The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-07-09
PARK AVE. HOLDUP
JUST LIKE MOVIES
Crowd Views RObber Using
Gun and Grabbing Bag as
Film Stunt.
BANDIT OBTAINS $500
Cashier of White Co. in Auto
mobile Victim-Thief Es-
capes In Pirate Car.

For a solid half hour yesterday after
noon an inconsplcuous little man In over
alis, whose interests seemed 10 lie In the
north, stood in front of the White Com
pany's motor showrooms at Park avenue
and Fifty-seventh street Every now
and then he gazed long and wistfully up
the avenue Sometimes, but more rarely,
ne had a glance for Policeman Bill All
mendinger, busy directing traffic al the
Fifty-seventh street intersection. hun
bred feet or so to the south The po-
licemans back was toward the little
workman always. for on the downtown
side of the street was an obstruction
that demanded careful and constant
watching.
At length came that for which the
watcher had been waiting. Limousine
that ran to the curb and halted within
a few feet OF him. There were two men
on the front seat Of the machine. one the
chauffeur, the other a passenger who
handled on his knees black satchel
Speedy plot developments ensued. The
overalled one stepped over TO the limou-
sine and pushed a pistol. which he mad
had somewhere handy. against the place
where-certainly up to the instant or
contact--the passengers heart had beer.
Then ne grabbed the satchel and with II
dissolved out OF the picture Just as eager
outsiders were beginning by the dozen TO
dissolve him.
Real Fun for Bystanders.
they ran. But they weren't shouting
stop thisf"-not they, not though the
tall man who had been the original
holder of the satchel had gone twice as
pale as he did or hit IL off twice as
rapidly in pursuit What they cried
was, "Hey. quick. Minnie. Here they
are again." or Hurry, Ed! You're
rnissin' it,.
For this was a sophisticated neigh
borhood by that time OF day. AT 10
o'clock in the morning. maybe, what the
little man in the overalls did to the tan
man with the satchel would have caused
something OF a huilaballoo. But not at
3:40 In the afternoon. when the movie
people had been around for a good many
hourn and doing far worse violence than
that 70 one another every few minutes.
A bit YEARLY the crowd Joined the
chnse. a few good runners got ahead
Of the tall man. who wasn't much in a
sp,inting way. When the little man
1unued into a machine OF his own, which
had been waiting around the Fifty
eighth street corner. two or three were
near enough to have reached into the
tonneau ard dragged him out before the
car was fairi, under way Nobody did
any such thing That might have been
spelling the whole reel. and then there
would have been trouble with the man
with the megaphone--a man who
through the morning had given free eN-
preston to his views concerning stupid
people who walk into a scene"
The car started as the tall man turned
the corner. 1t shot west to Madison
avenue and in Madison avenue went
south At Fifty-seventh street a
mounted policeman smiled tolerantly and
lifted his hand. To the north symp-
toms of pursuit were developing. The
policeman had been on the side lines OF
movie making ever since he came OIL
point.
'Hi-yi"' spoke he as the quarry darted
past him. Shoot"
Rag Contained Real Money.
And now back to the tall man. Pa!e
and painting he came TO a halt as the
automobile passed from his sight. He
had only one line to say. There and then
re said it:
My great Scott. There was forty
Ave hundred dollars and flfty-two cent:
in that bag"
The figure was indisputably accurate
The TALL man, the limousine and thu
<alGheI all appertained to the White
Company, and in the satchel had beer
Exactly s4,5OO52 designed TO meet th'
payroll
Henry Brian was the tall mans name
and he was the White Company
cashier At a few minutes after . o'clocl
he had motored 10 the Colonial Banl
branch at Sixty-eighth street and Broad
way. had loaded his bag and had conn
directly back. He had never before seei
the man who took the satchel from him
nor had Harry Ryan. his chauffeur.
IT should say he was foreigner.
Brian hazarded. Il don't remembe
whether I tried TO hold on TO the bag o
rot. | was paying more attention to tn
gun"
From others who mad taken the pisto
as matter OF course detectives got
better description of the cast in "Th
Real Thing" They numbered three. TIL
small man wore overalls, a nondescrip
working mans shirt and nondescrip
working mans cap. There had been an
other man, larger and wearing a rathe
veil fitting dark suit and straw hat
who had popped from the employees en-
trance at the White Company buildlnl
had been a third man waiting in IN
pirate car.
Real Clue Obtained.
Brian had an Impression that the ma
chine in which his satchel went ava
from him bore the license No 23031 #
letters of blue on a white background
which would have indicated JERSEY own
ership. Luckily the police found bette
Information.
First OF all there had been a reall
active pursuing element--a man in
Ford who had seen what happened an
not being schooled In movie ways ha
set out TO see where the automib!e wit
the money bag went. He had followed
south in Madison avenue to Fifty-fft
street east to Third avenue south agai
10 Flfty-second street and east again I
Second avenue. There he had stopped {
take aboard a pollceman-and there tn
other machine had been lost. But he ha
been close enough TO 1t 10 be sure 23OS
vas stamped in green figures on the II
cAnse plate and that with them appeare
"Conn"
SO when the police subsequently four
an automobile from Connecticut aban
doned and blown out OF tires In HendeY
aon place near Fifty-frst street the
knew that the worklnpmans nondescrir
shirt the worhingmans nondescript ca
and the pistol which had been left In
we're nothing less than clews. With tn
aid OF cap. shirt and pistol they hone I
ne able to produce the White Company
bag and the baggers In some future rec
The police investigation showed III
automobile was the property Of HarWoo