The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-11-08
Five Men Claimed Dollar Bill
Thai A Girl Found in Street

New York, Nov. S.-Just a plain one
dollar bill nearly caused riot at
Ninety-eighth street and Park avenue
and resulted in the police reserves be
ing called out from the East 10th
street station to quell the disturbance
From the number of persons that testi
fled at the court held along the curb
by the policeman on the beat, it looked
as If it was wild night for losing of
one dollar bills.
The complicated affair had it's be.
ginning when Mary Gardner. a negro,
of II East Ninety-eighth street. saw
the bill lying in the gutter. With all
due haste and agility she fell upon the
homeless currency and the next second
was fondly pressing it to her bosom
and getting ready to add it to a collec-
ton of five others she had in her
heavy chatelaine purse.
Bertha Freedman. of No. 81 East
Ninety-eighth. saw the negro girl pick
up the money and declared she saw it
first and was just about to close in
on it when the negro girl corralled it.
With hot words of determination she
insisted on prior claim to the bill.
basing her position in the matter on
the right of discovery.
While the two girls were arguing,
along came Eddie Feeder, seven years
old, of No. 4S East Ninety eighth
street. and, with tears streaming down
his flushed face, pitifully cried that he
had just lost the bill. He said his
mother was i'll and had sent him to
buy some groceries. The animated
cross-fire conversation of the two
girls and the crying boy attracted the
attention of many passers-by. and soon
a crowd of more than three hundred
collected
Not the Only Claimants.
While the excitement was at a high
pitch an excited young man pushed
through the crowd and said he would
belonged to him. He said he was
John ORourke. a bank clerk, OF No.
.124 Park avenue
ORourke told Policeman Rengel-
mann, who was standing In Judgment
on the case. that he had opened his
pay envelope On the spot where the
bill was found. but few minutes be-
fore, intending to give a friend a few
dollars. and when the bill dropped .
the ground. He said he did not miss
it until he reached his home.
O'Rourke had hardly finished this
statement when Oscar A. Swanson, an
iron worker. of No. 1.105 Lexington
avenue, presented himself before the
policeman and declared by all that was
good that the money rightfully be-
longed to him. He said:
Il went into that saloon over there
just few minutes ago and before |
went in l looked to see if had
enough money to buy drinks for my
friends who are generally around on
evening. Well. we all had a
drink and when I reached into nv
pocket for the money it had vanish
ed. 1t put me in an awful embar-
position. Officer, if you don't
believe it. step up here to the saloon
and ask the boys"
Called Out Police Reserves.
Before any other claims were made
the police reserves arrived and quick
y dispersed the crowd. which had
grown to such a proportion that traf-
tic was blockaded.
Police Captain Corcoran took posses
sion of the BILL and with the five
claimants headed for the East l04th
street station. Most of the crowd fol-
owed. and arrived at the station they
treated a disturbance pushing and
showing in the door. striving for
good point of vantage, to see and hear
he proceedings.
When Lieutenant Ccnners heard the
story he proceeded to put each OF the
i've persons through a third degree.