New-York tribune., 1918-08-25
desperate Highwaymen Be
lieved to Have Held Up
Kupfer's Automobile
Descriptions T ally
New Jersey Police Also Work
ing on Theory That Soldiers
May Be Responsible

PERTH AMBOY, N. j., Aug. "a
Although the authorities made no
visible progress to-day in discovering
,hs murderers of Arthur Kupfer and
ra;th Janney, the theory appears to be
cretty generally accepted that the two
we're shot by the daylight bandits who
killed motor truck driver, beat his
helper unconscious and drove off with
The truck and its $4,000 worth Of silk
near Bound Brook Wednesday after
room, some twelve hours before the
body of Arthur Kupfer was thrown
from his car under. the windows of the
Rev. DR.. Frank A. Moore, in Railway.
Both crimes were unusually reckless.
After the bold daylight hold-up and
murder the two highwaymen drove the
motor truck and its $4,000 load few
miles to Aldene, and there abandoned
both. Frank Mayer, the motor truck
drivers helper, said that his assailants
looked like drug addicts.
Only drug -crazcd minds, the de-
tectives working on the case believe,
would conceive and carry out murder
project in the very centre Of town
and throw one victim into a clergy
mans dooryard, when a whole night
bound countryside lay open for rea-
sonably safe murder.
May Have Held Up Kupfer
The theory is that having abandoned
the truck and peNlaps fortified them
selves with more drugs, the highway
men made their way through the woods
to the vicinity of the Lincoln Highway,
resolved to hqld up and commander
the first automobile that came along.
Arthur Kupfer's car, it is believed,
Glanced to be the victim.
1t is thought that with a revolver
muzzle in his back he was ordered to
drive to Railway, and, in fact, no other
motive for his presence there has yet
either the knowledge that he was in
gave Kupfer courage to rebel or else
that the highwaymen feared that it
might and shot him and Miss fanny to
prevent betrayal.
This theory would account also for
the third bullet found in the folding
car seat, as the highwaymen might
have fired once as warning or to
scare Kupfer.
Some substantiation is lent to this
hypothesis by the description of the
highwaymen which Frank Mayer gave
to-day to Police Chief Burke Of this
place. Mayer said that one of the men
wore light clothes and straw hat and
the other dark clothes and cap. With
the exception of the cap this descrip-
ton fits the clothing of the men who
DR.. Moore saw throw Kupfer's body
into the gutter.
Soldiers Suspected
Another theory, not yet entirely
abandoned, is that the murder was
committed by stray soldiers from one
Of the several camps in this vicinity.
Walter Hatfield, prosecutor of Union
County, learned to-day that two SOL
diers who appeared to be we'll supplied
with money had called at 8 o'clock
Thursday morning at garage in
Elizabeth and sought to hire a car to
take them to North Carolina.
1t was at 2:07 Thursday morning
that the murder was committed in
Railway, and the murderers drove away
in the direction of Elizabeth. Isaac
SAKE, who had been Kupfer's compan-
ION on Wednesday night until O:30, told
John A. Gallatian, Prosecutor Hatfield s
chief Of detectives, to-day that few
days before his death Kupfer had sold
stock worth about $4,000 and might
possibly have had some such sum on
bis person. Thirty eight calbre bullets
hled Kupfer and Miss fanny, and re-
yolvers Of that bore are still issued in
he army.
Inquiries are being made at tho vari-
gus camps hereabouts to check UP on
The movements Of all soldiers on leave
1t 2:07 Thursday morning.