Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-07-25
ARMENIAN MURDERS ABROAD
ASSASSINATION OF TAvSHANJIAN
RECALLS PECKHAM RYE CASE.
These Killings Were Also the Work of
the Hunchakist Society - Trou-
bles of Rival patriots"

! Special Cahlegram to The Star.
LONDON, July 25.-More interest is taken
| in the murder of the Armenian merchant
| Tavshanjan in New Yorf than is usually
| vouchsafed to an American killing This is
| because it appears to be part of chain of
| matchmaking murders that have been COM
mitted by this same Hunchakst society in
| different parts of the world. The latest pre-
| ced.ng the present outbreak of activity were
committed in London in 1903 by a man who
| evidently had been sent from the United
| States for the purpose
Murders of the secret sort are common
| enough in England, but street killings are
| uncommnn enough to attract attention. and
| when three murders were committed the
| streets in daylight in London. and the muir
| derer then committed suicide to escape cap
| ture, 1t stirred up the English authorities
| considerably. The detective force worked
| on the matter for weeks and dug up the
| fact that the murderer and suicide was
| the same man who had attempted to muir
| der an Armenian editor in Boston about two
| years before. Also they unearthed a good
deal of ancient history about feuds inside
the Matchmaking society and the disap-
pearance of a big revolutionary fund But
| further than that nothing was found on
which action could be taken
The murders in London occurred in the
| little second-class suburb of Peckham Rye
south across the Thames from the city
/ The meeting of the Armenian revolutionary
| society was being held there though no one
| knew anything about it till the killings
started lhere We're large number of
| Arnt mans in London all connected In one
way or another with the Ba kan revolution
! that breaks out regularly every spring and
| that is featured In the papers if there is
nothing more important in the way of news
| at the time.
First Man Shot.
! The president of the revolutionary society
was going home early one evening when he
was shot at his front gate by another Ar
| menian. Several people saw the murder
! and the remarkable feature of it was that
| the killer was evidently professional gun
| man. for he shot equally well with either
! hand. He shot the Armenian leader and as
| the latter staggered within his walled gar
! den the murderer switched the gun to his
| left hand and swinging open the gate with
his right, fired again Killing his man in
stantly. He ran down the street and disap-
peared. and nothing more was heard of him
for a week.
OF course the killing set the London po-
lice by the ears and they got Very busy.
/ The fact that the revolutionary meeting
in progress unearthed. All the
members of the society took the matter
very cooly. The president of the society,
who the first victim, had evidently
| been going in fear of assassination, for his
clothes were a regular arsenal. including a
/ long stiletto hung by an eyeClass chain in
! sdc his coat within reach of his hand and
I two guns, one of them an automatic re-
! VoIver of the latest pattern.
| Two More Murdered
| 1t was discovered at the time that the kill
| ing OF the president of the society had
! some connection with revolutionary fund
! of $l5O,0OO that had been collected in the
| United States within two years and more
! than half of which had disappeared. The
/ Armenians themselves laid the murder at
the door of the Hunchakist Society, which
| they said was a semi patriotic semi black
mailing organize ton at odds With their own.
! AS near as could be discovered the two
! branches of the same society We're really al
I odds, but about the only difference was that
I one OF them got the money and succeeded
( in keeping it, while The other. being the
most expert In gun play, did most of the
! killing.
/ Within a week after the first killing two
. Of TIE members of the society whose presi-
dent had been aSSassinated We're walking
home from the last meeting of the
: VentiOn when man walked up behind
/ them. shot them both in the back and
turned TO run. There was crowd on his
/ heels in an instant, and he chased up
I what proved 20 he Il blind alley. He slipped
/ and fell. looking for an exit, and, finding
! that his pursuers were bound to get him.
! pulled revolver and Killed himself. He
! shot himself with his left hand Indicating
| bis identity with the other killing and this
! was afterward more fully established
Clever Disguise.
When he was undresscd at the morgue a
rather clever plan of escape was shown.
| The murderer was dressed in a long light
oveTcoat Of rather stylish cut and a black
derby hat. Underneath of this coat he
wore the most disreputable old tattered suit
OF clothes that could be found on any
street loafer. In the pocket of the overcoat
was a cap that matched the ragged suit.
itIs undcrClJthes were all and fine
IT Was very Plain what his plan of action
| had been. If he could have dropped the
sly liSh overcoat and hard hat at the end
Of the alley and slipped over fence dom
ming the old cap to match the ragged suit
OF clothes. nobody would ever have known
! hlW Tor tha man who did the killing. The
/ only mistake he made was in not assuring
himself of a lin" of retreat.
/ lie was Identified by witnesses as the
/ man Who did the first killing. and it was
/ brH"Fru that his name was NarZbadian
! but further than that little could be learned
/ o. MIN At the time of the first murder
! ne cropped soft felt hat that was stamped
/ iihIidt WIN the name of a St. Louis firm,
/ litmcatlnS that lie had been in America
| tilS general description and a scar on his
| lace answered 10 The description of the man
| VINO mad made the attack on the Armenian
| tGltoF IN fosion but aside from that his
antecedents were blank and. though II
was believed that the Armenians in London
knew who he was, they professed ignorance
ana there was no way of Contradicting
them.
WITH the fresh outbreak of the Hunchak-
expectation here of further murders.
S----