Perth Amboy evening news., 1918-08-22
BANDITS SHOOT
DRIVER OF.TRUCK
Hold Up Valuable Load Near
SomerviIle and Murder
Chauffeur of Car.
ABANDON LOAD LATER
Truck Run to Summit Junction
and Abandoned Police
Seek Guilty Ones

Three highwaymen held up a motor
truck carrying $4,000 worth of silk
at somerville yesterday afternoon.
When Charles Hilbert, of Allentown,
Pa, the chauffeur. sought to draw a
revolver they shot him through the
clump of woods beside the roadway.
The trio left Frank Myer, Hilbert's
helper, In the : thicket, threatening
him with death II he moved.
Entering the truck the bandits
turned about and sped along the
highway toward Newark. But when
they reached Summit Junction, a sta
ton on the Central Railroad of New
Jersey, they abandoned the van and
its load of silk, fearing pursuit and
capture.
Police all over New Jersey and In
New York were seeking the murder
ers last night. Myer says they were
ell young. II describes one as being
small and dark, and with the appear
anee of an Italian. The other two,
be says, had light hair and wore light
suits and straw<-hats.
The truck belonged to Kallenback
e. Stevens, silk manufacturers of Sc
Bigelow street, Newark. 1t has made
frequent trips between that city and
Allentown, where the company has a
finishing mill. The robbery had ap-
parently been carefully planned.
About thirty miles from Newark,
where q stream known as Middle
Brook crosses Union avenue between
Somerviile and Bound Brook, there
Is q sharp rise in the road. At the
top there are woods on either side,
and persons crouching in them would
have an unobstructed view of the
highway for half mile.
nr1xr chad fha ton
when the three road agents leaped
from the trees on either side with
drawn revolvers They ordered him
to stop and he promptly shut off the
power. Myer, who was seated on the
rear of the truck, was told to hold up
his hands and jump of. One high
wayman, he says marched him q
short distance into the woods, where
he was compelled to stretch out on
his back. still keeping his arms ele-
waited. Myer says the man kept a re-
volver pressed into the pit of his
stomach while searching for the
weapon he believed Myer had about
him. But the search was vain one.
While 1t was going on, Myer says he
heard several shots in the road.
1--WE shot this - all right" one
of the men called. Myers captor
commenced backing toward the mo-
tor van at TINS, threatening 10 bhOOt
If Myer moved. The latter waited
until he heard the trucks engine
start and then he kaped to his feet
and raced through the woods and
fields, coming out on Union avenue. a
quarter of q mile away. There he
called Chief of Police Nash at Bound
Brook on the telephone.
Nash hurried out In an automobile,
covering the half mile from the police
station In a bit over two minutes. He
and Myer returned to the scene OF
the holdup, but the truck, Hilbert
and the road agents had disappeared.
HiIbert's body was found in the
woods Just off the road. An attempt
had been made 10 toss ii over an en-
bankment, but 1t rested on the edge.
The chauffeur's face was battered In
and there was bullet hole through
his heart.
Bandits Abandon Truck
1t is believed that Hilbert put up a
desperate fight for his life. Although
Myer carried no revolver, Hilbert did.
A part OF the rubber handle of the
weapon was found in the road. The
chauffeur had wife and six children
in Allentown and his body was taken
to the Somerville morgue.