lee. ..
Out of an unexpected meeting in
Oakland this afternoon between j. r.
Ellison, a merchant of Minneapolis.
Mimi. and Nathan Musher. late also
OF the Flour City, came arrests, accu-
sations of theft and all sorts of swind-
ling, a fight and a police investigation
which may or may not develop more
seriously than the charges Of disturb
| ing the peace that are registered at the
City Prison against the men,
Ellison. claiming that Musher de-
frauded him, hustled him off to his
room at the Hotel Crellin and there de-
manded a settlement In the midst Of
the dispute that followed. the police
were called by Ellison. who stalked off
to the City Prison with his man, Hotel
keeper Fred Jordan having caused
Mushers arrest. Musher retaliated by
| charging Ellison with disturbance and
also with taking his purse. Ellison
surrendered the purse. declaring that
it's contents had been given to him in
part settlement of the claim he had
over the
You're a theft" shouted Ellison as
he confronted his man in the police sta
tion.
you're thief" echoed Musher.
Smash went a stiff right-hander from
Ellison. Musher ducked. but the blow
caught him on the back of the head
Then Police Captain Wilson stepped in
and stopped the fight.
Mushers story, in brief. was that FL
lison, who conducted the New York
Silk Garment Company in the Boston
Block Minnea polls. had owed David
Harris, a Grand street New York, mer-
chant $1400 and that he (Musher) had
forced Ellison to settle the bill and had
been paid $25 commission by Ellison
i -1,1r-
serted that his antagonist tried to-day
to compel him to pay back the SIS,
hence the quarrel.
Musher was burdened with a lot of
documents, bank books and papers,
which have been made the objects of a
careful police inquiry in view of Eli
sons fiat accusations that the man is
a swindler. The first thing that at
tracted the police eye was a bunch of
Confederate bills of S1OO, $50 and $50
denomination. A bank book of the
Federal Bank of New York showing
$11 900 deposit a book from the Lowry
National Bank of Atlanta. Ga. with a
credit of 5000; check for $4,000 drawn
or the National Park Bank of New
York by Nathan Musher and stamped
paid were among the papers.
EVADES THE QUESTION.
Musher evaded the question as to his
been drawing against the accounts and
did not know how he stood.
Further search Of his effects brought |
to light certificate from the officers
of the Beth Jacob Hebrew Synagogue
of this city accrediting Morris Block as
the rabbi of that organization. Detec-
tive Kyle found Block, who said:
This man Musher took the certif-
cate away from me several days ago |
after asking me to allow him to in
spect' it. 1 did not know what had be- |
come of him."
Musher claims to be a travelling
salesman with his home at Atlanta, Ga |
He said he had a wife in St. Louis and
later asserted that she was with him in
Oakland.
In spite of Musher's denials OF |
wrongdoing, Ellison reeled off a story |
of swindling and declared that he !
would take steps to prosecute the man |
he had accidentally encountered in Cal |
ifornia.
''Musher came to my place of busi- |
ness in Minneapolis last September and |
wanted to become a partner with me-" /
said Ellison. He showed me a lot of |
what he said were United States bonds /
and securities and asked me to intro /
duce him to my bank people. He pre- /
tended to- be well fixed / loaned him /
$25 and later gave him SS5 suit for his /
wife, for which he has not paid me-
PLACE is ATTACHED.
During my absence on a business
trip Musher and one of my competitors /
in business in Minneapolis told David 4
Harris, with whom / had done much /
business and whom owed money, that |
l was going to skip out. After my return
Musher took a hand in TINS business
and had my place attached. 1 owed
Harris $147e 33 1 paid him $1,000 cash /
and returned goods sufficient to make
up the balance. 1t was a straight, le-
gitimate business transaction and Har-
ris knows now that he acted through |
the misrepresentation of rivals.
This man Musher fled from Mime /
apolis, leaving a trail of debts behind /
him. He owed everybody and he got /
money from two boys there, pretending /
that he was a secret service agent in /
search of green goods men. From 4
Dave Deworsky, who resides at 622 /
Eighth avenue North, Musher got $50, |
saying he needed the coin to buy the /
green goods because the bunko men 1
wouldn't take check. And he worked \
the same thing on Dawes brother, |
Lewis, who worked for a big lumber
company there The boys expected TO |
become secret service detectives"
Ellison told about his trip to Califor /
MIA on business, of accidentally meeting i
Musher to-day on the street, OF de- |
n,anding first that he settle the $50 in /
debtedness and also pay Ellison's rail- |
road fare to this State.
That's business" commented Eli 4
soD.
''Musher handed me his purse" con-
tinued the merchant. 1T contained |
s6 70. but was not satisfied and de-
cided to turn him over to the police. /
He made such a row in the hotel that 1
the proprietor caused his arrest And /
that's the story. If / can get him /
back to Minneapolis 1 shall have him /
punished"
Musher claims he arrived four or five /
days ago and was on trip to find a /
good business location.