The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-08-21
EXPRESS VAN WITH
$4,000 LOAD GONE
Four Men in Touring Car
.. Seize Loaded Wagon in
..., Greenwich Village.

Patrolman Thomas J. Smith came
upon a man half sitting and half lying
on the sidewalk at Tenth avenue and
Forty-seventh street last night about
1890 o'clock. He appeared to be dazed,
but after some questioning he told the
policeman his name was Maurice Griffin
OF FL Commerce street, that he was a
driver for the American Railways Ex-
press Company and that earlier in the
evening he and a helper had started
with a truck loaded with ninety pack
ages, afterward said to have a value of
$4,000. from the company's depot in
Twenty-sixth street, between Sixth and
Seventh avenues.
1--WE had a two horse rig" said Grit
fin, "a big wagon, and we had big
load. We went downtown, intending
to go by the way Of the Desbrosses
street ferry to the Pennsylvania station
In Jersey City. At Watts and Greenwich
streets touring car in which four men
were seated came alongside our wagon.
but 1 thought nothing about It, But we
had gone but few yards up Watts
street when three OF the men jumped
from the automobile and climbed onto
our rig They struck me In the head
with something, and then they dragged
me of the truck across the street and
threw me into the automobile.
Thrown out of Motor Car.
'T tried to yell, but one Of the men
held my mouth shut while the others
kicked and beat me- One OF them tried
to put something into my mouth. be-
lieve II was poison, because II TASTED
bad and burnt the roof OF my mouth. I
was half dazed all the time, and every
once In a while one OF the men would
y ~
uptown and threw me out Of the auto
mobile.
IT guess they must have thrown me
out about where the policeman found
me. After hit the sidewalk tried to
get to my feet and holler. but my head
hurt and was unable to do it."
About the same hour that Patrolman
Smith found Griffin. covered with blood
and dazed. sitting on the curb uptown,
a man walked into the Beach street
police station and told the police lieu
tenant on duty there that his name was
Harry McEwen of 1905 Third avenue
and that he was Griffln's helper on the
truck. According to detectives attached
to the station. McEwen told two or
three different versions of the attack
on himself and the driver, but the one
that he told most frequently was that
man jumped onto the express wagon
at Watts and Greenwich streets and
flashed a light in his face.
The light startled me so that l fell
of the truck into the street, said Nc
Even, land the next thing knew
was in an automobile with Griffin and
two or three men. They ran the ma
chine uptown to Central Park at Sixty
seventh street. where they threw Griffin
and myself over the wall into the park"
Story Somewhat Contradictory.
McEwen WAS unable to say how he
had gotten down to the Beach street sta
tion from Sixty-seventh street and Cen
trail Park West, on one occasion, while
telling his story, he said that the men
who attacked thep had knocked Grit
I'm on the wagon first, while the next
time he said that he had been thrown
to the ground, after which Griffin had
been dragged from his seat.
The police detained McEwen at the
Beach street station, although he was
not arrested. until they could have an
opportunity to question Griffin. Later
the police Of the West Sixty-seventh
street station reported that they had
found an abandoned automobile with
two caps in the tonneau. These caps
we're Of the sort usually worn by drivers
of express wagons and their helpers.
Neither Griffin nor McEwen wore a cap
| when found by the police.
Patrolman Smith took Griffin to the
station house for examination and DR..
Paterson was called from Bellevue Hos
pital to attend him for the cut on his
head. The physician said that the driver
had possibly suffered a fracture of the
skull and sent him at once to the hos
, pital.
Up to early this morning the police
had not heen able to find any trace of
the express wagon or its load of parcels.
Agents of the company said the value
of the parcels probably would reach as
high as $4,000. They were what are
called value parcels" that is, parcels
on which value had been placed by the
shippers