The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1919-08-23


7 AXE PETERS, "Executioner of the
Russian Revolution" who is re-
" ported to have signed the order
for the arrest and execution of Maxim
Gorky, was central figure In the
Houndsditch murders in London in De-
cember. 1910. He was arrested at that
time but was released on an alibi estab-
lished through his close resemblance
to an anarchist cousin, Fritz Svaar VINO
was killed during the battle that ended
in the arrest of members OF tue
Houndsditch gang of thieves
The Houndsditch murders, both be-
cause of their sheer coldbloodedness
and because of the stiff battle that the
perpetrators put up, aroused two con-
tinents.
On the night of December 16, 1910,
Just before midnight constaple
going through Houndsditch, a narrow
thoroughfare on the edge of the Lon
DIN Ghetto, was shot without warning
by five men who were planning to ROB
the jewelry firm of H. S. Harris of
sum estimated at 100000 The killing
appeared to have been absolutely
wanton.
The noise oF-the shooting aroused
other policemen, who hurried upy In
the pitched battle between the thieves
and the policemen that resulted one
police sergeant was killed outright,
another sergeant and a private died
-, on o. nYr1p
and two other policemen were seriously
wounded. Both legs of one of them
were broken.
The murderers were five in number
One of them was shot in the fight
and was found dead in house in
Gardstein. The house in which the
body was found was veritable arse"
nal Explosives and materials for
making them and various weapons
were found in the place.
The death of Gardstein narrowed
the chase down to hunt for four
men and it was finally reduced to
pursuit Of three: Fritz. Yourka and
Peter the Painter.
The first named was Fritz Svaar,
cousin of Jake Peters. On January 2,
1911 Svaar and man supposed to be
Peter the Painter were found in
house on Sidney street. Whitechapel
They were asleep when the place was
surrounded. The other tenants of the
building were induced to leave quietly,
and the police by throwing pebbles
against the window II the room oc-
cupied by the two men awakened
them. Then began a desperate seige
that lasted many hours.
The two men opened fire on the po-
lice, who were armed with revolvers
and rifles They retaliated but made
little Roadway. Both sides blazed away
at each other necessarily all through
the day and night. and at 1890 the
following morning the Scots Guards
were summoned from the Tower OF
London The firing was still going on
when Winston Churchill, then Home
Secretary. arrived. Half an hour after
he had appeared on the scene smoke
began to pour from the windows of the
=
there was an explosion that blew out
all the windows and left the upper
floors of the building blazing. Thus
ended the famous Battle of Sidney
| Street"
Firemen forced the front door and
gained entrance to extinguish the blaze.
Five firemen were injured by falling
wall. The only other casualty on the
side of the authorities was sergeant
/ of the Scots Guard, who had bullet in
his leg.
The two men who had held the police
and soldiers at bay, however, were
found dead in the charred building. One
| of the bodies was identified as that of
Svaar Whether the other really was
Peter the Painter is not known. for not
| long afterward a letter was received
! purporting to come from him in which
he said that he had not been RESPONSE