Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-05-26
DARING EFFORT T0RQB
Thugs Nearly Secure $4,000
From Bank Runners.
BLIND THEM WITH PEPPER
Desperate Fight on One Of Gotham's
Crowded Streets.
GIRL FIRST TO THE RESCUE
One Messenger Pounded With Black
Jack and Wrist Slashed With
Knife-Arrest Is Made.

NEW YORK. May pa daring attempt
| to wrest packages containing S43.oNo IN
| cash from the hands of three bank mes
| sengers was made +. three Italians at ,
| O'Clock yesterday afternoon in the heart
| Of the most crowded section of the East
Side. Red pepper. knives and blackjacks
! were freely used by the three highway
men, and one of the messengers was
s abbcd in half dozen different places
The messengers chung to the money. how
ever. though unarmed. and fought until
their assailants were thrown off,
The assault was principally directed
against the eldest of the three bank en-
ployes who carried the largest share OF
the money in small black satchei
Though his eyes were blinded by the pep
per and the three highwaymen pounded
his head with their blackjack and sawed
his left hand in which he carried the rag.
with knives until they nearly severed II
at the wrist. he held on until the crowd
had frightened off the highwaymen. Ihen
he and his fellow messengers. sun grip
ping the packages of money, dropped IN
| collapse on the sidewalk.
Girl Rushed to the Rescue.
| The attempt occurred just east of list
| avenue in front of s.; list street, where
small Polish and Russian restaurant is
kept by Nosti Ronkolwok. The narrow
street was crowded with hundreds OF
working people on their way home. An
enormous crowd collected at the hrst
alarmed shouts of the messengers. but OF
all the dozens that witnessed the hold-up
only one. a sturdy young Polish girl Eva
Javnovitzka, attempted at hrst 10 assist
| the three runners.
She was standing in the door of her
home. which is over the restaurant. Kun
ming into the street ut the first attack she
| grasped the arm with which one of the
| highwaymen was welding a knife. and
| her action probably saved the life of one
| of the messengers. Aroused by the girl
| heroism some men in the crowd Jumped
| in and the hiShwaymen, seeing that IL
| was useless to continue the fight, darted
| away. One of them was caught Few
| minutes later as he was walking west on
I'd street on the other side of the avenue.
A policeman's attention was attracted to
him by blood on his hands and clothing
and by the cries of crowd of boys who
were following him. Half block more
and he would have escaped.
Had $43, 900 in Gold and Bills.
Joseph Velsor of 34l Marion street.
Brooklyn: Samuel Adelman of 27S South
9Th street, Brooklyn, and Abraham
Stern of Is East Hath street were the
| three bank employees. Velsor is book
keeper and Adelman and Stern regular
messengers. They left the branch of the
jefferson Bank at Clinton and East HOus-
ton streets to go to the main bank at Ca
nal and Forsythe streets just before D
o'clock. The $4,000 was I'm four pack
ages, the bulk of it in the satchel carried
by Adelman. Velsor carried two small
bags of gold and Stern bundle of bills
of large denomination in a wooden box.
1t was the regular Monday transfer
from the branch to the main office The
highwaymen were probably aware of this.
and were awaiting for the three men 1t
was the messengers custom always to
walk through LIST street to LIST avenue and
there take the ID avenue elevated south
to Canal street. They followed this route
yesterday. and when attacked were not
much more than fifty feet from the stair
way to the elevated station
None of the three bank employees vas
able afterward to remember from just
what point the three aSSailantS jumped
out. Nor could the Javnovitzka girl. who
saw the beginning of the attack. tell aft
erward whether the highwaymen had
been following the men or whether they
bounced out upon them.
One Messenger Badly Injured.
Velsor was sent TO Bellevue Hospital
with a blackjack wound in his head which
it was first thought might be fracture
of the skull. Stern was not badly hurt
but Adelman had deep cut In his right
forearm one on his right hand, another
on his forehead and his left wrist was
| badly gashed by knife sashes
While the physician was working over
Adelman and Stern. who had tainted, Po-
liceman Ryan brought in the prisoner.
whom the messengers identified at once.
Some ore had carried the news of the
hodup to the 9TH street station. and
Capt. Shaw and dozen men were on the
scene very quickly. The first man 20
arrive was Policeman Tnger. the clerical
man of the station house. who ran down
in his shirt sleeves. He found Ryan with
his prisoner pinned in doorway at 81
1st street, surrounded by a large crowd.
Asc they held him there waiting for the
reserves they heard something drop on
the pavement. 1t was new .32caliber
Iver Johnson revolver. full, loaded. Four
more cartridges were found in the pris-
oners pockets.
He was marched to the station house
surrounded by half "A dozen policemen.
The news of the holdup spread swiftly
through the neighborhood, and by the
time Inspector Mctaffrey of the de-
tective bureau and Fourth Deputy Com
missioner Arthur Woods had arrived the
station house was surrounded by hum
dreds Of excited men and women. TWEEN
~ policemen were sent into the streets,
and traffic was lined off for block north
and south on lSt avenue alter the manner
of fire lines
In the meantime Adelnan and Stern
and the packages of money that they had
so pluckily protected were brought in
The two men We're questioned briefly and
sent to their homes in carriages They
could give only meager description of
the two men who got away. They said
they were young and athletic, and evil
IDENTIFY Italians
Prisoner a Plasteret by Trade.
The prisoner said that he was Casino
Eiccobono. twenty-six years old; that he
was a plasterer by trade and lived at
4.6-i2S East Sth street. Further than
his he would not talk. He was later
taken to police HEADQUARTERS and will ne