The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-12-31
TALL THIEF CAUGHT;
SHORT ONE ESCAPES
Woman Cashier Leads Chase
of Man Who Grabbed Cash
in Savoy Drug Store.
LOOT HAD DISAPPEARED
Supposed Tt Was intercepted
by Pretended Buyer Of
Hair Brushes.

pity Muensterbers is not alive TO say
why robbers are always paired in such
affinity nowadays-entered Ramsdell's
drug store at 7s3 Fifth avenue. next door
to the Savoy Hotel. a little before 10
o'clock yesterday morning. Both were
young and we'll dressed and seemed not
out of place as patrons OF a shop in this
favored part of the city.
The short man walked to the back OF
the store and told a clerk. William Lud-
wig. that he wished TO look at military
hair brushes. Ludwig sampled his stock
for inspection. The customer waved the
brushes with a show of lofty irritation.
Not wooden brushes" he said. 81
want ivory ones have you no ivory
brushes?'
While the clerk and the fastidious
buyer were thus engaged the tall stran-
ger stood just inside the front door. APP
parently divertng himself with the
morning stream of traffic in the avenue
as he waited for his friend. At his left,
separated from him by wooden couu-
ter surmounted by a glass partition, sat
Miss Tillie Fensterer, the cashier. busy
with her books. She had just made up
an envelope to be taken to the bank. 1t
contained S23S.17 in cash, 500 unreg-
istered Liberty bond which the proprietor
OF the store was keeping for an &C
quaintance who is overseas. and several
checks.
Cashier Pursues Thief.
Suddenly a glass of water which Miss
Fensterer had placed near her fell to the
floor with a tinkle Of breaking glass. She
looked around, just In time to see thar
the tall man at the door had reached hls
left arm over the top OF the glass parti-
lion, grabbed her cash envelope and n
30 doing tipped over the water lumber.
The cashier could not get at the man De-
cause of the intervening partition. but
she could hop down from her stool ana
run around the counter, crying Thief :!
which she did.
The robber opened the door and fed
into Fifth avenue. The cashier's skirts
hampered her. but right well did she
dash after him. The chase led down
the avenue to Fifty-eighth street and
east to the entrance of the Savoy bar.
You might say he was half running,
half walking" the barkeeper said after
ward in describing the passage of tall
stranger to whom he gave no special
attention But when the lady came In.
you might say she was running"
The robber hurried through the bar
through the hotel lounge and lobby. past
the desk and through the revolving doors
OF the Fifty-ninth street exit, at a pace
that was swift enough to carry him along
rapidly, but not so swift as to excite
the suspicion of the few persons he
would pass in the Savoy at that hour
of the day. The uniformed negro Mt
the revolving door had just let him out
when Mifs Fensterer came tearing
through the lobby crying stop thief !
Stop th!ett"
Took No Chance with the Rest.
IN one hand, as she ran, she held u
bundle of banlInotes. The thoughtful
woman had made sure that in her alb
ssnce from the drug store no other
idlinE customer should turn robber and
take what money was left.
At Fifth avenue and Fifty-ninth street
stood the six foot and something traffic
policeman known to everybody who
travels that way-Jacob ii. Williams,
Seeing lady waving fistful of green
backs come piling out of the Savoy,
followed by a lot OF walters waving
napkins. and hearing Der scream that
q man springing along in front Of her
and gaining every second was a thief.
Patrolman Williams, like "A good cop. let
traffic run itself and giving his whistle
prodlgious blow he Joined in the
pursuit. But by that time he was only
one Of numerous persons who had
dropped their regular business to help
Miss Fensterer. Most of them followed
along discreetly. mindful of possible
gunpiay; but not so Ramsdells cashier
her breath was going, but she was game.
The, robber turned at Madison ave-
nue., ran north TO S'xtieth street and
across TO Park avenue. There, as luck
would have it, stood Policeman William
Donahue of Traffic @, who had Just
stepped from a Fifty-ninth street car
on which he had ridden to work A tall
man who was painting hard virtually ran
into his arms. which were Reinforced
by the nuzzlr of Il police revolver.
Identified by Two.
Another moment and Miss Fensterer
also reached Park avenue and Sixtieth
street She too needed the support OF
arms before she was able to tell the po-
lice what IT was all about. She said
positively that the captive was the drug
store vobber and the Savoy door tender
Identified him as the man who had gone
out just ahead of Miss Fensterer
The prisoner, however. asserted tina,
he had himself just got Off a trolley car
and was running because everybody else
was
- ana now dld you happen 10 get oil
the carr said Patrolman Donahuc.
After some thought the prisoner said
Because a man stopped on my feet. We
had row about It and | thought II
best TO leave
After that he was held BY Magle.
trate rockingham in the YorkviIle court
In $4,000 bail on Il charge of grand lar.
ceny for examination January ., tho
complainant being Miss Fensterer He
said he was Don Lloyd, clerk %
years old, ego West Slxty-eighth street
Papers in his pocket indicated that h
was a licensed chauffeur and was dis,
charged from the navy two weeks ago
Otherwise he had penknlfe and s35.
At the moment when the water elias,
fell TO the floor in famsdeIrs drug store
the putative buyer of military hal,
brushes set In ivory turned abruptl,
from the counter and entered the Savo,
through door connecting the store and
the hotel. II is supposed that his tai
- friend slipped the envelope full OF cast
NVnd checks 10 him while the former wa
Fhustling through the hotel. The shor
n man has not been found.
Except that one OF the men was tai
0nH the other short their description
hoeS not tally with that of the pair VIII,
sebbed the East Brooklyn Savings Banl
few weeks ago. However men from
fhe bank will have n look at LLOYD.
objects 10 German Husband.
Because she had lost her American
citizenship and, to her great mortihca
tion and disgrace, had become subjec